Good quality knives?

Cookinbob · June 2014

I have also bought several Kuhn Rikon knives which are inexpensive (Under $20), but they come sharp and they sharpen well, are comfortable to use, and see as much use as my Cutco kinves. I take them with me on vacation (ever find a sharp knife in a vacation rental?), and don't shed a tear if I lose one - easily replaced.

The Cutco serrated blades are Very sharp when new, I sliced myself several times. I have now honed the back side of the serrated edge with the 6000 grit on my Work Sharp, and they are as sharp as ever. Cutco is not cheap, and they are sold through a wierd network, but I have never regretted the purchase. I have been to their plant in Olean, NY, it is impressive. The knives are all made here in the USA.

BlackLabLover · June 2014

I love my Cutco! I've had them for almost 20 years now. My aunt and uncle have had their set for over 50 years and still love them. I sent their ultimate set back to the factory for free sharpening around christmas and the set came back sharpened and polished. The knives really are a "forever" set. The guarantee goes with the knife - not with who bought them. Once the knives are factory sharpened a few times, Cutco will replace it with a brand new knife for no charge. I love my Cutco - even have the flatware and some of the waterless cookware...high quality that lasts...effortless cutting!

BlackLabLover · June 2014

Oh, and I use the tri-edge sharpener to clean up the edges occasionally on the "serrated" edges.

jllbms · June 2014

@FanofFanboys, I tried to answer you, but the forum ate my post! "Awaiting moderation", that's new.

jllbms · June 2014

Borrowed from another forum:

... never mind. Can't seem to post it.

Go to www dot cheftalk dot com/t/11067/cutco-knives

gdenby · June 2014

Myself, I don't consider serrated sknives to really be knives. More like small saws. Can be OK for really crusty bread. Not sure why some "tomato" knives are serrated. And sharpening them can be a real pain, if they can be sharpened at all.

But for fine cuts, a straight edge w. a 15 degree bevel per side will produce a cut so fine that apples will take a long time to brown, not minutes, and onions can be cut without tears. After cutting w. a blade that will hold a 15 degree bevel, other knives never even seem sharp.

alabamatom · June 2014

I went with cooks illustrated recommendation & got a 8' Victorinox 5.2063.20. About $40 from Amazon. As good or better than any expensive knife that I have had. Great feel, good for everything from cutting up chicken to mincing parsley. Also got a Chef's Choice Asian knife sharpener (cost more than the knife).

Zmokin · June 2014

SJ21XDC said:

I'm looking for some suggestions on a good quality knife set. The knives in the block set my wife has in the kitchen are terrible and won't hold an edge.

While you might not like sharpening them all the time, there is a desirable quality to a knife that won't hold an edge. They sharpen up quickly and easily. The longer a knife holds a good edge, the longer it takes to sharpen when it loses that edge.

gdenby · June 2014

Geez, I feel like a knife nerd/geek/whatever, but...

In my experience, every knife I've bothered to sharpen starting from .25 cent 2nd hand store blades could take an edge finer than the standard Euro style 20 degrees. The worst of them would not hold that edge for as few as 4 cuts thru pork loin.

My best can be used daily for 6 months or more, and need no more than a hone touch up.

For day to day blades, like my 15 cent steak knives, I have a $3 sharpener that I run the blades thru every use. My beater boning knives I assume I will abuse, and so they are cheap, and I assume I will need to work on them after hacking something apart, which is my level of skill.

But for knives I use in a hurry on a daily basis, and/or for hours at a time on holidays, I use knives that might require 20 min. for a good sharpening every 6 months, but will not need more than a quick steeling/ceramic hone when I'm busy.

To get back to the OP, consider the Kai Wasabi line of Japanese style knives. Also made by Shun's owner, Kershaw. I have one of their debas, which are designed for cutting up bony fish or poultry. Don't know what it is made from, but it has a single edge of 15 degrees. Cuts just about anything, and I've only had one small ding in 5 years. Haven't had a single stain on the blade, and I ground away the ding w. a piece of 400 grit sandpaper sitting on a piece of glass. An amazing tough knife

nolaegghead · June 2014

Knives sharped to 15-17 degrees won't stay sharp long unless the metal is hard enough, and those alloys usually has some undesirable properties, such as brittleness or they may lack corrosion resistance. Shun uses VG10 as a core, which is very brittle, but it's cased in a softer, more flexible metal. A trade off with the more common stainless alloys is softness, and they're cut to a higher angle, 23 degrees thereabout.

Texansurf · June 2014

Wustoff is great set that will also please the wife.

I also buy Dexter knives with the sanisafe handles from the Restaurant Supply Store, these can get deadly sharp, but that is a good thing.
If you are found of going into thrift antique stores you can find some great steel knives. The down side is they are steel will are harder to sharpen, but will hold a razor edge longer. Steel knives also tend to turn black after a while, but this won’t hurt function or sanitization, just appearance.
As mentioned above sharpening is the key and not letting them get dull. Your “Block will dull the edges, if you can get away with it, install a magnetic strip to store the knives on.

Pendejo · June 2014

Carbon steel - white #2. Takes an incredible edge at 15° and a few hits with the steel will bring it right back. Sharpening carbon steel with a stone is much quicker than stainless.

4Runner · June 2014

@FanOfFanboys‌ check your inbox. Please email me. Thx.

SJ21XDC · June 2014

First, I want to thank everyone for all the great info. Based on this info, I think I'm going to put my own set together. I will start with a 8" Chef, 6" utility, and a paring knife, then add as needed. I had to go by Bed Bath & Beyond this morning to get a pizza peel and looked at their knives. They had some ZWILLINGJ.A.Henckels that looked very nice, I believe they were (Pro & four star). They looked to be about the same price & quality (approx. $100 per knife). Does anyone know the difference between these two? How do these rate, compared to the knives mentioned (Cutco, Shun, etc..)?

msloan · June 2014

i have the zwilling cuisine 2's and they they are incredible….i can't speak of the others but i do know that the ones I own i am super happy with.

