Kitchen/Chef's Knives Reviews & Recommendations

[hassihand]

I've grown tired of using these lousy no name, shoddy quality knives at home and looking for suggestions/reviews/recommendations etc. on some good quality knives that will see moderate to heavy use at home.

At the moment, there are a few brand names that I've narrowed down which include Global, Shun, and Wusthof. Leaning toward a set (5-9 pcs, depending on mfgr and set), however is there any good argument to buying individually? If it's a set and comes with a block, the block itself won't be used so I have no need to pay extra for that.

Given that I'm currently at work, I have no way to visit any retailers or handle them myself, so this will be a "blind" online purchase so they are waiting when I get home...suggestions for online retailers also appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[saskbooknut]

I am a fan of Wusthof knives - though I do have some Henckels ( original German please). Henckels International (not German) are a crapshoot - some are ok but they are not reliable for holding their edge.
German stainless knives like these are less hard, easier sharpening than Japanese knives in general. A few licks on the steel will return the edge on a Wusthof or Henckels knife quickly.
I have a 20 cm 4522 Wusthof Driezack (Trident) which is very thin profile - slips through things like nothing.
I recommend buying individual knives that you actually use rather than a set, unless the set exactly meets your needs.
A ten inch chef's knife, a more slender 8 to 10 inch knife like above, a six inch flexible boning knife, a 4 or 5 inch paring knife, and a bread knife are enough for my kitchen. Don't cheap out on the paring knife which gets a lot of use.

[oldgutpile]

Good advice from the previous poster. Stay away from the block sets. I have yet to see one that is really good quality that you will justify the selection.
Typically, anything made in Germany, Swiss, and even some Japan blades are not too bad. My favorite remains Victornox. The style depends on what you are cutting, and there are dozens of different designs and lengths to choose from. One good quality knife can set you back the full price of a chinese block set.
If the blade looks "purdy" but has china or pakistan stamped anywhere on it.............RUN!

[calgarychef]

good advise already and I'll repeat it because it's the right stuff to get

A butcher supply place such as CTR refrigeration will have anything you
need. What you need is a 10" chef knife, a paring knife, and a 12" serrated slicing knife, and a boning knife if you plan to butcher game. You don't need anything else, that set up is good enough in a commercial kitchen so it's fine for home. One extra that's especially is a fluted slicing knife for carving.

Forget about the sets and forget especially about henkels, they take too long to sharpen and the blades are too thick. Get something like victorinox and it will last a livetime and be easy to sharpen. I have a victorinox that's worn down over a 1/2 an inch from years of sharpening but it's still going strong.

Get a water stone for sharpening I like very fine grits but honestly a 250/1000 combination stone is probably the most useful. The 250 grit really cuts agressively if the knife needs major "tlc"

Never put the knives in the dishwasher, it's not the heat that harms them it's the banging around. Keep them in a safe place where they won't bet beat up in a drawer with everything else.

You can find victorinox knives online and the waterstone from lee valley tools.

[unclebuck]

Wusthof, Messermeister, Henckels, Victorinox are all good knives. A 10" chef's knife, a 10" slicing knife, a bread knife, a 7" boning knife, 4" paring knife, & a sharpening steel. Store them with care, and they will treat you well for the rest of your life!!!

[chaos2nyte]

Victoinox all the way!! You'll pay more but worth every penny!!

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by saskbooknut

I am a fan of Wusthof knives - though I do have some Henckels ( original German please). Henckels International (not German) are a crapshoot - some are ok but they are not reliable for holding their edge.
German stainless knives like these are less hard, easier sharpening than Japanese knives in general. A few licks on the steel will return the edge on a Wusthof or Henckels knife quickly.
I have a 20 cm 4522 Wusthof Driezack (Trident) which is very thin profile - slips through things like nothing.
I recommend buying individual knives that you actually use rather than a set, unless the set exactly meets your needs.
A ten inch chef's knife, a more slender 8 to 10 inch knife like above, a six inch flexible boning knife, a 4 or 5 inch paring knife, and a bread knife are enough for my kitchen. Don't cheap out on the paring knife which gets a lot of use.

x 1000. I have the classic, pricey but very good quality, holds an edge well, easy to steel.

[dumoulin]

I would recomend either Cutco, Victorinox or Americraft by Buck Knives. We have the full set of Bucks, some of the other two. Either way you slice it, you should get a good diamond sharpener and learn how to sharpen knives (if you are unsure how to do so as this may make all the difference.)

We are very happy with the Bucks to date. Very nice finish and hold an edge, also garanteed for life. By them directly from the factory in Post Falls Idaho and you will save at least 150$. The set is worth about 800$ CND. Henckels will not hold up...at least none of ones I've ever owned. That said German knives are usualy made from good steel.

