Good Slicers for Cooking

riz_aaroni

riz_aaroni

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Hello all!

I am moving into my own place and have been recently acquiring everything I need. I have most of the cooking utensils I need, except for some good kitchen knives. While I could get some knives that are solely made for cooking, I thought it'd be better (in my mind anyway) to get fixed blades that could serve well for cooking.

As for the specifics, having some variety in size/function would be good and most importantly, not costing a lot. I really like the Koster Nessmuk, but at $125 or so, it'd be a little steep considering I'd be buying 2 or three more.

Anyone have any suggestions? An example of a paring knife or smaller blade could be the Cold Steel k4 or the Becker Necker.

-Aaron C.
 
I won't give specific recommendations, but I feel that just a couple nice knives will benefit you more than a large set.

In the kitchen I only use a chef knife and a small paring knife. The chef covers almost every task, while the parer is used for delicate work. You'll enjoy using a nice knife more than a poor one.

Phillip
 
firebert said:
I won't give specific recommendations, but I feel that just a couple nice knives will benefit you more than a large set.

In the kitchen I only use a chef knife and a small paring knife. The chef covers almost every task, while the parer is used for delicate work. You'll enjoy using a nice knife more than a poor one.

Phillip
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I agree. Most butcher block sets comes with a ton of knives you don't truly need. The only one I might add would be a fillet knife, but even with the fish I've cooked in the past while, I haven't had a need for one.

Lol, just thought of something. Could get a Koster Nessmuk and a Spyderco Temperance. Though the Temperance is way out of my league. There is the Bill Moran knife. Do you know of any other small full flat grind fixed blades?
 
I like the grind on the Spyderco Mule. I might grind the guard off for kitchen use, but it's a very good cutter. Great steel, too.

Here's one I worked on:

3614520327_2ffcf2a429_o.jpg


Phillip
 
Great picture and knife. Totally forgot about it. Have to see if there is a place that sells them with scales or I may just be venturing into that sort of thing.
 
don't use a pliers when a socket set is needed. Kind of a lame saying, and but a dedicated kitchen knife(s) is the best way to go and this is a good comparison: clunky vs precise and fast. You don't have to spend a great deal to get great kitchen knives, e.g. chicago cutlery carbon, but my preference is for japanese steel. I like thin slicers, and most western models don't cut it. Your preference may differ. Non kitchen knives aren't meant for that type of duty. working in restaurants taught me that decades ago.
 
Forschner kitchen knives made by Victorinox of Switzerland. Best buy in kitchen knives. A paring knife, a 6 inch utility and a 8 or 10 inch chef knife will handle most chores in the kitchen. I like the Fibrox type handles good grip and will last forever. A cross between metal and plastic? for handles. you can get those 3 knives for less than 50 dollars on line.

RKH
 
gdtrfb said:
don't use a pliers when a socket set is needed. Kind of a lame saying, and but a dedicated kitchen knife(s) is the best way to go and this is a good comparison: clunky vs precise and fast. You don't have to spend a great deal to get great kitchen knives, e.g. chicago cutlery carbon, but my preference is for japanese steel. I like thin slicers, and most western models don't cut it. Your preference may differ. Non kitchen knives aren't meant for that type of duty. working in restaurants taught me that decades ago.
Click to expand...

Certainly make good points there. My main reason for trying to get both done, is the fact I'd like to buy more knives and have some real use for them on a daily basis. Two birds with one stone. Obviously dedicated kitchen knives would be ideal, but I thought there may be some interesting knives out there that'd fit the bill.

Sep said:
Look at Cold Steel Roach Belly and Long Hunter.
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Both of those look good, cheap too. Will have to see.
 
Horses for courses!
If you use a chopping board you (and your knuckles) are better served by an offset handle. This is why chef knives (English, French, German, Chinese & Japanese) are designed the way they are. Thinner blades require less effort to use for food prep - I think something like a Nesmuk will be a source of frustration rather than pleasure - preparing food in a kitchen is very different from flaying and chopping up a seal on the ice. If you need a big knife to hack into joints then get a chinese cleaver for $25 to go with a 8-10" chef and 3-4" parer.
 
Use a cutting board. I prefer wood. I have 2 Bamboo cutting boards that I really like. A ceramic plate will dull a knife's edge in a split second.

