What kinda knives do you use??

Focker

Mattman3969 said:

I never was that crazy about about brands or names ........ Until I was buzzed one night and shopping Amazon and I bought some Guy Fieri knives and absolutely love them. The cost escapes my head and would prolly hurt if I looked it up but these things are awesome

Nice set, they are solid knives.  My parents gifted me the Guy's chef's knife.  Thought at first it would be a POS, but it acutally surprised me.  Brother felt the same way.  Reviews on amazon are good for his knives too.  Comes with a nice sleeve for travel/fests.

SmokinDAWG82

I have a bunch of Wustoff that I've collected over the years. Very happy with them

billyray

Shun Classics and my 50 year old Forschners, from my meat cutting days.

Hokie_Smoker

travisstrick said:

I have a set of J.S Henckel Pro S. I dislike them. 

I recently bought a one of THESE. I prefer the Jap style better. 

 

Travis, what do you like better about this style?  I remember VI suggested this one a year or so ago, the reviews are good and you and VI seem to know a lot about sharpening knives whereas I don't, can I keep this knife sharp with a cheapo sharpener or do I have to buy one of those $300 knife sharpening kits?

 

 

tamu2009

Wouldn't trade my Wusthof Classics. We looked at those, Global and Shun.

I liked the Global's, but they were REALLY light and didn't feel right and the Shun's were a little out of our price range.

gdenby

Hokie_Smoker said:

travisstrick said:

I have a set of J.S Henckel Pro S. I dislike them. 

I recently bought a one of THESE. I prefer the Jap style better. 

 

Travis, what do you like better about this style?  I remember VI suggested this one a year or so ago, the reviews are good and you and VI seem to know a lot about sharpening knives whereas I don't, can I keep this knife sharp with a cheapo sharpener or do I have to buy one of those $300 knife sharpening kits?

 

 

Not to speak for those fellows, but here's what I can offer. There's a Spyderco item called the Sharpmaker that goes for around $50 - 60 that will do the job w. just a little practice. You won't get a mirror finish edge, or make any degree bevel that pushes the blades envelope, but then again, its not designed for a $1K knife.

Depending on how much a blade like the Travis mentions gets used, it might only need to be really sharpened 1 time a year, altho' frequent honing is in order. Plenty of superb sharpening services receive mailed orders, and are quite reasonable. I would also expect any reasonably good local sharpening service to handle the job. Just specify 15 degree bevel per side, down to at least 1200 grit.

The bigger problem, for me, is learning to treat hard carbon knives the right way. While harder, and able to take and hold a very keen edge, they can corrode very quickly. Likewise,they can chip more easily. I spent most of my life using kitchen knives that were never meant to be very sharp, and were designed to be tossed into a sink or a drawer. While I was always more careful than that, I don't yet have the habit of wiping my blades clean right after or during use, depending on how acidic the foods are I am cutting.

Part of the style is the blade profile. The average Japanese chef's knife had much less "belly" that the predominantly German style Western knives. They are good for push or pull cuts, instead of a rocking chop. (Let's not talk about how serrated edges cut). For fine control, I like a flatter belly. (unless its a Chinese cleaver, in which case I'm as clumsy as w. an ax.) The keener edge makes paper thin slices much easier.

Eggcelsior

Like @gdenby said, I really enjoy the flatter profile of Japanese knives. It's probably why I typically grabbed my Santoku for most tasks. I went with the SS gyuto so I could "practice" with knife care to be able to move to Carbon Steel knives. I wipe the blade after cutting and keep a towel right next to my board. Buying a knife is like buying an Egg. There is more to it than just the grill itself. Learning proper cutting skills and knife care/sharpening will greatly impact the longevity of your knife, as well as the quality of your cutting and safety. Just like learning to cook to temp will improve the quality of your food and learning to "burp" the egg will impact the longevity of your arm hair.

Lobsterbake

Wusthof Classic Ikon & Shun Classic - Wusthof for everything but slicing. The Shuns are sharper in my opinion. Mark

Lit

The big green egg knives are made by the same company as the guy fieri. I held some at eggtoberfest the feel of the knife was similar to the shun onion line. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A6D6W76/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

bo31210

Wushtof   As I get older I try to buy things that will outlast me.    The 8 inch chef knife is a kitchen workhorse.

Leviticus

Henkels Four Star. FYI, Henkels has made entry into Target, Etc. with a lower quality line recently. Avoid those (I have several Santokus in this line - they are decent, but nothing like my 4 stars, which I believe are made in Europe.)

