What kind of knives do y’all use.

[Grits]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about upgrading some of my kitchen knives. What are y’all using and why.

Thanks and have a great day

Grits

[Ace]

There's a lot of good knives out there. I've been using Dexter knives for a very long time. They are a good workhorse knife, easy to sharpen, have a great non slip grip, dishwasher safe, fairly inexpensive and available on Amazon. My .02

[LA Pork Butt]

I have one and I find that it sharpens well and have thought about upgrading my other knives because of how they sharpen and are dishwasher safe.

[SheilaAnn]

Total workhorses, these knives!

[Johnny Booth]

That’s my style. Good grip, and easy to sharpen. Everything else is just $$

[Michael_in_TX]

I'm with Ace. I use Dexter-Russel knives. They work and they work exceptionally well. And they are relatively inexpensive.

I keep wanting to upgrade to a "fancy" set....and I am sure those are much better knives, but are they hundreds of dollars better for me? Probably not.

[barelfly]

I have picked up a few different Mercer knives on Amazon over the years. They work great and can be picked up at a nice price. Some are white handled, a few have black handles. I’m guessing they are similar to what Ace has shown above with the Dexter knives. The Mercer stay pretty sharp with the honing I do on them plus the quick sharpener that I have (sharpener is one of the ATK recommendations).

[Alan Brice]

I am lucky to have been in the right place at the proper time. I picked up on a set of Wusthof Classics. (Thanks PJ)
When you have a great knife in your hand it just feels right. Then you cut something and you just know it.
My Brother was a meatcutter for Kroger. The knife of choice there is the Dexter- Russell. Great for the price.

[Panhead John]

I bought these, set of 6, back in June and I love em. They’re Damascus steel and stay sharp for quite a while. They’re very well made and I like the feel of em in my hand….doesn't hurt they’re also good lookin knives. They’re on sale right now at a great price, I paid $100. more for them back in June. I personally think they’re a steal at $207. for all six. Check out the reviews on em.

https://a.co/d/aKp9ZiI

[ecowper]

I have Wusthof Ikon .... 2 8" Chef, 1 7" Santoku, 1 each of the 6" and 4 1/2" utility knife, 3" paring knife. Plus I have the Wusthof Classic 9" Carving Knife. They are absolutely well balanced and feel great in your hand. The only drawback is, like pretty much all German knives, you are going to need to sharpen them every few months. If you have a good ceramic honing rod, you can touch up the edge pretty easily.

I also have a set of Kamikoto knives in black which is a 9" Nakiri, 7" Santoku, and 5" utility. These are amazingly sharp knives from Honshu, Japan and well balanced in the hand. When I am doing a large amount of cutting, these are the knives I reach for.

Over the years, my wife bought these for me to upgrade my super crappy knives (think Target specials).


Wusthof Ikon knives


Wusthof Classic Carving Knife


The Kamikoto Kage knives

[ecowper]

The other thing I will say, no matter what knives you decide on, get yourself a good sharpening system. I have the Apex 4 Edge Pro system and it is awesome :-)

[Panhead John]

That’s the same one I use! ……😉

[ecowper]

But you should use it more often ;-)

[DavidNorcross]

I have Edge Pro as well. Excellent

[Steve B]

Dalstrong. Have had them for about 4-5 years now. Been quite happy with them.

[SheilaAnn]

I was gifted one from SS. I love this knife! I only use it for big projects at work.

[labbq]

My daily driver is the classic Wusthof chef’s knife. However, my Christmas gift this year is this Feder chef’s knife. I have only used it a few times so far but it is a real pleasure to cut with. Probably will still stick with the Wusthof for chicken butchering just because I am scared to damage the Feder 😀

[ecowper]

The Wusthof Ikon Chef is what I reach for automatically when I have a chicken on the cutting board

[Steve B]

That's one Purdy Knife.

[Richard Chrz]

I have a few Mercer, and a few Victorinox cheapies.

i sharpen knives for hire (using a series of stones, and strops,) and have sharpened a lot of knives, I’ve truly only held a few knives that I thought wow, and they were super expensive,

My cheap knives cut and sharpen up like most of the popular expensive knives, Handle balance weight feel generally only difference in performance between a higher priced, and a budget friendly.

I may have to sharpen them a month or two sooner than some others, but I’m also super hard on my knives, so I would expect this. Get a good steel and keep your edge,

i also totally get the draw to spending a bit more, but if you would rather put that money somewhere else, Mercer, Dexter, Victorinox, all are solid choices for a decent knife.

[dpearce]

Once I learned how hone my chisels and plane blades with Arkansas stones, knife sharpening wasn’t too difficult to pick up. And yes, good high quality stones are very helpful. That being said, my knives aren’t very expensive. Still using most of the set we got for our wedding many years ago, along with a Victrinox and Rapala.

[WI Bubba]

Mostly Henkels that I got as a wedding present almost 30 years ago. I added a Victorinox chef knife and a boning knife that I found buried in the dirt when I was doing some bush removal a few years ago.

Honestly, a good knife sharpener that you actually use is probably more important than the brand of knife as long as they feel good in your hand. A sharp, but cheap knife cuts better than the most expensive knife that has lost its edge.

[Richard Chrz]

Most people would do them selves a huge favor by just using a steel to true it before each use. I truly do not think most people even understand how to operate a sharpening system.

[WI Bubba]

Richard Chrz I agree. I run my knives over the honing rod every time I use them, and refresh the edges as needed which is usually every few months.

The Chefs Choice sharpener is very easy to use, and the only setup is to plug it in. I'm sure there are other systems that will give a finer edge, but like you said, if they are too complicated, of fussy to use, then they won't get used.

[RonB]

My secret Santa gave me a very nice set of knives last year. They keep a good edge , are comfortable to hold, and look great.

They look exactly like the ones Panhead John posted above. Thanks again John!

[Panhead John]

You’re welcome Ron, glad you like em!

[Henrik]

There are so many to choose from. Victorinox, Dalstrong, Wusthof, they're all good. Decide on a budget, you only need a few knives (according to me). If you are a collector or knife fan and want more knives, that's a different matter :-)

This is what I like to use, feel free to disagree:

1. A chef's knife/vegetable knife. I use this one quite a lot for all kinds of chopping. Think of when a trained chef chops onion. I'm not a chef, but I've learnt to chop like that, and the very gentle curvature of the edge (from handle to tip) allows for that smooth action. Love it.

2. A deboning knife, with a flexible blade. I really want this one to bend easily. I buy these dirt cheap, with a carbon steel blade for easy sharpening. I usually get these from a restaurant supply. I use this for all meat/fat trimming. It must be a thin blade, and it must flex easily.

3. A "smaller" knife. Don't know what it's called, but it's like the 2nd smallest in RonB 's photo above. I use it for general stuff when I don't need an 8-10 inch knife.

4. A brisket slicer. Because why not? Bought a cheap 14" Mercer from Amazon.

THE ONE THING that is important though is to go and check them out in the store, and feel it out. If it doesn't fit well in your hand, or doesn't feel natural to work with, don't get it, find another brand. I think this last piece of advice is the most important.

[ecowper]

Your #3 “smaller” knife in English is usually called a utility knife …. And you’re absolutely right with your list …. A Chef’s knife is the single most critical knife on the list

[Henrik]

Thanks ecowper

[Davek8282]

I have a few of the Shun knives. Love the feel in my hand and the control I get from the handle shape. Stay sharp a good long time with frequent honing. Have to hand wash which for me is not a big deal as I don't have a dishwasher anyway.