Kitchen Knife Set

[JR Hill]

I've been looking and looking. But I have this problem: I know a bit about decent knives. For butchering and boning I have purchased good stuff. That need is covered.

Where I have a problem is a kitchen knife set for the wife. As most of you know most of the standard issue stuff in the stores are junk. And many of the knives in the set are rarely used. All she really needs is a Chef, utility, paring and maybe a santoku. We have a block and steak knives. And for anything else I can keep old stuff sharpened and ready like the bread knife. So I could go to Knives of Alaska and get a base combo plus another for ~$900. That won't happen but I know those are REAL tool steel and hold an edge. Yes we use cutting boards. But I just can't stand getting something that is advertised as Chef Whooptydo's recommended knives just to experience them being as good as some sacred steel composition from Japan that are no better than anything available from Wally's.

Any recommendations based upon experience? It'll have to be an online purchase based upon where we live.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I’ve been looking a sets for the wife myself. Really it seems like nothing under 1K is any good.

 

[nedsim]

Have you looked at traditional Japanese knives? I have an usuba and a deba with laminated "white steel" blades and single bevel edges. I've never used anything better. You do have to be careful of the edge as it's very hard and fine compared to western knives - not good for cutting bones. But it's very easy to maintain a shaving sharp edge. I can't point to a brand because all the markings on my blades are Japanese. They came from Japan Woodworker, no longer in business.

I bet these folks could ID the maker from a photo:
https://www.hocho-knife.com/

My wife (who we call Doesn't-Use-Tools) is prohibited from using the Japanese knives. She gets the Sabatier and Wusthof knives. Nothing wrong with them, but if you really want a keen edge, the steel is too soft. The carbon steel is better than the stainless, but not by much.

 

[JR Hill]

I am sure I'd get ripped if I spent a grand on kitchen knives for her. But the knives from hocho look wonderful. Just the standard blade is the target - not looking for art work.

 

[dwaugh]

My Henkel knives have been fine.

 

[Stonesforbrains]

Wusthof Classic set my wife and I use in the kitchen are pretty good.

 

[davidsparks]

They are expensive but I highly recommend Miyabi Birchwood. Beautiful and great. Like said above, they the have a fine edge and you have to watch for bone, but they are lasers

 

[SS396driver]

Have a set of J.A. Henkles been very pleased with them

 

[JR Hill]

A few folks have mentioned caution around cutting when a bone might be contacted. Is this to say the blade area of the knife is so hard as to be brittle and will break the edge (even if you need a magnifier to see the edge)? Gee, what happens when you contact the cutting board? To me, in steel for 'cutting', hardness is one thing and toughness is another. I don't believe hardness and toughness need to be mutually exclusive.

As for sharpening I'm the least worried about this aspect. But what I don't want is to have to touch up or strop every few slices.

 

[nedsim]

If you're talking about the Japanese knives, they're more fragile than the Wusthof/Henckels/Sabatier forged knives, but not unreasonably so. Each of my Japanese knives has one tiny ding in the edge, and one is 25 years old, the other about 10. Not sure how either happened, whether in use or just getting knocked around. As long as you don't hit them or use as a cleaver or to pry, they're fine. In other words, don't use one if you're chopping up a Hubbard squash or breaking down a turkey carcass. For slicing ripe tomatoes, mincing garlic and herbs, or making fine slices of meat or fish, the Japanese knives excel.

I sharpen the Japanese knives once or twice a year, otherwise no care other than to clean and dry after use. The Wusthof/Henckels/Sabatiers about the same, but they require a quick dressing on a knife steel now and then. The steel of the western knives is soft enough that the edge will roll rather than chip -- the steel realigns the edge.

