I have rarely used a chinese cleaver, mainly because I don’t own one, and in no way can comment in it’s versility, but if you will find that the western practice is in general use the chef’s knife for everything, except for a few specialized purposes - and that shows in this thread.
I love my [StoreFrontID=1&Condition=and&Condition=is&[eProducts]Manufacturer=Forschner&Condition=is&[eProducts]Category=[All%20Categories]&Condition=and&Condition=keyword%20search&[eproducts]Key=&x=31&y=12&RecordsPerPage=12&Database=eProducts&BreakTable=12&Page=2&LinkField=[eProducts]SKU&Results=results.html&Results-1-Record=results(S).html&Results-Table=results.table&Table-Color-Even=#FFFFFF&Table-Color-Odd=#FFFFFF]Forschner](http://www.shopping.cutlery.com/*ws4d-db-query.ws4d?ws4d_nav=true&Condition=is&[eProducts) chef’s knife. It’s much cheaper than a Wusthof or Henckels, but I have never once wished for another chef’s knife (well, maybe a santoku). It’s sharp, light, and feels nice and comfortable in the hand.
In Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, when reviewing knivesthey almost always recommend the Forschner brand as the number one favorite. I have only been able to find Forschner knives on the internet, though. I have no idea what stores carry them. Wusthof and Henkel also always do very well in their tests, and are widely commercially available. Try overstock dot com.
Actually I have one of each. I had just the Lansky, loaned it out, and thought it was gone, so I replaced it with the Gatco. Then the Lansky came home.
When I was posting, I was too lazy to walk out to the garage and Gatco was the name I remembered first.
I have the pedstal mount for my Lansky and it makes sharpening much easier.
I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuurves me some Wusthof-Trident. The huge knife sets are largely useless. Get a knife you love and you’ll really only ever use two of them in everyday life, but you really will use them every single day you’re in the kitchen. I have an 8" Classic Wusthof Chef’s knife and a 3 1/2" Classic Paring knife. that I use every day. I have a bread knife and 6" sandwich knife that I use occasionally, and love, but those first two are my workhorses. They balance perfectly, hold a bloody sharp blade forever, and look classy doing it. I’ve butchered a goat with the Chef’s knife, and shaved paper-thin slices of garlic. They’re awesome.
Man, I hate those sharpeners. Last thing I wanted in my life was a new hobby. I just want sharp knives, not having to learn a new process. Those sharpeners are just too much work. I bought the Spyderco Sharp-Maker kit a while back and love the thing. In the time it took me to setup the Lansky system and clamp the knife, I can now be done with sharpening on the Spyderco system. I still use the Lansky, but only to re-bevel an edge or to fix the blade in some way (like when your wife uses your paring knife to chip at frozen spinach…sigh…).
As for knives, I used to own some Henckels, but on a whim I bought the Cold Steel Kitchen Classics set, mainly because it came with 6 steak knives. Love the knives! They feel great, keep a good edge but sharpen easily, have all the different knives I’ll ever need and can be thrown in the dish washer. And the steak knives are the best I’ve ever owned - they have a scalloped edge, not just serrated.
-Tcat
Going back to the sharpeners, the ones linked to are all manual, which is fine and I’m sure it does a great job. The one I was talking about is electric. The stone is the sharpener, and rarely used, which rotates. The other 2 honers are flat diamond surfaces that move back and forth, the knife is held at the correct angle via magnets. I don’t know how it compairs to the manual methods, but it’s very quick, easy, and forms a great long lasting edge, and it’s something that you don’t hesitate to do whenever you start to feel the need to.
I have this set of Forschner knives: http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=715
I’ve had them for about ten years and I find them very useful and easy to care for. They are made by the same company that makes the original Swiss Army knives.
Ok, what do you want? A nice looking set? Then many here have suggested good one. Super nice? Shun Damascus.
Or, damnsharp and useful, but not nessesarily a “set”? Ifso, then-
High Carbon slightly used knives. You can find them on eBay and elsewhere. Seller ralph1396 specializes in many really nice ones. You can get just about everything you need, except I’d add a modern stainless serrated bread knife.
