Knives Question

[Mark E.]

So I seem to be overwhelmed by many recommending Japanese knives. Ok. They seem to be spendy.
Then we get into carbon, stainless, or stainless over carbon. Custom made handles seem to be popular.
Many times I see knives in a set that has about 3 knives too many in it.

I have a hodge-podge of knives that have been adequate. Some I sharpen, some are Henkels Ever Sharp.

In fact I have a Ginsu Knife from the 80s I got at a state fair that still gets used.
An off brand fileting knife too that Meathead talks about.

Am I missing something? Is there a moderately priced "go to knife" or knives out there that I should consider?

M.

[customtrim]

I prefer Dalstrong

[Steve B]

I’ll second the Dalstrong knives.
I fairly recently got 3. These have become my go to knives. https://dalstrong.com/ Watch their site they run sales quite often.

[EdF]

That's exactly what I was going to recommend. Great value for the price. I think they're a bit cheaper if you get them directly from their site. The "Shogun" collection is really good.

[HorseDoctor]

For serviceability and reasonable price, you can't go wrong with Victorinox knives and a Chef's Choice sharpener. May not be as "up scale" as some, but will darn sure get the job done, and done well. Easy to keep sharp and very easy on the pocketbook! I sharpen about every 3 or 4 uses with the Chef's Choice (for over 10 years now) and have yet to wear out a knife with it. If I ever do, It'll cost me less than $50 to replace any of the kitchen knives I own.

[RonB]

A lot of pros use Japanese, or Japanese style knives. They typically have steels that are heat treated to a higher Rockwell hardness which means that they keep their edge longer. Some of the steels can get sharper than any western knife you have used. I didn't believe this until I bought a J-knife. It was wicked sharp - sharper than a razor. However, they do tend to chip if not used carefully. And it takes a lot of practice plus several water stones to keep them sharp. Some makers don't bother putting a really sharp edge on their knives and expect the buyer to do it. If you get a carbon steel knife, (not stainless), you must wipe it constantly to prevent rust. Having issued all the warnings above, once you use a quality J-knife that has been properly sharpened, you will go Wow!

I would not suggest buying a set of knives because their idea of what knives you need might not meet your needs. Buy knives for a specific purpose if you can afford to do so. And don't worry about them all being the same brand. I have some knives that are over forty years old, and some that are less than a year old. I just grab what fits the task at hand.

I suggest going to Amazon and searching for "kitchen knives". You need a minimum of one slicer, (8" +), and one paring knife. A filet knife is great for trimming meat. There is one slicer listed with a five star rating and over 500 reviews - that's impressive. And it's ~ $25.

Kitchen Knife Forums is a great place to learn about, well, kitchen knives. But be forewarned that they love J-knives. They do have a "what knife" form you can fill out to get recommendations.

Finally, it's the sharpness of the knife that determines how well it cuts, so keep em sharp.

[ComfortablyNumb]

I invested my money in a sharpening system, the Edge-Pro and an angle cube. I look for carbon steel knives at garage sales, thrift shops, eBay, etc. I keep several on hand at the ready. That way if I'm butchering and a knife begins to get hard to work with I just swap it out, then tidy up the edges when I finish.

[PaulstheRibList]

I need help figuring out how to use my new angle cube. Do you have a video you could reference so I can figure it out?

[ComfortablyNumb]

PaulstheRibList Turn on the angle cube and set it on the table. Zero it out. Now set it on your stone arm that is resting on the table. I will read the degrees. Raise or lower the arm to get the angle you want. Here's a video I found, not great, but it covers the idea https://www.infinitytools.com/digita...CABEgIYwvD_BwE

[ComfortablyNumb]

Here's another video showing how it's done on the Edge-Pro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mti8s-rvmbE

And another trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoHW3TUdz5s

[Mark E.]

Good info. Just read that bamboo cutting boards ( they seem to be pushed everywhere I shop) are not good for certain knives. Is there anything to that?

