Recommendation? Knives to cut vegetables, gift for my mother in law

J

jamesbond

Joined
Aug 12, 2017
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10
Hello,

This is James. I am new here and to the USA so not very in the groove with quality blades and knives.

My mother in law is visiting more often and she loves to chop vegetables, especially the mash and carrots, and sweet potatoes etc. Sadly she just uses those dull knives from the warehouse store cusinart or similar brand.

Trust me, cutting a sweet potato is a task with them.

I want to get her 1-2 good knives, nothing over the top, the pennies are tough right now.

Any ideas?

We are here in the United States.

Cheerios,
James
 
This is a little bit pricey but a Spyderco Sprig is legendary in the kitchen and it will hold an edge forever-ish. It's literally the only knife I use in the kitchen
 
Hello there,

It seems like I need to get a Chef's knife?

Would those cut through potatoes and the like without having to apply kung fu skills

Cheerios
James
 
Less than a hundred American dollars for a knife or two would be within my pockets, I spend more than I need to on the in laws as it is
 
I second the Victorinox fibrox line of kitchen knives. Great knives for their price. No matter what you get, it will need sharpening.
 
Chef's knives are a good general purpose profile suited to straight up and down chopping, locomotion, guillotine-and-glide, and rock chopping. Some profiles are more suited to some types of cutting motions than others, so it helps to buy a knife that matches your preferences, or modify your technique to match the knife.

There are more specialized vegetable chopping patterns - the Japanese style nakiri and usuba, or the Chinese cleaver. These are basically squared-off knives with mostly flat blade profiles that are intended for straight up-and-down chopping, though the Chinese cleaver is somewhat of a multi-purpose knife (not a bone chopper) though it requires some technique to get the full value out of the shape.

I own a couple of gyutos (flatter profile Japanese chef's knives similar to French chef's knife patterns) and a nakiri. I like the nakiri for veggie chopping myself, but one of the gyutos would work just as well.

Then there is the santoku. It is another general purpose chef's knife. Some cooks prefer the santoku profile. I have one, but it is not the first one I reach for and it is probably superfluous in my kitchen. If it were my only chef's style knife, I could get by with it. Though I prefer a sharper tip for proteins and more precise cuts, and the nakiri for some veggies like carrots, celery. Gyuto for onions, though, and for meats.
 
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For a fixed blade kitchen knife, I like the Ontario 'Old Hickory' line in 1095 carbon steel.
If you want stainless steel, Dexter Russell makes basically the same knives as the Old Hickory, but in stainless steel. I am not sure, but I think they use 440A.
Both Old Hickory and Dexter Russell get stupid sharp, and are easy to keep that way.

If you want a folder, get her an Opinel.
 
Victorinox
Mundial
Dexter Russel
Are all capable knives that are budget friendly.

Raw sweet potatoes are one of the more difficult vegetables to cut, they are very tough and dense. I find a tall thin blade works best and gives you the best control.
 
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