Any suggestions for a good knife?

[coobie]

I assume you have to pay the shipping?? That can get expensive and time consuming after awhile.

Lots quicker to take it to the stone a few strokes and be done

That's correct you have to pay shipping.coobie

 

[farmgirl19]

I love my old Henckels set. The chef knife makes easy work of carving. I also agree that Wustof makes great knives.

If you are going to look at Henckels, make sure you get the ones made in Germany. Henckels International isn't worth a dime.

A good set of knives makes it fun to work in the kitchen. Anything less, makes things a chore.

 

[dmccarty]

I'm looking for a high quality knife to carve roasts and poultry. I have a set, can't remember the brand, that's nice that came with it's own block but I often find I like my 40 year old US made wooden handle "Hi Test" carving knife better. But the old girl is getting old so I thought I would look to see what's out there. After a short period of time of looking and I realized that I really don't know much about them. I would think a forged blade would be better than a stamped one. But some blades have a hollow edge. Would a slicing knife be better than a carving knife? What about a Japanese carving or slicing knife? Anyway tell me what you know.

In the future I would like to get a big green egg. So while I do some now I can see myself buying large chucks of cryovaced meat. Right now I use my trusty knife to cut raw meat as well as cooked. Is there a different type of knife used for cutting raw vs cooked? I think the knife I use now is 7", I don't think I would want any smaller.

If the 40 year old knife still works, why replace it?

We have a knife set from Wusthof that works fine and I almost always use the Chef's knife but I will use the carving knife to, well, carve meat. We also have a paring knife but usually I use the Chef's knife. The other knife we do use all of the time is bread knife. I was given a cleaver a few years ago and it is interesting to use but I seldom use it because the handle is too short for me. I might use it more if the handle fit my hand.

Cooks Illustrated just did a review of Chef's knife and their favorite is the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox 8". They have liked this knife for 20 years and it costs $27. They did not review my knife though. Kinda curious what they think about it.

Later,
Dan

 

[/pine]

I prefer older high carbon knives...(just don't put them away wet!)

IMO...a good cutting board or surface is also very important...good knives should not be used to cut food (sandwiches included) on porcelain (plates) or similar materials they are a knife's edge worst enemy...

In a pinch the (unglazed) bottom of a porcelain coffee cup makes a decent hone for dull knives...

If you think your knives are sharp after using a diamond or whatever sharpening system...run them over a leather strop a few times (it removes all the microscopic burrs etc. that hones leave)

 

[teejk]

All we ever used in our meat department were Chicago Cuttlery. That was a long time ago and maybe they aren't as good today but they were a great knife in the day. They got a good edge solely from the sharpening steel. Maybe once a year we sent them out for professional sharpening. We used the wood handle ones until the USDA said we had to go to plastic. We used to cut on wood tables also until they said no to that as well. I find it funny that wood is now acceptable again (apparently the cure was worse than the disease).

A few years ago I ran across one of their fillet knives. It wasn't long before that knife got moved from the tackle box into the kitchen knife block where it is today (it's one of my favorites...long flexible blade that takes and holds an edge).

I have a sharpening steel in the knive block and a few swipes is all I need (often but it is amazing...having grown up cutting meat I probably over do it and to people around me I might look like a ninja warrior). I would recommend you get one of those also and learn how to use it. For that reason I have to say that I don't like the serrated knives that are so popular now. I also got a Tormek wet grinder off of Ebay and when the steel no longer does the job, I take the time to re-grind them although that is rare. Unless you have the need on other stuff (wood chisels, plane irons etc.) you would be better off paying somebody to sharpen them for you once a year or two. It's cheap.

 

[dmccarty]

The knife review in Cooks Illustrated had a few other pieces of information that might be helpful.

The top three winning knives were using x50CrM0V15 alloy steel and all of the knives using x50CrM0V15 or x50CrM0V15 stayed sharpe compared to the knives made from 420 steel. The 420 knives dulled quicker because it is a softer steel.

Japanese knives are sharpened with a 15 degree angle on both sides of the blade. Western knives are sharpened at 20-22 degrees. However, the knives that the magazine liked where sharpened at 15 degrees even though they were Western style knives.

I know there are some Japanese knives that are only sharpened on one side of the blade but I would guess that this is not common.

You need to know which angle the knife is using to properly sharpen.

Later,
Dan

 

[farmgirl19]

I have always used a sharening steel, and wooden cutting board. I think it makes a huge difference in enjoying the knife, as well as protecting the knife.

I have a set of Chicago Cutlery too, but the new stuff doesn't seem as good as the old stuff.

 

[dragoneggs]

I love my old Henckels set. The chef knife makes easy work of carving. I also agree that Wustof makes great knives.

If you are going to look at Henckels, make sure you get the ones made in Germany. Henckels International isn't worth a dime.

A good set of knives makes it fun to work in the kitchen. Anything less, makes things a chore.

Ditto! Exactly right. I bought a set of 4stars in Germany long ago and they are the best knifes I have ever used. Keep them sharpened and honed, stored in a block, and they last forever. Handles are perfectly molded smooth and easy to clean too.

 

[RickB]

Wusthof. Their Classic series has several styles of carving knives. Expensive, but not overly so. Wusthof - CLASSIC Around $100 for the model 4522.

Henckels is a bit overrated now. Plus they have getting blanks from overseas and just finishing them in Germany.

I have a Wusthof Classic. Its the only decent knife in our kitchen.

Wustof is all we buy. Our retailer sharpens them once or twice a year for a very reasonable charge, we touch them up between times.

 

[orezok]

I have Messermeister Meridian Elite knives. Not at all inexpensive, but once a week over my "steel" which is actually ceramic and they are always razor sharp. I've had these for about 8 years and they have never seen any kind of grinding stone.