[rigidhack]

If you go with Henckels, make sure you go for the ones with the two little "people" on the blade.

The other lines (with only one little guy) all suck. Since the steel is different, you lose out on everything that is good about the Zwilling series - like the ability to hold an edge. The International or Classic lines are cheaper, but for a reason.

 

[Polandspring88]

I have been using a set of Henckels Four Star II for the past 1.5 years. Bought the set with the 8" chef, 5" Santoku, 5" serrated, and 3" paring knife. Has covered pretty much all the tasks I have put them up to, they have required infrequent sharpening, and were not too much money. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

 

[wreckedrex]

It's personal preference, but I much prefer a chef's knife to a santoku. The flat blade of the santoku just doesn't work for me.

After using Henkles, Wustof and Global, I bought a Shun Classic 8" chef and it's the best I've used. The Henkles and Wustof's were fine, but kind of heavy/chunky and non-precise feeling. The Global's grip was too delicate (small, narrow, light) for me, but the blade was good.

Been using this for a six months, and it hasn't needed sharpened yet. I used to sharpen my German knives before each use.

I picked up the same knife a while back, the d shaped handle is spot on for me. The henkle that it replaced is still really nice and I still use it a lot when something heavier/less delicate feeling makes sense, but I wish it had the Shun handle.

 

[Serial Midget]

Does anyone remember what brand OJ preferred? They seemed to get the job done.

I'll do a google search.

 

[boogenman]

I am a cutco knife man, they are pretty nice and have a lifetime warranty and lifetime sharpening which I use annually.

 

[rockofullr]

My fiance is loving the Forschner chef knife she bought herself last month.

May not be expensive or fancy enough for some of the more discerning kitchen monkeys.

Edit: What you need to decide is if you want a forged knife or if a stamped knife will do the trick.

 

[OGRipper]

All you really need is a good chef's knife (santoku is fine if you like the shape, I don't for my main blade), pairing knife, and a serrated bread knife. I have a bunch of knives but these three are indispensable. As for the brand, it's personal preference/cost. I tend to prefer the german stuff but I have not spent much time with some of the newly-popular asian blades like shun. Global knives hurt my hands, they just don't fit right.

Since we're on the topic, what are you all doing for sharpening?

 

[Silver]

Shuns might not be ideal if you're left handed.

I like mine though, and second everyone who said that likes the classic Chef's shape better than the Santoku.

My Santoku is my hack it up knife...I just don't find the blade shape as versatile. And stay away from 10 inch chef's knives. Like huge dicks, everyone wants 'em, but not everyone can handle 'em.

 

[RUFUS]

Shuns might not be ideal if you're left handed.

I like mine though, and second everyone who said that likes the classic Chef's shape better than the Santoku.

My Santoku is my hack it up knife...I just don't find the blade shape as versatile. And stay away from 10 inch chef's knives. Like huge dicks, everyone wants 'em, but not everyone can handle 'em.

I have been using Shun since I was a chef and pastry chef from 1999-present. I am left handed and have had problems with the Shun classics.
I currently have the entire line of Shun Kaji's and I have yet to have a gripe or complaint as a lefty.

If you can afford Shun's I highly recommend them.

Also, do not use a wood block to store your knifes. They promote bacteria buildup and are damn near impossible to clean those tiny slots.

I use the magnetic knife holder that you screw to the wall and and love it.

 

[Silver]

Yeah, I've got a couple of the classics.

They seem like they are right hand specific. I'd imagine they'd slip around for a lefty.

Second the magnetic strip too. Those things are awesome.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Those Fusion series knives look great and I like the slightly obtuse angle between the back of the blade and handle. Will have to look into those.

The Birchwood series are D shaped handles and the edge runs all the way to the back of the blade. Since it doesn't have a bolster like German knives i would be very tempted to take it to the studio and knock that corner off. While I played with one at SurLaTable, I just barely touched the corner and got a "paper" cut.

The Fusion series has a more traditional European style handle.

I'd also like to add that the Miyabis are noticeably sharper than the Shun Elite series.

Other knives I like to check out are the Hattoris and the MAC.

