kitchen cutlery

citytransplant

citytransplant

Joined
Apr 12, 2008
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232
A friend needs some kitchen knives which will likely be a gift from me. I'm thinking high quality but some of the Wusthof, Henckels, Gunter and Chicago etc. can be many hundreds for a well equipped kitchen set... ouch!

I'm guessing it comes down to steel quality and ability to hold an edge then it's a fit and finish thing. Then there is the matter of each having several lines to choose from... I'm dizzy and I haven't even got a source coming into focus.

So, what pops into your mind? Are there good values out there? Is a name necessary for quality? Are some name only? Are there... maybe little/unknown companies, one that's up and coming, who make high quality? Am I making this too hard? Any advice you care to share would be greatly appreciated.
 
Most people in the know these days tend to prefer japanese over german traditional kitchen knives. Also most knives in a block set arn't regularly used. For what it's worth I'd buy 3 knives, 8 inch chef's, 3 inch paring, 10 inch slicer and a Magblok (wooden magnetic knife holder). Depending on how much you want to spend Global, Mac and Shun/Kershaw are all good choices. Some people like the look of a matching but I prefer a mix of knives.
 
After working in a retail knife store for almost three years, I learned people like to have good quality, but don't like to pay for it. First off, any new Chicago knives SUCK! I hated sharpening them and they're made very cheaply now.

I love my Shun. 8" Chef, 6" Utility, and 3" Paring. Global are great for the price, easy to sharpen and hold a good edge. Henkel Four Stars and Pro S lines are great for the price, but be careful you buy the ones with the TWINS on them, not the single man. Those are made in Spain and are pretty shotty quality. My parents have had a set of the Four Stars for about 35 years now. Wusthof is pretty good quality, again their classic and their Grand Prix II lines are good quality, a little more expensive than the Henkels though.

Make sure they take care of what ever you buy them. The three care techniques I ALWAYS told people on kitchen knives were 1: Keep them in a block, magnetic strip, or protective sleeve. Tossing them into a drawer will kill and edge. 2: No dishwasher. Period. Ever. At all. Kills the edge and handles. And with some knives, voids warranty. 3: Use a wood or plastic cutting board. Glass, metal and stone will all kill edges.

Good luck finding some for your friends! There are great deals all over the Internet. Shun 5 pc is what I bought. The three knives, steel and scissors!

Thanks!
 
If you buy German knives look on the blades for the marking CrMoVW. The older knives only have CrMo or CrMoV. The latest models have Vanadium (V) and Tungsten (W) in addition to Chrome and Molybdenum.
 
Victorinox makes some pretty darn good knives at pretty low prices. I have used many brands as my son is a chef and owns the many of the best Japanese knives. I have several of the Victorinox kitchen knives and they are a pleasure to use.

MAC makes some good pretty Japanese knives that are pretty reasonable as well. I believe they are USA made.

Wasabi Black by Kershaw are nice knives for the money as well.

Hope this helps you
 
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my favorite kitchen knife is my Wusthof 6" chef knife. After that is my $65 laminated steel santoku from the Japan Woodworker catalog.
Opinel and Victorinox both make excellent paring knives for not much $$. SMKW carries both.
For pure functionality without beauty, Forschner supplies a lot of knives to busher shops and restaurants. Again, SMKW has them, so does Grainger (industrial tool supply - so these are definitely commercial grade blades, not show pieces)

good luck!
 
Unless someone makes a s30v kitchen knife, i just say buy shuns because they are made with vg 10 damascus. Every other kitchen knife maker doesnt bother to list what steels they use and it irritates me. Ag russel is also another good one that uses vg10.
 
bubblewhip said:
Unless someone makes a s30v kitchen knife, i just say buy shuns because they are made with vg 10 damascus. Every other kitchen knife maker doesnt bother to list what steels they use and it irritates me. Ag russel is also another good one that uses vg10.
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S30V is not a good kitchen blade steel, especially when you consider cost. It's too inflexible and brittle in my opinion. It's also more difficult to sharpen than VG10. And when it needs sharpening, you'll notice that it's prone to chipping when thinned out to kitchen knife thicknesses.
 