Skiddymarker · June 2014

Texansurf said:

Wustoff is great set that will also please the wife.

I also buy Dexter knives with the sanisafe handles from the Restaurant Supply Store, these can get deadly sharp, but that is a good thing.
If you are found of going into thrift antique stores you can find some great steel knives. The down side is they are steel will are harder to sharpen, but will hold a razor edge longer. Steel knives also tend to turn black after a while, but this won’t hurt function or sanitization, just appearance.
As mentioned above sharpening is the key and not letting them get dull. Your “Block will dull the edges, if you can get away with it, install a magnetic strip to store the knives on.

Block is OK if the knives are inserted edge up and the block is at an angle. Some blocks are made out of tropical mystery wood which can be death to a fine knife.

GeorgeS · June 2014

I have a set of Henckels that were a wedding present 20 years ago and they are awesome! So good that I haven't been able to bring myself to buy any Shun knives even though they are beautiful and I want one! We did make an addition of two different size Santoku blades made by Henckels as well about 10 years ago.

nolaegghead · June 2014

I'd like to make some new handles for some of my knives. I love the stabilized box elder burl.

FanOfFanboys · June 2014

nolaegghead said:

I'd like to make some new handles for some of my knives. I love the stabilized box elder burl.

that is amazing looking. this fall my goal is to start making my own knives as a hobby.

GeorgeS · June 2014

I took a Blacksmithing class a few weeks ago and he has a class on making different patterned Demascus blanks which I would love to take as well. That handle is beautiful!

mcmac · June 2014

I have a bunch of Shun knives and love them. Very sharp and if taken care of properly they should be with me for a long time. I am fortunate however in that I live in the same neighborhood as the Kershaw company which markets them. Twice a year they have a big sale and I can pick them up for less than half price... My wife hates it when I say I'm going to one of their sales... several hundred dollars later I return home with something I may or may not really need!

Zmokin · June 2014

mcmac said:

Very sharp and if taken care of properly they should be with me for a long time.

With the exception of something extremely cheap & made exceptionally poorly (e.g. the handle falls off), any knife if taken care of should last a lifetime and longer. Just like a good cast iron pan, no reason they can't last generations. Unlike modern appliances with electronics and/or moving parts, a decent knife could & should be able to last centuries.

SJ21XDC · June 2014

FanOfFanboys said:

What is your price range?

I ask because I am a knife fanatic. I spend way too much time on knife forums, I am getting into making my own knives, and I am friends with a couple guys who make custom knives for a living.

If your price range is that of Cutco or the high end knives would find in a place like Williams-Sonoma I highly recommend you look at custom knives. Will be about same price, maybe cheaper. And you get to choose steel type, blade length, handle material, etc. Will have something no one else will have. And you can have made to fit your needs. Can choose quantity and blade type. When you buy a kit that is not option. A lot of benefits.

If you do not want to go custom, which again I cannot recommend enough, then I recommend going to a place like Williams-Sonoma and holding knife in your hand. Don't buy a kit. Because the chef's knife by brand A might be best for you but their paring knife is not comfortable and brand B is better. And you can buy piece by piece 1) as you need 2) as you can afford. And with buying single you don't get knives that you will never or rarely use.

And whether you follow and of the above advice or not, whether you buy Cutco from a kid or a cheap set from Target, the absolute most important thing is keeping them sharpened. The best way to keep a sharp knife is to never let it get dull. One of the best, fool-proof, reliable, and most recommended home sharpeners is the Tr-Angle Sharpmaker by Spyderco. This will not reprofile a knife very well and it is not best for when a knife is already very dull. But if you buy a knife it will be amazing at keeping it sharpened. Couple minutes a week and knives are good to go. Edgepro, strops, or sending to professional best way if knife is already very dull or needs reprofiled.

If you decide to go custom let me know and I can guide you.

I guess since I'm going to build my own set, the price range is $100-200 per knife. I'm not ready to go the custom route yet. I'm new to this whole cooking thing and would like to gain a lot more experience before making a decision on what I actually need. I'm leaning towards Shun or Henckel at this time but will try to actually hold them before I make a final decision.

I will be buying the Tri-Angle Sharp-maker and practice on the crap knives I have.

Thanks for the advice and I will keep you in mind when I get to the point of ordering a custom knife.

hapster · June 2014

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

Thatgrimguy · June 2014

I love cutco. Just had all mine sharpened/repaired or replaced for only $10 (to cover shipping). They are easy to handle, well balanced and cut great.

hapster · June 2014

Have a full set of Cutco that was a wedding gift from the inlaws... I keep them very sharp and they work well

SJ21XDC · June 2014

hapster said:

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

Well, that's not good :(

hapster · June 2014

SJ21XDC said:

hapster said:

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

hapster said:

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

Well, that's not good :(

Not to bad, makes typing on the iPhone a little tough. Happy to know that I got a cheap knife that sharp though...

SJ21XDC · June 2014

hapster said:

hapster said:

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

hapster said:

$10 OXO paring knife did this... I could shave with that little bastard. Didn't even feel it...

Well, that's not good :(
Not to bad, makes typing on the iPhone a little tough. Happy to know that I got a cheap knife that sharp though...

Yep, finger vs any knife not a good match up

Glad you kept you finger tip in tack!

JEC23 · June 2014

I have a mix of Wusthof and unbranded Sabatier knives, as the Sabatier's break they get replaced with Wusthof's.

Good quality knives?

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