I’m looking to cook more at home rather than eating out. Recent developments have led me to believe that my current array of cutlery is woefully inadequate. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a good brand of knives, not one of those expensive $900 dollar knives mentioned on Iron Chef, or at this pricing level a knife is a knife is a knife?
At the most I’m looking to spend $150 but I’d hope for double digits instead of triple digits.
Some of the most well regarded semi-mainstream brands are Wustoff and Henkel. I have Henkel knives and they are everything that they are supposed to be. You don’t say how many knives you want but they aren’t ultra-expensive (not cheap by any means still though).
I really like my Henckels. Mine are the more expensive ones with the ergo handles, but you can buy less expensive ones. I used to have Chicago Cutlery years ago, which is certainly a cheap set of knives, but I seemed to always be sharpening the damn things. You really don’t need more than probably an 8-10" chef’s knive and a paring knife to take care of most chores, so even more expensive knives aren’t that bad a deal. A bread knife, if you buy unsliced bread or make your own.
Knives are discussed in a recent thread
I love my Wustoff classic knives
I have a Calphalon chef’s knife, which I love. It retains its edge quite well, and has a nice heft to it. My second favorite is, oddly, a Farberware chef’s knife that I got for less than $10 at Wal-Mart. It’s remarkably good for a lower-end knife.
I’ve not been impressed with Chicago Cutlery, and the Wusthof that I’ve used are pretty good, yet not as good as my Calphalon.
We really like our Henckels. They aren’t exactly inexpensive, though.
Furi knives are good and cheaper than the Japanese/Europeans. People are always borrowing mine.
The rules of buying a chefs knife are simple. Buy the best knife that a) feels comfortable and b) you can afford.
Chefs knives on the consumer market right now are split into two main styles, German and Japanese. German Knives have more heft and power to them but the steel is softer and they are sharpened to a thicker angle. They are substantial and put more power into your strokes. They also require less maintenence and will maintain an acceptable edge for longer.
Japanese knives are thin, light, made of very hard metal and very, very sharp. Because of the metal hardness, they can be sharpened to a much thinner angle but require more frequent touching up to keep at their peak. They go for finesse over power.
Of the knives you are likely to see in kitchenware stores, Wustof and Henckels are the two most famous german brands and both are within your budget. Global, sometimes Shun and Mac are the most famous japanese brands and they trend towards the upper end of your budget. Your best bet is to go in and try a whole bunch out and figure out what style you prefer first of all and then which handle is most comfortable in your hand.
If you’re comfortable buying online, Japanese Chefs Knife is the go to place for Japanese Style knives (you want a Gyuto). I reccomend the Hattori or the Misono at your price point. If you want an absolute steal, check out the Tojiro DP which outclasses many knives twice it’s price.
But above all, feel matters more than brand and feel is personal. If you can find it, check out Furi knives. They’re an Australian company and they’re only slowly expanding into the US. Their knives aren’t exceptional in quality, closer to mid range than high end but I always found them exceptionally comfortable and I was willing to trade some degree of performance for the sheer comfort.
Oh, and as for which knives to buy, for $150, this is all you need:
$110 chefs knife
$15 paring knife
$10 Kitchen shears
$5 bread knife
$5 cleaver
$5 whetstone
If you bone stuff a lot, throw in a boning knife. Apart from that, theres very little you can’t do in the kitchen with just those knives.
We have Henckels too. At first I balked at spending that much money, but in this situation, you really do get what you pay for.
If you’re serious, spring for the good stuff. You’re going to end up getting it eventually anyway, so don’t waste money of the cheap stuff.
My parents have a mix of Wustof and Henckels. I find them interchangably excellent. I have their old set of Chicago cutlery, which are still better than most of the crappy knives I’ve used. What you need is a blade with Vanadium in the stainless steel. See, regular stainless won’t keep an edge worth a damn, but vanadium is a magic element that helps with that, unfortunately, it’s also expensive.
I really shouldn’t post when I just wake up …
I have a set of Wustoff, most I use the largest chef’s knife, and if were on a budget would just get a Wustoff chef’s knife and be done with it.
The second part is you will need to sharpen/hone it, not at first, and you will have some time before you have to, but eventually you will have to. I recommend getting a good sharpener, one that makes it easy and quick to touch up the knife(s) whenever you start to feel that it’s getting a bit dull. This way you don’t think twice about it. I use a Chef’s Choice 100, which has guides so the angle is correct, one sharperer and 2 honeing angles. IIRC it cost about $80.
When it comes to sharpening, I use a Gatco sharpening kit. Puts an excellent consistent angle on the blade.
Here is a cloes up (PDF!) of the kit.
You should also buy a steel, and use it. A steel will prolong the time between sharpening.
My understanding is that most good knives in the German style are high carbon steal - but not stainless. They hold a edge well but also take a honing/sharpening well. Cheaper knifes are stainless, which holds a edge better/longer, but next to useless at resharpening as it’s just too hard to work with.
T’was wondering why no one else owned any Zwillings but now I see they’re the Henckles others have mentioned. We started off with just a steak set given us as a gift but were so impressed we bought a rather large set. Not cheap but they are, in a word, supurb.
I like this list. I’d also spend the lion’s share on a chef’s knife.
90% of my knife use is my chef’s knife. The rest is paring knife and bread knife, with the boning knife used occasionally.
But, the things for which I use the paring and bread knives for don’t really require high quality, or great feel. Your usage might differ.
Also, at someone else’s house recently, I used a Santoku for some vegetable chopping. I liked it a lot.
I’m embarassed to say, as a foodie, I have not a single quality kitchen knife. We have a ginsu knife, and a couple of old, but very sharp paring knives (one is a cheapie German paring knife bought at a German Five and Dime some 20 years ago.) that seem to get through just about any cutting job and serve as my “chef’s knives”. I have often wished for a decent and proper chef’s knife when cutting meat and larger vegetables but I always seem to make do, although in an adjusted and much less efficient manner.
I’m sort of a minimalist in philosophy and decided a long time ago that if and when I do get a kitchen knife (if I can justify the expense), that I am going to look into a classic Chinese Chef’s Knife or Cleaver. After seeing the Chinese Cleaver in the hands of someone like Martin Yan, I am convinced that the western philosophy of specialized blades for every little thing is flawed. A professional western knife set just seems like overkill to me when the single Chinese Cleaver, with correct technique, can literally handle every cutting task in the kitchen. A paring knife might still be handy, but I am convinced the Chinese Cleaver is the Ultimate in utilities and the only knife you really need.
Wow, thanks for starting this thread. My mother just told me an hour ago that she wants a “boning knife” for Christmas. No idea how to even start looking for a type of one. Thankseversomuch!
Lansky makes a very similar sharpening setup.