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Help finding a good set of Kitchen Knives

Bors

Bors

Joined
Mar 23, 2000
Messages
1,730
About 11 years ago my wife (girfriend at the time)bought a set of robinson may company serrated kitchen knives and there time has long since passed. I seem to have spent all my attention over the years collecting swords and knives in general and overlooked the most basic of knives the ones we use day to day.

I would like to buy a good set and I am open to all suggestions for both custom and production sets.
 
...I'm no kitchen knife expert, but I've sunk a good bit of cash into Henckels (4-star and their lower end line. They are good knives, but we've never been really happy. About 2 months ago, I had my wife try my Rapala (Marttiini) 6" filet knife. Now we have a set of Rapala's (4" for paring, 6" for utility, 7" for roasts/turkey, etc.). For us, absolutely *nothing* works better than the filet knives. We do keep one Henckel around for chopping (filets don't chop so good). They're inexpensive, easy to sharpen, and nothin cuts like a filet knife!
 
Gerber makes a hell of a good kitchen knife thats decently priced. I'd recommend them for good feel and service.

Jake
 
the best out there these days are Global from japan, they are a intracal steel handle knife. if you like the classic style get woustoff brand, henckel use to be the best, they have been riding on their name. besides knife makeing i do sharping work. the newer the henckel the softer the steel.




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I grouped possible brands by price:

+200$:Hattori kitchen knives have got really good appreciation by one of the most knowing knife people (Joe T, J. Mattis etc.)

about100$:MAGs standard models and Globals are about the same quality = very good. Better MAGs (than the standard collection) I've seen only as a part of set with standard MAG's.

30-70$:Spydercos kitchen knifes are very good - I'd say that they are better(if only by thin margin) than Victorinox excellent knives. Spydercos are uglier than rosewood Victorinoxs. Spyderco has more (more expensive knives available in SFO)

If I was about to buy new kitchen knives I'd look for MAGs, Spydercos and Randall #6 carving set - MEGA DROOL.

Sorry MAG Should be MAC. I'm sorry for typo

[This message has been edited by Tommi (edited 07-21-2000).]
 
The Hattoris are absolutely gorgeous knives. I have two and they are incredibly sharp. They are damascus and VG10 laminates and require some care. There have been some very helpful reviews posted that you can check out.
George Tichbourne's work is first rate stuff from a first rate guy. Also super sharp, mine has a finish that can be seen from space, and really, really tough. You might find it to be on the heavy side, but I like that. Mostly 440C but george demonstrates how good that metal really is Check out his web site. Excellent prices. Excellent work. Excellent guy.
Haslinger's work is a little lighter but also first rate. He's also on the web and a great guy to deal with.
Harildstat's chef knives have gotten great comments, as have Carter's japanese laminates. but I haven't had the pleasure of owning eithet.
As you can tell, I favour customs. I think for the money you get much better quality and satisfaction. For years I had all these great working and art knives, and the knives I used most and that my guests saw were Gerbers and the like that you can get from Walmart. Ugh! Time to take the cooking and eating knives seriously, or at least have some that make you smile handy so you can can enjoy your love of knives[and your knowledge of knives] every time you cook, eat or entertain in your own house. You won't have to pull out your hunting knife to cut your steak anymore
smile.gif

I strongly suggest you go custom or near-custom. I don't think you can go very wrong with any of the above. Check the web and see what makes you smile.
 
We have had both Henkels and a new set of Cutco. My experience with the Cutco has been a short one (less than 2 years) however, they are possibly the sharpest knives I have ever used in the kitchen. They have excellent edge retention and have a fabulous gurantee. They are NOT cheap, but IMHO worth it. My mother-in-law has a full set and sent them back for a free sharpening and as they were sharpeneing them, they found that one of them had a chipped blade (from normal use) and they replaced it free of charge. I was impressed, since she never requested the free replacement.

Just my $.02 worth..

David

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David P. Sproles
Eagle Scout Class of 1988
dps2970@hotmail.com
 
Another technically superior family of knives are made by MAC in Japan. They have a hard razor alloy and great ergonomics. I think the older ones are AUS-8 at about 58 RC the newer ones are harder (they talk about having both vanadium and tungsten in the alloy which should make for a very fine grain structure in the blade--for a razor edge).

http://www.macknife.com/page3.html

[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 07-19-2000).]
 
gotta go with Global if you want the modern one piece look...for traditional look it is hard to beat Messermeister Meridian Elite series of knives...but these knives aren't cheap...approx. $100 for a 6".
 
Dave Ellis, ABS, Mastersmith here. I use Sabatiers and Globals, both great knives the globals are sharp as a razor and for heavy chopping the Sabatiers are great. Feel free to contact me with any questions,
Dave Ellis,ABS, M.S. http://www.mastersmith.com

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If function is more important to you than appearance, I think You'll like the Spyderco kitchen knives. If you look around, you can find plain edged variants as well as the more ubiquitous serrated.

David Rock



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AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.
 
Rob Simonich makes an absolutely gorgeous chef's knife. The original was 10", but he plans to make other sizes as well. The metal is Talonite (r), and you can have your choice of scales. I chose G-10, but Rob offers Ti as well.

Yes, the knives are expensive, but when you consider the cost over the several generations they will last, they are really quite a bargain. Besides, you will get a lot of benefit out of telling your wife, 'Sure, these knives were expensive, honey, but you are worth it!'
smile.gif


Nick Blinoff and Michael Gettier, both professional chefs, tested Rob's knife, and they raved about it.

Walt
 
Hello,
Really depends on how much money that you're willing to spend and what you need the knives for. I'm a chef and I've been using a mixture of Henckels and Wusthof. These are my most used knives. I prefer the Wushtof 8" chef's knife over the henckels pro S series(henckels top of the line)but they are both pretty close in preformance. Also I do alot of trimming so I use a 10" wusthof utility blade for that. If your going to do some boning Buy a henckels boning knife. Also very important to have a paring knife you beleive how handy one of these comes in I prefer a Pro S henckels one. These knives all come with life time gurantee's. Which they gladly honor. But it all comes down to whats the most comfortable in your hands. remember this...its the true key to finding A "good knife". hope that I was helpful-g
 
I have been an amateur chef for about ten years and have been a knife collector for 30 years. The research and testing I conducted led me to use the Wustoff forged line of kitchen knives exclusivly. They are not the cheapest on the market but they will do what you want and the variety is almost endless. They have the professional line with bolsters in the handle and the Grand Prix line with a one piece handle. I would reccamend the bolsters. You can contact Professional Cutlery direct for a good selection. I am certain you will be satisfied building a collection of these knives.
 
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