Let's see your kitchen knives

[bearcut]

Here's mine:

• Cleaver
• 4” Utility
• 8” Bread
• 8” Slicer
• 12” Salmon slicer
• 8” Chef
• 3” Paring
• 6” Boning
• 6” Cheese Knife
• 6” Salami/Bagel

The 3” Paring, 12” Salmon slicer and 6” Salami/Bagel knives are Wusthof.
The 6” Cheese Knife is a Shaaf Goldhamster. Best cheese knife made IMO.
The rest are made by Icel, a European knifemaker, very high quality.
And, of course, a block to store them in.

 

[C.S. Graves]

French "peasant chef" knife:

Maynard Linder ulu:

Recently, I've been using a golok petok in the kitchen:

Also used a cheap Searles/Fowler bowie reproduction for cooking before. I love the 18th/19th century aesthetic:

 

[GregS]

I have a Maynard Linder (Dancing man) Ulu and filet knife, nice stuff.:thumbup:

 

[firebert]

Here are mine:

Blackwood and CPM154

Cocobolo burl, blackwood, CPM154, sterling silver

I made both of those and they are great to use.

I also have an old butcher's cleaver (Village Blacksmith) that was my great-grandfathers.

 

[C.S. Graves]

I have a Maynard Linder (Dancing man) Ulu and filet knife, nice stuff.:thumbup:

They're some fun for food prep, no? Mine was a gift that a friend got off eBay, and I've been interested in maybe picking up one or two more, but I've had a hard time finding them online since then. I don't suppose you know of any dealers that ship to Canuckistan GregS?

 

[bearcut]

Wow, hardly any shots of kitchen knives? Gee, what a surprise….
With all the opinions people have of what the best kitchen knives are on these forums lately, I figured some these people actually HAD some! I guess it’s all theory and conjecture.

What’s that saying? Oh yeah, “Pics or it didn’t happen!”

Next time a poster claims that Global, Shun or washahubayakatashi knives are the “best’, I want to see photos, otherwise just admit that you cut your vegetables with your pocketknife and leave the discussion to those of us who actually OWN good kitchen knives. (Lycosa is O.K., it sounds like he actually has experience with chefs knives and food prep)

Thanks for the posters who did show their collections. Some of those blades look very nice.

 

[Absintheur]

These are my "good" knives, made by Ichimonji-Kichikuni in Sakai Japan and are fantastic tools for the kitchen. The handles are magnolia wood, the bolsters are buffalo horn, very traditional. The engravings on the blade are both the maker's name and the shorter line of Kanji is my name translated into a rather colorful expression. My Christian name is Wade which from the english root means wanderer. The Kanji says "the inquisitive eagle that travels.". I also have a decent sized selection (10 or so) of Old Hickory and Warther.

 

[C.S. Graves]

It's odd, since the kitchen is where the bulk of the average person's cutting will be done... assuming they're not a "can opener" chef.

Admittedly, two of the ones I posted aren't designed for food prep, but they can do the job, and why not? Maybe not the perfect blades for certain tasks, but I have fun using some of the more unlikely ones... and getting a nice food patina on 'em.

 

[bearcut]

It's odd, since the kitchen is where the bulk of the average person's cutting will be done... assuming they're not a "can opener" chef.

Exactly.

You’d think that some of these people who spend hundreds of dollars on one EDC or Fixed blade would at least have descent kitchen knives wouldn’t you?

Moreover, knife design has much more influence over performance than steel composition or brand, hence the wide variety.
I use knives more in the kitchen than anywhere else, and for longer periods of time. They all work better for their intended purpose than any of my folders or fixed blades for kitchen use.

The people who are asking what chef knives to buy on this forum are often being fed the wrong information from people who evidently don’t even own the blades they are recommending. The ‘chopper’ crowd seems to think a 10-12” chefs is the best choice for instance. For home, and even restaurant use, 10” is too big for an amateur, and a 12” is WAY too big. Most pro chefs I know, as well as true gourmet cooks, use some form of an 8-9” chefs, traditional style BTW.

I’ve seen too many knifeknuts with $500 folder/fixes, who use a POS Old Hickory in the kitchen, to take any stock in their ‘what’s the best Chefs knife?’ responses.
However, if you have a POS Old Hickory set and want to post pictures of them, go right ahead.

My apologies to any of you who actually have nice kitchen knives.

 

[Absintheur]

I’ve seen too many knifeknuts with $500 folder/fixes, who use a POS Old Hickory in the kitchen, to take any stock in their ‘what’s the best Chefs knife?’ responses.
However, if you have a POS Old Hickory set and want to post pictures of them, go right ahead.

My apologies to any of you who actually have nice kitchen knives.

What makes Old Hickory or, by extension Warthers as they are in the same price bracket, POSs? The are very good kitchen knives, good steel, traditional blade designs, easy to sharpen and they have good edge holding abilities. Do you think a high price is what makes a knife good? I do own some expensive knives but they are specialty pieces. More often than not I'll reach for one of those so called POSs when I need a very sharp paring knife.

 

[SShepherd]

10.5" yanagi, cpm154cm, traditional chestnut shaped handle from ebony and horn

10.5" kiritsuke, cpm154cm, octagon shaped handle from california buckeye and horn.

to me, a poorly made kitchen knife has a short, hollow ground primary bevel.

