Help me buy a knife set

Cafe Society
21

I did a bunch of “research” on knives last year - meaning I read the reviews on Cook’s Illustrated’s Web site and checked prices at Amazon. This is the set I came up with. Note that I did give more credence to reviews that said “good for bigger hands” because I have big hands. I’m also not much of a cook - I don’t cook too often. But I do enjoy a good knife and it was time.

All of these were recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, even the strip.

Kershaw Taskmaster Shears

Chicago Cutlery Magnetic Knife Strip
Victorinox 8 inch chef

Victorinox serrated

Victorinox 3 1/4 inch paring

All that was a little over $100.

I went cheap on the paring knife. Here’s what they recommended at the top end:

  • Wüsthof Classic with PEtec, 3 1/2-inch
  • Henckels Four Star Paring Knife, 3-inch

The chef’s knife I got won all their competitions but here are some others they liked:

  • Masamoto VG-10 Gyutou, 8.2"
  • Misono UX-10 Chef’s Knife, 8.2"
  • Glestain Indented-Blade 8.2-Inch Gyutou (Chef’s Knife)
  • Kershaw Shun 8.25-Inch Ken Onion Chef’s Knife
  • MAC Knives 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, Superior
  • Kershaw Shun 8-Inch Alton’s Angle Chef’s Knife
  • Wüsthof Gourmet Cook’s Knife (“best suited for cooks with smaller hands”)

More expensive, more highly rated than I got for serrated:

  • Wüsthof Classic Bread Knife, 10 inches

The shears were their top recommended, called “Shun Classic Kitchen Shears” but I read a review on Amazon that said they were AKA Kershaw Taskmaster and cheaper.

Hope that helps!

22

Forchner makes the best value knife.

Been in the cooking business for over 25 years tried all the fancy knives and such. These are the best. They hold up, do not cost much, sharpen easily, you do notnneed tonworry about takingnlcare of them, toss in he dishwasher, take camping, cut roap. It dont matter cause if you break or ruin ot you are only out a few bucks.

23

Forgot to add. I am skilled at sharpening and do it nearly every use. These knives will sharpen easily. Go with the vickys.

24

Went with the Wusthof Classic 8" chef knife. The balance was perfect and really fit my hand.

25

I have Wustofs. I love love love my 8" chef’s knife, and am getting it resharpened this weekend. (Hooray!) I’ve also got their tomato knife, a paring knife, cleaver, bread knife, maybe a couple others that I can’t remember right now. Love them.

I’d recommend going to a store and actually trying them out. Expensive knives are good and all, but better is one that fits your hand well and that you like the heft of. (My chef’s knife just this week gave me a blister near the base of my index finger. It’s mainly because it’s dull and I was forcing it, but you don’t want this to happen with your everyday cooking knife.) Definitely try before you buy; any cooking specialty store should have a cutting board and some produce for you to try the knife out on. If it doesn’t, find one that does, or go to a specialty knife retailer.

26

I have bought a lot of knives over the years, and I use my Henkel’s Professional-S 8" chef’s knife for almost everything.

27

Personally I figure I could happily get by with two knives - an 8" chef’s knife and a 6" boning knife. I find the flexibility of the boning knife makes it very versatile in food prep - it’s amazing how fiddly you can get with the thin end of the blade. I have been using one for many years and it really suits me because I usually dawdle while cooking, it’s not a race and I’m enjoying myself. But I have never seen a proper chef recommend the practice

28

Total nonsense. It’s a matter of personal preference.

29

I’m not sure I’d say they’re the very best, but they are easily the best value and I just love them. I send anyone looking to buy new knives to the restaurant supply store first. Victorinox are just as good.

30

I have to say that this is just not accurate at all as a general rule. It is all about personal preference when it comes to size. Personally, I started with six inch chef’s knife and hated it. I attended a knife skills cooking workshop and got to use a lot of different knives - Japanese and German steel from several manufacturers, ceramic, etc., and in different sizes. As a result, I switched to an eight inch and life got infinitely better.

Although many may disagree, I’ve found Sur La Tab stores to be great. You can go in, handle all kinds of different knives, and if you have the time/money their knife skills class is a lot of fun and a great way to actually use a lot of different knives and learn some things while making some yummy dishes you get to eat!

31

Yes, there’s no rule about the size of knives. Just use what you like.

32

That’s where I went. I think my knife next month will be a boning knife. The Japanese knives were too light for me and just didn’t feel right. I think after the boning knife I will get a paring and a bread knife and maybe if I can find a good feeling one, a Japanese knife for slicing veg like tomatoes and onion but that is optional.

