What Should I Buy to Sharpen My Knives?

What should I buy to sharpen my Global Knives? You should make your decision based on what you are comfortable using on a regular basis. I will go through the positives and negatives of a few options.

-G-38 Diamond Sharpening Steel

The G-38 Diamond Sharpening Steel is great to sharpen your knives with a few strokes. It is quick way to maintain your knives edge; however, using a sharpening steel takes practice to be efficient and if you are not consistent with the angle of the stroke you may accomplish little with this device. Recommended for Chef's or advanced cooks.

-G-45 Ceramic Sharpening Rod

The G-45 Ceramic Sharpening Rod will sharpen your knives with a few more strokes than the G-38 Diamond Sharpening Steel and is great to maintain your knives edge; however, like the G-38 it takes practice to be efficient. Ceramic rod is fragile and needs to be handled with care. This item is recommended for Chef's or advanced cooks that do not need to travel with their knives.

-MS5 Sharpening Stones

The MS5 Sharpening stones are available in three different coarses. The Sharpening stones will make quick work of any sharpening task no matter how dull. This product is ideal a major sharpening. They can be used with a light machine oil, water, or dry. For best results I use a light machine oil that you can find in most hardware stores. You can purchase guides to insure that you are sharpening at the same angle every time. On the down side they are not as easy to store and transport as the G-38 and the G-45 and are not ideal for maintaining knives.

-220 MinoSharp

The 220 MinoSharp is ideal for maintaining the edge of your knife and is easiest to operate without any practice or technique. You may need to complete more strokes than with the above products but will sharpen old knives like new. The edge that you create with the MinoSharp will not last as long as the above products but is great for anyone who uses a knife.

-440 MinoSharp Plus

The 440 MinoSharp Plus is ideal for maintaining the edge of your knife and is as easy as the 220 MinoSharp; however with larger sharpening wheels the 440 MinoSharp Plus will create a larger and longer lasting edge. Recommended for anyone.

Global's Insistance on Excellence

The concept behind the development of the GLOBAL series was to bring together Italian design aesthetics, German durability, and Japanese precision. With an insistence that these three elements be melded without compromise among any one of them, development began in 1978 with a two-pronged approach focusing on design and technology.
YOSHIKIN, since its establishment, has been developing and accumulating various know-how and ideas through the manufacture of tableware products. These activities led us to one conclusion that to take maximum advantage of the potential beauty inherent in the material-beauty of color and beauty of modeling which each material possesses latently-is the culmination of designing. From this view point, the concept "a knife made of a single piece of stainless steel from the point of the blade to the butt of the handle" without including foreign material, was perfected. We requested industrial designer Komin Yamada to design a new knife based on the above concept, which gave birth to GLOBAL knife.
Heat-treatment and sub-zero treatmentAfter stamping the stainless steel blank into the shape of the blade, it is heat-treated at about 1000 degrees centigrade. After that, it undergoes the rapid cooling at minus 80 degrees centigrade. This "sub-zero treatment" increases the hardness of the blade, and the enhanced uniformity of the stainless steel's crystalline structure leads to the improved cutting qualities. After this "sub-zero treatment," the knife is once again passed to another heat treatment that takes about four hours. This tempering process makes the knife stronger, and tenacious.
Edge formationThe GLOBAL knife edge has a convex cross-sectional shape. From the ridge to the point of the blade, the edge is not a straight line, but rather forms a gradual curve. This makes the edge more effective for cutting, and the cut foods separate from the blade easily. After much trial and error, this shape was chosen as the best in terms of the excellence of cutting qualities and overall ease of use.Furthermore, as for the GLOBAL-PRO series (Japanese domestic market), veteran craftsmen use wet grinding stones to polish, by hand, the edges to an ultimate level of keenness.

Information taken from Yoshikin at http://yoshikin.co.jp/

Global Warranty Information

Limited Lifetime Warranty for Stainless Steel Products

Sointu USA (the exclusive legitamate U.S. distributor) guarantees any stainless steel product that it sells to be free from defect in material, construction or workmanship for the life of the product under normal use and following the care instructions. This excludes damage caused by misuse or accident. This warranty extends only to the product's original purchaser. Chips in the knife blades, broken knife tips, discolorations from food and rust spots are not covered. Knife chips and broken knife tips can often be repaired by re-sharpening. If you have a claim please fill out the warranty form and follow instructions

Warranty Claim Form

Global Professional Knives - Counterfiet or Real?