M.

[customtrim]

Only thing I see is on the type of glues that are used some have formaldehyde in them which can get into your food

[Frozen Smoke]

I agree many sets come with more knives than I want or need. I ordered a custom set of kitchen knives including an 8” chef knife, 6” chef knife and pairing knife. Blade steel is high carbon ATS34 stainless steel. Blades are double ground with a hand rubbed finished. The handles are made out of cocobolo wood.
I also ordered a set of 4 matching steak knives to go with it. These are being made by a professional forger from another non food forum that I frequent.

They aren't cheap but I easily could have spent more on fewer knives and these are a kind of retirement gift to myself. Can't wait to get them should be soon!

I also have some Victoronix knives. A boning knife and a 12" Granton edge slicer. Love them both and they won't break the bank. Good bang for your buck with those!

[texastweeter]

if he does a good job, I would be interested in his contact info. I have a few "custom" knives I want made.

[RonB]

Photos of your new knives would be great.

[Cheef]

New West Knife Works. I splurged and I've been satisfied for 10 years.

[Spinaker]

Personally, I think you should buy 3 Knives. I stay away from knife sets; too much of what you don't need.

1) A good, solid Chef's Knife. I think this is where the bulk of the funds should go. In my kitchen, it is the knife I use the most. You can slice and chop all you want. I really love the Wustoff 4584. This knife is a real food processor! This blade is extra wide, heavy and it holds a sharp edge. I also use it to crush garlic with ease. It has a great feel in the hand. I plan on having this knife forever, for me, the price tag is worth it.

2) Trim/Boning Knife: I do own a pricey Global Knife G-21. However, I think my favorite knife for trimming is the Rapala Fillet Knife. The blade is stiff, sharp and it works great for trimming. They don't last as long but at $18, I can handle that.

3) Slicing knife: The Dexter-Russell Scalloped 12" is a great. This baby can rip through a brisket in no time. This knife gets used while my $130 Shun slicer stays on the magnet, everytime. I take the Dexter everywhere I am cooking a brisket. It is a great knife that has yet show signs of dulling. And at 20$, what is not to love? Plus, you'll have money for a good chef's knife.

[texastweeter]

that whustof or henkles twin are IMO the best two chef knives in existence. I gave a Whustoff to an employee of mine that is a chef at a country club on the side. He loves it.

[HorseDoctor]

Agree pretty much with what Spinaker said except I only use my "fillet" knives for skinning fish. Prefer stiffer blade for trimming and boning. Dexter or Victorinox both make a stiff narrow blade boning knife that is very easy on the wallet.

[Spinaker]

That wooden handle fillet knife has a really stiff blade. At least the one I have does.Just as stiff as my dexter boing knife.

[texastweeter]

I prefer German steel over Japanese. All being said, Victorinox, or Dexter are ALWAYS a go to! Old Hickory makes some great carbon steel too. I have a Kutt knife (not really expensive at all) that I got as a gift. That plus a rapala fillet knife, and a whusthoff paring knife are my traveling knives. I have fancier ones, but those get banged around and keep coming back. The Kutt is suspect though, I will replace it with a Victorinox or Dexter sanisafe chef knife soon as far as traveling. BTW the dexter and victorinox are what they actually use behind the scenes in Americas Test Kitchen, as well as mos professional kitchens. plus they are dishwasher safe.

[Frozen Smoke]

texastweeter here is the link to the kitchen knives I'm having made. http://www.sandownforge.com/Sandown_...Knife_Set.html I'm confident I will be satisfied with his work. He will do whatever you want in handles but cost varies. I went with cocobolo wood. I will post pics of mine and a review when I get them and you can decide if you want to work with him after that or his email contact info is on his web page.
Lokks like it will take about 8 weeks to get my knives so about 2 more weeks to go.

[texastweeter]

Awesome! Thank you so much. Looking for a veggi cleaver and a brisket sabre