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Kitchen knives

dravnx said:
Learn how to care for knife and it'll keep it's edge.
Store it so it the edge doesn't get banged around.
Don't wash it in the dishwasher.
Don't scrape the cutting board with the edge, use the spine of the knife.
Get a good steel and use it every time you use the knife.
I rarely send my knives out to be sharpened. Maybe once every couple of years and they all have keen edges.
I have a set of Miyabe's that I really love.
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CoorsLight said:
The post above is good advice.

IMO you only really need two knives: a chefs knife and a bread knife. Paring/petty knife, cleaver, and vegetable knife are useful but not necessary.

I’d strongly suggest you avoid buying a set for this reason. Use the money to buy a higher quality chefs knife and a way to sharpen it.

Regarding the brands, the big names like Zwilling/Henkels, Wustof, and Sabatier really don’t make them like they used to. A possible exception is the Japanese-made Zwilling-Kramer line, but I went through two ZK gyutos, each with serious quality issues, before I got one that was acceptable. It is an good knife, but it’s unbelievably overhyped, and is inferior to my Mac gyuto that costs half as much. Of the big brands, only Shun and Mac provide decent performance for the money, and Shun is borderline not worth the cash. Strongly suggest you look into Mac knives. Mac makes a great bread knife as well. If you are open to non-stainless knives, there are Japanese brands that would give you the best performance for the money.

If you need a paring knife, get a $12 Opinel or a Victorinox or something, or preferably have your existing knives professionally sharpened. If you can get a brand new bevel on them, it will be much easier to keep them sharp.

If you never want to sharpen knives, then I second the Kyocera suggestion, but having been frustrated by ceramic blades in the past, I think it is still much inferior to steel overall.

Get a Sharpmaker or preferably a 1000 grit whetstone to keep your edges sharp. You can get high quality 1000/6000 combo stones for about $75.

Edit: Here’s a good price on a Mac gyuto: https://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=6312

I’ve had the 240mm version of that knife for about 15 years and it’s better than my ZK which has a list price of $199.
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Excellent advice. But this is assuming that there are not
others in the household that will take any opportunity to use a knife to chop diamonds and throw against the wall before using it to stop a blowtorch and throwing it in the dishwasher.

I think I'm going with the Sanelli recommended by HHM, simply because it has a green handle and I can ban others from using/ destroying it.

I have a nice cleaver that I admit is one of my favorites. My santoku knife was my favorite but has been ruined. I'll leave those around for various homebuilding uses, and hide my frigging sharp green knife under my pillow.
 
Unless you are a professional chef full time, you do not need more than the Victorinox Fibrox. Promise. Can pick them up for ~$30 on sale.

I've been using one for the last year. I purchased a good steel second hand to keep the edge in good shape, and haven't had to sharpen it since its purchase last year. I've got a lot of great knives in this house, but that Victorinox is the Mora-equivalent of bang for the buck when it comes to a decent chefs knife.
 
I was shocked how sharp the Victorinox is. I'd get it regardless as a backup/spare. I keep my old Wusthof for guests.
 
Brokenlink said:
Excellent advice. But this is assuming that there are not
others in the household that will take any opportunity to use a knife to chop diamonds and throw against the wall before using it to stop a blowtorch and throwing it in the dishwasher.
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ALL of my knives go through the dishwasher. They have done so for 15+ years and will continue to do so.

I sharpen them annually and cross a steel on the regular.

They are tools. They are used well and treated well. It's HARD to truly fuck up a decent knife.
 
Just picked up a couple Mercer knives...so far they’re much better than the old set I was using but I’ve only used them a couple times.
 
The handle got ruined in the dishwasher. It's all warped and pushed out. It's usable but irritating. The blade currently looks like a frigging saw blade. I suppose I could get it sharpened and see if that helps.
 
Never put a knife through a heated drying cycle in a dishwasher.

That can/will damage the handle
 
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Brokenlink said:
The handle got ruined in the dishwasher. It's all warped and pushed out. It's usable but irritating. The blade currently looks like a frigging saw blade. I suppose I could get it sharpened and see if that helps.
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I don't know if I can help with the handle but I can get the blade back in shape. PM if you want to give that a try.
 