Hattori:

 

[jdcamb]

Harbor freight has a 10 pack of various knives for $19. Even if the knives suck, my thought is I can just walmart/eject them when they have reached their usefulness. The magnet strip that came with the set is awesome... Bread Knife FTW works bread knifey!...

 

[BikeMike]

Ah ha.

To summarize much of what others have said, you have two main categories: 1) Western knives (mostly German) or 2) Japanese knives
The deciding factors include how the person intends to use it and how much they will care for the knife.

Good Western style knives are made out of slightly softer, more forgiving steel than good Japanese knives (which are made out of harder, and thus more brittle, steel. Also often with higher carbon content, more prone to rust.) Because the steel is softer, Western knives are sharpened at a more obtuse angle, usually in the neighborhood of 20 degrees/side. Make the steel harder, like with a Japanese knife, and you can put a more acute angle on it without folding over the edge every time you use it. However, you also increase the likelihood of chipping, which can be majorly damaging to the edge. So, if you want to slice herbs and break open large squash or rapidly bone chickens with the same knife, a super hard $300 Japanese gyuto is probably not be the best tool for the job. It'll do herbs, vegetables, and meat fine, but you're likely to damage the knife on chicken bones and squash (unless you have quite impressive knife skills). (As a side note, traditional Japanese knives are sharpened with an angle on one side, flat on the other, but we're talking about the more popular variety sharpened on both sides, although the grind may still be offset.)

Other than the angle at the edge of the knife, the other major determinant of how effortlessly a knife glides through whatever is how thick the blade is. Thinner blades offer less friction. Like acute angles, however, they're more fragile. Western-style knives tend to be more robust here also, as they are usually thicker.

A kind of hybrid-style Japanese knife is also quite popular these days (e.g. Global). Harder steel, but not super hard, more acute angle, but not super acute. (The handles on Globals, however, seems to be a love or hate thing. I don't like them.)

For Western style knives: Forschner is far and away the best value per dollar. Probably for all knives. The paring knives are especially good, at any price-point, because the blade is so thin. The 3.25" straight edge paring knife is my go-to small knife.
Forged Wusthof and Henckels knives are excellent tools, can be sharpened well and hold an edge well. Cheap knives from either company made with stamped steel blades are typically really bad and should be avoided.
These knives are relatively easy to sharpen.

For Japanese knives: Mac makes good knives in the Japanese style. Interesting rounded tip on some of them. They also make a totally killer bread knife with reversed serrations, if I remember correctly.
Shun makes excellent Japanese style knives, but they are costly.
Globals are popular and they're a bit in the middle ground, slightly softer steel than Mac and Shun. Weird handle.
There are a bunch of smaller Japanese companies that make awesome knives. Hattori make some really nice ones, as do Misono, Tojiro, and many others. These knives are not so easy to sharpen. In fact, if you use a standard sharpening device where the angle has been set, you will damage the edge. Using a serrated steel is also a sure-fire way to ruin the edge. Best method for sharpening is on a Japanese water stone. These are expensive and it takes time to learn how to use one effectively. Then it takes time to sharpen. A 1000/3000 or 1000/6000 (grit) combo stone is what you should start off with. If you get them professionally sharpened, it needs to be by someone who understands differences in edge geometry on Japanese knives (some are uneven grinds, all are at a more acute angle), NOT by Mr. Knife Sharpener with a grinding wheel in his van down by the river. Some companies make sharpening devices for their knives (Global does, maybe Mac). These are OK. They've been designed to accommodate the more acute angle at the edge. Otherwise sharpening devices with pre-set angles = not OK.

As for what to get: 8" is enough. A 10" chef's knife is nice. It allows you to cut more stuff at once. But in a home situation it's usually sticking into something else. (Paraphrasing this from Nobody in the food forum from years ago. He was totally right on.) I tend to like a chef's knife style blade, but the santoku blade is quite popular, especially with Japanese women. So, spend your savings on a 7-8" main knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife. That's it. Seriously. You are better off spending all your money on two or three knives and getting really good ones than buying a dozen cheap knives of different shapes. If you get really hard-bladed Japanese knives, also make sure you have a less important/more durable knife for cutting bones, squash and such things.