If you know how to use a steel, and use it right and often, you should never need to actually “sharpen” your knives.
Twenty none posts and not one mention of these knives? Oh, the horror!
I believe you got this backwards.
Harder metal=keeps edge longer=less maintenance
Softer metal=easier maintenance
As for knife thickness: my Henckel is only 1mm wide along the spine, while my Wusthof Solingen is 3 or 4mm. Both are fairly hard steel and need about the same amount of maintenance, but my Wusthof is heavier, and IMHO has better balance.
European v. Japanese comes down to the edge: double or single? European knives are always double edge, while Japanese knives tend towards more of a chisel edge. You’re also more likely to find a Japanese knife that has a straight blade (ie. looks more like a cleaver), while European chef’s knives are curved along the blade for that classic “rocking” action.
Japanese metal is harder but the blade is typically ground to a mirror finish and relies on a more of a push cut to slice through things wheras western blades are typically ground slightly rough and rely on a slicing cut. German knives also have more weight behind them so they can push through items better for a given blade sharpness. This coupled with japanese knives being ground to a thinner angle and the extra brittleness of the steel means that the knives should be maintained more rigourously. The advantage is that you get a light, agile, sharp blade.
While traditional japanese knives like Yanagibas (long, thin sushi knife designed to make clean, single stroke cuts through fish) and Nakiris (Short, rectangular knife designed to cut ultra thin slices of vegtables) are chisel ground, AFAIK all gyutos (chefs knives) are ground the same way as european knives are. You can tell whether a knife is chisel ground or not if they offer the knife in a left handed version.
For a fantastic chef’s knife, consider the Shun Kershaw 8 inch chef’s knife. Sharp as anything and gorgeous Damascus-style blade make me wish I had more chopping and slicing to do. Shop around. I got mine for a little under $90 shipped on Ebay.
I am by no means an expert, so take this with a huge grain of salt, but for me comfort was paramount, once I established which brands used good steel in the manufacture of their knives. A store near me carried Henckel, Wuestoff, Global, and Shun knives, and for me there was no contest. I tried them all, and only the Shun knives* felt good in my hand. That’s all that mattered at that point.
Try as many as you can. Don’t settle for cheap steel, but get what feels good. You’ll use it more than you will any other knife.
*For the record I wound up with a Shun santoku. Again, most important was that it worked for me. The balance and the shape of the grip was perfect for my hand. I can understand why someone would buy a Wuestoff Chef’s knife, and I will never disparage their choice, as long as the knife fits their needs and their hand.
Ding!
We have a winner!
Well put.
Lots of good advice here and you won’t go wrong with Wustof or Henkels, but I find that both are a bit over priced. You are certainly paying for name there. I have a 10" Calphalon Chefs and an 8" Calphalon Santoku that are the equal of those to brands in quality, style and heft. To my hand the feel is nearly identical and the price was about 50% of the other two.
So yes, feel is the utmost requirement, but be vigilant about shopping because there can be an extreme variance in price for knifes of the same brand from store to store and a large difference in price between to nearly identical blades with a different brand name.
I say ignore all the talk of sharpening kits. Take it to a professional and be done with it. Use your honing steel frequently and store the knives in a safe place where they will avoid blade-to-blade contact (a block or magnet hanger are probably best) and sharpening will be a very infrequent concern.
I second Omniscient about the sharpeners. A steel and a stone is all that should be used, and a stone is only needed if the steel has been neglected. I’d say even professional cooks don’t always hone their knives often enough. I know I am guilty of it sometimes (Why are these chives bruised? Oh yea, I forgot to hone first.)
I also second the overwhelming advice that FEEL is most important. I have had Henkel and Global Chef’s Knives, but now, I do 99% of my cutting with a Global Santuko. In a pinch, I might use another cooks knife to slice a strawberry, but if I have time to walk across the kitchen to get my knife, I will. As a professional cook, it is an extension of my hand. It completes me. Even casual home cooks will feel this with their own knives, so be sure to go for what feels comfortable.