Kitchen Knives

[sxtasy]

There's probably an old thread somewhere, but I couldn't find it...

I'm looking for one or two, mostly all purpose knives for the kitchen for Christmas. Mostly for cutting vegetables and cooked meat. Trying to keep the price around $200 and hoping to order online. Any recommendations?

[The_Rural_Juror]

Japanese? Western? Carbon steel? Do you put your knives in the dishwasher like a dork? If unsure, buy a Chinese cleaver. It's good for everything.

[dj_rice]

I've had my 5 star Henkel from when I was a student at SAIT PCK program in 2000s. Still using now. 8" Chefs knife and a pairing knife should do you good for most duties. Henkel, Global, Wusthoff are all good brands.

[ExtraSlow]

I can't decide between a santoku and western chefs knife shapes, so I have both. Now that I've been using both for years, I still don't know which I prefer. Either way, keeping a good knife sharp is the most important tip. Have a pro sharpen it once a year, and you touch it up weekly or monthly.

Easiest is to just go to a real knife store, like knifewear in Ingelwood, and they them guide you. the big box stores or online purchases you have a 50/50 chance of buying total junk, even from reputable brands. The "good" brands figured out that market and sell high volume low quality all day. Henkel and Wusthof are good examples, they make great knives, but also lots of not-great.

[The_Rural_Juror]

I have found this site to be relatively fair in pricing. They sell Misono, which are pretty good low maintenance Japanese knives. I own a bunch of Japanese knives, which have replaced all my Western knives for a few years. The higher end Wusthof and Henkels are good but I prefer the balance of the Japanese knives. The Santoku and mini paring knife sized Petty-Santoku are the two that I use the most. Global is very good but can be slippery. Shun is an decent mass produced brand.

Also budget in some money for a ceramic honing rod.

[eglove]

I bought this $35 finetool knife from amazon, it's been pretty good so far for the price

[flipstah]

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Japanese? Western? Carbon steel? Do you put your knives in the dishwasher like a dork? If unsure, buy a Chinese cleaver. It's good for everything.

Agreed to all this. Knifewear if you want something locally. Santoku (sp?) is a chef knife length and a great starter

Various knives have different grips and that’ll be one of your deciding factors. I prefer the smooth handles while my father prefers the rigid, hexagon shaped handles

[BigDL]

There is a bit more maintenance you have to do with carbon steel knives but I find it much easier to sharpen those myself. I might not be able to sharpen it as well as Knifewear but I can get it close enough. I find stainless steel knives a bit harder to get a good edge on at home.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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There is a bit more maintenance you have to do with carbon steel knives but I find it much easier to sharpen those myself. I might not be able to sharpen it as well as Knifewear but I can get it close enough. I find stainless steel knives a bit harder to get a good edge on at home.

That's the way to go. 2 good stones + 1 ceramic honing rod.

[schurchill39]

My wife and I were going to do a couple of good quality knives for eachother for Christmas as we've been living that Kitchenaid knife block life for several years. This thread was great timing.

Say we had no real preference for Western Vs Japanese but wanted as low maintenance as possible outside of quick touch-ups and a professional sharpening once a year. What would be the brand, style or metallurgy we should be looking at?

[The_Rural_Juror]

Knifewear is doing a fall garage sale. My friends have picked up some good knives at a discount there.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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My wife and I were going to do a couple of good quality knives for eachother for Christmas as we've been living that Kitchenaid knife block life for several years. This thread was great timing.

Say we had no real preference for Western Vs Japanese but wanted as low maintenance as possible outside of quick touch-ups and a professional sharpening once a year. What would be the brand, style or metallurgy we should be looking at?

For low maintenance, you want to stay away from Carbon steel as it rusts (but can develop a cool patina). The thing is, it's not really that much more maintenance. You simply need to wash/wipe it shortly after using. Carbon steel is harder so it should keep its edge longer. Despite being stronger, don't use any of these expensive knives for bones. VG10 stainless steel is a good starter.

The question between Western Vs Japanese is a personal preference. Japanese knives have a steeper angle, making the sharper but also more brittle. I will take that tradeoff anyday.

