In fact, unlike our general understanding, kitchen knives are very particular knives, and it is even no exaggeration to say that the use of kitchen knives, opening edges, transportation and sealing knives in the past have strict regulations and even ceremonies, and their employment is complex, and the etiquette is strict, comparable to the Oriental knives of Japanese devils. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The doorway on this kitchen knife can be seen from the imperial kitchen knife in front of me.

To the uninitiated, the linen cloth was just a "lump of mud". But the cook of the Five Organs Temple will see at a glance that this mud embryo is a very special and professional method of hiding knives, called 'sleeping in mud'.

The treasure knife was sealed in this sludge.

Sleeping in mud is literally very easy to understand, that is, sleeping in mud.

Do knives sleep too? Of course!

Because the cooks in the past were very superstitious, thinking that the knife has a soul, and the soul will naturally sleep, and the "knife spirit" is there, then the food made by the person who blesses the knife is sweet and delicious, and there is no iron smell, if the "knife spirit" is not there, then the kitchen knife is wasted, and it is no different from ordinary iron.

Therefore, in ancient times, after a kitchen knife was bought back by a good cook, it was often not in a hurry to open the front, and it was necessary to paste yellow paper first, wipe the blade with lard, and perform a ritual of "please knife spirit", and "please" the knife spirit into the kitchen knife in order to open the blade and use it with peace of mind.

Corresponding to the ritual of "please sword spirit", once a kitchen knife is not used for some reason, it must be "wrapped in mud to sleep" to let the knife spirit sleep.

Why do you want to let the sword spirit sleep? Because the ancient people were superstitious, thinking that the knife spirit was a naughty elf, unwilling to be lonely and greedy and active, you don't need it to cut vegetables, it will naturally not be able to eat good things, and it will inevitably run out to "run away from home" after a long time.

In order to prevent the sword spirit from escaping, it is necessary to find a way to seal the knife with mud and let the sword spirit sleep peacefully.

Hearing this, Xiao Ah Si looked at the knife wrapped in mud, shook his head again and again, and said, "You cooks of the Five Organs Temple are too superstitious!" A kitchen knife is so miraculous. ”

Facing Xiao Ah Si's questioning, I smiled slightly and said, "Ah Si, this is not superstition, it's science." ”

"Science?!" Ah Si scratched his head and said, "Has science proved that there is a 'knife spirit' in this kitchen knife?" ”

I patted him on the head, smiled, and told him the scientific principle of "sleeping in mud", which is the art of Tibetan knives.

Through this, I also want to express my inner opinion and the true meaning of this knife.

The way of hiding the knife "wrapped in mud and sleeping" was said by Zhao Shuihe to be very mysterious, but this is not only a superstition, but also a science.

I have my own unique understanding of this.

Let me first tell you that the biggest difference between kitchen knives and combat knives is the strength and method used.

Kitchen knives are used to cut vegetables, at least three times a day, and war knives are used to kill, not necessarily once in three days.

Therefore, kitchen knives are used in the kitchen for a long time, and they are generally oily, so they are not easy to rust, so every time they are used up, they can be wiped and hung up, and they generally do not need special care.

This is the advantage of its ease of use and storage.

However, once the kitchen knife is left unused for a long time, its maintenance advantage will turn into a maintenance disadvantage.

Because kitchen knives often come into contact with ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, etc., these foods often contain trace elements such as salts that corrode iron, which cannot be seen on weekdays, but once they are not used for a long time, they will accelerate the corrosion of kitchen knives and damage the knife body.

Those acid and alkali substances that have accumulated over the years are very stubborn, and it is also very troublesome to remove, and they are not clean when washed with water, and the knife retains water vapor, and it is easy to rust, so it is good to rub it with oil, but another series of problems will follow.

The biggest difference between kitchen knives and war knives is the difference in the cutting object, the kitchen knife cuts things to enter the mouth, so they can only be sealed with edible oil infected knives.

But edible oil has a disadvantage, that is, its chemical structure is not as good as tree oil, the oil is stable, affected by temperature, etc., and it can easily expire. As soon as it expires, it will produce a moldy taste, and if you don't do it, you will eat the dead, so that the knife will be completely wasted.

Therefore, hundreds of years ago, in order to solve this problem, the ancestors of our Five Organs Temple also came up with this method of "sleeping in mud".

The so-called mud sleeping is to first follow the general steps, clean the surface of the knife with water mixed with iron sand, remove oil stains in the soap, and then quickly seal the knife with yellow glue.

There are two benefits to this, first, yellow mud is alkaline soil, which can neutralize the acid preserved by the blade. Second, the cement is delicate, which can isolate the air and prevent oxidation.

After that, in order to remove the water preserved in the soil, it is necessary to bake the mud embryo in a charcoal fire to let the mud embryo shape and tighten.

And charcoal baking has also become the most difficult step in the process of hiding knives.

In the final step, the baking time must be accurate and correct. The baking time is short, the moisture in the mud embryo is not clean, and the knife body is easy to rust. After a long period of baking, the blade will "anneal", which in turn destroys the strength and toughness of the blade.

This kind of technical work is quite difficult.

After refining the clay embryo wrapped around the blade, the knife can be put away and preserved.

In addition, when the master hides the knife, he will wrap the knife in a fine linen cloth, put it in a jar, fill the gap with tea leaves, and then place it in a cool and dry place.

In this way, the knife is considered to be "asleep".

When you want to use it, you can take it at any time, just break the mud embryo, so that the knife is preserved, the cut out of the dish will not have an iron smell, and the blade is as good as new, and it is not stained with water.

In all fairness, this way of storing knives is time-consuming and laborious, so it is not common, and it is generally a famous knife or a very commemorative knife that is stored for a long time in this way.

From this, it is enough to see the "preciousness" of this ancestral knife of the Zhao family.

As the saying goes, "a good horse with a good saddle", a knife that can be sealed with this delicate skill must not be wrong.

I can't wait, I'm a little greedy, I really want Zhao Haikun to break through the mud seal immediately and see the true face of this treasure knife.

Moreover, under the detailed introduction of Zhao Shuihe and me, everyone present was also eager to try, looking forward to the exciting moment when Zhao Haikun opened the seal and took the knife.

In front of everyone's eyes, Zhao Haikun gently pinched the sealing mud with the fragrance of tea, sighed slightly, and then flipped the treasure knife wrapped in the mud embryo, and suddenly slammed the spine of the knife to the table leg beside him!

After a crisp "pop", the mud blank fell down in an instant like a cocoon chrysalis that turned into a butterfly.

In the dusty and dark fragrance of tea, a dark black ancient knife was immediately presented in front of us.

That knife made my heart throb!