RKH
 
Certainly make good points there. My main reason for trying to get both done, is the fact I'd like to buy more knives and have some real use for them on a daily basis. Two birds with one stone. Obviously dedicated kitchen knives would be ideal, but I thought there may be some interesting knives out there that'd fit the bill.
Click to expand...

For cooking, 2 elements are desirable: a thin blade, and a long blade for the knife that would double up as the chef blade. Also a full flat ground works better as well. The blade of most "outdoor" fixed blades is too wide for comfortable food prep (esp more delicate slicing and peeling). For example, I won't even try to do regular food prep with my Fallkniven F1.
I did some food prep with my Military during my last holiday. It kinda worked but it's not ideal for finely mincing for example: the blade is still a bit too wide for that. I also used a Carbon steel scandinavian fixed blade knife which worked reasonably well, as the blade was a bit thinner.
But, my fave knives for cooking on holiday (as at home I tend to use Global kitchen knives, and they are very good) are Opinels: a number 7 for the smaller precision work and the number 12 for the bigger work. They work very well, and it's esp the blade width and flat grind that makes the difference. They are also very affordable, really worth investigating.
I think (didn't check) that a number of Moras also have rather thin blades (max 3mm, but 2mm is better), they could be suitable as well.
 
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All good points. I do use cutting boards all the time and a offset handle would definitely be a big help. As far as the nessmuk goes, the O1 version has a full flat grind and seems like it'd be good.

I have a Opinel 10 which is a great slicer, something larger and heavier may be better though. There seems to be a really good knife store where I am moving to and it looks like they have a huge selection. When I get some free time out there, I'll check the place out. Easier to figure this out when you can actually see the knives.
 
If you're going to NYC, go to Korin. They take Visa and Mastercard, but not your soul (which is a good thing during their 15% off Summer sale).
 
As attractive as the idea of using general purpose knives in the kitchen is, I find that nothing beats having kitchen knives.
You don't need expensive knives either. Sharp and thin bladed is what works best for me.
The Forschner kitchen knives are pretty good. If you order from Eagle Mountain Knives and others they will give you a discount of 25% for orders over $100.
Here is what I would get to start:
8 inch chef's knife
pairing knife
boning knife or a santoku
bread/sandwich knife

You can have a great set for around $100

If you prefer the outdoor alternative for some or all of your knives, I would look at the work of some of the custom on Blade Forums.
Bryan Breeden
Stomper
Koyote
and others make outdoor knives that will work great in the kitchen.

Good luck with your new place.
 
A paring knife need not have an offset handle but your chef knife needs to be offset.

I really think that a Mule, minus the guard, would make a good paring-utility. Better than most, certainly better than my mom's Wustof parer.

Don't skimp on the chef knife. I doesn't have to be a traditional French design, but it must be comfortable and effective. I'm using a modified cleaver/santoku design right now.

Here's what I'm using at the moment. Just the two blades cover any task in the kitchen (except grating cheese).

3626127454_97a71724ed_o.jpg


3554358045_1d344d5070_o.jpg


Phillip
 
I would go with a Kershaw Shun Chef knife. They have a VG-10 core (cutting edge) sandwiched between more rust and stain-resistant 420 stainless steel. There are some amazing deals on Shun kitchen knives on eBay (30-40% of MSRP) if you are patient. Do not buy them from "official" distributors, they have to enforce some sort of minimum pricing.

If you need a carving knife that will also look good outside the kitchen, the Bark River Canadian II is an awesome slicer, it comes with a beautiful leather scabbard and several handle choices (bought 2 on eBay for 66$ each with the green micarta handle).
 
Go for dedicated kitchen knives

You will be able to cut very thin with them.
It is great fun to muck around with all sorts of knives in the kitchen.
But for ease of use and fast thin cutting use kitchen knives.

The chef's knife is for forward slicing, with its wedge shape the blade cuts all the time.

8" or 9" Chefs knife
Bread knife
Paring knife
Boning knife

Once they are sharp, just touch them up with a DMT Extra Fine stone before use.
Use a bamboo, wood or softer plastic cutting board

A.G. Russell™ Non-Forged Kitchen Knives
http://www.agrussell.com/agkt-9-8a/p/AGKThhh9/8A/
 
I have a Shun Santoku and love it. A Santoku is a Japanese chef knife design and is shorter than a equivalent European traditional chef knife. More and more chefs are going to the Santoku design blade these days but its a personal prefferance. I also recommend a cleaver and paring knife to start and then you can build your collection as you need.
 
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