Whats a good affordable kitchen knife?

I have to ask 1st of all, what type of Henkles do you own? They're quality has not gone down at all, so much as they have introduced lower priced versions bearing their name. What I have is a decent set of Sabatier forged "Elite" series with black 3pin handles. PAID about $120 for a 14pc set. Then, for my more highly used knives, bought seperate 5in bonning and 7in santoku (which replaced the 8" chefs knife that came with the set)Professional-S 5star Henkels. And, because they closely resemble each other in looks, I keep them all in the same block, and unless you really examine them you'd never know they weren't all high dollar Henkels.
 
I'm telling you, run "Tosagata Santoku Hocho" and "Japan Woodworker" through Google, and check out those knives. I think you'll find a knife that suits you quite nicely.
 
I have an 5 piece Henkels set (plus grooved sharpening rod, which is junk) with the stainless steel hollow handles...cost about $100 on sale.

Definitely not the 5 star, but I expected more, and they are pretty damn soft steel.

I hear everyone on the pyrex board! Lessons learned, makes sense. See my last post you dead horse beaters :)
 
bruce said:
Well, Andrew, as one who has studied microbiology (graduate degree in meat microbiology), I still won't use a wooden cutting board. As I mentioned, I don't like low molecular weight poly because of the knife cut issues indicated in the references. High density MW poly, on the other hand, doesn't dull knives, receives fewer and shallower knife cuts (so easier for sanitizing fluids to penetrate), and is dishwasher safe where wood is not. The great equalizer is the dishwasher. Wood doesn't do well for long in one while poly does. If no dishwasher is available, hot soapy water with a cap full of laundry bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and a scub brush will work. All those other methods, including putting wooden boards in the microwave are apologetic measures. Wood – maybe and maybe not, plastic – good to go!
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I did have one industrial nylon-type board and this outlasted all the cheap plastic boards by about 20 years. I agree on dishwashers, our boards were put in an industrial dishwasher at the end of each service. I also used Milton baby bottle sanitizer on all the boards. This has the advantage of low odour and taint.

At home, I use a new, Canadian Maple cutting board. :)

Incidentally (to other posters), of all the knives we sharpen at the shop, Henckels are the ones we see most.
 
Hey Cybrok, that Tojiro line looks mighty sweet. Do they hit you with import taxes when you order from Quebec?
 
j curd, count yourself as lucky for having some nice kitchen cutlery. First things first -- save the glass cutting board for serving. Or, if you can't keep the knives off it, take it out back and smash it.

And, since the edges on your knives are already messed up, take them to someone who can sharpen them for you, and maybe have them reprofiled at a more accute angle. The Germans keep the primary bevels low for strength, but with care(cutting ONLY on surfaces softer than steel) and a light steeling now and then, they'll serve you well.

Take care of your Henckels, they're good knives.
 
I'm also going to strongly recommend getting rid of the glass cutting board.. Probably the worst thing for a kitchen knife apart from, I don't know, storing them in a drawer full of gravel or something...

Go with the plastic, or if you can find them, Pezzo boards... I don't know how common they are, but we sell them at the House of Knives (obviously you're going to take my advice with a grain of salt now) I work at... I've got a couple, and they're amazing. They're made of wood and plastic fibers together, compressed and all that... Very cut resistant, high heat resistant, dishwasher safe, and they don't look terrible or cheap.. If you can find one, get it..

As for a knife, go with the Victorinox fibrox series... If you don't want to pay much, this is the best knife for the money. The steel is softer than, say, a Henckels, but it will serve you well... If you can find them, Frosts of Sweden makes a line of commercial kitchen knives as well. I picked up an 8" chef a while ago, and it works very well... Good ergonomics and edge retention.

If you want to go higher end, get some Shun stuff... Don't bother with Henckels... In my opinion, Shun is a higher quality knife that doesn't cost too much more than some of the other major kitchen knife brands.

Hope this helps, although it's probably a reiteration of a lot that's already been said..

Travis
 
kc2kth said:
I spent a number of years in various professional kitchens prior to my current career, so I have some experience with "decent" as well as "good" knives. When my wife and I got married we bought a set of Henckel's from Macy's open stock over a period of about a year. We have mostly the 4-star series, but my 8" and 10" chefs are Pro-S. Absolutely none of that ever-sharp stuff here. Even the steak knives are 4-star.
Just my two cents.
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I've had a Pro-S 8" chefs for about 9 years as my primary prep knife. One of the scales is starting to fall apart. Williams Sonoma tell me they will replace it with a current equivalent even though the receipt is long gone. It's a good knife, but I have a $20 Tramontina or similar with identical dimensions that cuts just as well. Maybe I'm just over the stainless thing and need a nice carbon steel blade for the kitchen.
 
cybrok said:
Take a look at that Tojiro line. I got my 240mm Gyuto yesterday and already love it.
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I Second the Tojiro suggestion. I bought my mother the F-503 Santoku and it is very nice. From japanesechefsknife.com the shipping is only 7-8 dollars and VERY fast. As I remember it took the knife 4-5 days to get to me from Japan.
 
I read, and was impressed with Jeff Clark's experiences years ago and bought a MAC UK-60. It has been the best kitchen knife I've had. I prefer it to my Global, a Messermister asian in AUS-8, a handmade Wantanabe and my MAC Superior model.

