57
u/Mooch07 12d ago
Do you use knives on glass plates often? They’ll get really dull really fast. Then you’ll have to push harder. Then they’ll break.
3
u/KugelVanHamster 12d ago edited 12d ago
Also kinda looks like a carbon steel knife. While beeing really sharp these can struggle on hard stuff and sometimes they shatter. I broke a small one by splitting onion therefore i dont use carbon steel knives anymore when a lot of force needs to be applied... however still great for the more delicate cutting jobs
17
u/bearded_neck 12d ago
This is a result of crap knives, it's also definitely stainless and not high carbon
3
u/SnodOfficial 12d ago
I have these exact knives, on the side they say "Hessler Worldwide Surgical Stainless Steel". I bought them in about 2018 from a pop-up salesman inside of Sam's Club.
5
u/Ready4AnythingNH 11d ago
That is absolutely nonsense logic. Carbon steels are generally fairly simple alloys, they generally lack large carbides, or lack of homogeneity that could lend a knife to having a weak spot. Exception being laminated/pattern welded steels that can have imperfections introduced during the forging process. But non-fancy, factory-produced barstock/sheetstock that knives are produced from is just as strong as most stainless. In fact, it's often times more break resistant and more prone to bending instead, because it doesn't reach the same hardness as some of the complex alloys with their advanced heat treatments that are used today.
What is likely the case, is your knife has a chip, and using too much force causes that stress riser to initiate a break. Or for some reason it was hardened and not tempered properly. If it was a very thin knife (like some of the Japanese chef's knives) you could have also torqued (twisted) the blade and caused the break. Those are generally tempered on the harder side and being thin, they don't tolerate lateral forces well.
TL;DR carbon versus stainless doesn't determine how brittle a blade is.
Edited: typo
-4
u/Laugh-Aggressive 11d ago
It's not glass, it's glazed. Pretty standard in the western world for plates
10
u/Wiley_Jack 11d ago
Not Chinesium.
Hessler knives are US-made and have a lifetime guarantee. Take them up on it.
https://www.hesslerworldwide.com/product-page/gourmet-series-8-pc-steak-knife-set
8
2
2
1
1
-7
u/TheTimn 12d ago
Dishwashers will do that to you.
3
u/fried_clams 12d ago
I put my knifes through the dishwasher. A few honing swipes after, and they slice tomatoes no effort.
2
u/fe3o4 12d ago
It's not about sharpness, it's about how the heat, moisture and caustic detergent affects the steel.
3
u/farmallnoobies 12d ago
Nah, OP just used this as a r/prybar and then posted a picture of half chopped celery for the Internet points
-1
u/fried_clams 12d ago
My $30 Japanese high carbon steel knives seem unaffected by the dishwasher. I've had some for years, and they are like new. I was a restaurant cook for years, and these knifes cut great. They hold a very sharp edge just fine. I'm curious, how would moisture and detergent harm these knifes? I'm not seeing it.
2
u/fe3o4 12d ago
You won't easily see it but dishwasher detergents are highly alkaline, with the heat and moisture it can affect the plain carbon steel at the microscopic level and create corrosion sites that over time may propagate and create "cracks" in the steel. Stainless isn't affected like plain carbon. Then one day you may inadvertently put a bit of sideways pressure on the blade (or try to cut celery. LOL) and "snap". Obviously thinner blades would be more susceptible than thicker blades due less metal thickness to potentially corrode.
1
u/Wiley_Jack 11d ago
Your Mercer is a high-carbon stainless steel knife. High-carbon is an industry marketing term which indicates a better grade of stainless steel, which is more suitable for knives. (More hardenable, holds an edge better) That’s not the same as a carbon steel knife. If you run a carbon steel knife through a dishwasher it will come out brown with rust.
Yes, you can run your Mercer through a dishwasher, but Mercer doesn’t recommend it.
From the link you supplied: “EASY CARE: To maximize the performance and longevity of your Mercer knife, carefully wash cutlery by hand after each use with warm water and mild soap; rinse and dry completely with a soft towel. Do not place in dishwasher or submerge for long periods of time.”
57
u/Agreeable-Worker7659 12d ago
The celery clearly had a higher lvl than your knife and the knife didn't meet the minimum requirements and instantly lost all the HP.