Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Knife Advice

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Knife Advice

    We have an old set of Chicago Cutlery knives. I am weighing buying another set vs buying an electrc sharpener. The set is around 10 years old and very dull. We have an old manual sharpener that doesn't work at all. What do you guys think? Our budget is kinda low...

    #2
    Chef's Choice makes some excellent electric sharpeners. I'v been using one of THESE to maintain every knife in the house for years ... Wusthof, Chicago Cutlery, Buck, Gerber, Helle ... you name it. You can literally shave with any of them ...

    Comment


    #3
    Get them professionally sharpened. Sometimes a butcher or the B Dept of a grocery store might do it for you (make sure they know what they are doing, talk to them). After you get them good and sharp & it can be done. Then get a cookie jar & start saving for a nice set. Do your homework cuz there are tons of fabulous cutlery out there. Everybody has their favorite, and I am not going to bore you with my opinion.
    I use a set of wet stones to sharpen mine. You have to develop a touch. Good cutting.

    Comment


    • klflowers
      klflowers commented
      Editing a comment
      Come in, bore me FireMan. The cookie jar was filling up until I got bit by the 22" kettle and SNS bug, now I gotta start all over

    #4
    I realize there is a whole subculture on knife sharpening but you can find a very cheap sharpen for under 10 bucks that will keep thing nice. I am practical and as long as it cuts the meat I am good. I don’t need to shave with them!

    Comment


      #5
      jecucolo I have a cheap sharpener, it worked for awhile and now it doesn't. I guess I could keep getting cheaper ones, but that dread MCS bug has me

      Comment


        #6
        Understand that too!

        Comment


          #7
          I don’t like electric sharpeners. They can wear down a blade fast. Manual sharpeners work fine.

          The secret to keeping a knife sharp is twofold.
          1. Buy quality knifes. If you want to go down a rabbit hole, google "best knife steel". Did you know there are hundreds of alloys? Well there is. Knife fourms are full of heated arguments about why VG-10 is better than 8Cr13MoV, or why something else is better. Suffice it to say that ignoring which is "the best", you can group alloys into "super alloys" (expensive but legendary quality), "very good", "good", "ok...I guess", and "just buy plastic cutlery". Aim for "good" at the very least.
          2. KEEPING them sharp. I run mine through the manual sharpener for a few swipes every use or every other use. It is by far easier to maintain a sharp edge than it is to resharpen something that is as dull as a flat iron.

          a professional sharpening is probably your best bet here. The. Get a decent sharpener and keep em honed.

          If you want to buy more, that’s cool. But here is what I would do BEFORE buying a set, unless it is an expensive set of high quality stuff.

          Pick ONE knife. What do you use most? 8 inch chefs knife? A santoku? Boning knife? Fillet knife? Pick one and plan on dropping a franklin (or more) on it. That should get you into the very good or maybe even super alloy category. Then weep. For you will know what an excellent blade is, and will forever see everything else as cheap garbage.

          Welcome to the bottom of the knife rabbit hole

          Comment


          • SmokeyGator
            SmokeyGator commented
            Editing a comment
            I have seen cutco stuff at shows. It looks ok, but it’s pricy. I’m not sure the premium price matches up with what you get. It is good stuff, just that for that price range there is a lot of good stuff. The steel rabbit hole is very deep. I’m looking for a better carry knife. I have a cheapie now. But I’m almost settled on Boye. Saw it at a boat show, nothing cuts line better.

          • BriggsBBQ
            BriggsBBQ commented
            Editing a comment
            The conclusion I have come on knives are these variables hardness and rust resistance. The harder the blade easier it rust have to coat in oil and harder to resharpen/hone but keeps sharp longer. I prefer the blade on the soft side...easy to hone and never have to mess with oil.

          • SmokeyGator
            SmokeyGator commented
            Editing a comment
            i prefer a harder steel. It holds an edge well and if you don’t go too far isn’t hard to keep honed. But if you want to go nuts, there are very expensive knives you can buy.

          #8
          I had a Chicago Culterly set. They don't hold their edge well. Two things I suggest: 1. Find a knife sharper or dealer. They put on a way better edge than you can sharpen. 2. Consider upgrading to a nicer brand. I bought some wusthof knives. They have a lifetime warranty. My knife guy is dealer. Unless I tried to cut a car. They can swap the knife and give you one off the shelf.

          Comment


          • klflowers
            klflowers commented
            Editing a comment
            Which wustofs did you buy? I like the way the 8" classic looks, does it fit well in your hand? I have pretty big paws.

          • Cheef
            Cheef commented
            Editing a comment
            I'm with Dan on this one. The old Chicagos would sharpen easily and hold an edge. for about 40 years they were the hallmark in every good butcher shop in the country.
            NOTHING beats a japanese water stone to keep a knife in working order. I use a ruby ceramic hone to tune them up.

          • Macktechie
            Macktechie commented
            Editing a comment
            I have an 8 inch Uber classic knife. It was my first knife. It feels nice in the hand. I looked on YouTube on how to hold a knife. You may need to consider a longer knife. This is why I recommend seeing a knife guy. The experience is putting the knife in your hand. Should feel like an extension of your hand.
            Last edited by Macktechie; September 9, 2018, 04:50 AM.

          #9
          I agree with SmokeyGator . Buy one quality knife in the size/shape you use most. Also buy a sharpener. Practice on your old knives, and when you can get them sharp, start on your new knife. Add other good quality knives as you can afford them. And I wouldn't worry about buying the same brand to make a matching set - buy quality.

          Comment


            #10
            Do not buy a sharpener because of the angle, there is not a single one you can buy that will produce the angle it states, there are way to many variables involved. A good whetstone will last you years and is not hard to learn, the harder the steel the better the stone should be

            Comment


            • klflowers
              klflowers commented
              Editing a comment
              I was a boy scout many moons ago, and i learned how to use a whetstone. Alas, I have lost that particular skill - and probably the patience to go with it. There is a knife shop/maker near me though (Frost Cutlery), I have bought so many pocket knives fro them they will probably be happy to help me out with that.

            #11
            Here's a basic set which won't set you back too much and should be of decent quality. You might want to add a 10 inch slicer.

            Comment


            • klflowers
              klflowers commented
              Editing a comment
              gcdmd, I know. I have bought a bunch of knives over the years, including some Cuisinarts. I think I want to follow @smokeygator's advice and get one really good one, but I am scared of what that may lead to...

            • HawkerXP
              HawkerXP commented
              Editing a comment
              We have this set. From where I don't know. Also a cheap manual sharpener. Works well for me.

            #12
            Best advice of all, don’t bring one to a gun fight .....

            Comment


              #13
              I have set of custom knives I had made and they are the cats a$$ not cheap but cheaper than Shun. I have a Victoronix Granton edge slicer and a Victoronix boning knife. Both are excellent and on the lower end of the price spectrum. I would not hesitate to buy anything Victoronix. At the price you pay they last a long time and can be replaced easily.

              Comment


              #14
              I knowed this wood happen. There is an encyclopedia of advice. Research & find out what you are comfortable with & like. Not only tons of quality, but tons of advice, & from here mostly of experience as Is the norm around here. Don’t ya love it.

              Comment


                #15
                An overlooked place to find great knives can be the local thrift store and church shops. I have found many excellent quality knives just thrown in a bin and marked ridiculously cheap. The stores don’t know what they have, and obviously whomever donated didn’t realize the quality either.

                Comment

                Announcement

                Collapse
                No announcement yet.
                Working...
                X
                false
                0
                Guest
                Guest
                500
                ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                false
                false
                {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                Yes
                ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here