PSA: Good kitchen knives are worth their weight in Gold!

[CellarDoor]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Oh, and I'd like to suggest you get a cleaver. I got one in addition to the knife set (they were a xmas present) and it's REALLY useful. I'd never used one before, but I find myself using it all the time.

What do you use a cleaver for in a home kitchen? My previous vocabulary was "knife", know I know "Chef's" and "paring"

I don't know what kind of cleaver he is referring to, but I use a Chinese cleaver for everything in the kitchen. A Chinese cleaver has a very thin blade like a chefs knife, and can be used for veggies, meats etc. The size of the blade also allows you to use it to smash garlic, use it as a spatula, etc.

http://japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
The 'best' knives are ones that work for you. That said, Wüsthof does make some decent blades. The only caveat I would make to your list is to get a larger 'Chef's' blade. There's an old cooks addage that says, "it's easy to get a blade too small for the job but, it's hard to get a blade too large for the job."

Oh, definitely. As the revered Alton Brown says, I'd rather have the right tool for the job, which is not necessarily the best tool for the job. What size blade would you recommend for a Chef's knife - 10"? I'm completely open to suggestions, being new to most kitchen tools

I would reccomend a 12". It's nice to have the flat cutting edge as long as what you're cutting thus preventing the tendency to saw.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: liquid51
We use Henkel knives, and they's been very nice. However, I definitely do not like the serrated blades intended to prolong edge sharpness by keeping the edge out of direct contact with the cutting surface. Good idea, bad in practice. It tends to "tear" at the meat rather than cut it, then tiny chunks get caught in the teeth; altogether a bad experience. Get straight edged blades, use proper cutting surfaces, and learn how to properly sharpen them with a good sharpener. IMO that's the best route to go.

I should add that the straight edged Henkel knives have been great. I like the semi serrated bread knife too.

You only need serrated knives for cutting bread, tomatoes, and lettuce. For almost everything else, you should stick with a regular blade that you can properly sharpen and hone.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Aquaman
Kershaw-Shun FTW

Best knives I have ever had

Cheers,
Aquaman

Do you find the Shun knives difficult to grip? I like the more ergonomic handle on the Wusthoffs.

not at all....... and I have big hands

But I guess it's best to handle them yourself before you buy them

Cheers,
Aquaman

If they weren't so dang expensive I'd order one off Amazon. As-is, I REALLY like my new Wusthoff.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
The 'best' knives are ones that work for you. That said, Wüsthof does make some decent blades. The only caveat I would make to your list is to get a larger 'Chef's' blade. There's an old cooks addage that says, "it's easy to get a blade too small for the job but, it's hard to get a blade too large for the job."

Oh, definitely. As the revered Alton Brown says, I'd rather have the right tool for the job, which is not necessarily the best tool for the job. What size blade would you recommend for a Chef's knife - 10"? I'm completely open to suggestions, being new to most kitchen tools

I would reccomend a 12". It's nice to have the flat cutting edge as long as what you're cutting thus preventing the tendency to saw.

12"!? Holy cow, what do you cut up? I've been mostly using a sharp dinner knife to cut everything, lol.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Honestly... We've had all Wustof knives that we got when we got married. But a few months back we were turned on to Pampered Chef knives and they are Awesome!

Of course my wife sells it so she's biased but they are nice. Let me know if you want to order some and I can place an order for you. heh heh.

Interesting...which line of Wusthoffs do you have - Classic, Grand Prix...? I've had hit and miss experiences with Pampered Chef stuff. Sometimes it's incredibly useful and I love it, sometimes it breaks really easily. My chopper just crunched itself

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Honestly... We've had all Wustof knives that we got when we got married. But a few months back we were turned on to Pampered Chef knives and they are Awesome!

Of course my wife sells it so she's biased but they are nice. Let me know if you want to order some and I can place an order for you. heh heh.

I'm partial to their clay bakeware. I've accumulated seven or eight pieces and I use them all the time, like almost daily.

 

[swimscubasteve]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
The 'best' knives are ones that work for you. That said, Wüsthof does make some decent blades. The only caveat I would make to your list is to get a larger 'Chef's' blade. There's an old cooks addage that says, "it's easy to get a blade too small for the job but, it's hard to get a blade too large for the job."

Oh, definitely. As the revered Alton Brown says, I'd rather have the right tool for the job, which is not necessarily the best tool for the job. What size blade would you recommend for a Chef's knife - 10"? I'm completely open to suggestions, being new to most kitchen tools

I would reccomend a 12". It's nice to have the flat cutting edge as long as what you're cutting thus preventing the tendency to saw.

12"!? Holy cow, what do you cut up? I've been mostly using a sharp dinner knife to cut everything, lol.

Yeah....12" is a bit much.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Honestly... We've had all Wustof knives that we got when we got married. But a few months back we were turned on to Pampered Chef knives and they are Awesome!

Of course my wife sells it so she's biased but they are nice. Let me know if you want to order some and I can place an order for you. heh heh.

I'm partial to their clay bakeware. I've accumulated seven or eight pieces and I use them all the time, like almost daily.

Eh, clay? What do you use it for?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I own a number of Henkel knives and am quite happy with them. However, it should be noted that there are a number of different grades and the cheapest, most often serrated sets, are not made in Solingen Germany but the name is licensed to other manufs. In my oppinion, this was one of the dumbest business decissions since A & W licensed the bottling of their Root-beer.

 

[compuwiz1]

Back when I was 19 years old I sold Cutco for about a week. Going door to door was not my thing. Anyway, during that week I managed to talk my Dad into buying a set from me, as well as my Aunt. Dad has loved his, and still uses them to this day. Some people like the handles, some don't. I do know they last forever.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: CellarDoor

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Oh, and I'd like to suggest you get a cleaver. I got one in addition to the knife set (they were a xmas present) and it's REALLY useful. I'd never used one before, but I find myself using it all the time.