 

[bearcut]

What makes Old Hickory or, by extension Warthers as they are in the same price bracket, POSs? The are very good kitchen knives, good steel, traditional blade designs, easy to sharpen and they have good edge holding abilities. Do you think a high price is what makes a knife good? I do own some expensive knives but they are specialty pieces. More often than not I'll reach for one of those so called POSs when I need a very sharp paring knife.

Because the same steel snob people who swear by ( ), in their folders/fixed blades, and claim that 1095, (or whatever) steel knives can’t compare to their ( ), are the same ones who seem to have the crappy kitchen knives.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Old Hickory knives. Hey, if that’s all you can afford, great. An OH chefs, paring and bread knife are going to work MUCH better than your EDC for all kitchen tasks. However, they are one of the most generic knives out there, that’s all.

They have no bolsters, aren’t balanced, are stamped instead of forged, and have cheap handles, so, to a certain extent, yes, I do think that I high price point makes some kitchen knives better than others. You don’t? Then why do you have those nice Ichimonji-Kichikuni blades? You do use them don’t you?

The same steel snobs who wouldn’t touch the Old Hickory type of steel in an EDC/Fixed because it’s ‘not good enough”, are often the same ones who use the OH steel in the kitchen, where one probably uses a knife most. That is point I’m trying to make.

I choose something other than OH knives for my set because I prefer a much higher quality in my kitchen knives, much like my EDC/fixed. I don’t use cheap EDC/fixed knives any more than cheap kitchen knives because there is a difference in performance.

If I had your set of Japanese blades I would use them all the time, I wouldn’t use some cheap knife instead. You ought to try a more upscale paring knife, you’d like it.

I guess I should have titled this post, "Let's see your USER kitchen knives, not your safe queens".

Some pretty blades however.

 

[Absintheur]

I don't use that custom usuba to chop apart a side of ribs any more than I would use my 1st Generation Colt SA as a hammer, it's not what it was made for so yes, I do reach for less expensive knives when the job calls for them. I don't have a high end paring knife, I am perfectly happy with my Warthers for that.

Now when I want to slice tuna or beef paper thin, or cut veggies in strips, or carve a Chateaubriand I do use my good knives. I may use my yanagi ba to prepare fish for cooking but I still use a cheap Rapala to clean them.

 

[SShepherd]

They have no bolsters, aren’t balanced, are stamped instead of forged

Not having a bolster, or not being "forged" has nothin to do with the quality of the knife
Having a bolster is an indication the the knife could be forged.The myth that forged knves are better than "non forged" has been kicked around on the forum forever.

None of knives I posted are "safe queens", they actually are in te hands of chefs being used every day.

That being said, I own no kitchen knives I don't use. I have a santoku made by Takeda, a 10" white steel gyuto, and a masamoto that I use.

I go agree with you, that a mojority of the time your higher price knives will be better quality, not only in steel selection and fit and finish, but also in blade geometry

 

[Gator97]

Here is my current set (click on the handle to see the whole thing), minus Watanabe Honesuki and Watanabe Small Nakiri, both are in rehandling process.

Custom Knife block by Dave - http://www.theboardsmith.com/

And yes, ALL of them are users. As much as I can use them in home kitchen.

 

[Mongo1958]

WOW! I can't describe how awesome these knives are. Show me more!

Van

 

[VCM3]

Here is one in my block that gets heavil used.Luc Burnley field Santoku It has about a 5.5"CPM 154 CM SS blade flat ground This knife continues to hold up well,holds an easily touched up edge

 

[bearcut]

They have no bolsters, aren’t balanced, are stamped instead of forged

Not having a bolster, or not being "forged" has nothin to do with the quality of the knife
Having a bolster is an indication the the knife could be forged.The myth that forged knves are better than "non forged" has been kicked around on the forum forever.

I was expecting this response from someone.

OK, for the last time, ‘Forging’ allows for ‘Bolsters’ which allows for ‘Balance’ which allows for comfort and control. It is obvious that many people on this forum don’t know the first thing about good kitchen knives, to say nothing about the probable lack of knowledge concerning how to hold a chefs knife. Yes, there is a proper way to hold a chefs knife, and having ‘Bolsters’ allows for this. (Read the list above for information about ‘Bolsters’, and how they are only found on ‘Forged’ knives&#8230

The actual cutting ability is the same for stamped or forged blades. Duh.
I never said that forged blades CUT any better than stamped blades. Forged blades are ALWAYS found on higher end knives. Every manufacturer ahd a cheaper line of stamped knives and a more expensive line of forged knives. So in that respect, YES they are higher quality. Comfort,, balance and control cost more.

Hand any decent cook two knives, one stamped and one forged and I guarantee you he or she will choose the forged one.

Forging is about Comfort, Balance and Control.
The Japanese usually do it a little differently, but they always have good balance, (bolsters or not) Global knives are one piece molded and use the rounded bolster design for instance. Europeans do it their way.

As far as you using your nice Sashimi knives for chopping ribs, I wouldn't expect you to, thats what meat cleavers are for. Your knives are for fish only.

 

[SShepherd]

lol...you're obviously on a rant, and think you know it all, so discussing this any further is non productive.

balance is dependant on the intended purpose of the knife--a cleaver doesn't balance the same as a chefs knife.

Oh..and just because a knife doen't have a bolster, doesn't mean you can used a "pinch grip" on it

enjoy your thread

 

[VCM3]

This is my chef by Tom Krein CPM 154 CM SS 8" double flat ground blade
Sees heavy use

IMHO G-10 holds up a bit better than canvas micarta,for scales, in heavy useage