Best kitchen cutlery today, considering quality/price

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geohans

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Dec 24, 2013
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I'm looking at German and Japanese--- coming from a 20yo set of Güde which have served me well.

I'm used to the heavier German style, but I could be persuaded to go to another of the former Axis powers.

Please share your take and experiences. Thanks!
 
Well, a Bob Kramer custom would probably be the best for a German style blade. For Japanese I'm not sure, maybe Murray Carter. Of course, I'm not sure how many hundreds or thousands of dollars you feel like spending, so we can probably narrow things down more if you let us know your budget. ;)

For really, really good without being quite as budget-shatteringly expensive as the customs I mentioned, take a look at Konosuke knives.
 
If you go japanese, konosuke is VERY good. Worth every penny!

If you're on a budget, I'd go with misono. They have western handles, and great geometry and steel. Fit and finish is good too.

German, i always liked my wustof, they're behind japanese knives but they tend to be more heavy duty if you like.
 
geohans said:
$300-600 for 3-4 knives, including bread, chef, midsize utility slicer.
Click to expand...

Well, if you were letting me spend your money with that budget I would get a 240mm Konosuke GS gyuto and a 150mm Konosuke GS petty. That would account for the lion's share (around $450) of your budget. For a bread knife I'd honestly just get an inexpensive Victorinox, they have a few different designs and I think the most expensive is around $30. Then I'd add a Spyderco paring knife and a cheap cleaver for the times you need to go through frozen food or bone and call it a day. It wouldn't be the prettiest knife set in the world, but you could do everything you needed with it.
 
if you are okay with semi-stainless, the "house brand" from JCK in the Carbonext steel is nice and quite reasonably priced for what you are getting. $128 for a 240mm Gyuto.
 
Looking at Shun; unfortunately, I'm left handed, which means the "Classic" line is a pain.

Sadly, Miyobi is also asymmetrical. . . . .
 
imho the best kitchen cutlery considering quality and price is Old Hickory.
I also like the Rough Rider ULU knife, even though it is stainless steel.
 
One big advantage of buying some of the other Japanese brands instead of say Shun is that you are not paying for Kai's huge marketing budget. ;)
 
+ 1. For Tojiro.
I have both DP and SD lines from them. Love 'em both.
Just different steels. I believe DP is more well known- with vg10 steel.
And with 3 knife deals for around 125.00. will be way under your budget. Could also Buy some good sharpening equip. Stones...
 
The Tojiro Dp is hard to beat for the money and what you get. Victorinox is a good option too for the money. Messermeister is the buy in a German knife.
 
+1Tojiro

Better heat treat than other VG-10 that I've experienced from some of the Damascus Shun series with the VG-10 core, and less expensive. (Didn't realize I'd already replied.)
 
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As far as bang for the buck goes in Euro-style knives I'm a big fan of Friedrich Dick's "ProDynamic" and "ErgoGrip" lines. Similar to the Victorinox Fibrox series but with better ergonomics, harder heat treatment, and a fair number of patterns and variations that aren't found in the Victorinox line.
 
I was happy with my block of Wusthof for many years and then decided to try a Kohetsu Aogami Super Gyuto 210mm http://http://www.chefknivestogo.com/rikoaosu21gy.html I love it and it has replaced the Wusthof Chef knife as my go too, but I still like having the softer and heavier blade of the Wustof when cutting things that are too hard for the Gyuto (it will chip). So rather than start over with a new set of knives, I'd suggest just adding a Gyuto to your existing set.
 
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