Choosing a Knife

dldawes1

I've read a million posts here on knife selection. Like everything....lots of info/ lots of opinions.  My question is how to choose a knife that will "feel right". I have an old butcher knife with worn blade and wooden handle....that is my favorite right now. I also have Pampered chef "junk" that I hate the feel of. Is there a place to "test drive" a knife to see if I like it ????

I am looking for a knife to slice cooked meat ( brisket/PTL, etc) after it is cooked.

As always, thanks in advance,

Donnie

henapple

You've opened Pandora's knife box.

berndcrisp

There are lots of opinions on this topic. I think two things matter most, balance and feel. 

Carolina Q

You can see how the knives feel at Williams-Sonoma, or other chains, I'm sure. Or better yet, a larger selection at a decent chef's supply store if you have one nearby. I was considering a Shun Ken Onion chef knife a while back. Went to W-S and it took me about 10 seconds to realize it felt awful in my hand!! For me anyway. Looks cool though.

porta

William Sonoma to try em' and Amazon to buy em'. After purchasing you will be affiliated with either the East Side or the West Side.

buzd504

Whatever you're comfortable with is most important.

A little bit non-standard, but I use the Masahiro stainless series (http://www.knifemerchant.com/products.asp?productLine=42).  The slicers are really nice.  I really like the Japanese steel.

TUTTLE871

+1 go to Williams Sonoma and feel them all. They even offer you a cutting board and a lemon to cut if you like. I bought the Henckel 4 stars about 11 years ago and they haven't failed me yet.

Lit

I choke up on a knife when I use it so handle doesn't matter much. I usually stick with WA handles though as once you get used to them they are very similar and many good knives to choose from with WA handles. Shuns are nice but there are better options out there at cheaper prices even. As I state on every knife thread you need to learn to sharpen your knives or the best knife will be worthless in a couple months.

Eggcelsior

porta said:

William Sonoma to try em' and Amazon to buy em'. After purchasing you will be affiliated with either the East Side or the West Side.

Agree on Williams Sonoma, disagree on on Amazon. W-S has a satisfaction guarantee that Amazon cannot compete with. It's worth the few extra dollars you spend to know you can get your money back once you use it.

Little Steven

Carolina Q said:

You can see how the knives feel at Williams-Sonoma, or other chains, I'm sure. Or better yet, a larger selection at a decent chef's supply store if you have one nearby. I was considering a Shun Ken Onion chef knife a while back. Went to W-S and it took me about 10 seconds to realize it felt awful in my hand!! For me anyway. Looks cool though.

Agree on the chef's supply. I nearly bought a couple of shuns based on everyone's opinions. Ended up hating the feel of them and bought Macs

Eggcelsior

OP, if you have a local knife shop, check them out. I have one that beats chefknivestogo.com usually.

Otherwise, chefknivestogo.com is the best place to buy a knife online. Mark Richmond knows his stuff and provides fantastic customer service. I have one knife(Sakai gyuto) from him and one from my local place. They beat him by 25 bucks on my Kikuichi utility knife.

dldawes1

I knew you all would come through !!!!!

@ HENAPPLE....I knew I was opening the Pandora's knife box !!!!!!!!!!  I could tell from the many posts I searched through before asking. But I couldn't figure out where else to turn.

I will proceed to find a W-S to visit.

Thanks forum, you're the greatest !!!!!

Donnie

fishlessman

for me the fit of the knife is more important on knives that get used the majority of the time like on a chef knife, my slicer doesnt get used too much and that fit isnt as important as the blade. i have three knives i use for slicing, all have uniform straight handles, one is oval shaped, one is D shaped, one is an old wood handle with flat sides, all work fine for a slicer

laserdoc85

To many to pick from. I said screw it and bought a couple of Shun's. Yes they are sharp like all knives the final out come is the same,,,,,they cut. I picked the shuns because I thought the blades looked cool

stantrb

Try them. Buy what feels good. Spend once. LEARN TO MAINTAIN.

stantrb

Addendum: A good knife is your most important cooking tool. It's the most important thing in your kitchen. Be sure you're satisfied; nothing ruins food and fingers like a sub par knife.

gdenby

Maybe just keep the old butcher knife. Take it to a competent sharpener to restore the edge if is not super beat up. Oil the handle. Pitch the Pampered Chef, or use it for sharpening practice.

However, butcher knives are generally not the best for slicing cooked meats. I know a number of people who use them as their primary knife, but it seems to me that is because they are the most substantial blade they have, and it can take a lot of abuse.

When I became interested in getting better knives, I found that I had become used to blades without much "belly." German style knives with a big curve to the edge just felt clumsy to me. Also, I had only ever had plain wood handles, or standard "Western" style handles. Handles with lots of curves, or that were not in line w. the blade spine were unpleasant to use.

I'll suggest that you dabble a bit by buying some decent but not too expensive knives of various styles. Once you find shapes that work for you, then consider dropping more money on knives w. better steel and more finely finished handles.

MaskedMarvel

Why is my post not showing up?

EDIT - My post got lost to the "Approval Limbo" deity...

I orginially mentioned that I choose Shun blades for their quality and lifetime sharpening and guarantee.  I broke the tip off a knife and sent it in - they fixed it so we couldn't tell it had been damaged at all.

The restaurant where I work - all the kitchen guys use Shun knives.  They hold up in even harsh commercial conditions and are sharper than German ground blades.

Eggcelsior

MaskedMarvel said:

Why is my post not showing up?

Uh, I see it.

MaskedMarvel

Eggcelsior said:

MaskedMarvel said:

Why is my post not showing up?

Uh, I see it.

Yeah.  My first post was a few hours ago...  Sorry for the confusion there.

Botch

Quote:  William Sonoma to try em' and Amazon to buy em'.

 

You know, if enough people do this it won't take long before you can't try out anything anymore, because no local brick-n-mortar stores will exist.  And this goes for knives, TVs, books, musical instruments, etc.  I know its tempting to save a couple bucks by ordering from some robotized delivery system out-of-state, but that's a world I don't really want to live it (and I admit, I'm guilty of it myself; already there's no place locally where I can browse through, say, a jazz CD section).  

If you try out some knives at a Williams-Sonoma, and like them, buy them there; please?  

dldawes1

Any comments on this one......I haven't "put my hands on it yet, but plan to see it this weekend at WS.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/shun-haru-hollow-ground-santoku-knife/?pkey=ccutlery-warehouse-sale&cm_src=cutlery-warehouse-sale||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

 

 

 

 

fishlessman

dldawes1 said:

Any comments on this one......I haven't "put my hands on it yet, but plan to see it this weekend at WS.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/shun-haru-hollow-ground-santoku-knife/?pkey=ccutlery-warehouse-sale&cm_src=cutlery-warehouse-sale||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

 

 

 

 

i thought you were looking for a slicing knife, this is a slicer, the round edge is for slicing then serving the cooked product like brisket or a roast etc

this site isnt letting my links come thru, a slicer is a long straight knife with a round dull tip

dldawes1

@ FISHLESSMAN....I'm still learning........

Thanks,

Donnie