Yakoo752 said:
For light work, the Kyocera ceramics are cheap and wicked sharp

I’ve broken one trimming the tail off a head of garlic. They don’t like torsional or horizontal forces being applied
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We just got a Kyocera not long ago and these are amazing, super sharp and they keep their edge. I wash them by hand (they have plastic handles so should take the dishwasher, but I've always washed knives by hand).

There are some inexpensive ceramics (can't remember the name right now) that are almost as good.

Dan
 
HappyHighwayman said:
I have a German style blade made in Japan of Swedish steel. it's best of all worlds.
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Nice! Misono?

Brokenlink said:
Excellent advice. But this is assuming that there are not
others in the household that will take any opportunity to use a knife to chop diamonds and throw against the wall before using it to stop a blowtorch and throwing it in the dishwasher.

I think I'm going with the Sanelli recommended by HHM, simply because it has a green handle and I can ban others from using/ destroying it.

I have a nice cleaver that I admit is one of my favorites. My santoku knife was my favorite but has been ruined. I'll leave those around for various homebuilding uses, and hide my frigging sharp green knife under my pillow.
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All the more reason to invest in whetstones :) edge maintenance is way more important than the knife itself.

Yakoo752 said:
ALL of my knives go through the dishwasher. They have done so for 15+ years and will continue to do so.

I sharpen them annually and cross a steel on the regular.

They are tools. They are used well and treated well. It's HARD to truly fuck up a decent knife.
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I agree with this except for wa handles.

NorCalAthlete said:
Just picked up a couple Mercer knives...so far they’re much better than the old set I was using but I’ve only used them a couple times.
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Hope yours work out better than my Mercer nakiri. Terrible edge holding.
 
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I have a 8" Wusthoff Chef's knife that hasn't failed me yet. Use it for practically everything. I also have a santoku I use on occasion.
 
I am waiting for Black Friday to see if I can score a deal on a couple of higher end knives. Looking to get an 8" Chef knife and a 7" Santoku for the wife. I have been eyeing the Miyabi Fusion line as they have a rocking Santoku profile which I think my wife will love. On the other hand I am also looking at the different MAC lines and I may just bite on one of their 8" Chef knives they seem to be a good value.

But like everyone else says blade maintenance is paramount with the nicer knives. I have waterstones I already use for woodworking purposes so I should be good to go. Although I did see some nice sharpening jigs on Amazon that use a small waterstone that fits on a rod that you run over the blade at the angle you need it seems interesting and are copies of some very expensive sharpening tools.

I have read tons of stuff online and am still having a hard time deciding on which knives to get. Really sucks because I did some Googling and did not find a cutlery shop anywhere close to me that I could go and try out some knives to see how well they fit my hand so I may just go the Amazon route and make sure the return policy is fairly generous.
 
Don’t don’t don’t buy thru Amazon. I made that mistake with my crappy Mercer. Cutlery and More is a good vendor for the big name brands. Good customer service and painless return policy. They even took care of the warranty return for the second shitty Zwilling Kramer gyuto I got from them.

Also consider a nakiri instead of a santoku if you have a good chefs knife. The combo of nakiri and chefs knife covers basically everything you have to do in prep.
 
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am loving this thread. have been taking some cooking classes over the past year or so - and it's been demonstrated to me how absolutely critical good knives are, and that our existing knives are sub par. looking forward to following some of this great advice and finding some great cutlery.
 
I have commercial knives (Wusthof, Henckels, Sabatier etc.) and some from restaurant supply houses from many years back. The supply house knives are some of the best I have, and those I used when cooking in restaurant kitchens. They are still my favourites.
 
I am very happy with my Cutco knives my niece sold me as a girlscout. They have always done the job well.
 
Brokenlink said:
So my knives have gotten trashed pretty good by being dishwashed and used like ginsu knives.

I am thinking of buying one or two decent knives that are off limits to everyone and that I can take care of. That said, I'm not spending 200 bucks on a knife because quite frankly, I can't spend that much right now.

Basically i am looking for a good functional knife or two for cooking without being ridiculous. I am not a professional chef. What type of knife would you choose? Those types of questions, etc.

Gracias.
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You put your chef's knives in a dishwasher?

:wtf
 
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