33

My Wusthof 8" chef’s knife and serrated bread knife probably cover 98% of my needs.

EDIT to add if you don’t have a steel, get one and use it religiously.

34

Same here.

At first I bought a set with an 8" chef’s knife, a 3" paring knife, and a 6" carving knife. Later I bought the ‘S’ knives: An 8" chef’s knife, a 6" chef’s knife, a 6" santoku knife, a 4" paring knife, a set of steak knives, and a cleaver.

Most used
The one that gets the most use is the 6" chef’s knife. I use it for everything. I also use the 3" paring knife (not the Pro ‘S’) a lot. If I’m slicing tomatoes, or sometimes onions, I used the santoku because I like thin slices and it does it well. But most veg gets chopped with the Pro ‘S’ 6" chef’s knife. I use the carving knife when I roast some sort of dead animal, and it’s useful on some breads. (I have a Pickham’s Amazing Knife my dad bought off the TV in the '70s that works better on most breads.) The SO uses the carving knife as sort of a general utility knife. She also likes the santoku, though she doesn’t slice things as thinly as I do. The knives she really uses are the steak knives. I think my Ikea table knives are fine, but she likes the steak knives. She uses those for slicing everything she doesn’t use the other knives for.

Least used
The 8" Pro ‘S’ chef’s knife, the 8" other Henkels chef’s knife, the 4" paring knife, and the cleaver. The latter chef’s knife is almost never used, as I prefer the heft of the Pro ‘S’. The 8" Pro ‘S’ is too unweildy for most of the cutting I do – though it does have its uses. The 4" parer gets used more than the others in this list, and it’s often a toss-up whether I use it or the shorter one. But I usually use the shorter one. The cleaver is very rarely used. There are only a couple of recipes for which I find it useful, and I have so many recipes that I only make them once or twice a year. Still, it’s nice to have on those occasions.

I also have an 8" Victorinox chef’s knife, but it’s rarely been out of its protective sleeve since I went to the stouter Henkels.

My suggestions, based on my own usage, would be Henkels Pro ‘S’ 6" chef’s knife, 4" parer, and a carving knife. The others are nice to have, but not necessary. The non-Pro ‘S’ are fine, and I used them for years before I upgraded. As others have said, there are other brands to choose from. I think the three styles/lengths I mentioned are the ‘must-haves’, regardless of the manufacturer.

35

As above, it’s all personal preference. My 6" chef’s knife gets no use. The 8" is the one I use for everything (and I have the Henckel’s S series, too.) In fact, I have two of those 8" knives I love them so much. They get used for about 95% of all the cutting I do. Occasionally I’ll grab the paring or serrated knife, but I’d be happy with just one 8" chef’s knife.

36

I’m sure you’re all really proud of your knife skills and the consistency of your slicing, but every kitchen should have a mandolin. Rapid slicing, julienne, waffle cuts. Spiral cuts on some also. Get something stainless steel, avoid plastic. They seem to run $70-$100 for basic units that would be any good. I got mine a lot cheaper at Restaurant Depot, but that was several years back. Get a decent peeler too. I could do it with a knife, but why would I when I have a good peeler?

37

Crap, I totally forgot about the cleaver. That’s my second-most used knife to the chef’s knife. It all depends on how you cook. I cleaver meat for stir fries all the time. I would say my knife use is 75% chef’s knife, 20% cleaver, 5% the rest.

38

I avoided buying a mandolin for years. It couldn’t do anything I couldn’t do with a knife; it can just do some things faster. Then I bought one. I’ve used it once. See, I also finally broke down and bought a food processor. Works a treat for slicing potatoes, is faster, and is easier and less dangerous to clean. If I wanted long, thin slices (of carrot, I suppose) I’d use the mandolin. But for sliced potatoes, hash browns, etc. I go to the food processor.

I have a traditional peeler that I use for potatoes and carrots. I have one of these for apples. The SO likes it, now that she knows I have it. You can move the blade out of the way so that it only peels, or else leave the blade in place for coring and slicing.

39

And again, the above post demonstrates a difference in style. I like mandolines for thin slices of potatoes. Food processors rock, but I hate digging them out of the cabinet, setting them up for the right blades, and then cleaning them up afterwards. A mandoline requires like seconds of works to get it out of the drawer and clean it up afterwards.

40

I bought a nice solid (metal) cleaver at Ikea. Works great.

I have both a food processor and a mandoline, and I use the latter far more often. I bought a cutting glove, woven with metal and polyester fibers (not the oyster-shucker chain mail glove, but much closer to cloth), to protect my fingers when slicing.