Good set of Kitchen Knives - Suggestions?

[freshprince1]

Good morning all, I'm looking into a good set of kitchen knives. Just wondering what you may come across available locally?

Not wanting to spend ridiculous amounts of money, but I don't mind investing in a high quality set that will last forever.

What have you had good luck with?

Cutco? Henkel? Kuradori?

[flipstah]

You don't need a good 'set'. You just need one or two knives, really.

- A chef's knife
- A cleaver

I'd check out Knifewear in Inglewood for a chef's knife and just buy a cheap, heavy duty cleaver from T&T or Lucky's and get it sharpened through them.

[FixedGear]

Definitely not cutco.

[sillysod]

I can say that the sharpest best knives I've ever used were in XL Brooks meat plant. They are not expensive and you can get them any industrial wholesalers (Russel food equipment, Hendrix etc.)

I have a set of really nice Wusthof knives and I never ever use them. I use the $20.00 commercial knives everytime.



they are ugly, but the difference is that knives for residential use are stainless steel and they do not hold an edge very well, surgical steel is easier to sharpen and holds it's edge nicely.

The catch... no dishwasher because they will rust. You need to hand wash them and oil them before putting them away.

Unless you are doing delicate work as a sushi chef you do not need a fancy knife. You want something that is easily sharpened and holds an edge well.

Also keep in mind $2.00 knife sharpening on Tuesday at Hendrix. every 6 months I drop off all our kitchen knives there.

[ExtraSlow]

Agreed, you don't want a "set" of knives. You want two or three knives of good quality.

For me, I find cheap wal-mart bread knives to be a good as more expensive ones. Same deal for paring knives. Don't spend much here. Spend $30 at wal-mart on those two, and them buy a really good chef's knife or santoku.
For Cleaver, it's not high-end, but I really like my Lee Valley - Chinese Cleaver . Only costs $20, but it's decent quality steel, and it holds an edge well enough for my use. Nicely weighted.

[in*10*se]

since you dropped Henkel, you can pick up a "cheaper" set at bed bath and beyond.

I went to chinook Williams Sonoma and tried out a bunch of sets for weight, feel and look. Settled on the wustoff ikon set. As long as you keep any of the "higher" end knives sharpened, you shouldn't ever have a problem. (they'll usually throw in a free knife sharpener)

I'd recommend trying out a knife set before you buy.
Williams sonoma was good about taking them out of the case and testing a bunch. So start there.

[A790]

Paid $185 for these back in May and have been happy. I don't need anything fancy right now and they sharpen up nicely.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[freshprince1]

Thanks for the tips.


And thanks to the mods for moving this thread over here....I'm a bit rusty.

[Mitsu3000gt]

My advice is go to Knifewear, and pick up 1-3 Japanese knives. They will be better than just about anything else, and you don't need a full block - a Santoku can do almost anything, then add maybe a paring knife and maybe a carving knife, whatever your preference. I just have the 1 Santoku, and it works for almost everything.

The knife I have from there is ridiculous. 3 other people have gone out and bought it after trying it. WAY sharper than anything I have ever used, and holds it's edge like crazy. It will slice all the way through a tomato with just the weight of the knife. Most of them are like that there, you can try them out. He has his own brand of knives now too, made to his spec in Japan - I would look at those too.

If you need steak knives for guests, just pick up a cheap set of Henkels when they go on sale, or similar.

Just visit Knifewear, and I suspect after learning about them and trying those knives, you'll never buy a "normal" store brand again. Plus it's cool to have a knife handmade by a swordsmith in Japan haha.

[Tram Common]

Originally posted by flipstah
You don't need a good 'set'. You just need one or two knives, really.

- A chef's knife
- A cleaver

I'd check out Knifewear in Inglewood for a chef's knife and just buy a cheap, heavy duty cleaver from T&T or Lucky's and get it sharpened through them.

I don't know. I thought this way too before picking up my ultra cheap Walmart complete set and I was really surprised how much I used all the knives.

If you are willing to take care of your knives, most cheap sets will serve you just fine. I would love a nice $300.00 + small set... but in all honesty, my $40 on sale special complete set from Walmart has lasted me the last two years just fine.

Don't put them in the dishwasher, clean them after every use (don't let them sit while you eat and drink and laugh) and sharpen them regularly... good to go.

That all being said, I'm no chef... I cook simple meals that require very little in the way of meat preparation... and I almost never use a cleaver.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Remember if you are buying a traditional Japanese chef knife, they come in L and R. Use the wrong one and you'll know it, better have 911 on speed dial.