 

[Gardiner Schneider]

Here on the coast of Maine, many of the fishermen buy Victorinox knives. The "Little Vicki" is a small knife that many of us carry in a plastic sheath on the outside of our foul weather gear that we can grab in a hurry to cut a lobter trap warp that we might get entangled in. These seven dollar knives are great kitchen knives, serrated stainless edge and really sharp. The larger Victorinox knives, six inch blade up to 12 inch blade cost fifty or a hundred bucks and are used on fishing boats for cleaning and filleting. We have had a couple of them for the past thirty or more years, and they seem to last forever with a light pass over a sharpening stone once or twice a year. Hamilton Marine is a source.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

I would suggest against sets unless they really do offer exactly what you need and nothing more.

Something I see a LOT with casual kitchen knife users is that hey really don't understand what they need. Lots of times they're using the wrong knife for the jobs they're doing. I have lots of knives and knife use is something I'm quite versed in and passionate about. 95% of the time I'm doing something with a knife in the kitchen it's a chef's knife in my hand. 4% of the time it's a bread knife or a boning knife. About 1% of the time it's something other than a chef/boning/bread knife. I honestly can't remember the last time I used a pairing knife at home. I peel with a peeler because it's faster and I don't do fancy detail/garnish work at home. If I need to peel an apple for some odd reason I'll use my boning knife or a steak knife.

I always suggest people simply buy a chef's knife (or Gyuto if you want Asian style knives) first. Get an 8" chef of whatever brand you think you like and use it. Use it for a solid month or three before you decide to buy more knives. When you find yourself saying 'I need a knife for this specific purpose', that's when you look into buying a knife specifically to fill that purpose. If you really like the handle/style of your chef's knife, get the same brand, if not, now you should know what you do/don't like about that knife and you can use the knowledge and experience you gained with the chef's knife to guide your decision on the next knife. Chef's knives are always the easiest to resell if you decide you don't like the first one.

If you're looking for the best value - Victorinox. These are used in professional kitchens all over the world. They're quality but they're not fancy. If you want your guests to be impressed when you whip out your knife while entertaining, these are not that.

If you are looking for something impressive read further:

I highly suggest finding a local store that will allow you to handle/hold or even use the knives. A legit cutlery story will usually allow you to use the knives in store. This is the best way to know what type of knife fits you the best. Fit in the hand/balance/fit finish/etc are all more important than 'specs' that you can find online.

There are LOTS of boutique knife manufacturers out there, go to a cutlery website if you don't have a store near you and find something you like the look of. Almost all of them are producing fairly quality knives no days. I can't really think of any well established brands that are producing sub quality knives.

 

[lone wolf]

I've been looking and looking. But I have this problem: I know a bit about decent knives. For butchering and boning I have purchased good stuff. That need is covered.

Where I have a problem is a kitchen knife set for the wife. As most of you know most of the standard issue stuff in the stores are junk. And many of the knives in the set are rarely used. All she really needs is a Chef, utility, paring and maybe a santoku. We have a block and steak knives. And for anything else I can keep old stuff sharpened and ready like the bread knife. So I could go to Knives of Alaska and get a base combo plus another for ~$900. That won't happen but I know those are REAL tool steel and hold an edge. Yes we use cutting boards. But I just can't stand getting something that is advertised as Chef Whooptydo's recommended knives just to experience them being as good as some sacred steel composition from Japan that are no better than anything available from Wally's.

Any recommendations based upon experience? It'll have to be an online purchase based upon where we live.

Thanks in advance.

https://www.cutco.com/

 

[Philbert]

Wusthof and Zwilling both make nice knives. Each as a variety of ‘levels’ / lines (forged, stamped, etc,) so look through their websites to understand the differences between their products.

Mercer and Messermeister also have good products.

If you can find a restaurant supply store near you, that is open to the public, they often have good options, and a range of value / price points.

Philbert

 

[Paul Bunions]

Expensive knives are for people who love knives, not cooking. I have wasted tons of money on kitchen knives, and I am here to warn others: don't do it.

Get yourself Forschner (Victorinox) or Mundial stamped knives with plastic NSF handles. Buy a diamond hone and learn to use it. Your knives will always be razor-sharp, and they'll be fine in the dishwasher.