As for sharpening, a random tip:
Buy fine (800 & 1000+) wet/dry sandpaper. Take a mouse pad. Lay the sandpaper on the mousepad. Lay a knife down on sandpaper. Carefully raise the spine (a.k.a. the not sharp side) of the knife, keeping the edge on the sandpaper, until edge just starts to dig in if you VERY gently push forward. Now don't push forward any more. Keeping this angle, draw the edge along, with the edge trailing (this is reverse to the tactic used with stones, where the edge should be leading, as if you were trying to slice an ultra thin layer off the stone.) Go from heel to tip, and when you reach the edge of the mouse pad, lift straight up, flip the knife over, and do the other side. Repeat until sharp. Move onto finer grit sandpaper if you want. This works because the mousepad has some give to it. Just don't apply too much downward pressure. This method creates a convex edge (profiled rather like an apple seed), rather than a straight edge like you'd get with a flat stone.) Lately, using only an inexpensive Chinese cleaver and a paring knife, this is how I keep my tools sharp. Takes a bit of time the first time you do this with a knife, maybe the edge has to re-profile a bit. The major advantage here, other than the fact that you get a good sharpening system for <$5, is that, thanks to the mousepad, it is a very forgiving technique. I would be hesitant to use the mousepad system for Japanese knives, but it would probably work. eGullet for more info.

 

[eaterofdog]

If I ever buy a Damascus kitchen knife (and I'm not a professional chef at that time) please stab me in the face with it.

 

[rockofullr]

If I ever buy a Damascus kitchen knife (and I'm not a professional chef at that time) please stab me in the face with it.

But it's purdy!

 

[jimmydean]

They are right across the freeway from my office. I heard they make a pretty good knife.

 

[Silver]

As far as bread knives go, don't get pricey with those. It's a serrated edge, so fancy stuff is just for show. These are great:

http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Offset-Bread-Knife/dp/B0001EK2US/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291744631&sr=8-1

And if you happen to go OJ with it, just clean up the blood with a little bleach and toss the evidence. It's $25...

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Other than the angle at the edge of the knife, the other major determinant of how effortlessly a knife glides through whatever is how thick the blade is. Thinner blades offer less friction. Like acute angles, however, they're more fragile. Western-style knives tend to be more robust here also, as they are usually thicker.

That's why I'm interested in Japanese blades. German knives are good for heavier use, like getting through bone, but wedge produce too much for me. A thin, light, Japanese blade with an oval or D handle is better suited for speed and precision.

If I ever buy a Damascus kitchen knife (and I'm not a professional chef at that time) please stab me in the face with it.

Have you ever tried one ? Veggie cuttings don't cling to real Damascus blades like a standard surface knife.

 

[golgiaparatus]

 

[RUFUS]

He actually hit that guy in the head and almost chopped his ear off. It wasn't supposed to be a real sword but Belushi insisted.

 

[-BB-]

Ah ha.

(As a side note, traditional Japanese knives are sharpened with an angle on one side, flat on the other, but we're talking about the more popular variety sharpened on both sides, although the grind may still be offset.)

These knives are not so easy to sharpen. In fact, if you use a standard sharpening device where the angle has been set, you will damage the edge. Using a serrated steel is also a sure-fire way to ruin the edge. Best method for sharpening is on a Japanese water stone. These are expensive and it takes time to learn how to use one effectively. Then it takes time to sharpen. A 1000/3000 or 1000/6000 (grit) combo stone is what you should start off with. If you get them professionally sharpened, it needs to be by someone who understands differences in edge geometry on Japanese knives (some are uneven grinds, all are at a more acute angle), NOT by Mr. Knife Sharpener with a grinding wheel in his van down by the river. Some companies make sharpening devices for their knives (Global does, maybe Mac). These are OK. They've been designed to accommodate the more acute angle at the edge. Otherwise sharpening devices with pre-set angles = not OK.



