# Kitchen-knife snobs, teach me your ways **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396 "2015-08-30T15:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/21 "2015-08-30T20:34:40Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > I completely agree with buying a moderately-priced, comfortable knife. It never even occurred to me to sharpen my own, though! I take them to the guy at the Farmers’ market. Any reommendations for a sharpening tool? We take ours to our local farmer’s market too! When my dad was alive, I’d sometimes ask him to sharpen them for us. Now for the relatively small cost and high quality outcome of the guy at the farmer’s market, I’m not going to mess with doing it myself. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/22 "2015-08-30T20:41:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > If you like ease of use, the [Chef’s Choice](http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Professional-Knife-Sharpening-Platinum/dp/B000CSK0DM/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1440966378&sr=1-4&keywords=electric+knife+sharpener+professional) gets good reviews for an electric sharpener. I have the model 200-3 for the last 4 years. Sharpened every last knife that I and 10 friends and family own. Works like a charm after experimenting on technique for a few times. ---
**Author:** ![CatastrophicFailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@CatastrophicFailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatastrophicFailure)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/23 "2015-08-30T20:43:52Z")
I have the Chef’s Choice electric sharpener that Chefguy mentioned, and love it. I use it along with Victorinox knives. I routinely have others cooking in my kitchen, so I don’t want to worry about how they might treat an expensive knife. Instead, I just know I can re-edge and sharpen them, and replace when needed without too much expense. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/24 "2015-08-30T20:53:30Z")
Man the one my Mom has must be broken because I hear people rave about the Chef’s Choice but her’s doesn’t do a damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/25 "2015-08-30T21:13:17Z")
Thirding the Victorinox with the black plastic handles. I’ve had one for 16 years now, and it’s still my favourite knife. Last year I caved and got a second one, but the blade is thicker than my first, so I still use that for thinly-slicing veggies and stuff and use the new one for meats. ETA they’re both chefs knives, which I use for damn near everything in the kitchen. I use the knife sharpener thingy on my electric can opener, have done for as long as I’ve had that first knife, works like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/26 "2015-08-30T21:50:57Z")
I just recently bought a Victorinox chef’s knife and am very impressed with the quality. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and decided that it needed sharpening. I used my [Work Sharp](http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B003IT5F14/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1440971115&sr=1-1&keywords=work+sharp&pebp=1440971117667&perid=0QAJY5XP8QAZ5QKBB2WH) knife sharpener. I’ve never gotten any of my other knives that sharp - scary sharp - before. I now realize that my other knives are crap compared to the Victorinox. I’m gonna have to buy a set of these. I love this Work Sharp system. It’s so much faster and easier than others that I’ve used. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/27 "2015-08-30T21:59:07Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Man the one my Mom has must be broken because I hear people rave about the Chef’s Choice but her’s doesn’t do a damn thing. I suggest that the operator might not have the technique down just right. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/28 "2015-08-30T22:14:01Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Man the one my Mom has must be broken because I hear people rave about the Chef’s Choice but her’s doesn’t do a damn thing. That was my experience as well. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/29 "2015-08-30T22:17:46Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I suggest that the operator might not have the technique down just right. The worst part is that the top side of the knife will cut the shit out of you. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/30 "2015-08-30T22:23:41Z")
Mine are Old Hickory carbon-steel knives. They take an impressively sharp edge; the wooden handles are bolted through the tang and the balance is good. •don’t let them remain wet; after each use they must be manually washed then dried • sharpen manually with a whetstone, not one of those rat-tailed things or an electric sharpener • if you decide to show off how sharp your knife is, do something safe like cutting overripe tomatoes into skinny disks ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/31 "2015-08-30T22:25:07Z")
I bought a Wustof before I knew about Victorinox and now I have one of each. Since you can get Victorinox with rosewood or fibrox handles I’d say there’s no real point in getting anything else unless you like to show off your money. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/32 "2015-08-30T22:33:11Z")
I’ve got a couple of Global’s that I absolutely love, but it is more that they just “feel right” to me, and that should be your main criteria. My full arsenal is a mishmash of a bunch of different knives by different makers and they all get well used. One that I also have been very happy with is a Wustof “Watermelon Knife” that cost me 99 cents. I was ordering something on-line and it was going to be $14 in shipping. The site had a special clearance of the week special and offered the knife that retailed for $120 (more realistically about $50 probably) for only $14.99. That difference put me into the free shipping category. I really figured that I could just toss it if it wasn’t good. It looks really unconventional, but it is amazing for slicing fresh tomatoes… and yes it works great for melons. I’m not recommending this as anyone’s primary knife, but it makes me grin every time I use it and think “this is a 99 cent knife.” > [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t use sharpening steels, not worth the effort. As mentioned before… they aren’t for sharpening, but for keeping the edge straight and they are definitely worth a few swipes before cutting. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/33 "2015-08-30T22:39:52Z")
