Kitchen knife set!

J

Jersey

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I keep hearing my parents say they need new high quality knives for the kitchen. I looked into spyderco but didn't seem to find anything. I see that kewshaw makes a 7pc set for $150? Anyone have any recommendations? NOT trying to break the bank here (college student) but i'd be proud fo myself if I could give them a set of quality knives by a brand I actually reconize!!! How are the kershaws and where is the cheapest place to buy them? any other recommendations? thanks!
 
Get 1-3 knives that are decent, no reason to break the bank. Typically only a few knives are really "used" in the kitchen.
Are they knife people? Have they been to culinary school and appreciate the finer points of kitchen knives?

Those Victorinox paring knives make excellent stocking stuffers and are sick at how well they do kitchen tasks

Shoot one of my wife's favorite knives to use in the kitchen is my Mora. She also uses a 440c hunting knife I made and a Caphalon 10" chefs knife we picked up on clearance.
There are others, but we don't use them much.
 
SamuraiDave said:
Get 1-3 knives that are decent, no reason to break the bank. Typically only a few knives are really "used" in the kitchen.
Are they knife people? Have they been to culinary school and appreciate the finer points of kitchen knives?

Those Victorinox paring knives make excellent stocking stuffers and are sick at how well they do kitchen tasks

Shoot one of my wife's favorite knives to use in the kitchen is my Mora. She also uses a 440c hunting knife I made and a Caphalon 10" chefs knife we picked up on clearance.
There are others, but we don't use them much.
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They are NOT knife people and have not gone to culinary school, however, they LOVE to cook and almost every weekend I go home I keep hearing "damnit we need new kitchen knives" for about the past 2 years. I plan to split the costs with my brother, not really sure on how much were trying to spend but I guess 150-200 would be ideal. I guess you are right, only a few knives are required. I am not a cook myself, but I'd like to buy them something quality that will last a "lifetime" if possible! what 3 knives are required in the kitchen? The benchmade prestigedge 3 pc set looks nice!
 
Just get them one 8" chef knife or santoku (depending on preference). Later, you can get them a matching paring knife.

Those two knives are about all I use in the kitchen (unless I'm spreading butter). I would personally prefer to have one knife that I can be really proud of, than a set that is "pretty good".

Check out Shun's line. They use very good steel and blade geometry.
 
Paring knives are typically used the most.
After that I typically go up to something like a typical French Chef's knife.

Between the two there is the Mora, the Scandi grind isn't as acute as the extremely fine hollow grind or very thin flat grind of the paring knife. And there is also the 4" bladed hunting knife.

I also have a japanese style herb knife that I use on veggies, but I also use my French chef in that role.

Buy whatever you think they will want. You know them the best.

But I have to warn you about my experience buying/sharpening knives for my parents.

I was a knifenut as a child, I learned how to sharpen on all my parents exteremely dull cutlery. I became quite adept at filing off a mangled edge and placing a decent edge back on the knife.
My father didn't mind it, until he realized that my mother didn't know how to use a sharp knife.
One trip to the hospital for stitches and he pulled out a bench stone and dulled all the knives I sharpened.
To this day my father has "his" knives that stay sharp, and she has "hers" knives that never see any type of sharpening implement.

After decades of using dull knives, my mother and my in-laws are just a few I know, they do not know how nor have the patience to learn how to use a sharp knife. It sounds dumb, but my mother and mother-in-law have both said things separately about how all my kitchen knives are "too sharp".

If you have any doubt that your parents my be unable to handle a sharp knife you may want to experiment with some rather inexpensive knives with decent edges before going all out and getting something with a laser edge.

You know your parents the best.

(Sorry for the huge post.)
 
Phillip Dobson said:
Just get them one 8" chef knife or santoku (depending on preference). Later, you can get them a matching paring knife.