Global Professional Knives - Counterfiet or Real? Well, The answer is both. A line of Global Knives called Global PRO or Global Professional are made in the Yoshikin Metal Industry Co. in Japan but due to limited production they are only sold in Japan. If you are not buying Global Proffessional Knives from the Yoshikin Store in in Tokyo, there is a 99.9 percent chance they are counterfiet. The picture is a screen shot of the yoshikin website where the price in in Yen and there is a bold red label that states "SOLD EXCLUSIVLY IN JAPAN" Buyer Beware

What To Do With Your Old Knives

What to do with your old knives when you buy some Globals (you need google video player to play video)

Watch Out for Counterfeit Global Knives

It is known that Global knives have been reproduced and copied. These counterfeit items have been offered to professional chefs and the general public. For peace of mind it is best to purchase your Global Knives & Accessories through an authorized stockist - they will be able to offer you not only genuine, expert advice but also the genuine product.If you are a professional chef you may be familiar with the typical scenario…a knock on the back door or someone asking you to spare a few minutes to see what is in the boot of the car. Whatever the approach, the story is the same. “Genuine knives at a discount ! Direct from the manufacturer ! Surplus stock…but be quick, cash only”. Well, the knives are bound to be cheap as they were probably made in a Chinese factory and the edge will only last a short time, despite the logo on the blade. In fact, it is normally the case that the knives are so inferior that they do not even justify the ‘bargain’ price paid for them.In another example, you may have visited a trade fair or exhibition and been approached by someone offering the deal of a lifetime. The story is that “I’m an exhibitor and its time to pack up. We have items out of their packaging/can’t be bothered to transport the knives back to the warehouse…interested in these ? For cash, of course.” But of course, they are fake knives, made in the same type of factory as the first example and made of inferior materials.Yoshikin, the manufacturers of Global, have also found many examples of counterfeit. The products may be cheaper but for good reason...they are vastly inferior, incorporating cheap steel, poor manufacturing standards and blades that will not hold an edge for more than a couple of uses. These illegal reproductions are often offered as a collection of knives in a black knife roll or case...so beware ! Recently, there have been a number of warnings published on this subject and now some auction dealers split these knife collections to sell them as individual items.It should be noted that Global is an EU registered trademark, despite the fact that some counterfeit products have duplicated this protected trademark. Other reproductions may be labelled with 'Global Chef' or 'Global Professional', which have no association with Global Knives although every effort has been made to pass the reproduction off as a genuine product.

Product Care for Your Global Knives

The majority of our products are stainless steel. All stainless steel is not the same. There are over 150 different grades of stainless steels. Each one has different properties and has been developed for different uses. Some grades are magnetic others are not. Some grades can be hardened by heat treatment others cannot. Some grades retain strength at high temperatures others do not. Some grades resist corrosion better than others. Some grades resist stress cracking better than others.To be classified as stainless steel the material must contain iron and at least 10.5% chromium. Other alloys are added to increase corrosion resistance, hardness, high temperature performance, etc. This having been said, product care for all of our different stainless steel products is not the same.

Cleaning Instructions

For All Stainless Steel Knife Storate Units and Products Labeled Either 18/10 or 18/8It is recommended that you wash all these products by hand using a mild dishwashing soap and water. After washing, rinse with water and dry thoroughly with a towel.These products can be put in the dishwasher. If you are ever in doubt whether a product is dishwasher safe, you should wash it by hand.For All High Carbon Stainless Steel KnivesIt is recommended that you wash all our stainless steel knives by hand using a mild dishwashing soap and water. After washing, rinse with water and dry thoroughly with a towel.DO NOT put in the dishwasher. Doing so could damage the sharp edges should they come into contact with other objects in the dishwasher. Also exposure to extreme heat can be harmful to the high carbon stainless steel.DO NOT use harsh detergents or cleansers containing chlorine bleach.DO NOT soak before cleaning. In particular, avoid soaking in harsh cleaning solutions and any solution containing bleach.Ceramic KnivesIt is recommended that you wash ceramic knives by hand using a mild dishwashing soap and water. After washing, rinse with water and dry thoroughly with a towel.DO NOT put these knives in a dishwasher. Doing so could chip the sharp edges if they should come in contact with other objects in the dishwasher.Global Knife BagsIt is recommended that you sponge clean with a solution of mild soap and water. After cleaning, you should let the knife bag air dry completely before putting anything back into the bag.

