[Dog Welder]

This year I want to step up and fork over some good money for a decent set of knives. One of those knife shops in the malll has Global and Messermeister. I like the feel of the Global but was wondering what other options are out there, for example a friend swears by Cutco but since I know nothing of cutlery it doesn't mean a whole lot. There's also a boutique culinary store nearby with a whole glass case full of expensive name brand cutlery so any help sorting out the wheat from the chaff would be helpful.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Decent knives are Henckels, reasonably priced and last a long time.

 

[Silver]

I really like Kai knives (Kershaw). Other good ones to look at would be Sabatier, Wusthof, and Lamson Sharp. Globals and Henckles are nice too, just look at a bunch and see what feels comfy in your hand.

For boning or bread knives, don't pony up for a forged blade, it's not necessary. A good stamped blade by Forschner is perfect, and you'll save a bunch of cash.

One other thing to keep in mind, is that you really only NEED two knives, an 8 inch chef's knife, and a paring knife. So even though the block sets look like a good deal, you probably won't use most of the knives you get.

 

[HippieKai]

sounds lame but CutCo knives (the ones people sell dore to dore) are realy nice and have a lifetime warrenty. My parents gave me an old set from back in the early 80's and one broke. i sent it in and got a brand new knife no questions asked!
kai-

 

[fonseca]

As a former Cutco salesman (WTF was I thinking?) I can say that cutco is a good bet, better than Henkels or Wusthof in quality, and similarly priced. And Silver is right when he says you only need a chef's knife and a paring knife. I have a set of 30 Cutco knifes, and those are the only two I use daily. Although the bread knife gets used a lot since I buy fresh baked bread, and I have a few short serrated meat knives that get some use. Also, I love the heavy butcher's knife. Great for frozen meat and whole chickens.

Cutco does have a good warranty. Of the above three, I recommend you get the brand that is the most comfortable in your hand.

 

[narlus]

i use the 6" and 8" slicing knives when the chef knives are dirty. maybe for cake-slicing too, as they are a thinner blade.

i've got a set of henckels which are nice. the place we stayed at in sweden had some globals which felt great...i want to get a santoku granton edge knife next.

 

[-BB-]

I'm a big fan of the henkles 5-star series:

 

[narlus]

 

[BikeGeek]

I've been using Wusthof knives since having them recommended by 3 chefs that I know. Henkels look very nice too.

Does Cutco make a non-serrated blade? Something about sawing through food gets old fast.

 

[Honeywell]

I've been using Wusthof knives since having them recommended by 3 chefs that I know. Henkels look very nice too.

Does Cutco make a non-serrated blade? Something about sawing through food gets old fast.

From a former salesman here...

Yes they do. The butcher's knife, chef's knife, and the paring knife.

And speaking of Cutco, I've got a pretty much brand new Carving Set that I'd let go dirt cheap if anyone wants it

 

[HarryCallahan]

Gerber makes nice kitchen knives, and they are made in Oregon.

I'd suggest at least 3 knives, with two possible additions. The paring and 6 to 8 inch utility knife listed by several above both get used heavily. But a larger chef knife (10 to 12 inches) is really useful, and a much more efficient tool for many kitchen jobs. A slight rocker to the blade facilitates chopping and mincing, as you can simply push items under the blade as you rock it on the cutting board. Keep your finger tips clear.

The two options I'd consider would be a bread knife, and a slicer. My slicing knife doesn't get used much, but it's great for the intended purpose, when I cook a bird, ham, or roast.

 

[llkoolkeg]

I'm a big fan of the henkles 5-star series:

I second that nomination. You can find sales on their stuff at all sorts of chain retailers- Kohls, Sears, Chesapeake Knife&Tool, etc. and the warranty is great. My parents have the 5-star butcher block set and I covet it every time I visit them.

 

[DamienC]

At the moment my favorite knife in my stock is a chef's knife made from spent artillery rounds by some dude on Kinmen Island (between Taiwan and mainland China) that goes by the tradename Maestro Wu. This island is heavily fortified and has been the target and source of some pretty heavy artillery shelling in the recent past due to an ownership dispute between the R.O.C. and the P.R.C.. So there happens to be an abundance of steel just lying around the island. So this guy takes the spent artillery shells, melts down the steel and reforges them into some pretty kick ass cutlery.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/10/31/2003209161/print

Aside from that, I like the heft of both Wusthof and Henckels high end stuff. The weight in your hand lends itself a certain authority.

