Knife Recommendations?

[Troble]

My wife is good about not putting knives in the dishwasher and usually she just washes the steak knives. I pretty much always wash my cutting knife immediately after use 

I’m going to dive into this tomorrow on my laptop. Will let you all know where I landed. Thanks again 

[Tyrus]

Troble, As I remember some time back about ago, maybe 3-4 months or so, yah it's a story I happened to come upon a pile of knives, cleavers, chefs knifes, and a bundle of assorted related kitchen knives. The cleaver interested me at $56, yes I remember the price. Oh, made in the USA (stamped) and I'm thinking around 1950's by the oak handle/no rust. Always wanted to go back and score that knife/cleaver, this was a good one, now you got me biting my ass. You interested in a cleaver??

[Troble]

@Tyrus I was thinking of a Santoku, slicer and chefs knife. I don’t use cleavers too often (perhaps I should be?) but it’s all relative to price. For $56 I’d likely do it i’m just trying to avoid going crazy on the knife info and $$$

Edited January 18, 2021 by Troble

[Tyrus]

I think may, I think I might, visit that place before Tuesday nite. The journey is long, it's path torn with strife. I'm just hoping I come back with a knife.    No promises pal, although I might send a picture

[tony b]

Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen rates this Victorinox chef knife as their fav. Cheap, too. It's my preferred chef's knife (and as I said before - I have a LOT of chef's knives that I've collected over the years.)

The Best The Best Chef's Knives | Cook's Illustrated

The Cutco is also a good mid-priced chef's knife and they make a nice slicer, too. Their kitchen shears are also top notch.

Cutco Cutlery & Kitchen Knives | Vector Marketing

While not on your list of knives, I want to make another recommendation. After many years of trying to find a decent bread knife, I have fallen in love with this one!

Suisin Inox Bread Knife 9.75" (25 cm) (korin.com)

Edited January 18, 2021 by tony b

[Basher]

Of these mass produced stamped knives- very popular with butchers and fisherman the brands can polarise people, however, they are all pretty similar.
Victorinox- softer steel by 2- 3 Rockwell points. They drop the edge a little quicker, however, a couple of stripes along a steel can hold it for a days work. Very easy to sharpen at the end of a day for butchers.
F Dick- steel is a little harder and considered of better quality than Victorinox, however, also come with a higher price tag.
Frosts- this is my preferred. The steel is slightly harder again. They are hard to buy retail here as the supplier sells all his knives directly to commercial fishermen and abattoirs. The pros reckon they can hold the edge much longer and need less touch ups through a days work.
Nothing wrong with any of these knives if you can settle on a quick and easy sharpening method. All can be made razor sharp with little effort.
I still say for a special knife, try out blue super steel. Unbelievable polished razor edge retention. This is carbon steel and doesn’t compare the the above 3 stainless knives.


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[cruzmisl]

Knives......talk about Pandora's box!

Below is my most recent knife purchase from October. It's a 220mm tapered Gyuto. The octagonal handle is made out of cherry burl. The blade is forged from roller bearings and hardened to HRC 64. A highly functional work of art made from the most basic materials. It's a carbon knife so it requires maintenance but well worth it.

If you're just starting out there a few points to consider. Stay away from any knife sets. They usually have ten more knives than you need which means you're spending money on stuff you don't need.

I would really only consider stainless knives at this point in your early knife career. Carbon knives are more work to keep in tip top condition; more work than most will commit to. My suggestion is a japanese style knife from a Japanese manufacturer. A Wustof santoku (and similar) always felt and performed like a fake.

Lastly, a sharp knife is THE MOST important thing. The best knife in the world is useless and more dangerous if it's dull. I know it seems incongruous to your belief but a razor sharp knife is much safer. Also, a very sharp knife is glorious to use. There's lots of sharpening options out there that range from wetstones/manually to systems like Wicked Edge/ Edgepro. Stay away from anything motorized or those cheap pull through units. They remove way too much steel and will quickly destroy a knife.

I apologize for the verbose response. This topic is HUGE. I hope it helps a bit.

J.





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[Troble]

Thank you @cruzmisl I appreciate the detail 

@tony b I always value your opinions l, as well as @Basher

gracias amigos!