It's steel really holds an edge for a long time. It's thinness works even when the edge starts to loose it's sharpness, and makes it easy and quick to resharpen. The 6.5-in UK-60 is the most useful size. It works for about everything, from paring duty to large things. It's wide enough to hold lots of stuff when scooping up diced bits. I could easily trade several decent kitchen knives I have for another MAC UK-60, 'cause it's always the one I want to use.

Only $31 here: http://premiumknives.com/ShopSite/Mac_Knives_B_Original_Series.html
 
Japanese Chef Knife.com is awesome. I've ordered a Hattori damascus gyuto and a Pro M 180mm in the last couple of weeks. Both are incredible knives, cost seven dollars to ship, and made it from Japan to my house in less than 5 days.

Incidently, the Pro M may be my favorite kitchen knife of all time. It doesn't have the sex appeal of the damascus Hattori, but it is unbelievably sharp, balances well, and has the comfiest handle ever. I paid less than 70 for this chef knife, and it stomps the ever living tar out of the Henkel it replaced. I need to get a new cleaver for heavy stuff (ok, I just want one) but its going to be all japanese steel in the kitchen for me from now on.
 
Andrew Taylor, I agree that if you have to use a wooden board, maple would be my choice. I used to lay hardwood floors in my HS and college days ('69-'76), and maple was the wood of choice. I don't know where it came from (Canadian or otherwise) but about every 20th board was "birdseye". I used to slip these out of the pile and use them to make cutting boards and cover tabletops. Beautiful wood and hard as a rock!
 
I know this thread is about anything NOT Henkels kitchen knives, but I have a question ABOUT Henkels kitchen knives and you all seem to know allot about them. Are the Henkels kitchen knives good knives?
 
Sorry to bump the thread, but I am intrigued by the Victorinox/Forschners that seem to be spoken highly of here. Does anyone know if these knives are sold in retail stores, or do I have to order online?
 
Knife/Cutlery stores tend to carry Forschners, so do better kitchenware stores. I mostly look for them in restaurant supply stores since the selection and prices are better there.
 
Also, those companies that cater to packing houses also carry Victorinox/Forschner knives.
 
I think that your Henckels are fine, unless they are Henckels Internationals, and then you need new knives. If they say "Zwilling J. A. Henckels" on them, then they are good knives and you shouldn't ever need to replace any of them. Just add to your collection.

I'm 100% certain that the main reason you are sharpening so often (no matter what knives you have) is because you are cutting on a pyrex board. Henckels says NOT to use glass boards, only wood and plastic-type. you will probably need to steel your knives once a day or week (whatever your preference) to keep them laser sharp, but this is not a problem, and is common to all kitchen cutlery.

If you're still looking, then shun's cheap line (not the colored ones) has got to be a pretty good product, but I'm not speaking from personal experience, but I'd give them a shot. Also, be careful with high-carbon non-stainless steels because they can ruin some foods even making them unsafe to eat (I think tomatoes fall into this category iirc). Make sure you get stainless for cutting vegetables.

I also read elsewhere that the victorinoxes were a great value for the money. Chicago cutlery makes one line that consumer reports was in love with, but I don't recall the name, and they didn't like some of their other offerings.

good luck and happy cooking!
 
DrThunder88 said:
Sorry to bump the thread, but I am intrigued by the Victorinox/Forschners that seem to be spoken highly of here. Does anyone know if these knives are sold in retail stores, or do I have to order online?
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A bought a chef's, a slicer, and a paring from Swiss-Knife.com. I spent the extra $$$ for forged. Combined shipping from Switzerland for the three wasn't bad, but if you just buy one, shipping eats you up.

Also, check ebay "forschner forged". Ralph1396 usually has some 20 year old (new) Forschners. I emailed him about these and he thinks they contain the same steel as the new model forged knives.

Buzz
 
PBrods said:
I know this thread is about anything NOT Henkels kitchen knives, but I have a question ABOUT Henkels kitchen knives and you all seem to know allot about them. Are the Henkels kitchen knives good knives?
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Yes, Henckels are good knives, but you have to be careful because they have a cheapo line like Spyderco has the Byrd line, excepts its not as easy to tell them apart.

If the knives/package say "Henckels International" then they are the not made in germany cheap mostly not forged kind, which are not made of quality steel and probably aren't worth buying.

If they say "Zwilling J.A. Henckels" on them, then they are the made in germany real deal, quality proprietary 440C derivative steel, mostly are forged knives. And these knives are supposed to be worth their salt, and alot of pro's use them from what I understand.

Personally however, I use Wusthof because the fit and finish seemed to be better when I handled them side by side. Both quality knives though, and bed bath and beyond (I can't believe I just mentioned that on a knife forum, lol) has a set you can get of either brand that is cheaper than getting it anywhere else, at least as far as I looked. (I think they buy in huge quantities and pass the saving on).

Looking back, I would probably buy Shuns if I were to buy a new set of knives. VG-10 blades in the kitchen sounds great, and Alton Brown recommends them and he's pretty good.

Oh, and....trucks, guns, football, and fist fights.:D
 
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