- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
I've been a knife nut for 40+ years, I've sharpened kitchen knives as an amateur and a professional for 40+ years, I've been into cooking for 30+ years, I've done some catering, and periodically I volunteer at the local soup kitchen for the homeless where we prepare 500+ hot meals in 3 hours. Every week I go down to Goodwill and buy used kitchen knives so that I can experiment with their working characteristics. I own about 150 kitchen knives from around 40 manufacturers.
The knives that I've suggested above are based on a lot of experience with knives that do the job efficiently, are easy to maintain, and make a housewife happy with their appearance and dimensions.
For efficiency you need several knives that are slightly curved and extend past your knuckles so that they can be rocked on a cutting board surface as you chop and dice (you need to have at least one plastic cutting board in your kitchen). A french chef's knife is a classic model. A forged blade is usually a disadvantage since it is thicker (requiring more cutting effort) and bolsters at the base of the blade get in the way of full edge sharpening. As the blade is sharpened you need to sharpen from point to heel smoothly so that all of the edge can still touch the cutting board. If you have a forged bolster at the heel of the blade you have to grind it down as you sharpen to maintain the blade contour. I like to have an 8" chef's knife plus 4" and 6" smaller chopping knives (all that conform to my cutting board contour guidelines). Other knives that you need in your set are a 4-5" boning knife and a couple 2" paring knives.
For women to use the knives efficiently you want slimmer handles than some of the more expensive knives offer. I've also found women to prefer more rounded contours of the knives they use. They place a lot of emphasis on the handle appearance and feel that can confuse a blade fancier. There are ergonomic handled commercial knives that work well, but make most women want to gag on sight. You want the knives to tolerate washing well by hand, since almost nothing lasts well in the dishwasher.
If you steel your knife it works most efficiently if the blade is soft. If you use a high-efficiency thin blade you need the alloy to get harder and tougher not to roll to much. I like alloys like AUS-8 that work up in the 58 RC and have a very fine grain structure. The secret can be to have small amounts of vanadium and tungsten in the alloys. The small amounts tend to reduce the grain structure of stainless steels which makes them easier to sharpen while making the blade a little tougher.
I bring about 30 knives with me to the homeless kitchen. The design that works the most efficiently for the team (80% women) is the original MAC 6.5"-blade utility knife. The other popular one is similar, but a little longer. Chef's knives and boning knives get used around the meat. The potatoes are prepared for boiling with 2" paring knives.
I like the better German and French knives, but they are often oversized and overexpensive for doing the real work. The Japanese and Swiss knives work better for less money.
[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 07-19-2000).]
The knives that I've suggested above are based on a lot of experience with knives that do the job efficiently, are easy to maintain, and make a housewife happy with their appearance and dimensions.
For efficiency you need several knives that are slightly curved and extend past your knuckles so that they can be rocked on a cutting board surface as you chop and dice (you need to have at least one plastic cutting board in your kitchen). A french chef's knife is a classic model. A forged blade is usually a disadvantage since it is thicker (requiring more cutting effort) and bolsters at the base of the blade get in the way of full edge sharpening. As the blade is sharpened you need to sharpen from point to heel smoothly so that all of the edge can still touch the cutting board. If you have a forged bolster at the heel of the blade you have to grind it down as you sharpen to maintain the blade contour. I like to have an 8" chef's knife plus 4" and 6" smaller chopping knives (all that conform to my cutting board contour guidelines). Other knives that you need in your set are a 4-5" boning knife and a couple 2" paring knives.
For women to use the knives efficiently you want slimmer handles than some of the more expensive knives offer. I've also found women to prefer more rounded contours of the knives they use. They place a lot of emphasis on the handle appearance and feel that can confuse a blade fancier. There are ergonomic handled commercial knives that work well, but make most women want to gag on sight. You want the knives to tolerate washing well by hand, since almost nothing lasts well in the dishwasher.
If you steel your knife it works most efficiently if the blade is soft. If you use a high-efficiency thin blade you need the alloy to get harder and tougher not to roll to much. I like alloys like AUS-8 that work up in the 58 RC and have a very fine grain structure. The secret can be to have small amounts of vanadium and tungsten in the alloys. The small amounts tend to reduce the grain structure of stainless steels which makes them easier to sharpen while making the blade a little tougher.
I bring about 30 knives with me to the homeless kitchen. The design that works the most efficiently for the team (80% women) is the original MAC 6.5"-blade utility knife. The other popular one is similar, but a little longer. Chef's knives and boning knives get used around the meat. The potatoes are prepared for boiling with 2" paring knives.
I like the better German and French knives, but they are often oversized and overexpensive for doing the real work. The Japanese and Swiss knives work better for less money.
[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 07-19-2000).]