+1 Victorinox/Forschner

If you can afford it, Shun is hard to beat.
I have both Forschner and Shun. The Forschners are very functional and tough, but the Shun is just a pleasure to use.
 
Two recent favorites of mine are the Akifusa Chef's Gyuto 9,5" and Kagayaki KV-6:

Akifusa24.jpg


KagayakiKV-6.jpg


http://www.epicureanedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=85649&photo=1&size=b
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/KAGAYAKIVG-10.html

~Paul~
 
If you want something really affordable Forschner makes a decent knife at a good price. Myself I have become very fond of Shun. I have 3 of them and got the nice bamboo block to expand. Have a set of the scissors as well. I have been using the Shun knives for several months and have not had to do any sharpening on them.

I agree completely about something someone said above. Whatever you go with, hand wash them and put them in a block. I never put my knives in the dishwasher or a drawer. It's funny how we take such good care of our pocket knives only to trash our kitchen knives.
 
I just received a fantastic book on kitchen knives. It is by Sarah Jay and forwarded by Chef Emeril Lagasse entitled KNIVES COOKS LOVE, selection, care, techniques,recipes. This book is fantastic.
 
citytransplant said:
A friend needs some kitchen knives which will likely be a gift from me. I'm thinking high quality but some of the Wusthof, Henckels, Gunter and Chicago etc. can be many hundreds for a well equipped kitchen set... ouch!

I'm guessing it comes down to steel quality and ability to hold an edge then it's a fit and finish thing. Then there is the matter of each having several lines to choose from... I'm dizzy and I haven't even got a source coming into focus.

So, what pops into your mind? Are there good values out there? Is a name necessary for quality? Are some name only? Are there... maybe little/unknown companies, one that's up and coming, who make high quality? Am I making this too hard? Any advice you care to share would be greatly appreciated.
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I picked up some Old Hickory Ontario kitchen knives about 4 months ago. One was a boning and the other was a slicing knife, the boning knife being a little thinner than the slicer. I re profiled them both to a 30' inclusive edge using 220 grit sandpaper and my Spyderco Sharmaker. They cut with ease and are razor/shaving sharp and hold a good edge. 1095 steel though so the blades with get marks on them if left wet. Paid like $10 for both knives and they are the best knives (performance wise) in my kitchen. Fit and finish is not so good but i have no problem with that. Overall great knives. Bought them from ACE Hardware.
 
I think the most important thing is what kind knife user is your friend. My wife is a killer on knives, I can't count how many good kitchen knives she has ruined. I got her a set of Kinsu knives so she would leave my knives alone...she loves them. I hide my knives (which is easy, just keep them out of plain sight) and all is good in the kitchen.
 
Los Angeles said:
S30V is not a good kitchen blade steel, especially when you consider cost. It's too inflexible and brittle in my opinion. It's also more difficult to sharpen than VG10. And when it needs sharpening, you'll notice that it's prone to chipping when thinned out to kitchen knife thicknesses.
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Your thinking about a boning or fillet knife or a cleaver. A chefs knife should be rigid and solid to do the really fast machining knife skills that a lot of chefs and cooks exhibit. If it's flexes it could become dangerous for those fast chopping techniques. Brittleness is not much of an issue unless like I said your boning or cleaving through frozen food. Chefs knives most encounters will be with vegetables and fruits. Even hard roots, S30V should take it. VG-10 is also not a tough steel, Ask anyone that used a fallkniven and they will tell you that batoning they have seen VG-10 chip. I'd probably say that VG-10 is more brittle than S30V in many cases, considering that S30V is about 5x tougher than D2 and 440C longitudinally from CPM's website. And D2 contrary to popular opinion is pretty tough when heat treated correctly, It can baton through wood and even suffer impacts from rocks without having any edge damage.
 
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