I got some new knives - Emeril Lagasse carbon stainless - Are they good?

[Huskee]

If you're a knife snob and you think the ones I got aren't that great, tell me- you won't hurt my feelings. I'll get that out of the way first.

If you've ever read my posts on knives you may remember that I know zilch about knives. In fact, 95% of the knives I have right now are the cheapies from Target that we got on our wedding 17yrs ago. I do have 2 nice trimming knives and a brisket sword, but most of the others are all cheap junk that we've just dealt with for a long time, with the occasional simple sharpening effort.

So I bought my wife a new set of knives, Emeril Lagassee. They are stainless steel handles with full tang and carbon stainless blades. Please let me know what you may knwo or suspect about these, I am curious. If you think they're junk it's ok, tell me. I won't return them, they will stay in my kitchen for perhaps another 17yrs, lol. My wife is super pleased, but we know nothing about knives other than these feel light but sturdy, very comfy ergonomic easy to hold handles, and have killer edges on them. From common knowledge I do know stainless are obviously purdier, decrease the cost, and shorten edge life, & adding carbon adds toughness & edge retention but a chance of easier tarnishing.

In these pics they aren't washed, so they still have packing residue and dust on them.

[HouseHomey]

Cost don’t matter, sharp blades do though. Find the angle they are factory sharpened to and buy a sharpener with that angle. Easy peasy.

[Huskee]

Hmmm, how do I find the angle they were sharpened to?...that's not really something listed in specs, or is it?

[HouseHomey]

I tried looking on amazon but didn’t see that. May have to go to their website. My phone is about 2% now. I’ll try and find it later.

[Old Glory]

In general you over pay for knives when you buy a set. Should focus on a quality chef, paring, and bread knife.

This guy has good info on knives: https://kitchenknifeguru.com/knives/...commendations/

https://kitchenknifeguru.com/knives/...at-chef-knife/



If you like videos Burrfection has good reviews and info on sharpening https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOl...6CrS0kcybhaThg

They are made in China. He and Martha Stewart were sued because they falsely marketed them as German steel. To answer your question. Do you like them? If so keep them. Any Knife snob would not be satisfied with the quality. Bring them back and buy a MAC MTH-80 – Professional Series Chef Knife

[HouseHomey]

I have that Mac. Love it. That blade is thin though, be careful

[RichieB]

Huskee I'm with you on knives. I respect folks who spend a lot on knives. I have 3, chiefs, serraded, boning/slicing. 2 Henckels, 1 Mercer. Also steak knives Henckels. A few others. I have not met a piece of meat, pork, fish and their associated fat that this collection has failed me on. Honing prior to each use is all that I feel is needed.

My MCS needs to focus on expanding my grilling apperatious. I'll be reaching out to get input on that in a few weeks.

[ribeyeguy]

Mine are all Frost Cutlery when they do the 200 knives for 100 bucks on their weekend knife show.

[RonB]

High quality knives almost always have their steel and their Rockwell Hardness listed. And the makers don't have to add a celebrity's name to get them to sell. But the bottom line is do you like them? If so, you bought the right knives. Large makers can have several lines of knives - each of different quality, and some of these might be endorsed by a big name.

As far a sharpening, Most kitchen knives have a sharpening angle between 17* and 20*. You might find some as low as 15*, but most knife sharpeners work in this range. If you already have a knife sharpener here's what you can do:

Take a black magic marker and run it down the edge of the blade, but on the side - not so you would cut the tip of the marker. Then make a pass on your sharpener. One of three things should happen:
1 - all the maker is rubbed off. This means the angle of the sharpener matches the angle of the knife.
2 - only marker near the cutting edge is rubbed off. The angle of your sharpener is too wide. Your knife will sharpen, but the angle will be changed. It will still work, but maybe a little different.
3 - only maker away from the edge is removed. This will not sharpen the knife until you sharpen the knife enough to remove all the marker. That might take a while. Or get a new sharpener with the correct angle.

[Henrik]

Great advice.

[Polarbear777]

Yep. And if you want to change the angle you can do that too. I like a 15 deg angle until it’s sharp, then I finish with a more obtuse angle like 20. I don’t know how I survived until I learned the marker trick decades ago. Makes it super easy to see what’s happening.