You basically need 2 main knives: An all-purpose and a smaller all purpose. With Western Knives, you are looking at a Chef's Knife and a Paring Knife. With Japanese, you are looking at a Santoku and a Petty. The Japanese version of the Chef's Knife is called a Gyuto. A 240mm doubles as a long slicer but is too long for day to day use so most people opt for a 210mm. I prefer slightly shorter. The Gyuto/Chef's Knife has more of a curve, which is good for meat slicing; while the Santoku is flatter, which is better for vegetables. I have all of them but reach for the Japanese versions way more.

Beyond the 2 knives, you can pick up a ceramic honing rod (knifewear gives you 50% off when you buy a knife), an el cheapo boning knife, a serrated bread knife, a Nakiri, and a long slicer. Picking up a couple of good sharpening stones is a good idea. I only sharpen my fleet twice a year, so these stones will last for decades. If you take care of your knives, they will last long enough to hand down to your kids.

Other than the above, you are paying for craftsmanship, aesthetics, and balance. Knifewear is great for letting you test out the knives. You can also get a single bevel, which marginally improves the cut, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

One of my favourites is Fujiwara with the finger notch like this one: https://knifewear.com/products/fujiw...ant=5581236292
Great edge retention, balance, and super sharp. I think you might still be able to order them directly from Japan.

Edit: Found the site: https://www.teruyasu.net/products/ja...maboroshi.html Free name engraving.

[The_Rural_Juror]

If anyone wants a decent but inexpensive chef's knife, I have a Zwilling Pro 7" that was used maybe 30 times and has been hand sharpened once. I will toss in a Messermeister sleeve so you don't kill yourself on the way out. $40? One of mum's pet peeves is cleaning up dead bodies on the porch.



https://www.zwilling.com/ca/zwilling...archsuggestion

[eglove]

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Edit: Found the site: https://www.teruyasu.net/products/ja...maboroshi.html Free name engraving.

Ooh, I think I know what my next purchase may be

[The_Rural_Juror]

This antler grip knife is savage. https://www.teruyasu.net/products/detail_50.html

[Rocket1k78]

Ive always been too cheap to buy a good knife but i ended up getting a Shun sora 8" for about $140 and its been an amazing knife. They offer free sharpening too but ive never sent it in yet. I bought one of those pull style sharpeners and thats working so far but its due for a proper sharpen.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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Ive always been too cheap to buy a good knife but i ended up getting a Shun sora 8" for about $140 and its been an amazing knife. They offer free sharpening too but ive never sent it in yet. I bought one of those pull style sharpeners and thats working so far but its due for a proper sharpen.

Better to get knifewear sharpen it than send it in. I think it's around $15. They do a good job and can probably do better than the factory edge. The pull style sharpeners aren't good for the edges and I believe that it dulls your knife faster.

Another thing to consider for the OP is a good chopping board. A soft wood works well. I saw the Hinoki boards at Williams Sonoma on sale a few days ago. Zwilling.ca sometimes have good deals and you can find a basic Boos Board at Wholesale Club and Costco sometimes.

[sabad66]

I know nothing about knives, but i received a Cutco Shantoku Trimming Knife as a gift from my mortgage broker and it's amazing especially since i had only used a Canadian Tire $150 knife block set before. I would recommend the brand just based on that, but I feel like Cutco is probably like the Monster Cables of the knife world so shame away if true lol.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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I know nothing about knives, but i received a Cutco Shantoku Trimming Knife as a gift from my mortgage broker and it's amazing especially since i had only used a Canadian Tire $150 knife block set before. I would recommend the brand just based on that, but I feel like Cutco is probably like the Monster Cables of the knife world so shame away if true lol.

Cutco's actually not that bad considering the price.

[hurrdurr]

I'm looking for an all around "Chef's" knife for a gift. Max I am wanting to spend is ~$100CAD

The following come well reviewed but I am open for suggestions

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000638D32/...v_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002R1CGV6/...v_ov_lig_dp_it