What do you use a cleaver for in a home kitchen? My previous vocabulary was "knife", know I know "Chef's" and "paring"

I don't know what kind of cleaver he is referring to, but I use a Chinese cleaver for everything in the kitchen. A Chinese cleaver has a very thin blade like a chefs knife, and can be used for veggies, meats etc. The size of the blade also allows you to use it to smash garlic, use it as a spatula, etc.

http://japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html

This is the one I have: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=hen...er&hl=en&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

Like you said, it's good for everything. Ergonomically, you have more control and strength because the handle is above the food you're cutting instead of in line with it. I don't know if I explained it very well, just try it. My cleaver has some heft to it, so it could easily be used for tenderizing meats or pounding something flat (like chicken breasts).

As a side note, I've had to retrain myself on a lazy habit-using the knife to scoop food off the cutting board just destroys a freshly sharpened/honed edge. I'm learning to flip the blade over to the dull edge for moving food around or scraping the bits off the board.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
I own a number of Henkel knives and am quite happy with them. However, it should be noted that there are a number of different grades and the cheapest, most often serrated sets, are not made in Solingen Germany but the name is licensed to other manufs. In my oppinion, this was one of the dumbest business decissions since A & W licensed the bottling of their Root-beer.

Always look at the logo: the good ones have 2 little guys, the cheapies have one little guy. I was disappointed to see that Costco carries the lower grade "International" series (one little guy logo.)

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Honestly... We've had all Wustof knives that we got when we got married. But a few months back we were turned on to Pampered Chef knives and they are Awesome!

Of course my wife sells it so she's biased but they are nice. Let me know if you want to order some and I can place an order for you. heh heh.

I'm partial to their clay bakeware. I've accumulated seven or eight pieces and I use them all the time, like almost daily.

Eh, clay? What do you use it for?

Pretty much everything that goes in the oven. It's sort of like cooking with cast iron: it gets the same non-stick coating built up over time and it has some good thermal mass to it so it cooks evenly. Most people are familiar with pizza stones. Same thing. Pampered Chef stoneware is very high grade and difficult to break.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Honestly... We've had all Wustof knives that we got when we got married. But a few months back we were turned on to Pampered Chef knives and they are Awesome!

Of course my wife sells it so she's biased but they are nice. Let me know if you want to order some and I can place an order for you. heh heh.

I'm partial to their clay bakeware. I've accumulated seven or eight pieces and I use them all the time, like almost daily.

Eh, clay? What do you use it for?

Pretty much everything that goes in the oven. It's sort of like cooking with cast iron: it gets the same non-stick coating built up over time and it has some good thermal mass to it so it cooks evenly. Most people are familiar with pizza stones. Same thing. Pampered Chef stoneware is very high grade and difficult to break.

Very interesting, thanks for the info. A pizza stone is actually next on my list after learning how to cook on a Wok

 

[arcas]

A question along the same lines...

Say your spending limit is $100-$150, what knife set would be recommended?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: CellarDoor

http://japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html

Very impressive blades there. :Q

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Get a couple of decent sized cutting boards to go along with the knives. There's nothing worse than trying to do prep on an itty bitty cutting board. 14" x 24" works pretty well for me.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: arcas
A question along the same lines...

Say your spending limit is $100-$150, what knife set would be recommended?

Would you be open to building your collection? If so, Wusthoff has an 8" Chef's knife and 3.5" paring knife for $120 together.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: arcas
A question along the same lines...

Say your spending limit is $100-$150, what knife set would be recommended?

1. Don't assume that more knives is better. Most people really only need 2-4 knives.
2. Go to a store and handle the knives. You need to know what fits your hand and has the best balance and weight for you. Everyone has different needs.
3. You might consider getting them either in a small set (like 3 piece) or piecemeal so you don't have a bunch of expensive knives sitting unused in the block.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Get a couple of decent sized cutting boards to go along with the knives. There's nothing worse than trying to do prep on an itty bitty cutting board. 14" x 24" works pretty well for me.

I'll add that you should NEVER use a glass or stone cutting board. It'll really fark up your knives. Only use wood or plastic. And when you get a cutting board, think about how you'll clean it. Make sure it'll fit in your sink for rinsing or you'll hate it.

 

[sjwaste]

You're going to think I'm nuts, but I bought these when I was a student. For the price, amazing knives. The edge won't last as long as a Wusthof, Henckels, etc, but they have great weight and balance. I've had mine for about 3 years now, and its time to resharpen. I've thought about getting newer, more expensive knives, but these have a lot of life left.

If you're learning or want a set cheap enough to beat up, this is it. I've used the chef's knife for pretty much every job in the kitchen.

EDIT: I should mention, I cook frequently, they get use probably every day. The worst thing I've had to do with them so far was to go through duck bones, and they'll do the job.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Aquaman
Kershaw-Shun FTW

Best knives I have ever had

Cheers,
Aquaman

Good for scraping the poo of the car hood huh?

 

[jpeyton]

The Real Deal Holyfield.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Get a couple of decent sized cutting boards to go along with the knives. There's nothing worse than trying to do prep on an itty bitty cutting board. 14" x 24" works pretty well for me.

I'll add that you should NEVER use a glass or stone cutting board. It'll really fark up your knives. Only use wood or plastic. And when you get a cutting board, think about how you'll clean it. Make sure it'll fit in your sink for rinsing or you'll hate it.

Second that. I hear that plastic is more resistant to gouging, but once it does, bacteria thrive in there. Wood, on the other hand, gashes more easily, but isn't as hospitable to microbial life. That said, I use plastic and get new ones once a year or so because I like to run them through the dishwasher (the boards not the knives!)