Best value Kitchen Knives

M

morgoth

Joined
Mar 26, 2006
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Can any one give me some opinions on what Kitchen Knives they have had a good experience with?

I have a motley crew of Tramontinas (not bad) and hunting knives with one Wusthof Cooks knife in my collection.

I keep looking at GLOBAL knives but they are pretty expensive and I do not want to spend that sort of money without getting a few opinions from here.

I prefer Stainless Steel in the Kitchen and favour smaller utility style knives for most things rather than large cleaver or Japanese style blades. (I don't mind the GLOBAL style knives, I know they are Japanese)
Thanks in advance
:)
 
If you are lucky, you can still find Yang with VG-10 steel by Spyderco, they are very affordable.

Regardless what you are getting, DON'T buy Cutco, absolutely mediocre steel selling at top tier price.
 
If the Tramontinas work for you and you can keep them sharp then why change? I love mine. They are kept very sharp and slice and dice quite nice.

I am also a fan of the Kershaw Shun Wasabi Series. They are very inexpensive and sharpen up well.
 
Calphalon Katana Series are very nice, well made knives in a VG-1 cored damascus. For inexpensive knives I like Warthers made here in the USA.
 
Before becoming a carbon steel snob, I loved using a Spyderco santoku and Kershaw Wasabi deba bocho. Also had a cheap Sabatier utility knife before those that I used for almost everything.
 
The recent spyderco yin and yang are good knives but they do not give knuckle clearance and the lack of a wide blade can be an annoyance during certain types of chopping.

I got a set of Shun knives and they are amazing. Like a hot knife through butter!
I got the set at half off but i think even full price would have been worth it.
Mac knives are pretty decent, but its hard to tell which knives have the better steel. Well you can always just follow the price i guess and figure the more expensive is the better steel.

Now a whole set of good knives can be expensive, $800 for mine (before half off)
But you dont need an 8 piece knife set. Out of my set we use the pearing knife and a medium 5 or 6 inch chefs knife most. Then maybe a large chefs knife or slicer or bread knife if you do a lot of any of those things. THen you only spend maybe 200 on a few good knives when they may be all you need.



I just get so annoyed when im at macys in the kitchen section and i see people looking at those 50-75 dollar, and sometimes cheaper, sets of 10 piece knife sets. And they are impressed by the ones that say forever sharp and are basically hacksaw blades. They think that because this set is cheaper and has more knives then its a better deal. Arg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few times ive overheard them talking about the sets and ill mention how the steel is bad or this or that. and tell them to go to the cooking store for real knives.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
I just get so annoyed when im at macys in the kitchen section and i see people looking at those 50-75 dollar, and sometimes cheaper, sets of 10 piece knife sets. And they are impressed by the ones that say forever sharp and are basically hacksaw blades. They think that because this set is cheaper and has more knives then its a better deal. Arg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few times ive overheard them talking about the sets and ill mention how the steel is bad or this or that. and tell them to go to the cooking store for real knives.
Click to expand...

How many knives in those blocks actually get used? Better off getting a block and buying seperately a paring knife, chefs knife, bread slicer, and a utility of some sort and adding later as needed or desired.

One reason I have multiples of knives is that I like to put them in the dishwasher. I also do not like to wash as I work. If I use a knife on meat I do not use it on vegetation or a different protein. Otherwise I could get by with fewer.

I started off with the 10" chef, 8" and 10" serrated bread (wedding gifts), two paring. Worked well for quite a few years.
 
Check out ConsumerSearch.com where they claim to be reviewing the reviews -
ie: survey all the reviews available and come to some concensus -
kind of what we'd do if we had the resources.

Kitchen Knives at ConsumerSearch

Best budget knife set RH Forschner by Victorinox Fibrox

" Although most inexpensive cutlery doesn't perform well in tests, reviews are unanimous about one budget cutlery line – RH Forschner by Victorinox Fibrox (*Est. $60 for three). This brand receives very good reviews across the board, no matter who's doing the testing. We found nothing but excellent reviews for the Forschner Fibrox knives, which come close in utility, durability and ergonomics to pricier knives from Wusthof and Global. "

" It's commonly accepted that the best kitchen knives are forged -- hammered into shape from a single piece of metal. An alternative method is to stamp them out of a sheet of metal. This process produces a lighter, thinner blade without a lip between the handle and blade (called a bolster on forged knives). Many cheaper knives are made this way, and reviewers say they can feel flimsy and hard to control. RH Forschner by Victorinox Fibrox (*Est. $60 for three) stamped knives with high carbon stainless steel blades and non-slip Fibrox mineral fiber handles are the exception. In side-by-side tests, experts are amazed at how well these perform next to forged knives that are three times as expensive. In almost every review that tests them, Forschner Victorinox knives are chosen as the best budget pick. "

Hope this helps.

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Hard H2O said:
One reason I have multiples of knives is that I like to put them in the dishwasher. I also do not like to wash as I work. If I use a knife on meat I do not use it on vegetation or a different protein. Otherwise I could get by with fewer.
Click to expand...

