Good, relatively inexpensive kitchen knife?

neetones

neetones

Joined
Apr 30, 2001
Messages
701
Hey everyone. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good, fairly inexpensive (under $60-70) kitchen knife? I'm considering buying the Spyderco Bill Moran because I hear it does extremely well in the kitchen, but I could also take it out with me, camping, or whatever I end up doing with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Nitin
 
This may be labeled as heresy, but I have found a brand that has been peeling the taters and cutting up the chickens at my house for a good while. Some of you may not have heard of it because it is known mainly to expert chefs...dare I let the secret out?

Old Hickory.
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I've got a couple of the small (5" blade?) Spyderco kitchen knives that I use all the time. They're good for general use, but they're nowhere near something I would call a fine kitchen knife (even if bigger). The handles are strong, but not rigid, and the blades are fairly thin. They were cheap, though, so I wouldn't be upset if they didn't last a lifetime. Maybe the bigger ones are netter, I don't know.

For $80, however, you can get one of the Fallkniven kitchen knives, which are fantastic. I've been using them every day for months, only running them over a steel, and they're still very sharp and the blade coating is unmarred. I love them.

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Do you need a sheath for the knife? If you do, you'll need to pick a hunting/camping/utility knife or get someone to make you a sheath for a kitchen knife. If you look at the Fallkniven kitchen knife that craigz posted above here you'll see some of the characteristics that are good for a primary kitchen knife. It has good knuckle clearance and a slightly concave blade curve that is good for quick slicing and dicing on a cutting board. Most hunting knives are a little short, a little bit overly thick, and don't have good knuckle clearance.

A thinner blade with a bit of a back-curve serves some of these functions. The Grohman Camper's Knives or Skinning knives would be pretty good but a little short. For a longer knife that is reasonably easy to get you could try the Camillus Becker Magnum Camp Knife. (Of course you want to find a low internet site price to stay within your price parameters).

Look at Marshmann brothers for the Grohmanns.
http://www.marshmanbrothers.com/grohmann.htm

For a good price on the Becker, try 1st stop knives:

http://onestopknifeshop.com/store/camillus-becker-knife-tool.html



[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 05-16-2001).]
 
thanks everyone. yeah, i'm looking for something that I can easily dice, slice and chop with..primarily vegetables, but also for things like chicken breast. i'm also not looking to spend near the range of that beautiful Fallkniven. Does anyone have any opinions on the Forschner/Victorinox line of kitchen knives? something like this 8" chef's knife:

http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/forsch/images/40520_l.jpg[img]

it only runs for about 22 bucks, any suggestions?

Nitin
 
The Forschners are excellently designed knives and offer high value at a reasonable price. I assume that this one is made in Switzerland and that Forschner hasn't followed some of the big names in cutlery into production in China or Brazil. This would be a good pick if your budget is 22 dollars and you are buying only one knife. If you share the kitchen with someone who is a bit more style conscious you might get the same knife with a rosewood handle for not much more money.

The Forschner steel works very well and gets decently sharp and holds its edge reasonably well. The MAC knives I mentioned are made of a harder and finer alloy and get sharper than the Forschner blades and hold their edge a little longer.
 
I've got a couple Spyderco serrated K04 and K05 which are absolute workhorses. Plus, since they are serrated, I find that I can go much longer between resharpenings. The MBS-26 steel used is very stain resistant and holds an edge well. The handle design and texture work well even with wet hands. If serrated is not the route you want to go, I've also got a few Camillus' kitchen knives, the Rosewood Series. Laminated rosewood color hardwood handles, and blades ground out of 440A stainless. Like the Spydercos, they have very good performance and are easy to resharpen and generally maintain.

The FB01 / FB02 Morans, as Nitin points out, do indeed make good kitchen knives. However, most of the time I find myself using a Simonich Talonite Cetan or a DDR ArcLite D2M ALB to handle most of my cutting tasks around the kitchen
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Proud member: AKTI, NCCKG, NCKK, and SCAK

NC Knife Knuts @ Table 18-B at the Blade Show

Living life on the edge

[This message has been edited by Dexter Ewing (edited 05-16-2001).]
 
Some of these knives seem like a good deal and I am tempted on buying the Aogami Petit Gyuto Hocho. Has anyone tried any of these knives?
knives for chefs
Frank Q.


