Best Kitchen Knives?

I've seen a lot of info about different kinds of knives on here but despite searching haven't found a great deal on good kitchen knives. I want to get rid of the old crap wal-mart cheapies that we've been using for years and step up to some GOOD knives. I've looked at various JA Henckles sets, Kitchen Aid, and a few others. I dont mind dropping a few bills on a good set. I want those blisteringly sharp, stable, cut your finger off without even feeling it, knives.

Anybody have any suggestions? I'm looking for a full set with block, ~9 or so knives. I dont really need a cleaver. But definately a good chef's knife, pearing knife, etc. So far i'm leaning towards Henckles

Shane

Well where to start

Stamped knives of good quality:
Victorinox has a good line and the steel is reasonably soft to make sharpening a snap.
Henckel has a good line of stamped knives as well ( yellow handle )

Forged knives
Any Solingen company ( Henckel etc.) make very good knives but sharpening is not so easy and the heel becomes an issue over prolonged sharpening.

There is also very good companies like Misono, William Henry etc

it really depends on how much dough you want to spend. I have spent thousands of dollars over the years for my operations and i must say every knive has its pros and cons.

i dont mind shelling out $200-$300 or so. I was thinking of the Henckles four or five star knives as the 9 piece sets fall in my price range.

Shane

From my very limited experience with (good) kitchen knives, I really like the Forschner (Victorinox) Fibrox handle knives. When I was looking for "better than discount store" knives, I did a fair amount of research and kept finding good reviews of the Forschner. The fibrox handles are plastic, but I find them to be very comfortable - and you don't have to worry about taking care of wood handles.

They got good reviews from Cooks Illustrated.

I have not needed to sharpen my knives yet so I can't comment on that.

I did not buy a full set of knives which would have had knives I did not need. I bought 8" and 6" chef's knives that I'm very happy with. I also got a couple paring knives of differing lengths. I find I use the 6" chef's knife the most but really like the 8" too. I used to be more of a fan of paring knives for a lot of small tasks but the 6" has taken over.

I store the knives in a drawer rather than in a block. I use Lamsonsharp knife safes for the blades that will fit (the 6" chef won't without some modification to the knife safe).

We've been liking the Shun line from Kershaw.
http://www.kershawknives.com/searchresults.php?search_by=category&search_value=22

http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=249

It performs better than any of the German made knives I've had in the past from Henckles, Wusthof... Overall construction and craftsmanship is excellent. IMO.

Check out these. They are VG-10 core damascus blades with corian handles. Very nice for the price.

I was also wondering this!
A bit of threadjacking here, but what would you guys say is the Spyderco Byrd(absolutely the best bang for the bucks) equivalent for kitchen knives?

I find most of the Sabertier and Twillingen knives pretty bad (except the $100 + a piece versions, maybe) I like sure like Gobal and the expensive series of Ikea is pretty good!!

I like Cutco but admit I do not know verymuch on knifes. I'm starting to get the bug and hopfully will learn soon

WÜSTHOF and/or Murray Carter (M.S.)

While I do not have a lot of experience using kitchen knives, I have read a good deal about them on the internet and recently bought some for myself.

Victorinox/Forschner knives are highly regarded and should offer great value, great "bang for the buck". The fibrox handled versions should be good at avoiding bacteria compared to other knives.

You can also look into Global knives, which are more expensive, though. These are Japanese, lightweight steel-handled knives. (Not the type of knife for you if you like heft)

It's been said here before, but I've found some great brands I use:

Henckels, Wusthof, Sabatier. Heard Global is great too.

If you can, go to the store and try them out. Each knife has a different feel. I like the rocker better in the Wusthof and went with that instead of Henckels.

I only end up needing a few knives, you sure you need 9?

Chef's, paring, utility, bread.

Depends on what you need them for, of course.

Most people don't need a full set...rather 3 or 4 knives that will serve most of your needs.

I agree with the WUSTHOFF suggestion and have always enjoyed my Globals. They will price out more than a set of Henckles (for 4 high quality blades)...but again, you won't need 9 different knives either.

Good luck!

