Pu-erh Knife

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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Oct 12th, '08, 04:32
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by Trioxin » Oct 12th, '08, 04:32

obviously, I'm quite fond of my letter openers.

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Oct 12th, '08, 09:41
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by tony shlongini » Oct 12th, '08, 09:41

I have an extensive collection of cutlery. By that, I mean my knife hobby has reached a level beyond insanity, and I probably have more sharpening stones than the average person has knives.

Having said that, keep in mind that knives cut, something you don't want to do to your bing/tuo. You want something to pry. If you have success wih a letter opener, you have a better one than I do- most aren't sturdy enough to tackle a heavily compressed cake. A (clean) screwdriver is okay, as are awls and picks. an oyster knife works great because it's a knife that's not meant to cut, rather to pry.
Last edited by tony shlongini on Oct 12th, '08, 20:42, edited 1 time in total.

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Oct 12th, '08, 09:54
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by heavydoom » Oct 12th, '08, 09:54

you know what else is good? a good old swiss army pocket knife. i have one that has like twenty other tools and one of them is a plastic toothpick, perfect to dislodge any stuck tea leaves inside the snout of a tea pot.

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Oct 12th, '08, 10:06
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by shogun89 » Oct 12th, '08, 10:06

tony shlongini wrote:I have an extensive collection of cutlery. By that, I mean my knife hobby has reached a level beyond insanity, and I propably have more sharpening stones than the average person has knives.

Having said that, keep in mind that knives cut, something you don't want to do to your bing/tuo. You want something to pry. If you have success wih a letter opener, you have a better one than I do- most aren't sturdy enough to tackle a heavily compressed cake. A (clean) screwdriver is okay, as are awls and picks. an oyster knife works great because it's a knife that's not meant to cut, rather to pry.
I have a rather small collection of knives too (about 30). Although they are all almost combat fighting knives or hunting type knives so defiantly would not work with pu!

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Oct 12th, '08, 12:23
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by wyardley » Oct 12th, '08, 12:23

tsusentei wrote:Oyster knife! I never thought of that, but it is a great idea.
Here is an example:

http://www.jmcutlery.com/clamandoysterknives.htm
I meant more like the really cheap Mundial ones:
Image

I think Mike Petro's site is where I got the idea initially; it's been mentioned before on this forum too.

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Oct 12th, '08, 15:15
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by Trioxin » Oct 12th, '08, 15:15

tony shlongini wrote:I have an extensive collection of cutlery. By that, I mean my knife hobby has reached a level beyond insanity, and I propably have more sharpening stones than the average person has knives.

Having said that, keep in mind that knives cut, something you don't want to do to your bing/tuo. You want something to pry. If you have success wih a letter opener, you have a better one than I do- most aren't sturdy enough to tackle a heavily compressed cake. A (clean) screwdriver is okay, as are awls and picks. an oyster knife works great because it's a knife that's not meant to cut, rather to pry.
I've been banned from buying any more cutlery. I think I have a Knife for just about everything now.

I'd be a little scared to use a knife on a cake. I've drawn blood with a letter opener on several occasions trying to tackle a heavily compressed cake. Imagine if I'd been using a knife. Plus, my knives are just to damned expensive to put through that kind of torture.

The letter openers I used are solid antique brass. Very thick and don't bend to easily. They have even come out unscathed after tearing into an iron compressed cake.

Oct 12th, '08, 17:00
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by edkrueger » Oct 12th, '08, 17:00

For an expensive knife, breaking up a pu erh cake should not be torture.

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Oct 12th, '08, 19:08
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by Trioxin » Oct 12th, '08, 19:08

edkrueger wrote:For an expensive knife, breaking up a pu erh cake should not be torture.
There's a very real chance of damaging the tip of a knife, especially on a heavily compressed cake. High carbon just doesn't have the flexibility of your cheaper everyday knives.

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Oct 12th, '08, 19:10
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by brandon » Oct 12th, '08, 19:10

I cut the crap out of my finger using a paring knife on a highly compressed brick. The knife went very deep, but fortunately it was very sharp and very clean, so the cut healed nicely in a few days.

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Oct 12th, '08, 19:37
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by PolyhymnianMuse » Oct 12th, '08, 19:37

Ouch Brandon!

Thats what I liked about the one from DTH, its not exactly a knife as it doesnt have a sharp point or a sharpened edge. I don't know how well it would work with well compressed cakes though.

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Oct 12th, '08, 19:53
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by Salsero » Oct 12th, '08, 19:53

brandon wrote: The knife went very deep
A good warning to the rest of us. I have been pretty happy with butter knife, pu knife, and I find the tuocha pick works for a lot of cakes as well as tuos ... especially when you get onto the meditative path Brandon showed me: trying to dislodge individual leaves. Mmmm, sometimes the task may seem daunting, but the interior journey is everything ...
  • you must cut down the mightiest tree in the
    forest wi-i-i-i-ith a herring!! [jarring chord]
[/size]

Oct 12th, '08, 19:55
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by edkrueger » Oct 12th, '08, 19:55

Trioxin wrote:
edkrueger wrote:For an expensive knife, breaking up a pu erh cake should not be torture.
There's a very real chance of damaging the tip of a knife, especially on a heavily compressed cake. High carbon just doesn't have the flexibility of your cheaper everyday knives.
You kidding? High carbon knives are more flexible and durable than stainless, that is the primary reason why they are make. If a HC knife is badly forged then it will be soft, but the same thing is true with stainless.

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by Salsero » Oct 12th, '08, 20:00

edkrueger wrote:
Trioxin wrote: There's a very real chance of damaging the tip
You kidding?

  • Knife fight!

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Oct 12th, '08, 20:22
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by Trioxin » Oct 12th, '08, 20:22

edkrueger wrote:
Trioxin wrote:
edkrueger wrote:For an expensive knife, breaking up a pu erh cake should not be torture.
There's a very real chance of damaging the tip of a knife, especially on a heavily compressed cake. High carbon just doesn't have the flexibility of your cheaper everyday knives.
You kidding? High carbon knives are more flexible and durable than stainless, that is the primary reason why they are make. If a HC knife is badly forged then it will be soft, but the same thing is true with stainless.


A higher carbon rating will make a knife harder giving it the ability to hold an edge longer. The harder something is, the more brittle it becomes.

High-Carbon Steel - Also called Cutlery Steel, it is no longer widely available. Professionals agree this is the best metal used for cutlery primarily because it holds an excellent edge and is quite easy to sharpen. It is somewhat brittle, so care should be taken not to drop it. It has a tendency to rust if it is not dried thoroughly after use; just scour and keep using it if it rusts. And because of steel's reaction to acids and alkalis, it can easily discolor; but this does not affect the other good qualities of this type of knife.
Last edited by Trioxin on Oct 12th, '08, 20:52, edited 1 time in total.

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Oct 12th, '08, 20:49
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by tony shlongini » Oct 12th, '08, 20:49

edkrueger wrote:For an expensive knife, breaking up a pu erh cake should not be torture.
Not quite true. It depends on the style of the knife, and has little to do with how much it costs. An inexpensive honesuki (a stiff, tough boning knife) can dismantle chickens and ribs with ease, but you wouldn't want to use an expensive yanagi (the most expensive of all kitchen knives) for anything other than slicing fish.

A top of the line chef's knife made from the best powdered steel can be chipped by a hunk of crusty bread.

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