Kitchen Knife Opinions

New to the forum, but not Taste of Home.  I'm hoping some of the great down home cooks on here can help me out.  I am looking to buy a new (good) set of kitchen knives.  I've done some research and have a good idea of what the professionals use.  My degree in is Home Economics, but I'm a cake decorator by profession.  I want good knives, but don't need to spend the money the professionals do.  Anyone have any ideas or opinions on what I should look at?

My personal favorite is Wustof. They are a little expensive, but I love the balance. I don't like Henckel. For a less expensive, but quality knife, I like Chicago Cutlery, F.D i c k, ( sorry I had to write the last knife like I did. This stupid thing kept bleeping the word.), Dexter Russell and Forschner. They are nicely balanced, hold  their edge fairly well and with a few swipes of a steel, the edge is back. I have learned through many years of using knives, that the best way to put an edge on is with whet stones, not a wheel or those horrible sharpeners that are a series of metal wheels that you pass the blade through. They absolutely destroy knives. And you should only sharpen your knives, maybe once a year for a home cook. Professionals might have to do it 3 times a year. A good steel is your best friend with any knife. Don't get those tiny ones. Get one that is at least 12 inches or more. And don't get one that is real smooth. A little coarseness is good.  I have about 30 knives that I use and I love every one of them. Keep your knives razor sharp and they will be your friend and a great assistant in the kitchen.

Hope this helps.

 I like RADA knives. They are made in USA. The new ones they have are dish washer safe (the older ones would lose their color, become dull in color). A lot of the ladies on "Recipes" use them. Another good tip is not to place your knife sharp side down in the wood block holders as this can dull the edge. Rada has a block that places them sideways. I just put mine in upside down.

I actually just bought a few Cutco knives.  When I sliced through a carrot with the chefs knife & the carrot didn't go sailing across the table, I was sold!  Pricey knives, but guaranteed forever.

Wuesthof knives are good and so are WMF (a very old firm: Wuerttemberger Metallwaren Fabrik).

Still, give me the old carbon steel knives and I take them over any new ones. I have some old no-name ones I would not trade for a whole set of the most expensive ones.

Also like the old fashhioned European paring knives, they are not as large and clumsy as those that come with sets. I alsoprefer to by kinves ONE AT A TIME, buying a large set you will always have some knives in a set that you will not really like and never use, and that is a waste of money.

Yes, I also have a few old Chicgo Cutlery ones I like, they were  still made with carbon steel blades. To shine those blades you take a large cork, lay your knife flat on the rim of the snk, wet the cork and dip it into a mild abrasive (Bab-O or Bon Ami) and rub the blade, using a bit of pressure. Rinse and dry the blade immediately and it will be nice and shiny.

I agree. Wustof knives are worth the money. I have 2 Wustof paring knives, boning knife and their super slicer.  For my chef knife however, I bought a Shun. Shun actually makes right and left hand knives! Once I held that chefs knife in my hand, I wouldn't put it down! It is awesome! If you want to cook well, you need the right tools! You don't need a huge "set". Just a couple of good ones.

Joyce

I agree that carbon steel are great knives. The only thing with them is they dull faster than stainless. But putting an edge back is easier than stainless. Also carbon steel stains, if that is a bother to you. That's a good idea about the cork and BonAmi. I'll try that on my carbon knives.

I agree with Jetfan27: Wustof are well worth the money. I had Henckel first and hated them. Only had them about a month when I switched to Wustof about 10 years ago. I have all of my original knives but one. I dropped the paring knife point down and it bent terribly. That's the only one I've replaced in 10 years. I have a chef's choice sharpener that I invested in a few years ago and it does a GREAT job sharpening. Like jetfan27 I sharpen only once a year or so. I have 2 different size chef's knives, 2 paring, boning, slicer, serrated and one other. They are the best. Invest in one or two that you will use often and ask for the others for birthdays, holidays, Mother's Day, etc. That's what I did.

Good luck!

My favorite inexpensive kitchen knives are Victorinox serrated edge paring knife and a steak knife. I use them for most chores that require cutting. They keep their edge and are under $10. 

They are available at knife stores in a mall or can be ordered online.

Go with Wustof you will be glad you did!!

New here, but wanted to chime in on this one.

I LOVE my Cutco knives!  I love how the handles are ergonimically designed.  I love the "double-D" edge, which makes the slicing of meats and tomatoes and anything so much easier. They're easy to use, easy to clean. I've had mine for almost twenty years and only in the last couple years have I needed to get the one knife that I use many times every day sharpened.  It may seem a pain to have to send the knife (only the "double-D" edged ones) in to the company to get them sharpened.  But they'll do it every time, no matter how long you've had the knives.  They're very prompt about things.

I would recommend Cutco to anyone!

- Cathy

 Great thread on knives! I'm personally a Forschner fan as those were the ones I could when I first started cooking school and they were required for the course. I have large hands, so the Chef's knife fits very well in my hand,and I don't smash my knuckles while chopping things. And my steele keeps theedge on it. I, like Gre_lo, love the carbon steel knives too, and I have one of those too that I do use a whet stone to keep it's edge. They are just soooo much easier to sharpen.

I've owned a lot of knives, but Rada knives get my vote for price and selection!  They also have a magnetic strip to mount on your wall so they're all close at hand and don't dull the knives!  They're so inexpensive I was dubious, but they're the best for me.

 

~~susie.

 

 

Even though it might sound crazy to some people, we bought our knives off of craigslist. They're Wustof--but we only paid about 1/4 of the original price and they were brand new...we bought them from a sweet older lady who clearly was quite well-off, and she got them as a Christmas gift. She said "why would anyone think that I need more knives at this age?" I might be wary about buying something expensive like knives on ebay, but with craigslist you get to see them in person, so if they aren't what you expected, you can easily say "thanks but no thanks" and move on.

I use the chef's knife most often.  I barely use the other knives in a set.  I received an off brand set as a gift and all the knives are serrated.  I don't understand why they make a serrated chef's knife.  I went with a Henckel's 7 inch santoku knife to replace the off brand chef's knife in my set when that one was just done.  This knife is awesome.  It was only like $49.99 at Macy's and I use it all the time.  The rest of the off brand knives in my old set have barely been used and are still sharp lol.  I sharpen my Henckel's knife with a sharpening wand after every use and I love this knife.