What are the best kitchen knives?

butcher_block said:
thanks for the nod:thumbup:
supper
got your email and replyed
i can see what your looking for least what you have planed
if you like i can mod style and shape of the blade and or handle to get you jsut what you are looking for
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Butch,

working on a reply email to yours with a more detailed description on what I am looking for, especially when pertaining to handle materials and styles. Look for it later tonight.

Thanks

~ Chad
 
I have a couple of henckels 5 star knifes, and love them My cousins has a couple of the shun series and cermax (also by henckels) and has been extremely pleased with both (I think he prefers the cermax, he's a professional chef)
 
I've owned both Wustof and now have one Shun piece. The Kershaw/Shun are fantastic and sharp. The other knives, in a three piece set, which impress me, but I've never tried are the Benchmade Gold Edition:
bm4501_in_case_180.jpg

http://www.888knivesrus.com/product/BMAAP4501 They are onsale on this site for $383.50.
 
I was going to buy a set of the messermeister series that have no bolsters (the top two models) but for the moment.. im using hattori HD series with 63 layers of steel per blade. very fine edges and will chip if you try to chop bone but for normal kitchen slicing work.. youll be hard pressed to find anything better for the money. balance is suphurb, got them from japanesechefknives.. very good prices.
 
This thread has me wondering: I'm thinking of getting my wife (who is tough on kitchenware) one good knife for the kitchen as a pilot project. I have in mind the Benchmade 180 Outbounder, 190Hunter or 192 Bird & Trout. They're each under $100 so no great loss if she wrecks it. But maybe she'll see the value of a great knife and treat it right. If so we can try a good set of kitchen knives down the road. Anyone have any thoughts on which of these three would be the best for general kitchen use for a knife newbie? Thanks.
 
I'd say save those knives for when your wife is skinning deer and bears and get a set of Forschners with rosewood handles (I like their Fibrox better, but the rosewood looks great). The best thing about the Forschner knives is they have the toughness and stain resistance of 'beater' knives, but the performance of high quality cutlery. That way, you can either move up or be happy with what you have. Oh, and buy yourself a Shun Classic santoku.
 
thombrogan, do you have any links for the Forschners you're referring to? About how much would they go for? What do you mean about the Shun Classic santoku? Thanks (I'm a bit of a knife newbie myself).
 
Wusthof is a good traditional European choice , I much prefer them to Henkels . Global is great , if you find them comfortable . The Shun ( Kershaw ) line is nice , although their rendition of a traditional chef's knife feels too light to me . The Al Mar line is very nice , if at all possible try before you buy , you are starting a very personal relationship .

Tell us how it works out for you ,

Chris
 
I've used the heavy german knives early in my carear.
I've tried the globels...just don't like the feel of them.

I have mostly murray carters now. The "muteki" line is the best value. Great steel at a good price. They can be seen at Arizona custom knives and at kellums I believe. Go to ack just to see Murray's just delivered Damasus knives. :eek:
 
perpster said:
thombrogan, do you have any links for the Forschners you're referring to? About how much would they go for? What do you mean about the Shun Classic santoku? Thanks (I'm a bit of a knife newbie myself).
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The Forschners run between $18-35 per knife. Here's a link to a good picture of the rosewood-handled Chef's Knife. My wifey bought mine from Knifeoutlet.com (Fibrox handle, a type of plastic, instead of rosewood) and it's outstanding.

The Shun Classic santoku is a very beautiful looking knife which can serve for all-around use. A lot of cooking junkies complain that Shun's regular chefs' knives curve too much as the edge moves from the handle to the point and the santoku doesn't have that issue. I like the curve of the chef's knife, but the santoku gives you a larger surface to contact the cutting board while slicing and chopping, hence the recommendation. Does it cost most? Yes. Is it more delicate than a Forschner? Yes. Will it cut deeper, quicker, with a lot less force so that you can chop a bunch of onions and have them neatly put away before your eyes tear up. Yes! Okay, on that last point, the Forschners will do that, too, but will require good loving from waterstones before it happens, but the Shuns are food-crazed right out of the box.
 
Iv had great success with knives like this one from the Island of "Kin Men".
Im not sure how available they are out side of Asia but this knife is a machine and well worth thinking about if you can find one :thumbup:

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Take a hard look at the Misono UX10.

Look here.

If you want something flashier... how about a Bob Kramer?

Here.

You've really got to go try them out. Some will only use heavy German steel, some prefer lighter, thinner Japanese blades. Regardless of what you get, do yourself a favor and make sure it doesn't have a bolster all the way to the cutting edge like some of the German knives do. They're a pain to sharpen.
 
I'd second Harner's work. His knives are a big inspiration for my own kitchen knives.

As far as steel goes, it would be hard to beat CPM 154 in the kitchen.

Phillip
 
Where does SG2 powdered steel fall into the pecking order of kitchen steels? Does anyone happen to know what the heck is in a Wusthof Classic knife? I hate that the Germans simply say "high carbon."
 
Wusthof uses a steel called X50CrMoV15

X: stainless
50: .5% carbon
CrMoV15: Chromium, Molybdenum, Vanadium totalling 15% (I may be wrong on this last bit, and would welcome correction.)

SG2 falls on the higher end, super hard range of kitchen knife steels. It may fall in line with some of the harder stuff from the Japanese, and I can guarantee it will be harder than nearly everything coming out of Germany/Europe when it comes to kitchen knives. I have a Shun Elite Santoku as well as a Kershaw Blur in SG2 and the steel holds an edge like very few other steels I've tried (ZDP189 is similar).

As far as a suggestion for knives goes, get some Shuns. If you want 3, get a chef knife, a bread knife (which will double as a carving knife if you get the Shun Classic), and a paring knife. They will serve you for many years.

Travis
 
Anthony Bourdain FTW

I've used alot of kitchen knives, and my favorite are the globals. When my knife roll was stolen from my car I lost a good collection of top quality german stuff, and I have since replaced them with just three knives, A global G2 chefs, the global 4 in utility (I use as a paring) and an offset serrated knife (got it at a close out type store, I belive it is a wusthof). The globals took some getting used to, but I wouldn't go back to the heavy german stuff for anything right now. Bourdain was right on the money in his book, get three good knives and you're set.
 
My girlfriend is a chef and liked her Global and Forschner knives but now swears by the Ken Onion Shun. It stays sharper longer and is much more comfortable to use.
 
chad....if you're looking for a custom stainless knife for the kitchen...you CAN NOT beat llyoyd harner(butch) for both price and performance....i'm waiting on a custom one from him as we speak....ryan:thumbup:
 
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