[slingshotz]

If you are coming back to Calgary, go into Knifewear in Inglewood and see Kevin, he's the geek of knives, he has knives that he helped design as well. I'm not a huge fan of the German type knives but it really is important to feel the balance in your hand as they are very individual. I personally use Japanese Tojiro DP Damascus knifes and they are absolutely amazing. By first half decent knife was a Global but after using the Tojiro's the Global pales in comparison.

[aught-six]

I am a fan of Wustof and have used them for 20 years. Recently acquired an 8 in Chef's knife in the Classic Ikon series for approx $100 (incl shipping) on EBay. I found the Grand Prix II line was selling even cheaper but opted for the half bolster design of the Ikon.

Another knife I found highly recommended in the MAC Professional series. Japanese steel is in generally harder than German steel - keeps the edge longer. I didn't try or use this knife but may be something to look at (Hendrix in Edm has both Mac and Wusthof).

[creeky]

Originally Posted by slingshotz

If you are coming back to Calgary, go into Knifewear in Inglewood and see Kevin, he's the geek of knives, he has knives that he helped design as well. I'm not a huge fan of the German type knives but it really is important to feel the balance in your hand as they are very individual. I personally use Japanese Tojiro DP Damascus knifes and they are absolutely amazing. By first half decent knife was a Global but after using the Tojiro's the Global pales in comparison.

x2, the quality of product he stocks is on a whole other level.

[gilbertslake]

Originally Posted by hassihand

I've grown tired of using these lousy no name, shoddy quality knives at home and looking for suggestions/reviews/recommendations etc. on some good quality knives that will see moderate to heavy use at home.

At the moment, there are a few brand names that I've narrowed down which include Global, Shun, and Wusthof. Leaning toward a set (5-9 pcs, depending on mfgr and set), however is there any good argument to buying individually? If it's a set and comes with a block, the block itself won't be used so I have no need to pay extra for that.

Given that I'm currently at work, I have no way to visit any retailers or handle them myself, so this will be a "blind" online purchase so they are waiting when I get home...suggestions for online retailers also appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

My mother used to have some German knives by Wusthof and my father had pocket knives by Lowen Messers and Nest. All of these were made in Solingen and carbon steel blades with wooden handles. And did they ever take a nice sharp edge.
I think Nest is no longer available, but Lowen Messers knives are. I saw Wusthoff knives at good prices when I was in Germany a couple years ago and wish now I had bought some. I would recommend Wusthof as being of similar quality to Henckels. I have a couple Henckels knives which are made in Japan and although ok they don't seem to have the same quality as German steel
If you want an excellent Canadian made knife, check out Grohmann, their top line knives are forged steel blades, but pricey. If their kitchen knives are as good as their carbon steel belt knives (Russell) then they should be great knives.

[verminator]

Originally Posted by gilbertslake

If you want an excellent Canadian made knife, check out Grohmann, their top line knives are forged steel blades, but pricey. If their kitchen knives are as good as their carbon steel belt knives (Russell) then they should be great knives.

Grohmann are excellent knifes I don't have any but I have friends back east that do both hunting and kitchen and they absolutely love them. The are from my home province and they also give tours of there plant daily.

[gilbertslake]

Originally Posted by verminator

Grohmann are excellent knifes I don't have any but I have friends back east that do both hunting and kitchen and they absolutely love them. The are from my home province and they also give tours of there plant daily.

I have had two of their Russell`s. An original and a bird knife, both with carbon steel blades. The carbon blades take a keener edge and hold it longer than stainless. On the downside, carbon needs more care, clean and dry right away each time you use it and I like to use a light coating of oil on the blade after cleaning. To me they are every bit as good as Solingen knives. On a couple of occasions when the edge was starting to dull, I have done a couple of passes on the back of the sheath and the edge is sharp again (no damage to the sheath).

[Albertadiver]

I have a cutco hunting knife. I've gutted and butchered 4 deer with this knife and it doesn't need a sharpening.

I hope to buy more for the kitchen soon.

[verminator]

The Shuns are have a very thin edge 3/1000ths of an inch. My bread knife can be pushed through freshly baked homemade bread cutting a perfect slice. I was quite impressed after getting mine and trying them. I have a number other knifes and non compare to the Shuns. They are Damascus and it's a process of layering metals together form a superior metal, for knifes or samurai swords. A few pics below show u how the knifes look and the layers of metal. You can also see the thin edge 16°.

URL="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m98/qqfob/IMG_6049.jpg"]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m98/qqfob/IMG_6049.jpg[/URL]

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...b/IMG_6051.jpg