Don’t disregard Ceramic knives. I haven’t touched my good Metal Chef’s knife in years now.(I still use the not-so-good metal one if I have to chop through bone). No messing around with sharpeners or steels, sharp as hell for years at the average home chef’s cooking rate, and the good ones will be complimentary resharpened by the company for life every decade or so when it needs it. Just don’t use in on bone, or for any prying action, or drop em, because they are more brittle, but I have actually dropped mine a decent distance, and have no chips at all, so they aren’t as fragile as people say. Or use them on cheese :). It won’t hurt the knife obviously, but the friction between the sides of the Ceramic blade and a 2 inch tall hunk of cheddar makes it like cutting through concrete. But you do have to get a decent one, don’t do what a lot of people do and just get a 12$ Kitchen-Aid Ceramic knife on clearance for 5 bucks and think they all suck like that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/34 "2015-08-30T23:08:59Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > As mentioned before… they aren’t for sharpening, but for keeping the edge straight and they are definitely worth a few swipes before cutting. I just use a two-sided stone. A couple of passes on the coarse side, smooth the burr with the fine. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/35 "2015-08-30T23:42:54Z")
When I was a wee tot, just moved out of my parents’ home about 1000 years ago, I bought a Henckels knife that I thought was a carving knife. Later I bought a smaller Henckels utility knife. I successfully used the big knife as a carving knife for a decade or two before I found out that it was officially not actually a carving knife but a “chef’s knife”, with a rounded edge specifically for oscillating up and down for cutting veggies and things. Made no difference to me, I used it for everything. Point is, an uncountable number of years later, I have them both still, and the chef’s knife still serves as the faithful carving knife as well as most general purposes, and the smaller one for all others. They are both as good as new, kept sharpened on the Henckels honing steel. The only difference is the old one has a wooden handle so I never put it in the dishwasher, the smaller one I do. Every once in a long while I rub some oil on the wooden handle of the old one. I have various other incidental knives but, aside from an inexpensive bread knife, those are my go-to knives for everything and have been since almost forever. Whether cheap knives could have done as good a job or lasted as long I don’t know, but geez, pro-rated over that period of time, the additional cost for premium good quality knives is absolutely zero. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/36 "2015-08-31T00:11:06Z")
For what it’s worth, the Shun chef’s knife is like a razor. It’s a thinner blade and has a non-standard cutting bevel, i.e., probably about 17 degrees. I haven’t touched the blade since I bought it a couple of years ago and it still cuts tomatoes as thin as I want. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/37 "2015-08-31T00:23:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I just use a two-sided stone. A couple of passes on the coarse side, smooth the burr with the fine. I use a wet stone as well… but only a couple of times per year when I want to sharpen. The steel is for (most) every time I use it a couple of strokes keep it in line. I would almost think that if I used the stone multiple times a day my chef’s knife would become a steak knife in no time. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/38 "2015-08-31T00:49:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > When I was a wee tot, just moved out of my parents’ home about 1000 years ago, I bought a Henckels knife that I thought was a carving knife. Later I bought a smaller Henckels utility knife. > … > Point is, an uncountable number of years later, I have them both still, and the chef’s knife still serves as the faithful carving knife as well as most general purposes, and the smaller one for all others. They are both as good as new, kept sharpened on the Henckels honing steel. > … > Whether cheap knives could have done as good a job or lasted as long I don’t know, but geez, pro-rated over that period of time, the additional cost for premium good quality knives is absolutely zero. I would hazard a guess that, after many decades (?) of only using the honing steel, your knives aren’t anywhere near as sharp as you think they are. My parents have a set of good Henckels they got as wedding presents, and for a while they were also indifferently maintained. When I went home several times, I was surprised by how dull they were, compared to my own well-sharpened knives. That said, they were still usable. My in-laws have terrible knives, not maintained at all, and they’re barely usable. Using them is pretty goddamn terrifying; it takes a pretty substantial amount of strength to cut ordinary vegetables. Those knives are accidents waiting to happen… Still, if you get a good sharpener of some sort, or get a professional sharpening, I bet you’ll be happily surprised by how sharp your knives will be. (Also, FTR my shit knives that I’ve been mentioning are cheapo Henckels, in the “fine edge” line, from Target or somesuch.) ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/39 "2015-08-31T01:12:41Z")
I have found that people who run estate sales seem to know quite a lot about furniture, antiques and such, they know almost nothing about kitchen cutlery. I also learned to sharpen as a Cub Scout ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396/40 "2015-08-31T01:26:25Z")
I favor field knives in the kitchen. My primary kitchen knife is a Kabar Potbelly. I also use a mid-90’s production Cold Steel tanto. Slice…dice…mince…pound…they do it all with brio. Love me some knives… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kitchen-knife-snobs-teach-me-your-ways/729396.md?page=3)