[Need] Knives for choppity chopness

S

shadow skill

Veteran XV
Well recently I've gotten into the whole wanting to learn how to cook. (Thank you TW for giving me a starting place <3 ) Anyways, I've been preening some of the threads that a lot of you guys make and I've notice that many of you have really nice knives. What kind of knives would you guys recommend?

I figured if anyone could help me out, it would be the TW cooking experts. :sunny:
 
wow that's a whole can of worms.

Cook's Illustrated recommends getting cheap 8" stamped Victorinox/Forschner in French Chef.

I personally use a Forged Messermeister 10" in French Chef's.
Other knives in my quiver I use a lot are a 10" Slicer by Messermeister, I'll use this to fillet fish too since its pretty flexible. A 6" Boning knive by Forschner and a few paring knives (One's in a santoku shape and the others a traditional). I've also got a Chinese Meat Cleaver and my wife has a 8" Global Chef's Knife (I don't like it since its to light for me and I don't like the narrowness of the spine).

The other thing is learn how to properly sharpen a knife! It doesn't matter how nice a knife is if its dull and constantly taking it in to a store to sharpen it is expensive. I learned a lot by reading this post and I keep my knives sharp.

eG Forums -> Knife Maintenance and Sharpening

Good luck in the fun world of cooking!
 
Forschner is the best of the 'cheap' brands. It's what I used when I first started cooking professionally. From there it's all about personal feel. I really don't like Global knives larger than a paring knife. I prefer more substantial french knives, Shun makes some really nice ones. German knives tend to be a bit heavier, which can be nice depending on how you use it. Go into a cooking store and try out some various knives, then go online and find them cheaper.
 
i get knives from a kitchen supply warehouse in the area for ~$30

they actually sell NSF certified knives with real handles now (not just that weird plastic shit), so they look normal, too.

they're heavy, thick steel and easy to sharpen. i think the blades are made by greban. either way, spending a lot of money on a knife after using these makes no sense to me. they do a great job and i don't have to worry about them.
 
doggor said:
wow that's a whole can of worms.

Cook's Illustrated recommends getting cheap 8" stamped Victorinox/Forschner in French Chef.

I personally use a Forged Messermeister 10" in French Chef's.
Other knives in my quiver I use a lot are a 10" Slicer by Messermeister, I'll use this to fillet fish too since its pretty flexible. A 6" Boning knive by Forschner and a few paring knives (One's in a santoku shape and the others a traditional). I've also got a Chinese Meat Cleaver and my wife has a 8" Global Chef's Knife (I don't like it since its to light for me and I don't like the narrowness of the spine).

The other thing is learn how to properly sharpen a knife! It doesn't matter how nice a knife is if its dull and constantly taking it in to a store to sharpen it is expensive. I learned a lot by reading this post and I keep my knives sharp.

eG Forums -> Knife Maintenance and Sharpening

Good luck in the fun world of cooking!
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nice link thanks

btw what about this set Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Kit
 
I know it's cliche, but I have a set of Henckels knives. I bought them for about $150 in 2000 and they have lasted without an issue since. I have honed them many times (practically every time I cook) and I have sharpened them once using a motor diamond sharpener, which did an okay job.

I recently added a Henckels santouku knife. I'm not sure why guys are so apeshit about these knives. Most of my prep work involves chopping, and a full-sized chef knife is way better than then santouku for that. I know, I'm ignorant, but I make a pretty good stir-fry.
 
henckels has a shitty version and a good version of their knives

one dude on the blade = shit

two dudes on the blade = good

which ones do you have
 
I like my shun 8" chef's knive and would recommend buying one.

I got that and then a pairing and boning knife at a local restaurant supply warehouse for like $20. They work wonderfully.
 
i use wusthof ikons

i also have a set of wusthof grand prix II's lying around. they were great. i got the ikons because it was a really good deal :shrug:

you don't need a full block set. 1 chef's, 1 slicing, 1 paring. get a cheapo bread knife if you cut a lot of bread, no reason to get a $100 bread knife. i have a santoku because i cut a lot of veggies real thin and it makes it easier, but you don't need that either.
 
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butters said:
I like my shun 8" chef's knive and would recommend buying one.

I got that and then a pairing and boning knife at a local restaurant supply warehouse for like $20. They work wonderfully.
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Werd, I love my 8" Shun Chef. I find it perfect for most things. With proper honing i only have to sharpen it once every two months or so with my wet stone.
I've been thinking about getting a santoku for prep work
 
I am a Shun knife lover.

I have the 8" chefs
a ken onion santoku (my favorite knife)
and a ken onion 10" chefs

I was thinking about getting a set with a block to get the rest of the peeling knives (etc)

but uh, that's been delayed a little now.
 
nigafool said:
i get knives from a kitchen supply warehouse in the area for ~$30

they actually sell NSF certified knives with real handles now (not just that weird plastic shit), so they look normal, too.

they're heavy, thick steel and easy to sharpen. i think the blades are made by greban. either way, spending a lot of money on a knife after using these makes no sense to me. they do a great job and i don't have to worry about them.
Click to expand...

I like my weird plastic handles :) Actually it does make them look a bit ghetto but they are functional as hell and easy to maintain.

iphonepics101.jpg
 
I am a Global man myself - I have the 12 inch Chefs forged knife, cheese knife, pairing -

Also recently I got 2 other Japanese knives, not sure the name of the smith as it is in Japanese, but one is a regular forged press pairing knife - the other is a hand made slicer, wicked piece of metal, sharpest thing I have ever seen, you can see all the hammer marks and how he folded the steel - made from some 800 y/o Japanese knife/sword maker...wasnt cheap either at like $240 - but easily the sharpest thing I have seen to date.
 
nigafool said:
henckels has a shitty version and a good version of their knives

one dude on the blade = shit

two dudes on the blade = good

which ones do you have
Click to expand...

These were bought in 2000, and were called the Classic set back then. They're equivalent to today's Professional S line. They are made in Spain. I have had them so long the dudes have worn off :)

They're seriously okay knives. I think it's about time I passed them on to a nephew or something, and upgrade.
 
"functional" is all fine but a knife that slides through anything you put it up against is pure awesome.

I've used the "no name" knives in kitchens and yes indeed they do work, and so do knockoffs and low grade knives (like henckels) and yes you can make up for the lack of quality of the blade or the edge on it.

but if you haven't really used a good knife you have no idea

:sunny:
 
I took a couple "cheaper" blades to get sharpened professionally. They have worked well for about 10 months as long as I hone them with each use. They really go through anything just as well as some high-end knives I have used. I'm not sure what the advantage of the expensive knife is.
 
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gigafool:
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