Help! Please educate me on *knives*...

BigGreenDon

I know that what I have around the house is woefully inadequate, but other than that -- I really do not know squat about knives.

I like to buy quality: stuff that will do the job well, and last...

...and I just scored $550 in Williams-Sonoma gift cards (and they appear to have a sale going).

If you had *no* quality knives, what would you get at W&S with these cards?

Don

Richard Fl

Nice Gift from W/S. Before I would spend the gift cards, I would try and get to a W/S and feel the knives and see how they feel to you. I have Henckels 4 star, oriental sushi sets, inexpensive carbon steel and a few other strays. but has taken me 20 years to get to this point. I buy what feels good in the hand and I think I "need"?

Looking at the W/s knife page, I would consider the following:
Shun 10 piece $699 may have to add a little to the gifts certs.
Global 6 piece $495,
Shun Ken onion $399
or the Shun Kaji $429.

There are many choices as I am sure others will talk about. Happy Holidays.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cutlery/knife-sets/?cm_type=gnavo

field hand

Congrats on the gift cards. As stated in the previous post, there are many good knives available. We've had a set of Henckels for 20+ years. Been great knives and easy to maintain a good edge, IMHO. I would recommend these to anyone. Good luck.

Barry
Marthasville, MO

emilluca

Gosh I have never paid more than $10.00 for a knife. I would go to your closest meat shop and get them to order you a knife that they use to earn a living .
A Giesser 6 inch curved boning knife and a 10 inch steak knife in stainless steel is the last I got. Works great and sharpens easily with a wet stone from Harbor freight.
Emil

BobS

Personally, I recommend you buy selected knives of your preferred design instead of a set.

You definitely need a good chefs knife, one or two good paring knives, and a good slicing knife.

MakoBBQ

See the post just below your post from TNmike...he got a nice shun set...I have the shun 8 inch chef and a shun 8.25 yanagiba...very very sharp...

cdnewman

You "need" a good chef's knife and a shorter knife for delicate work. Either a paring or a very short deba. A big serrated knife is nice for bread/tomatoes/etc. But buying an expensive serrated blade is a waste, so don't get one from WS.

But start with the chef's knife. Make them get 'em all out and take a few whacks at a cutting board. Once you find one you like, ask how much it costs. Buy it, then use what money is left over on a matching paring knife or deba, a nice, heavy wooden cutting board and some way to sharpen the knives. If you have money left over, buy whatever fancy specialized knife speaks to you.

CONSIGLIEREG8R

SHUN!

Moocowtex

Back in the day, I worked my way through college in a cutlery store. I think everyone here has given good advice, the best being don't buy a "set" so much as individual knives you will need. The other being just see what feels best in your hand. Kind of like a pair of shoes will feel really different to different people, so will a knife in your hand.

Moocowtex

Back in the day, I worked my way through college in a cutlery store. I think everyone here has given good advice, the best being don't buy a "set" so much as individual knives you will need. The other being just see what feels best in your hand. Kind of like a pair of shoes will feel really different to different people, so will a knife in your hand.

civil eggineer

I have had a set of Victorinox Fibrox knives for some time and really like them. Although they are less expensive ($150/set) then the top brands, they consistantly are rated highly for their value. They have held their sharpness well although I am very carefull on how they are handled. I believe they are "stamped" blades but for the money, an eggcelent value!

DynaGreaseball

I have a Henckels 4 Star 8 inch Chefs. It's my workhorse, and it has a bolster at the heel of the blade which I have gotten used to feeling with my fingers and thumb, and I feel like it grips better than other knives. But, I couldn't stand not owning a Classic Shun, so I rationalized by convincing myself that I needed a 10 inch Chefs Knife, and I bought one. Well, it doesn't have a bolster, and I'm still trying to get used to its feel. I'm getting better and better with it, but I have to admit I use it mostly for just looking at. The damaskus steel blade is beautiful, and it's as sharp as a razor. An 8 inch Chef's is probably all one really needs in the home kitchen. There are as many opinions about which knives to buy in here as there are members. Have fun discovering which ones are best for you. Oh, for what it's worth, I agree with the sentiment that you shouldn't buy a set. Buy one at a time with lots of experimentation. My next knife will be a paring knife. I love my Henckels Chef's knife, but my Henckels paring won't hold a sharp edge for long...I don't like it. Good luck.

DynaGreaseball

If I can remember how to post a pic, here's my new cutting board which I made this past summer, and my prize Shun 10 inch Chefs...



Hard to see the beautiful damacus steel in this pic.

Hoosier

Not to hijack the thread, but I'd be very curious to know how you made the cutting board. Any links/pics/info?

DynaGreaseball

Not at all. I was fascinated by this project when I saw it at the following web site. I had to watch it several times to understand all the flipping and grain direction. He makes it look easier than it is, by the way...


http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-7-a-cut-above-part-1/

Capt Frank

WS is a major dealer for Wustoff Knives. They are a great choice, comparible to Henckles and not nearly as expensive as the Shun line. I don't necessarily agree with the others about buying sets because [a]. Sets are often on sale and you get more for your money, you get a nice storage block to keep your knives [nothing worse than throwing an expensive knife in a drawer full of utinsels], and [c] I have have a Henckles Pro-S set and I use every knife in the block.
Bottom line, WS does not sell junk knives, so you probably can't go wrong.
Capt. Frank