Realistic Kitchen Knives :(

tim8557 said:
Yeah, I've tried multiple times. She doesn't appreciate the knife. It might be sinking in a little though, since she's been asking me to sharpen her most abused victim lately. I'm going to start her out with a Forschner and maybe if she's good I'll pick up a Spyderco Yang. I'll start her on a reward system. If she learns how to take care of knives, eventually she might get that santoku or chinese cleaver she wants.
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Good idea on the Forschner/Victorinox line. I have quite a few of their offerings.
After I won a Shun Santoku DM0702, I have purchased a few more, for both
gifts and myself. :) I am very happy with the Shuns' performance. I have
only steeled them a few times thus far, edge holding is exceptional.

My one month review of the Shun Santoku. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505262

mike
 
The reality is that a good cook only NEEDs one knife for all of his or her uses; a simple 8 or 10 inch chef's knife of good quality, hand feel, etc. When has that stopped any of us though...

I don't think you're going to find a magic bullet that will make your wife happy, or keep you from working on knives. It's a weird reality that women don't like knives, don't care for them, but often use them all the time.

It comes down to the differences between woman cooks and men cooks: women cook to make the family happy, put food on the table, and move on to the next thing. When men cook they want everybody to have spontaneous orgasms of euphoric delight, jumping up and down and screaming in pleasure. For this men buy toys and toys and toys to make their kitchen just that much more refined and efficient and cool. Women want nice clean pots that look decent and don't get in their way.

Make her kitchen as brainless as possible, and you will have less problems. Buy a nice soft cutting board; one of those translucent poly cutting boards, the bigger the better is the easiest and nearly best choice. You can usually find good ones, if you look carefully, everywhere. Even wallyworld has them; just look for the ones that are made in the US, they are very very good. Don't remember the brand name. Buy one that you think is impractically big. You and your wife will be amazed at the efficiency increase. You will also notice that the knife will find itself sitting on the cutting board while the food is in the pan, instead of banging around on the counter. If you have any questions, go to a decent restaurant where you can see the kitchen. They will most likely have exactly the big poly cutting boards I'm talking about. Ask them which supply house they get them from, or if you can buy one when they make their next purchase.

The best option is to use a butcher block. The cheapest way to get one is to befriend an arborist in your town. He will cut down at least half a dozen maples and oaks a year. Ask him to slice you a 4 inch thick piece of one of those trees; use a planer or lots of sandpaper to make it smooth on both sides. Let it dry out for at least a couple of weeks, preferably a couple months, and then oil it with something like mineral oil. This board will last you most of your life; when it's nicked up, just sand the top 1/8" off it.
Another source of good butcher blocks is ROSS dress for less or marshall's. They have some very good maple blocks made in Vermont for less tha $40. Find the size you like, and then get the size bigger.

Then politely, gently and with love ask your wife to not put the knives in the dishwasher. Tell her to leave them on the countertop, and you'll wash them.

This is the way to a happy knife kitchen, and minimizes the chance of knife-related divorce.

Trust me: the answer is not in the knives you buy, nor in how much you want to teach your wife. The answer is in making good "idiot-proof" choices. I'm not calling your wife an idiot, just that most wives behave idiotically with their kitchen implements. They don't care how much time you spend sharpening, or how hard the steel is. They only care that the tomato gets sliced.
 
I just wanted to add to the good advice above.
I purchased some Forschner knives (8" chef's, two paring knives and a few steak knives) and my wife really likes them...but, the 8" chef's may be too large for her. I intend to get a 6" model soon.
We really like their serrated steak knives as well.

An interesting side note. My wife has very small hands, and she tends to grab either the Forschner parers or two other cheapies we have.
One has a 2.25" Wharncliffe blade, and has "Solingen" stamped on both the blade and plastic handle.
The other has a thick rubberized handle with "Handy Grips" on it, and a 3.75" stainless blade. I looks like an early model Oxo "Good Grips" knife.

They both work fine, are inexpensive, and are comfortable for her to use.
That is also why I like the Forscheners.
 
Does anyone have the kitchen Razel by the Graham brothers?

I've really got my eye on that knife.
 
gdtrfb said:
I am curious. I've seen a number of posts about those using non kitchen knives in the kitchen for daily duty.
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I started using my Opinel #8 for kitchen duty mainly to facilitate the development of a patina. I have to say I really like this knife for carbon duty. Handle isn't optimized being a folder, but it sure slices nicely.

Other than Old Hickory, what other carbon kitchen knives are out there?
 
kgd said:
Other than Old Hickory, what other carbon kitchen knives are out there?
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I personally like Schlieper Eye Brand. The best knife steel I own is in a 14" slicer I use as a filet knife. You can thump it with your finger an it rings like a Wilkinson Sword.
 
A four inch Rapala Fillet knife is my most used knife. My Mother now has one. I have the guys at the fire station using one. Its a handy little thing. Great for trimming meat, slicing vegetables and cheap to boot.
 
Oregon
Where did you get the Victorinox kitchen knives with the colored handles. That is just what we need in our kitchen!
Sharp Eye
 
Sharp Eye said:
Oregon
Where did you get the Victorinox kitchen knives with the colored handles.
Sharp Eye
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General link:
http://www.eaglemountainknife.com/

Specific link to Chef's knives, scroll down for 8" Vics with colored handles, on left:
https://alpha.secured-websites.net/~emknife/ChefsKnives.htm

From the order site:
40520
Fibrox Handle
2 inch Width at Handle
8 inch
Sug. Retail: $35.15

Qty:

Same Knife w/ Colored Handles:

40421- Red Qty:
40451-Blue Qty:
40471-yellow Qty:
40481-Green Qty:
Sug. Retail: $36.90

I try to bump the order past $100, not that hard to do, in order to get the discount (25% off and free shipping). Terrific vendor. They called me to discuss my order! I can vouch for them.

Get one of each of the four, what I did. Everyone, well, those who cook, that sees them has lust and at least one chef's knife story. Great conversation pieces and terrific kitchen tools.

I wouldn't expect them to have a ton of the colorized Vics in stock. This has been a well kept secret so far... Something to share with your close close friends only.

All the best,

oregon
 
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