Knives

henapple

My knives are crap but with all my cave improvements I can't drop the cash on Shuns. Any affordable but good knives. I can start buying one at a time if need be. Thanks.

Eggcelsior

Economical and good quality?

Forschner(swiss army knife guys). Probably not a better bang for your buck.

Otherwise, get a really good Chef's knife(depends on if you want Japanese or German/European-style) and Forschner or Lamson secondary knives(paring, boning).

travisstrick

Victorinox Fibrox FTW

fishlessman

ginsu actually makes a high end knife, been using one for two years now and ive never had to resharpen it. its extremely sharp with a 10 degree japanese bevel. has a big comfortable handle, only complaint i could have is that its a little light in the hand but thats not much of a problem
http://www.myshopkart.net/staubtv/product_info.php?cPath=2631909_2631922&products_id=52995302

yzzi

These may be worth a shot: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/silver-visions-7-1-2-heavy-weight-silver-plastic-knife-50-pack/130SVKNF50.html

Raymont

I have your standard Henckels International, they do the job just fine. I now sharpen myself and they are awesome when razor sharp. I would recommend..

http://www.amazon.com/J-A-Henckels-International-Forged-18-Piece/dp/B00375MLSY/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1379429453&sr=1-5&keywords=henckels+knives

 

nolaegghead

My go-to knife for veggies is $21. 

http://www.amazon.com/Ginsu-Chikara-Japanese-Cleaver-7100/dp/B001FB56DO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1379429801&sr=8-8&keywords=ginsu+chikara

RAC

travisstrick said:

Victorinox Fibrox FTW

+1

I purchased 1 a couple of weeks ago and liked it so much I purchased 3 more last week. Ordered mine from amazon

williamadamsesq

I have a gude boning knife and found a palm small chef's knife. The gude was $40 at Lehman's, but the palm was a steal for $6 at tj maxx

rcone

Just go with dexter russells. It is hard to spend more then 25 bucks on one knife; they will come in any size you would like, razor sharp from the factory, sharpens well, and dishwasher safe. I have had them for years in my restaurants, and still have my original set. 

Chris_Wang

We also went Victorinox with the fibrox handles on Amazon a few weeks back.

12" Granton edge slicing knife and the 6" semi-stiff boning knife are fantastic.

Lit

I am a knife snob maybe but wouldn't use any of the knives mentioned above (maybe the ginsu fishless recommended because I know he's a knife person) I would also never put a steel to my knives either though as many recommend since most steels are 500 grit and if that sharpens your knife just get a butter knife cause thats how sharp your your knives are. I would say get the tojiro 210mm WA gyuto off chefknivestogo.com for $69 its a real entry level knife. Learning to sharpen your knives is more important than the knife you have.

Chris_Wang

I know @Lit is right as far as better knives out there, but the reviews of the Victorinox knives were 5 stars on Amazon (I know, nerd). For the price, they seem to be just fine. One of these days I'll splurge for a $100+ knife...

Lit

I used a victorinox cimeter at a butchers shop recently and it wasn't bad but my chef knives were sharper than the butchers knives were. I have a 5" calphalon santoku that I use when camping that I changed the angle on and sharpen to 60,000 grit and its super sharp but only stays sharp for so long due to how soft it is. For $15 its sharper than new shuns for several uses but the shuns will stay sharper longer. For $50 and a little practice you can get a king 1000/6000 grit stone and sharpen your existing knives to shave your arms.

MaskedMarvel

I paid a professional knife sharpener $3 to bring back the blade on my wine tool (waiter/bartender here - today I opened 49 bottles of wine). I couldn't use it for a few days. Cut the hell out of myself, but no grip to the edge. It slipped right off the capsules. Something to be said for the rougher edges..

I have a few knives from the old days when I worked a line in a kitchen. The one I use the most is the 6" sandwich knife from Wustof. Sur La Table has them for $70 right now on sale. Mine is 22 years old. I also use a white handle 8" dexter russel sani-safe, a white handle Serco 8", and a black handle F ****.

Shuns are sharper, hold an edge longer, are higher quality, elegant display pieces, and guaranteed for life. For life. I broke the tip off mine, shipped it back to them, and they fixed it and sent it back to me. For free. Sharpened and polished up. They're heirloom knives. Every guy in a professional kitchen around me who is serious about food uses them. Worth the extra cabbage up front, IMHO.


As Lit said - a great edge and sharpener can really make a regular knife great.


Good luck !!

txav8r

My ex had a cutco set when we married 35 years ago. I didn't keep her or the knives but for 12 years. Been married to my perfect wife (2nd) for 22 years. Told her about Cutco way back when we saw Cutco at a home show. They are among the top end knives and you can buy one or a set. The guarantee and warranty are second to none, they will sharpen or replace, and they will be handed down to your kids. Check em out.

Eggcelsior

@Lit, do you strop yours or just hone it on the 6000? I am about to snag the Takeda so I plan on investing in stones vs. going to my knife place to sharpen.