Use Instructions

High Carbon Stainless Steel KnivesAll of our knives have edges which are razor sharp. To obtain such sharp edges our knives are factory sharpened at an angle between 10 and 15 degrees. Sharpening at this angle results in a thinner edge, so some words of caution are necessary.DO NOT attempt to cut through frozen foods or bones. If you should slice into something frozen or solid, remove carefully using a slicing (forward and backward) motion. DO NOT twist the knife side to side to remove it. Doing so will bend your edge and possibly chip it leaving a chunk of knife in the solid matter.DO NOT cut with a chopping (up and down) motion. This is not the proper way to cut and only dulls your knife. Cut with a slicing (forward and backward) motion.DO NOT use these knifes for any purpose other than for what they were intended, i.e., the preparation of food. Under no circumstances should they be used as a screwdriver, crowbar or wirecutter.DO NOT cut on a marble, stone, tile or glass surface.Ceramic KnivesIn addition to the use instructions for high carbon stainless steel knives, the following instructions should be followed for ceramic knives.DO NOT drop or hit against a hard surface.DO NOT carve any bird, fowl or other animalDO NOT flex the blade. It is not flexible.

General Information About Global Knives

Global knives are manufactured by Yoshikin in Niigata, Japan. They were designed in 1985 by Komin Yamada. When Komin Yamada was commissioned for the job his mandate was to develop a range of knives that was truly new and revolutionary, using the best materials available and the latest manufacturing techniques.FEATURESThe two most innovative features of Global knives are their edge and the way they are balanced. The most important feature of any knife is its edge, and the Global edge is truly its signature. The majority of the Global knives are sharpened or ground on both sides of the blade like western style knives. However, their edges are ground straight to a point rather than beveled resulting in a dramatically sharper knife which stays sharper longer. The edge is so large and prominent that it is easily seen with the naked eye and extends a quarter inch or more up from the tip of the knife.To balance their knives, Global uses a hollow handle which is then filled with just the right amount of sand to create the correct balance. Global uses this method rather than using a full tang and a bolster to balance their knives for two reasons. First, it is a far more precise than using a tang and a bolster. Second, Asian knives typically do not have bolsters, since they only serve as a hindrance to cutting and sharpening.Other unique features of Global knives are their smooth contours and seamless, all stainless steel construction which eliminates food and dirt traps offering the ultimate in safety and hygiene.CONSTRUCTIONGlobal knives are made from the finest high carbon stainless steel available for producing professional quality kitchen knives. Yoshikin uses its own proprietary stainless steel which it calls CROMOVA 18 Stainless Steel. This steel is hard enough for Global knives to keep their edge for a long time, but soft enough so that it is not too difficult to sharpen the knives. The CRO in CROMOVA 18 stands for chromium and the 18 is the percentage of chromium in the steel. This high percentage of chromium contributes to Global's good stain resistance. Care should be taken to keep your Global knives stain and rust free. The MO and VA in CROMOVA 18 stand for molybdenum and vanadium. These two elements give a knife good edge retention.It is often asked why Global knives stay sharp so long without sharpening. The combination of the elements molybdenum and vanadium is one reason, but also refer back to our earlier diagram of the straight edge vs. the beveled edge. Now take a piece of paper and gradually push it up, slowly covering the tips of the two edge types, simulating the knives getting dull after use. Even as the Global straight edge gets dull it is still much thinner, and, therefore, much sharper than the knife with the beveled edge.GLOBAL RANGEThere are four series of Global knives. They are G, GS, GF and GSF. For all practical purposes, the only difference among the series is that the G and GS knives are lighter in weight than the GF and GSF knives. The lighter weight knives are more characteristically Japanese and Global is best known for its lighter weight knives. One should decide for him or herself which knives best suit him or her.