Japanese knives, in particular, are overpriced crap. Drop one on a counter, it chips. Put it in the dishwasher, it chips. Sure, it will hold an edge (if the edge doesn't fall off) for a long time, but that's only a concern for people who can't sharpen knives.

I gave away my awful Shuns because they were delicate little hothouse flowers that had to be treated like sick babies. I have a Japanese cleaver that probably costs $400 now, and I have used it maybe twice in something like 14 years.

I like nice knives. I have a $200 knife in my pocket. But for the kitchen, you have to be stupid to buy expensive cutlery.

Now the flames will come from people who wasted their money.

 

[dwaugh]

Expensive knives are for people who love knives, not cooking. I have wasted tons of money on kitchen knives, and I am here to warn others: don't do it.

Get yourself Forschner (Victorinox) or Mundial stamped knives with plastic NSF handles. Buy a diamond hone and learn to use it. Your knives will always be razor-sharp, and they'll be fine in the dishwasher.

Japanese knives, in particular, are overpriced crap. Drop one on a counter, it chips. Put it in the dishwasher, it chips. Sure, it will hold an edge (if the edge doesn't fall off) for a long time, but that's only a concern for people who can't sharpen knives.

I gave away my awful Shuns because they were delicate little hothouse flowers that had to be treated like sick babies. I have a Japanese cleaver that probably costs $400 now, and I have used it maybe twice in something like 14 years.

I like nice knives. I have a $200 knife in my pocket. But for the kitchen, you have to be stupid to buy expensive cutlery.

Now the flames will come from people who wasted their money.

I would have not phrased all that the way you did, but I can't disagree

 

[Paul Bunions]

I guess I'm tired of seeing people steer others down the wrong road for money or out of stubbornness. A lot of people can never admit they spent money stupidly, so they'll keep doubling down and dragging others into their error.

And God help you if you question high-end knives on a forum where some guy watched too many episodes of Forged in Fire and is now letting his wife support him while he tries to get rich selling people $450 chef's knives. You will be lucky if he doesn't track you down and shoot you.

Restaurants use the kind of knives I recommended, and they pay companies to gather them up, sharpen them, and bring them back. They don't hand Sabatiers out to line cooks.

 

[les-or-more]

https://www.cutco.com/

We are more than satisfied with the knives and the service!

 

[Philbert]

Restaurants use the kind of knives I recommended, and they pay companies to gather them up, sharpen them, and bring them back

Some do.

I worked in meat packing plants for a few years, where we would buy cheap knives (maybe $7 each), grind them away, and replace them every few weeks, or so.

I also know professional chefs and cooks who have had knives for 30+ years.

Like a lot of tools, including chainsaws: is the tool to be used up as part of the job, or maintained, and used for a long time?

Are you sending it out for sharpening, or learning to use a stone, buying a machine, etc.? Sound familiar?

Good knives have a weight, balance, and feel, beyond a simple edge. Some are forged, versus stamped. Some handles fit better in some people’s hands.

Some cooking schools teach students to do ‘everything’ with an 8” ‘French’ chef’s knife.

I like different knives for different tasks.

Does not have to be a $1,000 ‘set’. It takes more time to pick out individual knives for chopping vegetables, slicing roasts, boning meat and poultry, filleting fish, etc. Does not have to be a ‘block’ on the counter, for everyone to see: I keep mine in a slotted, wooden holder in a drawer.

Like with chainsaws, chains, and other tools: I may have a few that I have tried.

A lot has to do with the type(s) of cooking you do, or plan to do. A lot has to do with personal preference, and how you view tools. A lot has to do with attitude (e.g. my knives don’t go in the dishwasher).

Philbert

 

[lone wolf]

We are more than satisfied with the knives and the service!

I have one, and it is amazing and the best Kitchen Knife I ever used. I highly recommend them. Anyone reading this, try one.