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

Another vote for Rada knives. :thumbsup: VERY inexpensive so you can try a couple of different ones to get a feel for what she likes before going more expensive. ;)
 
I would suggest first sharpening the knives she already has. Sharpening services for kitchen knives ranges from $1 - $3 per inch of sharpened edge (small investment).

Then watch how she cuts various things.
1. Does she use a slicing motion or a chopping motion (possibly changes with various foods - note the differences).
2. Does she like to use a rocking motion when cutting (possibly changes with various foods - note the differences).
3. Does she have preferences related to the knives she already has, and why.
4. Take the answers to these questions to someone you trust and ask them to help you make a few selections.

The answers to these questions will put you on track to answering a number of things related to geometry & ergonomics related to food-prep (and in general about any knife used as a tool). The edge used to slice meat can be/is much different than the edge used to chop vegetables. One handle may be a dream for one user, but of less importance to a pinch-grip user.

Chances are, this lady is old enough to have learned that performance is more important than appearance. Using a tool best suited to the job and the users method is a good place to start.

EDIT: Quality kitchen knives can be bought for ~$10-15 a piece. All in, could be less than groceries for a family meal. The time investment in getting something specific to her, I would guess, would be greatly appreciated and remembered ;-)

For the usage description you listed in the OP consider 6" - 8" versions of a classic Chef's Knife, Santoko Knife, or Usuba Knife. If she likes to keep the tip of the knife on the cutting board, longer knives will allow her to cut taller foods.
 
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This looks like a damn nice set for the money:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/ON...ce-paringchef-knife-set-sandvik-14c28n-blades

Two nice blades, one large chef and a smaller vegetable slicer. Good stainless steel, USA made, nice looking, as well.

ON2570_LS1R.jpg
 
Tojiro or Shun chefs knife. Stay away from kitchen knives of $10-15. Saying this by someone with a drawer of knives in that price range.
 
I was also going to suggest Victorinox. The are rated as the best budget kitchen knives. You will also have to get a steel for honing. I guess you will have to teach her, assuming you know how.
 
Hello and a pleasant evening to all of you

I am going to browse through your advice and jot down some of the options and look into them further. There are just so many choices for these knives, who would have thought.

In the meanwhile, I also realized that I still love a good piece of cheese now and then, and was wondering if any of these brands make a quality cheese knife as well, nothing over the top, I am not hosting parties

Thank you for you kindness

Cheers,
James
 
I'm surprised no one else mentioned it, but I'd get her a vegetable cleaver.

It's exactly what it sounds like, a cleaver for vegetables.

A lot of the problem she's having with chopping vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, is probably wedging of the knife blade and poor technique.

The added size and heft of the veggie cleaver along with a well designed grind does a lot to overcome both issues. As long as you use appropriate cutting boards and don't start hacking at ribs with it it's not likely to need much sharpening.

I'm looking for a suitable model at the moment and will update later. I have one but it's not exactly a budget option and it's a high carbon steel.

UPDATE:
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That's a CCK Small Stainless Cleaver. I don't know if the retailer is a member here or not so I won't mention them specifically, but a quick Google search should pull it up. $70 where I found it.

I know they look odd to us westerners, but they're wonderful. Slice and chop like a dream and the width allows you to scoop and move the chopped veggies with ease.
 
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I'd suggest the Spyderco kitchen knife line up or the Victorinox kitchen line up. Both great and in the same price range. Opinel also sells kitchen knives at an affordable price.
 
jamesbond said:
Hello and a pleasant evening to all of you

I am going to browse through your advice and jot down some of the options and look into them further. There are just so many choices for these knives, who would have thought.

In the meanwhile, I also realized that I still love a good piece of cheese now and then, and was wondering if any of these brands make a quality cheese knife as well, nothing over the top, I am not hosting parties

Thank you for you kindness

Cheers,
James
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Great trick I learned, Take a little cooking or Olive oil and sread a thin coat on the knife you are going to use to slice the cheese ( you guys thought that I would use the word cut instead of slice) and slice away. A kitchen should not have a collection of Unitaskers ( one trick ponies ). A cheese knife unless used often is a waste of space.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
I'm surprised no one else mentioned it, but I'd get her a vegetable cleaver.

It's exactly what it sounds like, a cleaver for vegetables.

A lot of the problem she's having with chopping vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, is probably wedging of the knife blade and poor technique.

The added size and heft of the veggie cleaver along with a well designed grind does a lot to overcome both issues. As long as you use appropriate cutting boards and don't start hacking at ribs with it it's not likely to need much sharpening.

I'm looking for a suitable model at the moment and will update later. I have one but it's not exactly a budget option and it's a high carbon steel.

UPDATE:
20170910_193028.png


That's a CCK Small Stainless Cleaver. I don't know if the retailer is a member here or not so I won't mention them specifically, but a quick Google search should pull it up. $70 where I found it.

I know they look odd to us westerners, but they're wonderful. Slice and chop like a dream and the width allows you to scoop and move the chopped veggies with ease.
Click to expand...
In addition you can actually baton the cleaver with a wooden straight rolling pin to get through hard foods such as butternut squash, Sweet Potato and other hard to cut items.
 
bryan123 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned Opinel so far
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The Opinel is a pain in the butt to clean from kitchen type junk. It gets under the lock and is pretty hard to get out. In addition opening it with oily or greasy hands is a problem. Don't get me wrong, as a paring knife the blade is excellent but as a kitchen knife, the package is non user friendly.
 
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I have a couple of opinels (10 slim and 12 slim bubinga, both stainless) which I really enjoy using in the kitchen for LIGHT cutting tasks. :thumbsup: I sure wouldn't want to try chopping veggies (especially tough ones like sweet potatoes) though. :eek:
 
Opinel has two product lines of regular kitchen knives. One line, "Intempora," uses Sandvik 12C27 stainless with POM handles. The other, "Parallèle," is X50CrMoV15 with wood handles. I don't have personal experience with either product line.

They have a chef's knife and santoku in both lines, which could be used for vegetable chopping, depending on user preferences and techniques.

Many major knife makers produce kitchen knives of some kind or another, even if they are primarily known for pocket knives.


bryan123 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned Opinel so far
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Opinel was mentioned in post 10, but only in reference to a folding knife. Do you have experience with their kitchen knives that might be helpful to the OP?
 
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