Who knows kitchen knives?

deepfry said:
Shun or Wusthof are both choice.
Shuns are just a little bit pricier but not unreasonable. You can get a german made Wusthof chef's knife for around $90 while the Shun (classic) typically go for around $130.
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The Shun customer service and warranty are second to none but maybe RAT.
 
-Messermeister San Moritz
-Tojiro

Bang for the Buck and what I use everyday....Forschner 12" Wood Handle or 10" Fibrox. Big bellies, easy to sharpen, 30 bucks max.
 
The question isn't really what brand is best, but rather what can Kberg put on a wedding gift registry. That's a function of: a) what can his guests afford; b) what seller offers such a registry; and c) what's the best kitchen knife line that fits (a) & (b).

So Kberg......I still say: 1st choice: Shun Classic....and work your way down from there.
There are lots of great 2nd choices. And I am not saying that Shun Classic is the very best line. There are just as many lines above Shun Classic as below it I suspect, but none that fit the bill as well: wedding gift registry !!!
 
Thanks for all the responses - you guys have been very helpful.

I could look into whether or not some of the Wusthof sets are made in China or Germany. I'll probably stay away from Henckels as a lot of you have mentioned, especially since I own a cheap set of those already and the quality isn't exactly on par with the prestige that many associate with the brand.

I've read a lot of good things about Shun and some of the other Japanese brands. They do have a Shun set available on Macy's website as well as several other brands, but in the store they only had Henckels and Wusthof along with one or two other bargain brands.

I might even leave these off the registry all together if I'm not happy with any of the available options. So thanks for the input!
 
kberg said:
I might even leave these off the registry all together if I'm not happy with any of the available options. So thanks for the input!
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I was wondering the same thing since you would care about knives.
Maybe you can add the Shun and people can shop online? I don't know how it works but I haven't gone into a store in ages --food excepted .
 
holygoat said:
I've had Henckels and other brands. Nothing I've ever bought from a store has been as good as these Shuns I bought just before Christmas — Amazon had a daily deal on them.

Seriously the sharpest thing I've ever touched. Slicing translucent shavings of a ripe tomato was trivial for all three knives, and the handles feel great.

Definitely worth the (fairly large sum of) money.
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I got that set for my wife for Christmas. Hell of a deal to be sure at the sale price. So far, she likes them, but a little scared of them also as she cut her finger quite badly a few months ago on one of our old kitchen knives. And the Shuns are much sharper. I need to get her a new knife block to hold them. That santoku is wide.
 
I have no personal experience but have read that Forschners are a good, basice kitchen knife, especially the ones with the fibrox handles. Does anyone use them here?
 
Pilot1 said:
I have no personal experience but have read that Forschners are a good, basice kitchen knife, especially the ones with the fibrox handles. Does anyone use them here?
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I've read this too - I might get a more affordable set and work my way into the top of the line stuff. I'm still young after all :)
 
Wow I am surprised no one pushed Japanese carbon steel knives.

Those knives are great for the kitchen as long as you do the extra maintenance
 
First I'll give you my recommendation, if you are new to higher-end kitchen knives, I'd steer away from the expensive high-carbon semi- to custom japanese knives. Shun classics, being made from VG-10 steel damascused (yes, I just made damascus a verb) by IIRC SUS-140, won't rust nearly as easily and will require less maintenance.

However, you quite honestly can't really beat the the high end semi-custom or custom made japanese knives...but they also go for astronomically high prices as well.

If you are looking for some affordable higher than Shun quality knives, Kanetsune makes some rather nice ones.

Also, Japanese knives are usually bolster-less. Something that you might want to consider when comparing knives.
 
Pilot1 said:
I have no personal experience but have read that Forschners are a good, basice kitchen knife, especially the ones with the fibrox handles. Does anyone use them here?
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My whole kitchen knife block is the Victorinox/Forschners. Exept for a rosewood 7 inch butcher, all are fibrox. I love them, and I got rid of all the other knives in my kitchen because I wasn't using them. The Forschner's do everything I need, and I cook a lot as a hobby for the family.

After I retired, I took some cooking classes from a Washington D.C. school, and all the schools chef's used Victorinox. That was good enough for me.
 
Cynic2701 said:
..........I'd steer away from the expensive high-carbon semi- to custom japanese knives.........

However, you quite honestly can't really beat the the high end semi-custom or custom made japanese knives...but they also go for astronomically high prices as well.