[msommers]

I have 3 knives and only use two: Chef's Knife and Paring Knife. Some of the Shun knives are pretty good. I was given Ice Bear knives which are some Japanese rebrand with the VG-10 core. They've worked well and remained very sharp, but how they compare to others I'm not entirely sure.

Don, how often do you use your clever? I can't think of an instance yet where I wish I had one.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Shun is at the "bottom end" of anything Kinfewear sells, at least that's what they told me when I was in there.

It's a pretty good knife that is marked up a lot and sold at places like Williams Sonoma. You can buy the same or better quality for less money in other brands you've probably never heard of at Knifewear. Nothing wrong with Shun, it's just overpriced (so I am told, based on construction process, steel, etc.).

[msommers]

They have different levels from what I remember, it's been awhile since I was researching knives.

Quality Japanese knives are the way to go though, it's a lifetime investment that will make your life so much easier if you enjoy cooking. Mine are top or probably even mid-level but they're so much better than any knife set offered.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by msommers
I have 3 knives and only use two: Chef's Knife and Paring Knife. Some of the Shun knives are pretty good. I was given Ice Bear knives which are some Japanese rebrand with the VG-10 core. They've worked well and remained very sharp, but how they compare to others I'm not entirely sure.

Don, how often do you use your clever? I can't think of an instance yet where I wish I had one.

I primarily use my cleaver for everything, especially if I'm hacking into chicken and need to cut through bone.

I use it to chop, mince, slice, tenderize... I don't pull out anything else, really. I don't do deboning/filleting so I don't need a pointed tip or flexible steel.

My dad is the one that uses the chef's knife because he wanted one for his birthday.

[geoffreyjames]

I'll second the Wusthof Ikon recommendation! They occasionally go on sale at Crate and Barrel, so keep an eye out if you're interested.

[A|pine]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
You can buy the same or better quality for less money in other brands you've probably never heard of at Knifewear. Nothing wrong with Shun, it's just overpriced (so I am told, based on construction process, steel, etc.).

I am in with mitsu.

If you're really looking into investing for knives this is what I recommend. The folks at Knifewear will hook you up and if you purchase all the knives I'm sure if you ask for a deal he or she may cut you in as an independently owned shop.

If you're serious this is what you need for a home cook (As per Thomas Keller's Ad hoc at home):

Honing stone (they'll throw this in if you buy all knives)
Good chef's knife - all purpose you'll use this for almost everything
Fillet Knife (flexible, tapered) - great for fish, and deboning especially if you do your own butchering
Pairing knife - peeling and fine dices on shallots. Easier for kids to use due to the size.

Cleaver - you can get a generic one from TnT. Reserved for cutting through bones etc.

Slicing Knife (longer) - great for meats, in my opinion this isn't a must (he lists it in the book)
Luxuries - Santoku

[bcylau]

both shun and wusthof are basically made by the same principles. mass manufacturing, a knife geometry that has mass/ general appeal (so its easy to use with any technique, but bad at doing a specific cut well), and an overly thick blade for most kitchen cutting (ie overbuild, so no blade failure, but poor performance). And there is really nothing wrong with those, but they are just more show than go.

But really you can make any blade cut well if you have a good sharpening system, on the most basic level, good knives just stretch out the time you need before the next sharpening.

I would suggest going to knifewear and checking out some blades. If you are the type to internet shop then

$7 shipping from japan, hard to beat for value on some blades
http://japanesechefsknife.com/

canadian option, wusthofs are on there as well
http://www.paulsfinest.com/

american site with alot of knives at good deal (ie american pricing lol)
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/

More service oriented knife stores
https://toshoknifearts.com/
http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/
http://www.knifewear.com/

and there are some custom makers too if you want to get crazy they charge about $40 to $100+ per inch of knife
http://www.cartercutlery.com/
http://www.rodrigueknives.com/
http://www.devinthomas.com/

[Red@8]

I get my knives from here:
http://korin.com/

I have picked up a couple of blades from Togiharu that I am in love with. I had tested various blades from Shun, Wusthof, Henckles, etc but really felt comfortable with the knives I picked up.

I have a set of "one man" Henckles which I use for every day stuff. The Togiharu are far superior but in a different price range of course.

Occasionally they have a 15% off sale.

Their customer service is unreal and although I am local here in NYC they do say they ship worldwide. The only drawback would be not being able to try the knives before you actually buy them. Which I would definitely suggest you do as that completely changed my purchase.

[89coupe]

Have a look at these brands, most used by Elite Chef's around the world.

http://korin.com/


Akifusa Asai Aogami
http://bernalcutlery.com/shop/catego...apanese-knives

I use three knives more then anything, a Santoku, a paring knife & a clever.

Thats is.