Knife Question

chef chef chef

santokus look cool (i bought one), and sure, stuff doesn't stick to them, but they don't roll nice and smooth like a chef's knife does. i don't get such a relief from eggplant not sticking to it that it outweighs the somewhat awkward feel (in my hand)

pick what feels best. ideally, try someone's out.
but i find the santokus have a short curve, then a much straighter section that prevents me from rocking them knife. it sorta starts to rock, and then turns into a chop, when the entire flat edge comes down all at once instead of smoothly rolling along.

if it's your first "real" knife, you might consider the old go-to wusthofs and the like. don't get fancy grips and all, get something that is a prototypical chef's knife. after that you can go nuts with the high carbon japanese stuff, damascus steel, ceramic blades, etc. etc. but by then you'll know what you like and don't like.

save money, too. an 8" chef's knife, and 4" paring knife, are the only knives you NEED. beyond that, it's a bonus. if the house is on fire, and you can only grab one knife, it'd be the 8" chef's knife, i don't care who you are.
hahaha

If you check out the "kitchen" section of the
knifeforums.com, you'll find a lot of folks who are fanatics for Japanese knifes. The upside of the Japanese blades is that they can take an amazing edge, and are faily light. The down side is that most are carbon steel, not stainless, and so require a lot of care.

One style of knife, the gyuto, is very close in shape to a Western chef knife.

Among the European makers, I've heard Messermeister is well regarded. Last week, a fellow I work with was showing of his set of Henckels Twin Signature Series. I found the handle design very nice, and the balance was pretty good. The European blades generally don't hold a really acute edge as well as the Japanese, but, being for the most part stainless, will not corrode if you happen to forget to clean them right after use.

Also, I'd recommend checking around on the net and seeing what lesser known brands are available. Last year I got both my daughters for their weddings a special edition of 3 kitchen knives made by Benchmade. The design, weight and keeness of the blades was really outstanding. There may be other reputable makers offering kitchen knives.

I have a ceramic. It is great, but, f-r-a-g-i-l-e. Light as a feather, razor sharp, and very little sticks to the surface. But after getting a chip after just nicking a chicken thigh bone, I reserve it strictly for making paper thin vegetable slices.

Hoss,

The other thing to think about is, if you can find a chef's or restaurant supply, they usually sell at about 60% of retail. The ones that I go to are open to the public. Nella Cutlery carries most major brands.

Steve

I agree with stike on this (again). Chef's knives just feel better and are more versatile.

I like shun knives. Here is a photo of some of my knives side-by-side so you can get a sense of what stike is saying regarding the roll of the blade.

I also think that a good boning knife is indispensable. I keep the boning knife as the sharpest in the drawer and it is great for removing the silver skin from loins and various other cuts.

From left to right are boning, 8" santoku, 4" paring, and 2 shun chef's knives in 6" and 10".

The 2 dark lines are magnets in the rectangular aluminum base. It is held to the wall by a couple screws and clips. It holds the knives very securely and out of curious little hands in the kitchen and keeps the edges from getting banged up.

My wife got it somewhere. Pretty nifty gadget to have.

an 8" chef's knife, and 4" paring knife, are the only knives you NEED

Yep - what he said.

I have looked at/purchased/tried a variety in the last several years - Shun, Hattori, etc but what I decided on was Henckels Twin Cermax. The handle looks weird but feels nice. They are Japanese powdered steel technology. The only REALLY sharp factory knives I have seen. (And I have seen a LOT of knives)

Spaceman Spiff

PS: Get Chad Ward's "An Edge in the Kitchen" book before deciding. Lot's of good advice.

PSS: Don't use a steel on Japanese knives.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/809833/

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

his book is much expanded version of the above link

http://www.chadwrites.com/

basically a chefs knife, a paring knive and a good bread slicer.. which can then be used to carve roasts..
i am happy with my wusthof classics , i have an expanding collection of japanese steel including 2 shuns.. beware japanese steel including shun is very brittle and will not take the abuse that a german knife will

i have them in a block, but resting blade up, rather than cutting into the wood

tried to find a source for regular industrial strip magnets 9as opposed to the fixed length ones on the kinfe holders). might just have to steal them from my dad, who liberated them from his employer 1970 or so

Hoss,

I haven't seen Forschner mentioned. I believe you'll find the brand consistently highly rated by Cooks Illustrated and others, but not as widely embraced by home chefs as other brands. You'll also find that they are much less expensive than German and Japanese knives. It's the brand my cooking mentor uses both personally and in his 3 restaurants.

I also like Global.

As mentioned, ceramics are highly fragile.

As for shapes, I have a block full of knives, but basically only use a few. One that I have recently needed a couple times and don't have is a boning knife.

on topic this guy wwants knives read the replies

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/835826/


magnetic knife block

http://www.benchcrafted.com/

i've seen them like this in a line between cabinets, or at the back of an island. nice idea.

those are actually CHEAPER than the metal rail ones i've seen. very nice idea....

Global. I have 4. Razor sharp and expensive. Forschner are very highly thought of, and a whole lot cheaper.

Before I buy any knife I would hold it in my hand to see how it fits the palm and also to see if you like the balance.

Also Cook's Illustrated rates knive as does Fine Cooking magazine and it is surprising to see that it is not always the most expensive that wins top honors.