Which kitchen knife set should I look at getting?

FlaMtnBkr

FlaMtnBkr

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Oct 20, 2004
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One of the Doctors my fiancee works with has told her he will buy us a set of kitchen knives for the wedding because he knows I am a knife nut. She said to pick out what I want and that she would tell him. I told her that some of the sets are really pricey and she said it doesn't matter.

So what would be a good set of kitchen knives to get? I had planned on buying just a couple high end kitchen knives and a magnetic block but I think he just wants to buy one thing and be done with it. Some of the things that I think I would like are:

-Good steel. I have turned into somewhat of a steel snob. I know I won't find any really exotic steels unless I go custom or Japanese. I don't know if you can get sets of Japanese knives? So it doesn't have to be a super steel but good steel is important.

-I like stainless and like not having to worry about a knife rusting if I forget to wash it. But I am open to carbon steel if it is going to be the better performing steel.

-Good edge geometry. It would be nice if they come with good edge geometry but I can do this myself if I have to. I guess blade thickness would be more important since I can't adjust that. So a thin blade unless the application calls for something more heavy duty like a cleaver.

-Comfortable handle. I guess this is subjective but I'm sure some are better than others.

-Magnetic block. It would be nice if it came with a magnetic block or strip but not required.

I saw some nice shuns at Blade that had a magnetic block the blades stuck to the sides which I liked. Kershaw's website is down so I can't look right now. Any suggestions are highly appreciated. Even just a link to reviews or a good place to learn more would be helpful. Thanks and sorry for the long post!
 
I have several kitchen knifes, including Global and Roselli. But my faves are actually pretty affordable and diabolical slicers because of their thin (less than 2mm thick, flat ground) blades. I am referring to Robert Herder "windmill" knives from Solingen, and to be precise their K2 (a midsize Santoku), K1 (classic peeler/paring knife) and Yatagan (excellent longer knife with a kind of Arabic look). I prefer these over my more expensive Globals and I when I could compare them to expensive Shuns, I thought they sliced just as nicely.

They exist in both stainless and carbon steel, my Yatagan is carbon steel and I have to admit that it's incredible. K1 and K2 in carbon steel reach HRC60! But you need to take care of them !

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Dealer site
 
Are you specifically looking for a set of five or so knives in a block?

If not I would recommend the CRK Sikayo. Costs about half as much as a decent "set" and the only thing I would add would be a small pairing knife at 3-4".
 
Wow, that's a nice offer. How about a set of Shun knives? Or would that be considered taking advantage?
 
I think he would just like to buy one thing. I don't think he wants to try and have to pick out multiple knives. I guess if one place carried a few that I want and he knew exactly what to get it wouldn't be a problem.

He told her he wanted to get a nice set of kitchen knives so a set of Shun's are probably not out of line. My fiancee makes the lives of the Doctors a lot easier while at the hospital so I don't think any of them have a problem spending some money. I'm sure she has made them a lot of money in just the time she has saved them on cases and making things go smoothly with less stress.

My problem is that I know nothing about kitchen knives. If getting a couple specific knives are going to be a lot better quality than like a 7 piece shun set then I might look into getting individual knives. I still have no idea what to get though whether individual or a set. I still can't get Kershaw's website to work so I can see what Shun is offering this year.
 
Another vote for Shun. Gave my mother a Shun chefs knife for Mother's Day and she loves it.
 
I'm really tempted to buy the Nakiri 6.5", that would be a really awesome chopping knife. It can do just about anything from fine slicing to heavy chopping, throw a Deba 4 1/8" for good measure and you have the beginning of some awesome kitchen tools.
 
Shun set in SG2. They are FAN-EFFING-TASTIC. Just for the love of god be careful. ;)
 
How about the new Boker Gorm series? Crazy stuff, and looks like it'd be very comfortable. The set comes with a magnetic block.

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If not a shun I would definitely go with a classic Japanese style single grind knife.
 
We have the henckels Professional S, they have held up well with alot of use and hold an edge, more readily available than Wusthof at slightly better prices.

If I was doing it now it would either be Shun or Henckels again...good luck
 
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