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"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."
Thomas Carlyle
 
I am really glad that Jeff Clark mentioned the Forschners. I got my sister a set of the steak knives and they will shave right out of the box. Nice Rosewood handles too.

One of my friends got his daughter a big block set as a wedding gift several years ago. Every few months he sharpens them for her and they are holding up superbly. I think you'd be very happy with them.

DPD.
 
I'm not quite sure of the Forums opinion of Hoffritz knives, but I really them!!!!. They look good, cut well, and are an excellent value for the money. Anyone else?
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by neetones:
thanks everyone. yeah, i'm looking for something that I can easily dice, slice and chop with..primarily vegetables, but also for things like chicken breast.
Nitin</font>
Click to expand...

Try the Spyderco Santuko, it is about the only knife my wife will use in the kitchen.

 
I'm sorely tempted to buy one of those Fallkniven's myself. I like this one better though, as I prefer the belly and ability to "rock" the blade when chopping up veggies:

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My wife and I both brought Henckels stuff to the married kitchen, so I've got a lot of Henckels to wear out before I can seriously build up a higher quality set of knifes. They are fine for Kitchen use. I will say that when I bought my set (6-7 years ago?), I knew much less about knives than now, if I do say so myself. I found a "great sale" on Henckels at Macy's... turns out they were the Brazilian mfg'd Henckels. Not a big problem...until my 8" Chef lost 1" of tip while I was using it in a very conservative manner. Had to be a steel inclusion or grain structure defect...no bending evident, a super clean snap. Henckel's replace it... but ...

I have no experience with the Messermeister knives, but I must say that I see no reason that Chris Reeve would sell this product line if he didn't truly believe exactly what he says on his web page about this product line. I would put these on my short list (with a couple of the Fallknivens!) if I had a chance to start over:

http://www.chrisreeve.com/messermeister.html

[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 05-16-2001).]

[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 05-16-2001).]

[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 05-16-2001).]
 
If you're determined to have a kitchen knife that you can take camping, would suggest one of the Grohmann's for sure. Editor Steven Dick of TK, gave either the #1 or the Survival model high marks for kitchen work. From all his editorials, kitchen knives are quite important to him. Come with a nice leather sheath. Looking atTom Marshman's site, maybe the #2 would be best, especially with a flat grind. Of course, the 5" blade of the Survival would have some advantages.

Am thinking strongly myself of sending the new Spyderco knife that Dennis Bible mentioned as a wedding gift here shortly. But, of course, no sheath.

Happy choosing!
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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
The Grohmann #1 comes in a fully flat ground model too, though the Survival model may be the better choice for its larger size.

I too like the MAC brand kitchen knives. My granny has these, and man do they ever get sharp! I think they are AUS-8 and are thin, so they take a fantastic edge and hold it for a good while.

I bought my mom a Cold Steel kitchen knife (the 7" one) and she loves it. It is 2 years old now, and all it has needed was a quick zip on the back of the serrations on my sharpmaker to realign the teeth.

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"Come What May..."
 
What are the Granton edges for?
Is the Spyderco Homemaker also meant for general use (chopping vegetables, slicing tomatoes, I dunno...bread) or just for a specialized purpose?
 
Relatively inexpensive means a lot of different thing to different people. ~$70 pricepoint is pretty specific though
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If you are looking for a dual use knife, look at camping and hunting knives that will perform well in the kitchen. A Becker Magnum Camp would fit this role nicely and make your pricepoint. It has the flexibility to work well in the kitchen doing normal kitchen things and, had the advantage of being a practical outdoor camping and general utility knife.

In a dedicated kitchen knife, the Fallkniven's mentioned by others are a good place to start.

The Spyderco and Forschner knives are really in a different class. For their pricepoints, good knives and a good value. I got a Spyderco Santuko (sp?) recently and have been impressed with its performance to date.

You owe it to yourself to check out http://www.tichbourneknives.com/kitchen-n.htm I have a K3 and a K6. The K6 is a little out of your price range but, it is worth saving up a little longer. This is a really good knife and a great value. The vegtable knife complements it well.

Murray Carter's Muteki line has also gotten good reviews and, I had a chance to look at them in Las Vegas (Knife Classic show). For a hand made knife, these are a good alternative choice. They are relatively cheap ~$50, purposeful designs that show a little character (the hand made manufacturing process gives them great character). Not sure where the website moved to though so, I'll have to search around later to find it.

Stay Sharp,
Sid

Stay Sharp,
Sid
 
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