None of my knives ever go in the dishwasher, too tough on them for my taste. When I am cooking a meal that is going to require a lot of knife work I just keep a heated container of water that has Dawn with bleach in it. It is a simple matter to put the knife in there after I finish with it then take it out and rinsewhen I am ready to use it again. Normally this is only done with a couple of knives I use on meat, veggie knives just get a quick rinse and dry. I have a vast assortment of golf towels (they will snap onto a belt loop) to dry them on. When I am completely done they get washed immediately, wiped with oil (food safe) and placed back on the magnetic strip. I also don't use a knife block...I quit using them after I turned one upside down and saw what came out of the bottom of the slots...lol.

And yes...when I am going fast I have cut a towel or two which is why I use them...got tired of cutting aprons and pants...lol.
 
Absintheur said:
None of my knives ever go in the dishwasher, too tough on them for my taste.
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That is another reason I like inexpensive knives. I am not worried about treating them a little rough. The only ones that need work are the old wood handled Chicago Cutlery. All of my other cutlery seems to be able to handle the dishwasher just fine. The Tromantinas and Kershaw Wasabi are even advertised as dishwasher safe.

I have heard that running them through the dishwasher degrades the edge. I have a cure for that. I sharpen them. I am not sure if I believe that it degrades them much more than normal use does.
 
No knife should go into the dishwasher. There is a special level of hell, for those who cut on glass/marble cutting boards and put knives in a dishwasher.
As for the forged vs. stamped, if you compare 5$ pos stamped knife to whatever forged, sure that's no brainer. But, High end stamped knives, e.g. the same Global can both, outperform and be cheaper compared to forged stuff. I've posted comparison in other thread, 100$ Global stamped knife vs. 140$ Wusthof forged one. Stamped Global has better steel, higher hardness and QC is same or better as Wusthof.

P.S. I do agree about Forshchners being very good price/performance value.
 
Forschner is the way to go. The cheapest line comes with fibrox one step up is the same blade with wood handles. My local cutlery shop sells them to chefs. They have been recommended in virtually every "what kitchen knife to buy" thread as the best price/value kitchen knives to buy. I have a large chef that is just great.
 
Gator97 said:
No knife should go into the dishwasher. There is a special level of hell, for those who cut on glass/marble cutting boards and put knives in a dishwasher.
Click to expand...

What if it is my knife? I do not cut on hard surfaces. I do not want to sharpen too often.

If my knife says it is dishwasher safe what is the harm?
 
If price is an issue, you cannot beat the Wusthof Grand Prix line. They are closing those out to make room for the Grand Prix II. You may also want to pick up a Spyderco Sharpmaker...sharpener and you're good to go. You need: a parer, 8" or 10" chef, 8" slicer/carver, and an agressive bread knife... at a minimum. If you extra money, I would add: a santuko, boning knife , meat cleaver, and a peeler. F. Dick makes some nice, stamped cleavers that are not expensive.

When & if you have extra money, Shun is very, very nice. There are closeouts now on their Alton Brown line. That line has an angled handle that is different than you're used to, but it works just great.
 
Hard H2O said:
What if it is my knife? I do not cut on hard surfaces. I do not want to sharpen too often.

If my knife says it is dishwasher safe what is the harm?
Click to expand...

Dishwasher uses hot water and chemicals to wash, which isn't friendly to any steel. Also, there is a chance of items getting banged against each other during the wash process. And finally hot air to dry on the final cycle.
Each of those is a good reason for not putting knives in a dishwasher.
I've had rust spots on stainless spoons and forks because of the dishwashers, and I'm pretty sure knives will fare much worse.
 
Gator97 said:
No knife should go into the dishwasher. There is a special level of hell, for those who cut on glass/marble cutting boards and put knives in a dishwasher.
Click to expand...

Hard H2O said:
What if it is my knife? I do not cut on hard surfaces. I do not want to sharpen too often.

If my knife says it is dishwasher safe what is the harm?
Click to expand...

Looks like you're joining me in eternal tarnation.
 
Gator97 said:
Dishwasher uses hot water and chemicals to wash, which isn't friendly to any steel. Also, there is a chance of items getting banged against each other during the wash process. And finally hot air to dry on the final cycle.
Each of those is a good reason for not putting knives in a dishwasher.
I've had rust spots on stainless spoons and forks because of the dishwashers, and I'm pretty sure knives will fare much worse.
Click to expand...

It's not rust. It's patina.

I have a couple of spots in my dishwasher were I put the bigger knives where they are secure only the spine of the knife touches anything. The silverware holder has individual slots so even he smaller knives do not bang against anything. I have not noticed anything bwyond a couple of small spots. No rust spots.

I am intending to replace th wooden handles on the few that hav them with micarta or something similar.
 
I would never put a knife in the dishwasher or even in the sink. I simply rinse them off unless there'a bacteria question, then the earlier suggestion to rinse them in a Clorox-water-dishsoap solution is a very good one. Even my wife knows better than to stick our knives in the dishwaher or sink. My sister put her very expensive All-Clad pots & pans in the diswasher and you should see how they look now. I'm sure they work okay, but they look awful.
 
I have seen knives with wood handles that have taken a few trips through the dishwasher...not pretty. As all my knives have wood handles I don't subject them to that. I think what does the damage is being wet then having the extreme heat drying.
 
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