As for sharpening, a random tip:
Buy fine (800 & 1000+) wet/dry sandpaper. Take a mouse pad. Lay the sandpaper on the mousepad. Lay a knife down on sandpaper. Carefully raise the spine (a.k.a. the not sharp side) of the knife, keeping the edge on the sandpaper, until edge just starts to dig in if you VERY gently push forward. Now don't push forward any more. Keeping this angle, draw the edge along, with the edge trailing (this is reverse to the tactic used with stones, where the edge should be leading, as if you were trying to slice an ultra thin layer off the stone.) Go from heel to tip, and when you reach the edge of the mouse pad, lift straight up, flip the knife over, and do the other side. Repeat until sharp. Move onto finer grit sandpaper if you want. This works because the mousepad has some give to it. Just don't apply too much downward pressure. This method creates a convex edge (profiled rather like an apple seed), rather than a straight edge like you'd get with a flat stone.) Lately, using only an inexpensive Chinese cleaver and a paring knife, this is how I keep my tools sharp. Takes a bit of time the first time you do this with a knife, maybe the edge has to re-profile a bit. The major advantage here, other than the fact that you get a good sharpening system for <$5, is that, thanks to the mousepad, it is a very forgiving technique. I would be hesitant to use the mousepad system for Japanese knives, but it would probably work. eGullet for more info.

OK... Since we are talking about sharpening, I have a quick question. We have a local place that caters to chefs (not one of the Sur La Table cr@ppy places, but a REAL place that sells commercial equipment to people in the industry.)

http://chefstoys.net/index.php?cName=cutlery&osCsid=179f131b244bd2a1ed32a232b56bd4e6

They do offer a pretty inexpensive knife sharpening service as well. I think it was $3 per knife. What do I need to ask them though to make sure that they arent gonna F up my blades? As I mentioned I have mostly straight blade Henckles, but I also have a Henckles 5in serated utility knife and a Shun 6in utility knife.

They do sell Global and some other japanese knives from what I remember, so hopefully they know how to take care of them both (german and Jap)anese).

 

[norbar]

I'm really happy with my fiskars knives. I know most people think about scissors or shovels (and thats why I went to their shop when I first bought their knife). They have 5 levels of pricing. Even the 2nd or 3rd from the bottom is good enough to enchance kitchens with yours and your friends blood. Prooven

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

OK... Since we are talking about sharpening, I have a quick question. We have a local place that caters to chefs (not one of the Sur La Table cr@ppy places, but a REAL place that sells commercial equipment to people in the industry.)

http://chefstoys.net/index.php?cName=cutlery&osCsid=179f131b244bd2a1ed32a232b56bd4e6

They do offer a pretty inexpensive knife sharpening service as well. I think it was $3 per knife. What do I need to ask them though to make sure that they arent gonna F up my blades? As I mentioned I have mostly straight blade Henckles, but I also have a Henckles 5in serated utility knife and a Shun 6in utility knife.

They do sell Global and some other japanese knives from what I remember, so hopefully they know how to take care of them both (german and Jap)anese).

Be cautious with knife sharpening services. Some of them use grinding wheels that can actually ruin the temper of the blade.

General rule of thumb, a knife should always be sharpened by the same hand in order to maintain a consistent edge. Take the time to lean to sharpen your blade yourself, it's worth it in the long run. A properly maintained knife can last a lifetime. Remember, your knife is like your penis, you shouldn't let just anyone use it.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Be cautious with knife sharpening services. Some of them use grinding wheels that can actually ruin the temper of the blade.

General rule of thumb, a knife should always be sharpened by the same hand in order to maintain a consistent edge. Take the time to lean to sharpen your blade yourself, it's worth it in the long run. A properly maintained knife can last a lifetime. Remember, your knife is like your penis, you shouldn't let just anyone use it.

That's why I keep a box of condoms by my knives.

 

[ebarker9]

Not nearly the knife-nerd that others in this thread seem to be shocked, but I'm very happy with my Wusthof classic knives. I got the 8" chef's knife and 3.5" paring knife and the combination is good for just about anything. Super sharp, feel solid, and they look brand new after a few years. Combine those with a cheap-ish bread knife and you can cover 95% of the things you'd ever want to do.

 

[4130biker]

We sprung for the shun and couldn't be happier with them. Probably wouldn't have, but we used money from our wedding gifts and figured they should last a long long time. Only drawback so far is that they do like to rust easily- so much so, that we have to hand dry them, then leave them out to air dry. Otherwise the small ammount of moisture left over from the towel just hangs out in the knife block and rusts those fcukers (nothing horrible, but still alarming).

Anyone know a reputable place to have Japanese knives sharpened in the seattle area?