If you are looking for some affordable higher than Shun quality knives, Kanetsune makes some rather nice ones..............
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Not true there are plenty of carbon steel japanese knive you can buy for the same price or less of a shun knife with better performance.

I bought a Fujiwara carbon steel utility knife and a chef knife for around $100. For a little more you can buy a hiromoto AS series.
 
kberg said:
I don't know much about kitchen knives. Buying custom kitchen knives is another path to go down, but what are some recommended brands / sets for a reasonable amount of money?
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What do you consider "reasonable"? I advise against getting a set.

One of your old serrated knives would work well as a bread knife so unless you cook professionally, you will need only: 8-10" chef; 4" parer; cleaver. The Shun parer is excellent but their chef knives have a bit too much curve - western handled gyuto's (japanese version of chef knife) is a lot more versatile. If you want stainless then Tojiro is a good and reasonably priced option. For a cleaver, get a chinese cook's knife - these are fairly inexpensive. The only knife I would add to this is a nakiri (straight bladed vegetable knife).

Sources - these sites are worth a look

http://korin.com/site/home.html
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/default.asp
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/

Of course - if you are unable or unwilling to look after your knives then I suggest you get Global. The Japanese made Henckels are also good but pricey.
 
There is simply no question that the Japanese make the best kitchen cutlery on the planet. Nobody else is even remotely competitive in terms of pure performance. Why? hard, thin blades. Nothing performs like them.

Some of the more affordable brands are Global, Shun and Mac. There are all kinds of knives from Japan that are more exotic but these three brands are competitive with the German manufacturers and their products will outperform them in a heartbeat.

There is one issue with Japanese carbon steel chef knives you should know about. Some of them are made with very hard white or blue steel. If you sharpen them to too acute an angle the edges will chip since they are somewhat brittle. Personally I think you can do just fine with one the VG-10 models from a company like Masamoto. If you like tool steel, Yoshikane makes incredible blades from SK tool steel. If you like the harder more exotic stainless blades, then Nenox might be the answer for you.

It just gets down to budget. The Yoshikane is my own personal favorite chef knife and it sells for around $200. If that's too steep take a look at the Mac knives.
 
kberg said:
I've read this too - I might get a more affordable set and work my way into the top of the line stuff. I'm still young after all :)
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The Forschners have 1/2 the secret to high performance kitchen knives. That is thin blades. If they were as hard as the Japanese blades they would be something special. Personally, I think they are probably the best pure value in the industry. Nowhere else can you get that kind of performance for those prices. It is no surprise that Cook's Illustrated goes ga ga over them with every cutlery test. The steel they use is the same stuff used by the Wusthof/Henckels crowd. Decent but unspectacular.
 
Hi all, I have been lurking on this forum for a bit and decided to finally chime in on this one. I am by no means a kitchen knife expert but have owned plenty and would like to offer some advice.

Most of what has already been said is very good advice. I am sure Japanese knives perform well and are very probably the best you can buy.

Question is - What are your needs? Would you use one of the higher ended knives to it's full capabilities? Ultra sharp knives can be dangerous, one slip and the end of your fingers off. IMO these knives are also very "showie". I owned a left handed Shun, Demascus bladed chefs knife which cost me over $200. I am 5'7" and found the knife too large to use due to the height of our kitchen counters. Sad because it was beautiful. The second problem with it (as some have mentioned)) is that harder blades can be brittle, which I found by accident one day when my depth perception went off and I stabbed the tip of my Shun into the sink. Snap went the tip. My mother-in-law now owns it! Unless you are a professional buying a custom Japanese knife might be pointless, just my 2 c.

I use Wusthof Classic and have found them to meet all my daily needs. They are affordable and seem to be well lasting (had them for 5 years or so). Easy to sharpen and are light and balanced in my hand. I'm sure they'll be critics this being my first post but you've mentioned Macy's and I think you will be able to purchase Solingen made Wusthofs from there. When I first started purchasing kitchen equipment I started by looking into what professional chefs use (not TV caterers who need to look good).

Steer clear of blocks as I've read they can be a bacteria trap. You can get great knife magnets for $20 - $30 and hold your knives high up on a wall to prevent small hands getting at them.

Sorry this has gone on so long. I guess what I'm trying to say is have a think about what you''ll realistically need on a daily basis. Like with anything, test it first. There is probably a high end kitchen wares outlet somewhere near you. Go and have a play around and see what feels best. You might make some mistakes with what you buy but that's all part of the fun! :)
 
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