RIDE

some of the best kitchen knives I've ever used are the plainest.
old ontario hammer forged kitchen knives are da bomb! best of all found em at the flea market for under $6 ea.

and yes I've got several german & japanese knives including hinkel. my fav big knife is an old Gerber kitchen knife.

gunga and I must be distant relatives.

I tried most of these, (I missed the Shun's, though, dangit!) before I settled on the Wusthof Tridents. I bought the best the store had 5 years ago, and I've been very happy.

I, too, like the rocker on the Wusthof's much better than the Henckels, which is what I was planning on buying before a very knowledgeable sales lady showed me the difference. (She had both, so it didn't matter which I bought.)

You can spend more, and SOME of the Sabatier knives are well made, but not all, and being able to tell the difference is critical. I spent a lot of time researching them, and actually have couple individual knives that I like, but couldn't find a set I like as much as the Wusthofs.

Most of those mentioned here are decent knives, and it does come down to what fits your hand and what you like!

Good luck!!!

Bill

I use Wusthof but, there are many other brands as good I feel. Your don't need nine knives though--chef's, paring, filet and maybe a serrated bread knife will accomplish 99% of your needs. Spend a few bucks on a sharpening steel for honing though and, learn to sharpen whatever you buy. You can spend a small fortune but without keeping them sharp, you might as well buy junk to throw away.


Karl

Hi,

I'll add my own opinion for your consideration.

I have some cheaper forged knives from a local department store (Debenhams), Global, one Wusthof and one Victorinox.

The cheaper knives were not too bad at all, they don't hold an edge anywhere near as well as the decent ones, but for the money, I can't really complain. The Victorinox has a very nice, sharp blade but it isn't anywhere near balanced with that light handle.

The Globals are very nice. I have a forged 27cm forged chefs knife (GF-34), 18cm vegetable knife (G-5, 13cm chefs (GS-3), Deba etc. and a few smaller ones. They all hold a razor sharp edge really well and I find them superbly balanced in my hands (medium sized) if I hold them with the pinch grip.

I only have one Wusthof (a flexible filleting knife) and again, it is very well made and holds an edge well.

I wouldn't have any hesitation in recommending either of the above makes. What I would suggest considering though is how you are going to maintain them. I have 1000 and 5000 grit ceramic whetstones and only use the latter on the Global and Wusthof. They don't need much maintenance, but a touch up every now and again keeps the edges keen. I sharpen freehand and find the edges of the Global easier to keep at the correct angle. The maintenance of good knives should be factored into your purchase and sharpening knives IMHO is a skill that most should learn (I'm certainly not perfect at it!).

From my own experience, I would agree with the other suggestions and plan to buy fewer knives. The one I use the most is vegetable knife, it is great for chopping and julienning vegetables, secondly would be the 13cm cooks knife, it isn't very large but is perfect for most uses, like chopping up meat. The large knife is great for cutting big vegetables (squash, swede etc..) but often too large (too long for the chopping board for example). I wouldn't have thought you need many more for most uses unless you cook professionally.

Perhaps the best advice would be to go and actually handle some of these knives in a shop. Pick one up, hold it in the normal grip you would use for chopping, slicing etc and see how it feels in our hands (and in anyone else's who may be using them). Most of the makes listed above by everyone else would be reasonable but as with anything, if you don't like using them, you will go back to the old ones and that defeats the object.

As I said, only my personal opinion, but it may help you make a decision.

Andrew

Take a look at the Furi Coppertail Pro's. I have several thousand dollars worth of custom david boye dendritic steel knives that are just fabulous cutters but have wood handles so i have to be carefull with them. I picked up one of the larger chef furi's and really enjoy cutting with it and not worrying about it. Plust they are pretty inexpensive on ebay. rachel ray sponsers a version with orange silicone handles that are very popular but i prefer the all stainless.

ken

We've had a fair number of "traditional" good knives, so I was skeptical when the Mrs. bought a "Furi Gusto Grip". But this knife takes an edge with just a steel, holds it a long time, is light and ergonomic, is thin, and the scalloped blade really DOES make cutting easier.

If I needed a set of knives, I'd get these, hands down.

I dunno anything about this retailer... it was the first one I found in Google...
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=9985

W.

I am going to see if i can find a good knife store. There used to be one in the mall a few years ago but they arent there anymore.