Recommendation? Kitchen knives

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Mrbladedude

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Aug 2, 2010
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Wife wants a couple kitchen knives, maybe 4 or 5. Any suggestions as to manufacturer, sizes and price?

These knives will strictly be used in the kitchen. Some sort of rust resistance is a must. We have had the Ontario carbon steel blades for years. They rust, but stay sharp for quite a while. Of course people leave them in the sink with other dishes and water etc. Its gonna happen.

So yeah, stainless or a really rust resistant carbon or any type of good quality steel which stays sharp for a decent amount of time, doesn't rust when left in water for hours or ran in the dishwasher.

Willing to spend $120 max
 
Four or five knives for $120 total? Can't help you there. An average of $120 per knife? MAC Professional is a nice step up from Shun/Global.
 
You could look at the spyderco in mbs26 from what ive been told they are very good and mbs26 is basically vg10 so no worries on corrosion resistance
 
Victorinox or F. Dick's Prod Dynamic and Ergogrip lines are solid choices. That being said, that many knives might come out a hair over budget, but not by so great a degree to be prohibitive.
 
I'll second the suggestion for Spyderco kitchen knives. Hell of a good value.
Alternatively, I have had great experience with Victorinox Fibrox lineup. I have a few and they're great knives for the price.
 
Victorinox Fibrox brand are used commercially, affordable, and easy to clean and sharpen. We have several from chef to fillet. They hold a good edge and feel good in the hand. I can afford any brand but after using several different brands the boss in the family thought the Vics were the easiest for her to use when cooking. I like them too.

If you are unfamiliar with the brand here is a video about their 8" chef knife and 6" boning knife. You can buy a lot of the various types of Victorinox Fibrox knives for $120.



Here is the forum that you should probably ask the question of. It is the Kitchen Cutlery forum.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/kitchen-cutlery-tools.842/
 
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Victorinox is more widely available and their less-silly-sounding name makes them generally more popular, but I find the F. Dick Pro Dynamic and ErgoGrip series to have a better heat treatment for the same steel as Victorinox which leads to better edge retention and stability, with better ergonomics and about the same price. The ErgoGrip line, while mostly meat-cutter's knives, have the single most comfortable grip design I've ever used on any knife, culinary or otherwise.
 
I always recommend Japanese knives for the Kitchen. They have better and harder steel, thinner blade grinds for better cutting and are often cheaper than the German counterparts.

Personally, I think a chef knife, boning knife, paring knife and veggie knife make a well rounded set.
 
Rada is a cool little company. As I understand it they use 420 grade recycled steel for their knives and recycled aluminum for handles, driving down the cost of raw materials and overall production making a truly affordable USA made blade. Not going to be the highest grade knife steel, but rather more at the lower end of the spectrum to still be able to make a serviceable knife. But that said a serviceable cheap knife, made in America, that also does the planet a solid through recycling.

Buck makes a basic block set for $200-$300
Case makes a decent little full basic block set that can be found for under $300.
Victorinox makes a nice full 11 piece block set in that price range as well.

If country of origin doesn't bother you though. Seriously, Check out Cangshan knives.They make slim blocks of kitchen basics, and they are an actual Chinese Cutlery co., making knives that are Chinese affordable, but better Chinese quality then most who are just mass stamping out low grade junk and then putting fancy names or celebrity chef names on them.
Henckles International "Premio" is another one of the better made in china setups you'll find. "Henckles International" is their lower end - outsourced brand of knives compared to "Henckles Twin" (made in Germany) brand, but the Premio knives are forged not stamped, and at the top of the international line.

Then up around $400 You can get her a real nice starter set with a slim block from Wusthof Classic or Shun Classic!

Or just go ahead and get her a pair or 3 of customs, one chef's, one utility, and one paring.

(I'm currently in a similar conundrum considering a housewarming gift for a good friend.)
 