[Troble]

alright folks - I made my decision this is what I landed on

Victorinox Churrasco Slicer

F. Dick Hollow Ground Santoku Knife - 6.75 inch

F. Dick ProDynamic 8" Chef Knife - NSF Certified - Restaurant Style Chef Knife - German Made - High Carbon Stainless Steel Blade - Ergonomic Poly Handle - Easy To Grip And Offers Good Positioning

Suisin Inox Bread Knife 9.75" (25 cm) (korin.com)

I feel like this will be a good start and certainly a big upgrade from what I had. All in total will run about $250 which hits the price point.

 

A few months back I bought a paring knife as well as a filet knife, but I didn't do a ton of research and just needed an upgrade from what I had. Funny story is that my original filet knife was given to me my fishmonger who taught me about fish and gave me a piece of junk that they were about to throw out that had been using probably 10,000x, and I used that bad boy for 5 years until about 4 months ago. I also own a sushi knife and a brisket knife. I think that over time I will upgrade all 4 of those knives but for now let me get my hands on these ones I just ordered and I can upgrade the rest of my set maybe later in the year.

 

Does anyone have a good video or source for knife sharpening? I don't need anything motorized as I think that doing it by hand will actually be a good kind of meditation for me. So i am leaning towards finding something like that.

 

Appreciate all the advice everyone. Thank you so much. Eternally grateful for this board.

 

Attached pictures of my current "upgraded" knives and the existing set I’ve been working with 

Edited January 19, 2021 by Troble

[cruzmisl]

@Troble happy to help. One important thing I failed to mention. In most cases, japanese steel holds a great edge and is very hard. Those traits come at a price. You need to be careful around bones and hard root veggies etc. This is the result my carelessness when I hit a hidden bone. I cared for that knife for over a decade



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[Basher]

I concur with cruzmisl.
Settle on a sharpening system and keep your knives sharp.
Even your old knives will come back to life with a sharpen and be enjoyed again.
I’d suggest a whetstone of 2000 and 4000 grit and practice on the old knives.


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[Braai-Q]

I have quite a few knives and I guess it's like having an expensive car, ownership becomes a lot less 'care free' as the price increases and you're more careful where you park and so on.

It's not that I don't take care of what I own at any price point but I'm a lot less inclined to hunt someone down who broke the tip of an expensive Japanese knife getting the lip of a tin opened. Yeah, it happened and I'm still sore about it. 

I think there is also a law of diminishing returns at play where performance improvements are perceptual. Recommending a knife is quite personal and there are certain knives that my wife doesn't like that I love and it probably comes down to hand size above all. 

I tend to opt for knives for purposes but the paring, chef's knife and bread knife combination given by most chefs is good advice. 

I like Shun knives and have a few, I also have a Global Santoku knife which I tend to use for chopping herbs which has a lovely balance and action. It fits comfortably and while I have better blades, I have an affection for that in particular. Take a look at Victorinox Swibo - I very rarely see butchers without them and the plastic handles mean they're as hygienic as you'll get. Not expensive either.

I have some exotic Japanese knives but they probably don't fit your brief or budget and I think Robert is our Japanese knife authority judging by his tastes.

Roland Lannier makes some fun knives which are good. I particularly like his Luchador for the fun of them.

Blenheim Forge make some interesting knives and I have a Nakiri from them which is superb. I just wish they'd take the corner radius of the top edge down. I never cut myself on the blade but always nick myself with the tip. (I know it's designed for splitting but I get myself every other time). 

Bryan Raquin also produces some very lovely knives but they are very difficult to get hold of. They have a very large chef following. The brisket killer is a really lovely blade and I have been trying to get one after I tried it. I didn't end up buying it at the time because I was flying and I would have had to have checked it into the hold but didn't have a bag. I'd gone over to Paris for a meeting and flew (unusually) and the shop wouldn't do mail order. 

For sharpening, I use Lansky but TS Prof has been on my list to look at as the Lansky system does have some shortcomings. 

Without knife craft skills, a better blade won't make you a better chef. I always recommend learning techniques and how to manipulate a blade. Makes you safer and better and some of these high quality blades can do some serious damage if mishandled. If you use the wrong blade and lose control... There are a few books that I found helpful or YouTube is always handy. I'm not saying this applies to you but I think if you've ever been in a professional kitchen and seen how a good chef despatches an onion, you instantly know where you can improve your own craft and blade choice is a part of that.

Hope this helps and let us know what you go for. 

[5698k]

I have the TS Prof K03 sharpener, it works beautifully, but it’s expensive. I’ve spent a lot on knives, so I guess it’s relative. A cheap sharp knife is way better than a good dull one. Learning to sharpen is critical in the endeavor of having decent knives.