MaskedMarvel

I get my new knives now from my local Asian store - super cheap, sharp, and they hold an edge.

Optiontrader

Sm62577 said:

I use Cutco knives,,,very good quality..

+1 on Cutco.  I've had mine for about 10-15 years, never been sharpened and still going strong.

ptmurphy

I use a Wustoff Classic 8-inch chef's knife - love it.

Also have a set a JA Henkels that has steak knives, another chef's, bread, paring, etc. that I am happy with for daily use.

hondabbq

Wustoff Trident for my run of the house knives and a Glestain 12" and a Glestain "Chicken knife"

Victorinox 12" as well

Knives should be bought becasue they feel good in your hands. I personally dont like most of the Japanese ones as the handles are too small for me. Henckels to me have too thick of a tang and tend to "break or rip" some items that are hard. ie carrots etc. Henkels are a very hard steel and when they get dull they are hard to sharpen at home with rudementary home style sharpeners.  

 

Eggcelsior

hondabbq said:

Wustoff Trident for my run of the house knives and a Glestain 12" and a Glestain "Chicken knife"

Victorinox 12" as well

Knives should be bought becasue they feel good in your hands. I personally dont like most of the Japanese ones as the handles are too small for me. Henckels to me have too thick of a tang and tend to "break or rip" some items that are hard. ie carrots etc. Henkels are a very hard steel and when they get dull they are hard to sharpen at home with rudementary home style sharpeners.  

 

Have you tried any Western-handled Japanese knives?

Lit

People always talk about a knifes feel but when I cut the majority of my hand is on the blade not the handle. The handle barely matters to me I care about the blade.

Little Steven

I bought Globals as my first forray into quality knives. They have been OK but I have replaced most of them with Mac now. I have a few Wustoffs as well.

Botch

When I set up my billion-dollar company and make highest-quality kitchen knife sets for custom-order, you'll be able to order one of 3 different handle sizes based on the size of your hand.  And, more importantly, the handle on the paring knife will NOT be smaller than the handle on the chef's knife; it'll be lighter, to balance the blade, but your hand size doesn't change so why do my current knife handle sizes change?!?!?  

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest!  

 [/rant:]

Charlie tuna

Years ago i had a busy seafood market in South Florida.  I had three full time fish cutters.  Now we had all kinds of very expensive knives in the store, but they would only use cheap soft steel(not stainless steel) knives that i used to order from City Fish Market in New York City.  They would go thru them by the case!!  They liked the fact that they were easy to sharpen, and knew when they hit a bone, which dulled the blade.  But two swipes on the steel and they were right back to full sharpness.  Stainless took too long to re-sharpen. 

AD18

Henckel Professional S.  Very pleased with them.  Sharpen with a Spyderco Sharpmaker.  Like it too. 

Native

Bowie knife. 

flemster

The 10" chef knif from an old Cutco set. An 8" Henkle sanktou. A victronix boning knife. Use a manual sharpener w both European and Japanese sharpening slots.

Eggcelsior

Native said:

Bowie knife. 

SamFerrise

Great Knife!

Owossoegger

I like to use the Pampered Chef knives.  Wifey uses them and lets me use them sometimes.  Im getting my own. they hold a good edge and are quality built.  they look very similiar to the BGE ones.  maybe same company?  I received some free knives from an Omaha steak order.  my credit card could cut meat better than those dull things.

Tomcat225

I have a set of Wusthof classic ikon, which are great after enduring a cheaper set of dept store henckels that we received as a wedding present 18 years ago. I also have a couple of guy fieri that I have been impressed with(santoku and paring)

Andymizunogolfer

We have a large Wusthof that we use for slicing or large cuts. We have kitchen aid for general all purpose knives. I will say that our Kitchen Aid steak knives are pretty good and have stayed sharp for quite a while. Although I handwash them.

travisstrick

Hokie_Smoker said:

travisstrick said:

I have a set of J.S Henckel Pro S. I dislike them. 

I recently bought a one of THESE. I prefer the Jap style better. 

 

Travis, what do you like better about this style?  I remember VI suggested this one a year or so ago, the reviews are good and you and VI seem to know a lot about sharpening knives whereas I don't, can I keep this knife sharp with a cheapo sharpener or do I have to buy one of those $300 knife sharpening kits?

 

 

Sorry for the delayed response.

I like the hard carbon steel. I prefer the balance or the way the knife feels in hand.

For sharpening, I suggest the spyderco sharp maker. It's about $50 and I've used one for years. It comes with a great how to video. You will also need a decent honing steel.

CGW1

Love these blades.....so much I added them to our product line.