Tojiro makes a very well regarded budget chef knife. VG 10 core with a softer stainless steel layer over it. I've seen them going for around $60.

I recently picked up an enso hd by yaxell and I couldn't be happier. Damascus with a VG 10 core, a hammered finish, and a micarta handle. Razer sharp out of the box, comfortable handle, cuts through meat and vegetables like they're butter. It cost right around $120 for an 8 inch chef knife, and yaxell has a couple others around that price with slightly different handles.

20170512_194105.jpg


Excuse the crappy cell phone pic, it doesn't do the knife justice but I'm to lazy right now to get my camera out.
 
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If your budget really is tight, I just seen knifecenter has a Boker Arbolito basic 6 piece block for under $100.
4 basic knives + a steel.
Made in their Argentina plant with 440a.

Pretty good low priced budget deal right there for a decent steel from a decent brand.
 
I wouldn't recommend this for an enthusiast, but for a home cook who doesn't want to learn the ins and outs of sharpening (I don't blame them!), it works pretty well and isn't the worst thing in the world: an AccuSharp pull-through knife sharpener, . That, plus a Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's knife, a stainless Opinel paring knife, and a Tojiro bread knife (the $18 one). That would cover 99% of one's daily kitchen tasks. Maybe throw in an Artaste cleaver ($8) just for fun.

Although Tojiro does make great entry-level Japanese-style chef's knives, their choice of steel (VG-10) might not be the best for your wife's purposes if she intends to put them in the dishwasher, etc., because VG-10 chips more easily than steels like that in the Victorinoxes mentioned. Chippier and harder to sharpen on the Accusharp.
 
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$120 total or $120 for each knife?

Victorinox and Spyderco make decent factory kitchen knives for the money.

Realistically, most people only need 2 or 3 knives in the kitchen.

Get a decent gyuto and a paring knife and you should be good to go.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Victorinox is more widely available and their less-silly-sounding name makes them generally more popular, but I find the F. Dick Pro Dynamic and ErgoGrip series to have a better heat treatment for the same steel as Victorinox which leads to better edge retention and stability, with better ergonomics and about the same price. The ErgoGrip line, while mostly meat-cutter's knives, have the single most comfortable grip design I've ever used on any knife, culinary or otherwise.
Click to expand...

Ben. Seriously. You make it so so hard not to make jokes about the name... I'm trying not to earn myself an infraction for making those kinda jokes in 'general' but damn dude. A guy's only got so much restraint.
 
I like to say that the only folks who giggle about the name haven't tried the knives. ;) :D They've been around since somethin' like 1775 or so, though, so I doubt they're open to changing the name now. :p
 
I've got a few Case and a few Chicago Cutlery that I enjoy. I like the walnut handles, and have taught my wife to take care not to let them soak. I've heard good things about the Victorinox and Spyderco kitchen knives. Whatever you get, please keep them out of the dishwasher!

A Lansky Turn Box fits easily in a kitchen drawer and makes touching up the edge convenient and easy.
 
I am thinking about getting a set of these for my daughter, no block but $45.95 for the set:

ESEE Ethan Becker Signature Cooking Knives Series 1

Four Essential Blades for the Home Cook, 7" Santuko, 6 3/4" Chef Knife, 5 3/4" Santuko and 6" Utility Knife. The soft handle of Satoprene for a No-Slip grip and easy cleaning. The blades are made from German DIN 1.4116 Stainless Steel, hardened to 55-57 RC with full flat grind. They are dish washer safe, but as we all know the best way to take care of a kitchen knife is by hand-washing it with mild detergent and warm water. Each blade has Ethan Becker’s signature etched into. Manufactured in Taiwan per Becker/ESEE Knives standards.

https://www.knifeworks.com/closeout...nature-cooking-knives-series-1-esee-cook.html

They are not the greatest steel or handles but they look functional, are made for ESEE with the Becker signature, and I don't think she is ready for high end knives at this point.
 
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