Those two knives are about all I use in the kitchen (unless I'm spreading butter). I would personally prefer to have one knife that I can be really proud of, than a set that is "pretty good"...
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Exactly. Avoid the packaged sets which always include weird knives which nobody uses. A good chef's knife is a great start.

The problem will be managing expectations for non-knife people. Such people often seem to think that there are, out there, miracle knives which can shave a peach and chop through bones and never needs any maintenance. This is, to the knife enthusiast, obviously, wrong.
 
I have an 8" Global chef's knife that can be found for $100 or so (I think it's model G2 or G-2?). I have also heard very good things about Shun (the VG-10 steel version). That can probably be found in the same price range as the Global but will likely be a little more.

Just as an idea for you, if they BOTH like to cook WITH each other, maybe get them EACH one of these chef's knives. Or get one a chef's knife and the other a santoku so they have a little variety. This may just be me, but pretty much the only "good" knife I use in the kitchen is the chef's knife. I have a really old, cheap serrated smaller one if I need it. I never use a paring knife, but others do. It depends on the tasks your parents will need to accomplish. Basically what I'm saying is start with the king of the kitchen in the chef's knife, and you could always build from there for birthdays, anniversary, next Christmas, etc.

I would agree with the other opinions that you don't need to buy a whole set, as my post suggests. You can get a $5 bread knife and have it cut and last just as long as a $50 bread knife. Same goes for steak knives IMO. Personally I would never use a cleaver, kitchen shears, cheese knife, etc. that you may find in a larger set. But again, just my opinion.
 
Should I be worried that if I bought them a shun classic chef knife and a shun classic pairing knife that they could actually ruin the knife by not sharping it correctly!?
 
I suggest taking them to someplace like William Sonoma and have them actually handle a few different knives/handles combinations to see what they like best.
When they find one, go home and get online - you'll find it alot cheaper;)
The knife has to fit their hand and be comfortable or it will go into "The Drawer" and never come out again
 
Jersey said:
Should I be worried that if I bought them a shun classic chef knife and a shun classic pairing knife that they could actually ruin the knife by not sharping it correctly!?
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Yes you should. They probably won't ruin it completely, but they won't get good performance out of it unless they know how to sharpen it (true for all knives). Take the time to show them proper sharpening techniques.

I made my mom a very sharp paring knife (thin CPM154 with Bos HT). I gave it to her under one condition: If, next time I visited, it wasn't as sharp as it was when new (hair whittling), I would take it back. She had good equipment (diamond laps for gem-cutting), but no experience. I taught her how to properly set and maintain an edge. The edge was not perfect when I checked on it a few months later, but it was very good. As sharp as you could need for any kitchen task.
 
Jersey said:
Should I be worried that if I bought them a shun classic chef knife and a shun classic pairing knife that they could actually ruin the knife by not sharping it correctly!?
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This question comes up on a fairly regular basis. Shun offers free sharpening so if they don't know how to sharpen that't not a bad option. They also have a very thin edge so they are excellent for slicing. The downside is that the thin edge also makes them more prone to damage (from hitting bone etc) and Shun specifically states this in their data sheets. I find the Shun has too much rocker in the shape but other people like this

If they do not know how to properly use and care for their knives I'd avoid Shun and get something that's more of a "beater" like a Global or one of the German or French chef knives in 8". These are heavier and while they may not cut as efficiently as a Shun or other thinbladed knives are also more forgiving of mistreatment.

I also concur with posts that suggest you get them to try a few different knives before committing. I'm still looking for that perfect knife but thoroughly enjoying the journey - my current goto's are 8" Roselli Astrid Chef and 7" Yamawaku Nakiri, but these are both in black carbon steel so I don't recommend either for your parents
http://s623.photobucket.com/albums/tt313/antonio_luiz/?action=view&current=KitchenKnives.jpg

BTW - I have a Shun set of 3 but don't bother using them - prefer a straighter profile in a chef knife & have never liked using utility/vege style although the Shun parer is excellent.
 
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