I can’t go along with global, cutco, or especially shun for various reasons, the main thing is that there are Japanese knives out there for less money yet far superior in craftsmanship. If you go the victorinox route, you’ll be almost at the disposable end of the scale.


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[5698k]

On another note, a good cutting board is as important to your blades as anything else. Bamboo, glass, pieces of granite are death to an edge. End grain boards are always good, Japanese hinoki boards are good too. There are several types of synthetic boards that are good, plenty that won’t break the bank.


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[Syzygies]

8 hours ago, Braai-Q said:

Bryan Raquin also produces some very lovely knives but they are very difficult to get hold of.

Wow. I'm beginning to wonder if the 196 USD I spent to have a Tojiro DP 3-Layer Chinese Cleaver 225mm delivered from Japan was chump change, and VG-10 steel is a compromise I shouldn't be making?

I can imagine spending 400 USD on a cleaver (Chuka Bocho), perhaps blue or white steel, if the difference would really be apparent. Or something like Bryan Raquin's Nakira 195 if it's ever back in stock. I suspect there are some strong opinions here...

Being a mathematician has trained me to hear when people fall into logical black holes. "Seasoning is polymerization, so let's use flaxseed oil" misses the other components of restaurant abuse. Getting a perfect edge on a knife? Such an obvious goal, it has to be wrong sometimes. A serrated edge is better at slicing, and serration is a matter of degree, even the edge after an 8000 water stone is irregular at sufficient magnification. I've been meaning to get a good USB microscope for knife sharpening, coffee grinding, to make these issues obvious. I certainly adjust my technique over the lifetime of a sharpening cycle, increasing my slicing motion as the edges fade. And a chip in a favorite knife? It's a feature, not a bug!

[tekobo]

Thank you all.  The Husband is now getting himself a coffee to get him through the You Tube video of the guy comparing the TSPROF 03 with the TSPROF Blitz.  So far, he has watched 7 minutes and tells me that the potted summary is that if you have more money than God and don't want to move it you get the TSPROF 03.  I somehow suspect we won't be getting that folding bed for the spare room that we told his mother we needed for our Christmas present. 

To contribute to the knife debate.  I am very happy with having just two go-to knives - a cook's knife and a vegetable cleaver.  We have four specialist knives to share - a bread knife, a jamon knife, a boning knife and a filleting knife.  I sharpen them on a steel and rely on The Husband to get out the whetstone periodically.  I like the idea of learning to sharpen the knives well myself and look forward to the outcome of his journey down the TSPROF rabbit hole.  

Our go-to knives were made for us by a nice man about four years ago.  His prices have gone up by more than 50% since then but I am still very happy with mine.  https://blok-knives.co.uk

[5698k]

The short answer to the ts prof question is the blitz is limited to blade length of roughly 200mm.


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[tekobo]

2 minutes ago, 5698k said:

The short answer to the ts prof question is the blitz is limited to blade length of roughly 200mm.

The Husband did say that the guy was going on to talk about blade length.  I can hear the background noise from the video in the next room.  Seems like he is getting drawn in.  Knowing him, there will be a few days of circling round alternatives but I think we will be getting a decent knife sharpening system.  Thanks for the tip.  

[Braai-Q]

8 hours ago, 5698k said:

I have the TS Prof K03 sharpener, it works beautifully, but it’s expensive. I’ve spent a lot on knives, so I guess it’s relative. A cheap sharp knife is way better than a good dull one. Learning to sharpen is critical in the endeavor of having decent knives.

I can’t go along with global, cutco, or especially shun for various reasons, the main thing is that there are Japanese knives out there for less money yet far superior in craftsmanship. If you go the victorinox route, you’ll be almost at the disposable end of the scale.


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I'm not saying that Global and Shun are the be all. Sort of my point in hitting the balance between being good enough to not worry about and being fit for purpose. In general retail in the UK, Sabatier and Wusthof together with Global tend to dominate. 'Japanese knives' seem to be seen as shorthand for quality standard whereas true quality in Japanese knives is another level and quite limited in availability as very few people see the value in spending north of £400-£500 on a single blade. Brexit has made things worse here with most of Europe refusing supply including Japanese Natural Stones. 

I think critically assessed, the Blenheim Forge knives will not stand up to scrutiny and there are better Japanese knives out there, of that I have no doubt. 

Where would you put your money in Japanese knives out of interest?

 

[5698k]

Tojiro is a great knife , and Masakage has some great knives also..both of which are less expensive than shun, about the same as global, but are crafted Japanese kitchen knives.


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