 

[Silver]

But a larger chef knife (10 to 12 inches) is really useful, and a much more efficient tool for many kitchen jobs. A slight rocker to the blade facilitates chopping and mincing, as you can simply push items under the blade as you rock it on the cutting board. Keep your finger tips clear.

I've found most home cooks are like women. 10 or 12 inches sounds nice to them, but they have trouble handling the size when the it comes down to crunch time

 

[Silver]

At the moment my favorite knife in my stock is a chef's knife made from spent artillery rounds by some dude on Kinmen Island (between Taiwan and mainland China) that goes by the tradename Maestro Wu. This island is heavily fortified and has been the target and source of some pretty heavy artillery shelling in the recent past due to an ownership dispute between the R.O.C. and the P.R.C.. So there happens to be an abundance of steel just lying around the island. So this guy takes the spent artillery shells, melts down the steel and reforges them into some pretty kick ass cutlery.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/10/31/2003209161/print

Aside from that, I like the heft of both Wusthof and Henckels high end stuff. The weight in your hand lends itself a certain authority.

That is cool...

 

[Yossarian]

I have Henckle's and love them. I have used Cutco and they are very good for the price. I also have a Chicago Cutlery 8" Chef that I have been using for more than a decade and it got me through several years in 2 restaurants.

 

[Dog Welder]

what do all those different knife types do? Particularly the paring and Santoku? It seems that nearly every knife manufacturer has a Santoku.

Oh and what's the most important thing about choosing a knife? Just how well it feels in your hand?

 

[HippieKai]

From a former salesman here...

Yes they do. The butcher's knife, chef's knife, and the paring knife.

And speaking of Cutco, I've got a pretty much brand new Carving Set that I'd let go dirt cheap if anyone wants it

name your price and give me a call!!

 

[Silver]

The Santoku is trendy...that's about it.

I have one, and like it, but it doesn't do anything a chef's knife won't.

 

[narlus]

i like the looks of it (i'm a trendy bastard). the granton edge (hollowed out) is supposed to release slices of cut things a lot better.

 

[OGRipper]

I have a 10" Global Chef's knife and a bunch of Wustoff knives, including chef's, paring, slicer, bread, etc.

I really love the Global, particularly because it has a thinner blade and holds an edge way better than the Wustoff. I'm not a pro chef and am a real hack when it comes to sharpening, so having a knife that stays sharp is key to me. And the thinner blade makes it easier to slice things very thinly and do other intricate work.

I think you need these three knives: 8" or 10" chef's, paring, and a serrated bread knife. If I could only have one, it would be the chef's, hands down. I actually use my serrated bread knife way more than my paring knife, the serrated knife is great for squishy things with tough skins (like tomatoes, etc). But IMO you can get away with a cheap serrated knife, as long as it's stiff enough there's no need to drop lots of cash.

And yikes, whoever said they use some other knife when one "is dirty" doesn't take very good care of their knives. At least it doesn't sound that way. You use the knife, you wipe it off. Immediately. You don't let goop dry out on the blade, you don't throw it in the sink with all your other stuff, and you don't toss it in the dishwasher.

Knives are tools, and like good shop tools, good knives will last forever if you take care of them...

PS, not sure what's a the mall but like a lot of things (bike parts, etc.), you can save some bucks by going on-line. Search google and you'll come up with a lot of discount vendors. You usually need to deal with the manufacturer for warranty stuff anyway.

 

[Silver]

And yikes, whoever said they use some other knife when one "is dirty" doesn't take very good care of their knives. At least it doesn't sound that way. You use the knife, you wipe it off. Immediately. You don't let goop dry out on the blade, you don't throw it in the sink with all your other stuff, and you don't toss it in the dishwasher.

Was that me? Might have been...if I did mention that, I meant dirty as in just sliced raw poultry and now I have some veggies to do.

Might also be a good time to mention to only use plastic or wood cutting boards as well.

 

[Dog Welder]

What about ceramic knives? I saw some of those when I went online? Are they pretty tough or brittle like the name implies?

 

[Atomic Dog]

Man, I'd love to have a good set of knives for the kitchen but I can't sharpen knives for crap. Any tips on keeping them sharp?

 

[narlus]

silver, OG was referring to me i think. yr explanation is what i was trying to convey.

 

[BikeGeek]

Man, I'd love to have a good set of knives for the kitchen but I can't sharpen knives for crap. Any tips on keeping them sharp?