Raymont

I personally hone with the 1000/6000. I have a strop also but haven't yet found it improves over the 6000. Still learning but I was able to get some stones on amazon for decent price and pleased I did it. It's part of the Egging lifestyle.

gdenby

I've been a satisfied customer several times shopping at Chef Knives To Go. They offer everything from spectacular high end 1 off artisanal knives to the very serviceable Victorinox. Take a look at the house line Richmond Artifex. I have just a paring knife, but it takes and holds an edge as well as blades that cost 3 times more. If you are comfortable working w. carbon steel blades, they also carry several brands of Japanese knifes at a similar price. Neither look as classy as a Shun, but perform as well.

travisstrick

Eggcecior, please give this sharpener serious thought. It's what I have and I can't recommend it highly enough.

http://www.edgeproinc.com/Apex-4-kit-p7.html

pkaboo1

victorinox, best bang for the buck.

shun is the sharpest I have used, pricey though.

stlcharcoal

I have a whole drawer full of Wusthof's, but I reach for the Victorinox Chef's knife most of the time.  Wusthof makes great paring and bread knives.

My Kyocera ceramics knives get used a lot on fruits and veggies.  Victorinox makes some serrated steak knives that I use for tomatoes, grapes, etc.

Long story short, do NOT buy a block/set......buy individual knives and make your own set.  Amazon is your friend on this.

 

fishlessman

Lit said:

I am a knife snob maybe but wouldn't use any of the knives mentioned above (maybe the ginsu fishless recommended because I know he's a knife person) I would also never put a steel to my knives either though as many recommend since most steels are 500 grit and if that sharpens your knife just get a butter knife cause thats how sharp your your knives are. I would say get the tojiro 210mm WA gyuto off chefknivestogo.com for $69 its a real entry level knife. Learning to sharpen your knives is more important than the knife you have.

that model ginsu has a vg-1 core, compared to the expensive shun with the vg-10 core its just a slight step down in steels. holding the two you can feel that the ginsu is lighter, but the blade is thin, 10 degrees on the bevel, and that makes for sharp.  using it on a good board it will last along time, just dont nick it, that thin 10 degree bevel does look fragile but so far its stood up for me. i dont get using the steels either and they would ruin a japanese beveled knife anyways

Eggcelsior

travisstrick said:

Eggcecior, please give this sharpener serious thought. It's what I have and I can't recommend it highly enough. http://www.edgeproinc.com/Apex-4-kit-p7.html

I am aware of the edge pro. The issue with it is the bevel angle it can achieve. The lowest an edge pro Apex can get is 10 degrees. The Takeda is 7 degrees so I would have to go with the Professional version and that is a BIG step up cost-wise.

travisstrick

Totally valid criticism. The sharpest I go is about 18 degrees. My school of thought is working edge vs the sharpest.

I would like to cut some stuff with a 7 degree edge though. I bet its amazing.

Z_Eggineer

Victorinox is the best value knife IMO.  I LOVE their chef knife and set of paring knives on Amazon.  Got a very large chef's knife and 3 different paring knives for < $40 last year.  They come out of the box sharp.  They are also easy to keep clean and shiny.  I recommend getting them sharpened every 9-12 months.

One day when I have finished remodeling and taken care of some other maintenance, I will get nice forged knives.

I do not like cutco at all.  I tried using a friends nice sharpening kit, but am not great at it even after practicing on lots of old knives I was going to give away.  Will now be using local sharpening service.

nolaegghead

15-20 degrees per side is a good range for culinary knives.  Any less than that you're going to start rolling over the metal, or if it's a really hard alloy, chipping it.

Lit

Eggcelsior said:

@Lit, do you strop yours or just hone it on the 6000? I am about to snag the Takeda so I plan on investing in stones vs. going to my knife place to sharpen.

 

I use my 6000 mainly for sharpening and sometimes hone. I have the hone american stropping system with several different pads and the .5 micron and 1 micron stropping paste with a bovine leather strop for the final strop. I usually just hit them with a leather strop between uses and every couple uses I will hone them with a couple passes on the 1 micron then .5 micron pads. The water stones have to soak for 10 minutes or so before they are ready and the loaded pads are ready to go always so they are easier. I probably sharpen twice a year and hone with the 6000 maybe 4 times a year. Once the stone is soaked and ready to go I can sharpen 6 knives through 1,000, 6,000, 30,000, 60,000, and final strop in 20 minutes or so. They use the hone american stropping base on some of the videos on chef knives to go and it is nice but not an essential. The 6,000 grit is plenty so keep your knives shaving sharp.

gdenby

nolaegghead said:

15-20 degrees per side is a good range for culinary knives.  Any less than that you're going to start rolling over the metal, or if it's a really hard alloy, chipping it.

In general, I'd agree. My best knife has a 12 degree per side bevel, as best I can tell, and I've rolled it a little. But I have a pretty cheap Kai "wasabi" single bevel deba, edge 16 degrees total. I use it not for fish, but for cutting away pork skins and some de-boning. No chipping or rolling, just a rather rough edge from my clumsy sharpening attempts. For the cost, I've been pretty happy. No mirror edge, front heavy,  and a plastic handle, but very reliable. Maybe its the way a single edge blade reacts to the force of cutting. Can't go side to side easily.

buddubya

I used to sell Cutco's and they are actually pretty legit. You can sometimes pick some up on eBay. They are way pricey if you buy them new from a salesman but I have had my set for almost 10 years now and they are as good as new. Plus, if you ever happen to break one or need them sharpened all you have to do is ship them back to HQ and they will sharpen for free, and repair or replace for free. Highly recommend. 

http://www.cutco.com/customer/howToBuy.jsp

ReldtiCDN

was looking into these as I already own products from the company and use them often but price has stopped purchase for now.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Bob Kramer Euroline Carbon Collection Santoku Knife