[Buck Flicks]

I have a set of Emerilware cookware. It's moderate quality, for a good price. It's not great, but it's not terrible. I assume your knife set is about the same - a budget set of knives with a celebrity name on it to boost sales. Would I like better cookware? Yes. Do I want to pay the price for better cookware? No. This stuff works for what I need it to do, and I have cast iron and stainless steel for what it won't.

But where knives are concerned, I am willing to pay a bit more for a few quality pieces rather than have a big set. I find that I don't use the majority of the knives that come in big sets. I really just need a chef knife, a carving knife, a paring knife, a bread knife, and steak knives. I've had cheap knives before and to me, that's the one category in the kitchen where paying more for better quality makes the biggest difference. I will say, however, that knives are personal - if your knives work for you, then it doesn't matter how much they cost or what level of quality anyone else thinks they are. But whatever you do, maintain them properly. Don't wash them in the dishwasher. Hand wash them and hand dry them. Don't put them back in that rack if they have any moisture on them. Hone them every time you use them. Take them to a professional sharpener when honing them won't keep the edge straight any longer. Or as others have said above, buy yourself a sharpener and do it yourself. Honing and sharpening aren't the same thing. You should only have to sharpen them occasionally - or rarely, but you should hone them every time you use them. I hone my chef knife after I've washed and dried it. I don't know if it's better to do it before you use it or after, or if it makes a difference.

[Huskee]

Great advice guys, thanks!

I got these on a discount, $56 I think. I'm not one of those "Oooh, a celebrity name it must be good!" kinda people, I see through that nonsense. Emeril was likely paid $25k to allow them to put his name on them and he's likely never used one, I get it. But my wife wanted new knives, and she wanted stainless knives and a black block to match our decor somewhat...so...there they were and here they are.

But from what I read, they are as I expected- not fantastic but not junk. And that sums me up to a T!

[NapMaster]

Run with them. My suspicion is they will last a long time with no issues. By the time they even think about wearing out your wife will want a new set to change the decor.

[Murdy]

If you are familiar with Massdrop, they list what appear to be some higher end knives there on a regular basis at a discount, mixed in with the cooking section. There's also a section called "blades" which has some cooking knives but primarily is of the outdoor sort. You're on your own to evaluate individual offerings.

https://www.massdrop.com/cooking/drops

[Willy]

My gut feeling tells me that Emeril would only stand behind a quality product...but my gut feeling really ain't worth squat.

I hope the knives work out for you!

[Huskee]

Thanks! I hope you're right. I just remember drinking "Wolfgang Puck" coffee at a hotel and it was god awful weak brown water coffee. That with some other experiences has turned me from trusting celebrity endorsements much. Maybe Emeril has inspected them and gave his stamp of approval, what do I know!

[PKappy]

As I am going to be slicing my first batch of homemade bacon, I went ahead and purchased my first Dalstrong slicing/carving knife Shogun series. I have a good friend who has it and swears by them. Can't wait to get it and try it. Of course, the most important thing is the BACON! Can't wait to see how that turns out...

[VideoWolf88]

Just as long as you don't have to yell "Bam" every time you slice a brisket or your hand.

[Huskee]

If I slice my hand I'm sure it will rhyme with bam.

[grantgallagher]

I have a set of calphalon katana knives which are decent but not super top of the line or anything. I also have a set of emerils that my wife bought. My experience is you can put a wicked edge on almost any knife...you are just going to have to do it more often on the cheaper ones. That will shorten the lifespan but not by anything meaningful in the big picture. Whether you figure out the current angle or just use your own sharpener and potentially change the angle...try to keep it the same from here on out to minimize excess grinding.

i typically have all mine at a 20 degree double bevel except my filet (fish) knife which i have at 17.

[Mr. Bones]

Sagacious advice, Brother!

One can always remove metal; good luck puttin it back on...

[dsohmer]

IMO, the number one criteria for buying a knife is how does it feel in your hand? If it doesn't feel right you probably won't use it. I know it sounds funny. It's also my starting point for guns, golf clubs and fishing rods.

[FireMan]

How do you sharpen your current knives?
An interesting question you ask. Everything is relative. For the most part, not all, you get what you pay for. And, if you keep em sharp, they are great.