I use a honing steel before every use. When I have to, I'll probably get them professionally sharpened rather than risk completely hosing up the edge. Maybe I'll invest in one of those sharpeners that come with the angle templates.

 

[Atomic Dog]

Maybe I'll invest in one of those sharpeners that come with the angle templates.

I bought myself one of these:

But when I've used it the knives didn't come out as sharp as it seems like they should. Guess it says a lot about me when I can't even get an "idiot proof" sharpening system to work correctly.

It may have something to do with having cheap knives, I dunno.

 

[OGRipper]

Yeah, I use a steel too but my knives don't seem to stay sharp very well. I usually have them professionally sharpened once or twice a year. I think sharp knives are safer so it's worth it.

Does anyone have any good tips for sharpening with a steel? I've heard many different theories on direction and angle and haven't really figured out the "best way." Any pros out there got the skinny?

PS, didn't mean to go an a diatribe about clean knives back there, just drives me nuts when I visit friends and they throw a $150 knife in the sink to get banged around, nicked, etc.,...then ask me to chop onions or something with a butter knife!

 

[narlus]

i've got an automatic sharpener which does a nice job. it's got 3 different settings/grindings, and magnets to get the blade at the correct angle.

but i stll need to be more diligent about giving a quick steel to the blades before use.

 

[Yossarian]

Does anyone have any good tips for sharpening with a steel? I've heard many different theories on direction and angle and haven't really figured out the "best way." Any pros out there got the skinny?

5 strokes on one side of blade, 5 on the other.
4 strokes on one side of blade, 4 on the other.
3 strokes on one side of blade, 3 on the other.
2 strokes on one side of blade, 2 on the other.
1 strokes on one side of blade, 1 on the other.

 

[BikeGeek]

Does anyone have any good tips for sharpening with a steel? I've heard many different theories on direction and angle and haven't really figured out the "best way." Any pros out there got the skinny?

http://www.wusthof.com/sharpening/index.htm

 

[OGRipper]

See, there you go: I've seen that a bunch of times, and I have buddies who are (or used to be) chefs who say it's better to draw the blade the other way, opposite of that shaving motion.

 

[Silver]

I don't use my steel very often at all. I usually just run my knives over a Spyderco Sharpmaker (easy enough to use, I still have all my fingers) when they dull on me. I like 'em sharp though...

 

[BikeGeek]

See, there you go: I've seen that a bunch of times, and I have buddies who are (or used to be) chefs who say it's better to draw the blade the other way, opposite of that shaving motion.

It shouldn't matter which way you go, it's the angle that's most important.

 

[Dog Welder]

So I'm up late watchin infomercials of all things and they got a ton of those infomercial knives...you knw wehre they give you a dump truck worth of knives for three easy payments of 13.99. Any ideas about those? Ie Ronco?

 

[Silver]

Generally, you get what you pay for (except in the case of ceramic, where you get a fragile knife that you can't sharpen.)

Here are two good options. The Lamson Sharp ones are better and should last you 20 years with proper care. The Forschners are still way better than anything you'll ever see on tv...

http://www.shopping.cutlery.com/Forms/shopping/*ws4d-db-query-Show.ws4d?*ws4d-db-query-Show***013979***-eProducts***-***shopping(directory)***?shopping/results(s).html

http://www.shopping.cutlery.com/&sku=WFV3PCS

 

[Kornphlake]

I read an article on sharpening woodworking tools and it really made things a lot more clear in reguards to knives. What you want to do is first grind the rough edges, nicks and dings and such with a coarse stone, doing this leaves what is called a wire edge on wood working tools, basically where the material you remove folds over the edge and leaves a burr on the other side, you can feel it if you rub your finger tip perpendicularly over the blade, it'll feel like the blade is biting into your skin when you rub one way but not the other. You then have to polish away the wire edge with a fine stone, and finally polish both sides. Using a steel does polish to an extent but if the blade wasn't properly sharpened you can just make the wire edge flop from one side of the blade to the other and never really sharpen the blade. I'm no chef, in fact the knives I have in my kitchen came free with some cook book my wife bought so that tells you how nice they are, but I've found the key to sharp tools is a fine honing stone for polishing the edges of the blade and lots of patience using it. My pocket knife is usually sharp enough to shave with after I've sharpened it and it will stay that way for a month or so and hold an average sharpness for several months after that.