Knife set!?

A

AUSSIE28

Joined
Mar 13, 2013
Messages
4
Hi everyone,

Spent some time reading threads with much interest, thank you all! I'm a home chef and am looking to get a quality set of knives. I know it's not the best way to do it but I'm happy to have a knife block set or set of 3.

So I ask, what would be the mid - upper echelon possible for me?
Does everyone have any experience with Shun reserves? I was previously unaware they were a 'mass produced' knife so I might be a little sceptical now!
Also, thoughts on Kanetsugu Saian?
Am I way off course or are these 2 good potential choices?

Thanks everyone in advance, I look forward to your responses :)
 
My personal preference is to choose each knife individually depending on the task it's designed for and how I will use it. If having a matched set is important, I'd choose the one that feels best in my hand - perhaps you could do practice "cuts" in the store.

Kai (Shun) makes excellent knives - I don't know about your other potential choice. I wouldn't be put off by "mass production". Knives don't come off an assembly line welded together by robots.
 
that's for the whole knife set right?

it would help if we knew what you usually cook, what chopping board you have, how you store your knives, if you're okay with carbon steel and stainless steel, if you know how to sharpen and how do you sharpen your knives.......

=D
 
franzb69 said:
that's for the whole knife set right?

it would help if we knew what you usually cook, what chopping board you have, how you store your knives, if you're okay with carbon steel and stainless steel, if you know how to sharpen and how do you sharpen your knives.......

=D
Click to expand...

Usually chopping a lot of vege's and cutting a lot of meat. Bamboo chopping board. Store them in a knife block, or however is appropriate! Happy with stainless but happy to learn how to look after carbon properly. Not going to lie, don't know how to sharpen knives but again, keen to learn! Just an amateur but want good knives that will last / keep their edge / are super sharp!

Asking too much!?
 
Not going to lie, don't know how to sharpen knives but again, keen to learn! Just an amateur but want good knives that will last / keep their edge / are super sharp!
Click to expand...

we all started out this way at one point so any help that we can give are things we have learned through the people that have passed the same information to us.

=D
 
hi,
you are looking to spend enough that you can have your pick. IMHO see what Phil Wilson has available, http://www.seamountknifeworks.com/gallery.htm, you could get three nice knives from him for $1100.
another idea, get 3 or 4 basic knives for reasonable money, new or used from eBay or Etsy, and identify what YOU want in a knife. Traditional shapes or what, I personally hate a 7" or longer "chef's knife or deba" but love smaller cleavers (2 1/2" x 5" to 7")
your hands are different from mine, so a knife that feels right for me, may feel too big or too small or ..... for you. also buy some real basic ones, OLD HICKORY comes to mind. good old 1095 steel and decent hardness, cheap, and something you can use to learn to sharpen. ALL knives will get dull, it is just a matter of how long it takes. you then have a choice of sharpening yourself or paying a stranger.

While Shun and other mass makers are not fully automated, YET, the knives are being made by folks punching a clock, just like your car or your TV. and while the label may say made in japan, more and more of the work is out sourced to countries that do not take care of their workers. German makes especially use misleading advertising (440A stainless also called X50crmov15 or x55crmov15 is not the "Finest cutlery steel available") so buyer beware.


I cant tell from your profile if you live in oz or where; so I dont know local rules about buying and selling blades.
You can go to Gator97's site http://www.zknives.com/. he has reviews of kitchen and other knives and many good articles about knives, how they are made, how to sharpen, how to buy
Last thought, see if there are any local makers nearby. If you were in North Carolina, there are many small makers(myself included) who could make you exactly what you are looking for.

scott
 
I think one of my most eye opening experiances with kitchen cutlery came from the Konosuke line. They have a great steel and offer a wide variety of choices. I would go with a Konosuke HD (semi stainless) chef knife, a konosuke white sujihiki, a hiromoto as 150 mm petty.

For a pure stainless option I would go with the Gesshin Ginga from japanese knife imports, in the same sizes, available in either a western or japanses handle.

Both these option are very light, thin and nimble, it will be a completly different cutting experiance than what you are used too. All in you would be in the 750-800 dollar range.
 
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