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Kitchen knife fans: what to start with?

EvilYoda

EvilYoda

Lifer
So, instead of buying a giant set, I want to start with a few good pieces and slowly build my collection. For instance, starting with a Wusthof 7" chefs knife or santoku from their classic line. What would you suggest? I don't want to spend TOO much money though, so nothing crazy. A good deal on a start 3-5 knife set is welcome too.
 
Supposedly this Forschner 8" chef's knife is nearly as good if not better than the Wusthof Grand Prix knives. I've got a Wusthof Grand Prix II 8" chef's knife and 4" paring knife and they're great, but if I had to choose again I'd probably save money and get the Forschner.
 
Originally posted by: Howard
Do you mind non-stainless?
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I was wondering when you'd pop your womanly head in here. 😛 By non-stainless, what do you mean? Ceramic, etc? I probably wouldn't, but a good explanation on why I should could sway me.
 
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Cutco. Best knives you can get (IMO)
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err, no
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the cutcos stuff isnt bad *per se*, but its overpriced (ok, the chefs knife is awful). some of their stuff is decent, however.

forged is the way to go for something you want to keep for the rest of your life. something decent to hone it with, and sharpen it every 3-12 months (depending on use) is important, as well.

i bought a forged Sabatier set 3 or 4 years ago for $200. best purchase i ever made. the 8" chef is a little small, and id like a 10". for me, a 7" would be a waste of a knife.

i have an 8" chef, an 8" slicer, and a 4" paring, all sabatier forged. i have a 10" henckles bread knife (under $20, decent serrated knives can be had cheap) and a few cheap paring knifes that i was given. stamped garbage, really, but theyre still sharp so i keep them around for quick, easy stuff like veggies or snacks.
 
Go for one of the whole block sets from amazon.com like this. and save yourself some money in the long run. The santoku I'd consider optional as I rarely have call for another large knife besides the chef's knife, but that's up to you. The block shown above has plenty of room for added knives.

I have Wusthof myself and no complaints.
 
Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Originally posted by: Howard
Do you mind non-stainless?
Click to expand...

I was wondering when you'd pop your womanly head in here. 😛 By non-stainless, what do you mean? Ceramic, etc? I probably wouldn't, but a good explanation on why I should could sway me.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing carbon steel.
 
Originally posted by: EvilYoda
Originally posted by: Howard
Do you mind non-stainless?
Click to expand...

I was wondering when you'd pop your womanly head in here. 😛 By non-stainless, what do you mean? Ceramic, etc? I probably wouldn't, but a good explanation on why I should could sway me.
Click to expand...
By non-stainless I mean a ferrous alloy that does not contain enough chromium or other corrosion-reducing alloying elements to significantly reduce the susceptibility to corrosion, e.g. carbon steel.

I would recommend getting a Chinese cleaver and then filling the set out around it. Paring, petty if necessary, good set of kitchen shears, [fairly cheap] bread knife, long slicer if necessary, bone cleaver...
 
Originally posted by: Wuffsunie
Go for one of the whole block sets from amazon.com like this. and save yourself some money in the long run. The santoku I'd consider optional as I rarely have call for another large knife besides the chef's knife, but that's up to you. The block shown above has plenty of room for added knives.

I have Wusthof myself and no complaints.
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The whole block sets aren't that great of a deal in my opinion. I only use my wusthof chef's knife, paring knife, and a cheap bread knife. I use cheap serrated butter knives for everything else.
 
Originally posted by: shoegazer
Supposedly this Forschner 8" chef's knife is nearly as good if not better than the Wusthof Grand Prix knives. I've got a Wusthof Grand Prix II 8" chef's knife and 4" paring knife and they're great, but if I had to choose again I'd probably save money and get the Forschner.
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we have forschners and have been very pleased.

 
First WTF do you make each night? That is the starter question.

If you don't care then buy the most expensive set you can find if you want to impress.

I picked up a high end Sabatier set cheap, keeps it's edges a long time.

We added a Santoku later on. My wife is native Japanese...her's wore out. Everyone wants to show her their's whenever we visit...on the drive home she wonders why they used it.

She doesn't use the Santoku everytime at all. We then get other asshats contesting her being really japanese.

 
LOL alkemyst, you sound like an ass. But maybe you get that often, maybe that's what you're going for, I dunno. 😛

Anyway, if you couldn't get it from my initial post, I apologize. This is meant to be a general knife - I cook a lot, but this varies from Chinese/asian to italian to French to american to whatever. I've considered starting with a cleaver like I grew up with (more cleavers in my mom's drawer than fancy knives), but I asked to seek suggestions for more modern cutlery.

I'll look into Forschners, thanks! I've read about Shun before, so depending on the cost, I'll look into that too.
 
seriously, 7" Shun Santoku can be had for ~$120. (and upwards of $300 if you want to go fancy)

you won't regret it. ......but your fingers may, Grasshopper.
😉
 
Also, I've got good basic form...I've worked with good hardware before but this will be the first time purchasing it for myself. I don't know if I really want to spend $200 on a cleaver, but it's not that far out either. I'll have to decide and make a purchase in the next week or so as I'll be cutlery-less shortly.
 
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