Good knife set?

[Dawrah]

wustof ftw, i also use a few shun knives for bigger cutting. my fav would be a 6" chef's knife (wustof). and for the really big stuff, always the chinese cleaver. and i use the steel before most major cutting

[Guest heightsgtltd]

Mike curious who your bro is, PM me if you like

 

I've been very happy with our Henckels that are now +16 years old. I do the yearly sharpening and steel before every use. I did just pick up a new "Shun Classic 9-inch bread knife the my brother (Chef and is up for New Chef of the year in Food & Wine) turned me onto a couple months back.

 

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21956VY1QCL._SS400_.jpg

What I love about this knife is that the points are rounded off so it slices through bread very nicely. I have also used it to pull though beef with great ease.

 

All great suggestions here.

 

One other suggestion would be to go into a highend kitchen store and talk them about what you typical knife use might entail and that person would probably have some great suggestions.

 

Cheers,

Mike

[Avishar]

Though Shun knives are nice, they are substantially overpriced for the performance, the result of Alton Brown's endorsement of them and the mass marketing to the US as a true Japanese style knife, which it is not (the handle may be, but the Chef's knife design is pure German, observe the large curve or belly to the knife which is a hallmark of German style knives, the "damascus" is actually a patterned jacket stamped on the outside of the VG10 core, don't believe me? try using it in a restaurant kitchen for a year and watch how the pattern rubs right off like all mine have). Given that they still do have an excellent fit and finish, a fantastic warranty, and are readily available in most places, thus I do own several of the Classics and Elite series, but then again I own too many knives, all of which I maintain and sharpen and then polish keenly to the point where food cuts itself in fear of the contact with the mirrorlike edge (kidding, food can't cut itself into such uniform shapes!).

 

I also work at Sur La Table part time (which consequently has not contributed anything positive for my knowledge of knives but does give me a nice discount), and the Shuns are one of our biggest sellers, but they are also a frequently returned knife since many people don't treat them properly (glass cutting boards, dishwasher, can opener, what have you). If you want to go Japanese, pick up the Tojiro DP Gyuto and you will never look back! http://korin.com/Shop/Tojiro, If you want to step up one more try out the Misono UX10 or the insane MAC Mighty knives. Any knife can be made sharp as all sharpness really is would be geometry, scratch pattern, and consistency of angle. The difference in quality comes from how long the knife will maintain that endge. What you are looking for in a knife is ergonomics, steel quality (around 58-64 rockwell is nice) and something that suits your main tasks. You only really need three knives, A Chef's, A paring, and a bread knife, everything else is merely a convenience rather than a necessity. I will also recommend a fine grit ceramic steel or a smooth steel, as the grooved steel can actually be negative to knife life given the fact that the grooves if pressed with a heavy hand will actually file off your blade (they are actually quite coarse) and can turn your smooth polished edge into a toothier one (see Chad Ward's article on egullet on sharpening for more info) If you have specific questions and can tell me exactly what kind of food you like to prepare most often and what style of cutting you prefer (rocking, push cutting, pull stroke etc.) then feel free to PM me; if not here are a couple generic breakdowns

 

Note: The Forschner bread knife is considered the gold standard for a reason: it is cheap, sharp, and disposable, all bread knives will eventually need to be thrown away due to the fact that serrations do not last forever! If you insist on getting an expensive one go with a reverse scalloped design, as the cutting edge will be recessed and thus not dull as quickly as a standard toothed serration, and in addition can be used for carving since it will not rip and tear as aggressively as triangular teeth... See MAC, Wusthof's Super Slicer, or ask me for more details

 

Brands To Consider (I defaulted to high carbon Stainless steel knives considering that 95% or more of the general population resorts to this style given its robustness, durability, low maintenence, and ease of use, if you want pure patina producing carbon steel knives just ask):

 

German Style:

Messermeister Meridian Elite

Chef's Choice

Forschner

 

Japanese Style:

Tojiro

MAC

Misono

Global

 

Low End (under $100 for both knives):

Forschner Fibrox 8-10" Chef's and Paring, Forschner Bread slicer

Tojiro DP 210-270mm (8.5-10.2) Mac Mighty Paring, Forschner Bread slicer

 

Medium (between $100-200):

Mac Mighty 8" & Mac Mighty Paring

Misono UX10 210-240mm Shun Classic 3 1/2" Paring

Global 8" Cooks, any of the above paring

 

Expensive (300-????):

Ryusen Blazen

Hattori KD

Murray Carter/Bob Kramer/ other custom knife makers

many many more

 

^(This list was influenced by many knifeheads and an Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward)

 

Sites/Stores to check:

 

www.epicureanedge.com

www.korin.com

www.japanesechefsknife.com

www.japanwoodworker.com

 

All these guys are always willing to help and answer any questions you may have about any of their products and will do their best to cater to your specific wants/needs

 

Keep in mind these are just a few, there are lots of great knives out there that won't break that bank! Contact me if you have any specific questions or check out www.knifeforums.com , these guys know everything there is to know and too much you don't need to know!

 

PPS I did work for Vector/Cutco: there is a reason that we had to go door to door to sell them, and its not because they are an exclusive or super magic knife, All my Cutcos are now sitting in my garage waiting to be stolen so I don't have to deal with hitting myself for getting them. Yes it is nice to have a knife to cut through leather, but how often do you cut through leather in the kitchen? (If you own a cutco knife don't be offended, for many people this knife is satisfactory or exceptional)

 

PPSS: If you want a one knife do everything type deal and aren't intimidated by the size, a chinese cleaver is also a great way to cover a lot of ground (they use it in chinese restaurant kitchens for almost everything, the exception being bone, they use a bone cleaver for that), and is even safer than other knives if used with proper pinch and claw technique as well, check out CCK cleavers, and the standard Dexter-Russell that you can pick up relatively cheaply at any restaurant supply store... or forage your local Asian Market

 

Another interesting thing to check out if you have too much time: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/129/Chefs-Knives-Rated