$300-400 for a kitchen set...which one?

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EnterTheSwamp

Joined
Sep 20, 2005
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My first post in this forum, but I think it wont be my last. Anyways...
So which kitchen set would you guys reccomend for about $300-$400?
 
I don't recommend buying sets of chef's knives since you always get knives that you never use. Pick out individual knives starting with an 8" or 10" chef's knife, then a 3 or 4" paring knife, then whatever you think you need, whether it be a carving knife, a cleaver, whatever, based on the type of food preparation you do the most. Always buy the best quality you can afford.
 
mycroftt said:
I don't recommend buying sets of chef's knives since you always get knives that you never use. Pick out individual knives starting with an 8" or 10" chef's knife, then a 3 or 4" paring knife, then whatever you think you need, whether it be a carving knife, a cleaver, whatever, based on the type of food preparation you do the most. Always buy the best quality you can afford.
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I agree to that. I have a full set, but the only knives I use regularly are an 8" chef (the 10" is too big), a Santoku for vegetables, a paring knife, and a bread knife.
 
mycroftt said:
I don't recommend buying sets of chef's knives since you always get knives that you never use. Pick out individual knives starting with an 8" or 10" chef's knife, then a 3 or 4" paring knife, then whatever you think you need, whether it be a carving knife, a cleaver, whatever, based on the type of food preparation you do the most. Always buy the best quality you can afford.
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I totally agree with this too! I bet I use an 8" chef knife most often as well. The paring knife is popular too.

Personally, I don't like the typical serrerated bread knife. I find a lot of your bread is wasted because they make so many crumbs. I prefer putting a real rough edge (I use a real rough aluminum oxide benchstone, I don't know the grit) on a plain edge knife. Works great even on really crusty bread. :)
 
I agree with going against buying a set, unless you are buying it as a gift. (Now that I no longer work at the Knife Shop I can say this. ;) )

I personally use two knives for nearly everything: a Henckel's "Four Star" 7 1/2" granton-bevel santoku (similar to the one Rachel Ray always uses, only I think hers is a Wusthoff), and a 5" Henckel's "Eversharp" (stamped) utility knife. I don't care about having a matched set. ;) No one really sees them anyway, at least in my house, except for me. I LOVE the santoku though. I doubted the whole bevel thing until I actually tried it. It glides through anything.

I fill in with cheap knives from my father's store. I have plenty of other knives I never use, like boning and carving knives, which just take up space in my drawer. I do have a few cut-down, used boning knives I can get for free from my father's sharpening business, which I prefer to use instead of paring knives, because I just don't like paring knives. (And, of course, these are free. :D )

Don't forget to buy, and USE, a steel on a regular basis. I use an Edgemaker, which does the same thing, only more quickly and easily.

~ashes
 
I retired my old Henkels knives and replaced them with Shun knives , the ones with the white handles by agrussell. They are great !! But they are not for misuse. Start with a chef's and parer. I also have a 6"slicer.
 
Wow!!! Thanks for the great responses guys. Well the deal is that I am planning on getting these as a wedding present for my sister. The other day I was talking to her about the research that I had been doing on knives, and she said that she would be too scared to use a knive that was so sharp. She has a knife set on her registry, but its some cheesy 18 piece set. Should I just go ahead and get it her some nice Japanese knives anyway? Lastly if I do, it will probably have to be low maintenance, since I know she wouldn't want to be constantly sharpening and such.
 
MAN!!!!!!!

That's a toughie! It took me forever to get my wife away from what she wanted to what she needed (as far as knives are concerned), LOL

I finally hid her gas station knives and left a smaller Swamp Rat out on the counter and told her to go ahead it only cost $20. Yeah, I lied, big deal.

It worked after she used it about 10 min, but I lost a knife. I still get to visit when I cook.

Can your sister cook? If no, get her the cheesey set. If she can, or is willing to learn, get her quality tools, or at least better tools.

The cheesey knives will probably dull faster than the good ones and respond less to sharpening.

In the long run, she would benefit more from a good chef's knife and parer than all the other 16 in the set combined.

Buy quality once. Also check out www.foodieforums.com for more info on kitchen knives.

Rob
 
EnterTheSwamp said:
The other day I was talking to her about the research that I had been doing on knives, and she said that she would be too scared to use a knive that was so sharp.
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Dull knives will cut you just as much, only it will hurt worse and won't heal as cleanly. ;) Remind her of that. If she is careful, she will benefit much more from a good-quality, sharp knife than a "cheesy" set that won't last.

And good for you for doing your research! What a good brother you are! :)

~ashes
 
EnterTheSwamp said:
The other day I was talking to her about the research that I had been doing on knives, and she said that she would be too scared to use a knive that was so sharp.
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Just a thought. Maybe if you get her only one or two good, sharp knives she would be more likely to use them and be less intimidated than she would be from a whole set of good, sharp knives?
 
If you follow the links and look carefully you'll see that the Shun set that I suggested is the same set that Walking Man gave to his best men, but I found a better price. That set of three sizes and shapes is a great baseline for what you need in the kitchen. You should look for a set with one long chefs knife, one medium chef's or Santoku, and one short utility knife. You are actually doing her a favor if all of the knives are sort of shaped like a chefs knife where the edge can be worked on a cutting board without your knuckles getting in the way. Most women will grab a knife that looks like their mother's knife or one that is small and safe looking rather than one that works well. If all of the knives work well on a cutting board you will improve her productivity. Come to think of it you should be sure to include a cutting board with the three knife set.

The Japanese knives are the best and most sophisticated choice, but many young women will destroy them by abuse. It might be better to get her a set of Victorinox knives with rosewood handles. The Victorinox blades won't cut quite as well, but they will take abuse better.

Another choice that might make her comfortable and efficient is a set of MAC Original series knives. These are highly efficient Japanese knives with rounded points so that they look safer. They cut great and are made from a great steel. All of the blades are offset so that they can be used on a cutting board, even the smallest.
http://www.macknife.com/original.html
 
Jeff, I didn't mean to imply that you should buy them from that site. Heck, I got mine off eBay.
 
Ashes said:
I personally use two knives for nearly everything: a Henckel's "Four Star" 7 1/2" granton-bevel santoku (similar to the one Rachel Ray always uses, only I think hers is a Wusthoff), and a 5" Henckel's "Eversharp" (stamped) utility knife. ...
~ashes
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Actually, Ray sold out and is now using a 'fury' brand knife, which is doesn't seem near as good (or hard) as the Wusthoff or Henckels versions. Doesn't matter though, she only uses it for 30 minutes at a time. :)

My 7", Rc60 and Vg10 (very thin) Santoku is great for veg. and it's a Spyderco ;)

Anyways, If I needed more than the Santoku and few others I have, I'd probably Follow Jeff and WW's shun recommendation.
 
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