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Good Knives For Restaurant Work


Toufas

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i am going to buy a chefs knife (g2) and i am between the g21 boning knife and buying a global set

the 2 knives will go for around 100 pounds, and the set goes for 174 and includes :

G-2 the best selling 8” Chef’s Knife

G-9 the scalloped edge Bread Knife

GS-5 the versatile Vegetable Chopper

GS-11 the flexible Utility Knife

GS-38 the hollow-handled Paring Knife

and the metal rack. i understand that the utility knife, is not as narrow as the boning knife, but would the paring knife cover that issue?

i have a henckels chef knife that had some wear as i was stupid enough to trust an idiot to sharpen it, and it ended up with lots of marks on it, and a Victorinox chefs broad knife. they are nice for my own kitchen, but i want to use the new knives in the restaurant i am working in (i think a new cook borrowing knives is not a good idea)

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Don't bother with sets. Really what you get is alot of stuff you don't need. Chefs knife, paring knife, maybe a boning or filet knife. ( I actually have both but the boning knife was sent to me for free.) If there is another person who cooks with you in your house then get a veg or utility knife, if not, skip it. Bread knife is good if you do alot with bread but that is an individual choice.

Edited by kristin_71 (log)
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What knives do you feel that you actually need?

The way I cook the chef's knife should be a good veggie chopper so IMO you do not need both. A pairing knife might be nice to have especially if you make decoration cuts, I don't really feel the need for a utility knife, if you handle a lot of fish you might want to look into a fileting knife ( that also covers the narrow part ).

A deboning knife only if you actually do deboning.

A breadknife is good to have, if you get a tough one it can be used on frozen foods.

I really like to have a slicer, but I suppose the chef's knife can handle that unless you do large roasts or such.

If you want to save a buck you might want to consider getting a nice chefsknife as you'll be using that the most ( I guess ) and should spend the most on.

For a breadknife, boning and pairingknife you might want to look into Victorinox knives or such they have really cheap pairing knives that work quite well and I think lots of butchers use their boning knives.

You might want to take a look at these sites for some other knifeoptions than global.

www.japanesechefsknife.com

www.korin.com

www.epicedge.com

The first one is usually able to have the knives pass customs without getting taxes added and low shipping, of course it depends on luck though.

If you like working with globals by all means get them, they are good knives, easy to keep clean but a little soft in the steel for my taste.

Get a 1000 grit waterstone also to sharpen your knives on.

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i have this stone : http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductD...roductCode=D139 but i dont feel i am using it properly. there is a knife sharpener in town, and i have a monthly appointment with him

as i said above, i have 2 knives for home, and i need something to have in the restaurant that i just started working.

i do agree that the globals i ve touched, feel light...but i dont want german again...

i ve read that globals are staying sharper for longer time because of their material.

so what should i buy ? :S

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For a chef'sknife I'd recommend a Tojiro dp 240 mm, you can find them on Korin, some people find the handles a bit square, I just use sandpaper to get it the way I want it. Korin and epicedge also has waterstones, I'd get one that was close to 3 inches broad.

Globals might stay sharper for a bit longer than german knives, I think Globals are heattreated to be harder than germans, and a bit thinner. Tojiro, Hiromoto etc are harder than Globals however.

I' don't think light is a bad thing in most cases, light and thin is perfect especially for veggieprep and cutting boneless meat. A heavy knife might stand up to more abuse against bones but every cut you make into say an union is going to be more work, then it is better to have 2 knives, one boning, one chef's knife.

Some other options are:

The TJ-20AS on http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/TenmiJyu...HEIGHT:%20184px

is also very nice, the edge isn't stainless though in case that bothers you ( the G3 has a stainless edge but the AS edge will probably hold up longer.

These I havn't tried but they look good for the money.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/KANETSUG...0HEIGHT:%2087px

Or if you are willing to spend more.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/RYUSEN.html

Personally I'd just start out with a Tojiro dp from korin which shouldn't be that expensive or the Hiromoto AS from jck.

This is one of my favourites though, the look is a bit nonstandard so don't know if it is for you.

http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=83472.

Do get a good waterstone though, the one you have seems a bit narrow and no idea what grits it is.

The guy you go to sharpen your knives at uses a slow wheel I suppose? Not one of those guys where sparks fly?

Edited by JMT (log)
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... i have 2 knives for home, and i need something to have in the restaurant that i just started working. ...

I know nothing about where you might be working.

But if anything is ever likely to "go missing", then its likely to be flashy branded knives.

It seems a pretty common reality, sadly.

And Globals are very 'obvious'.

My prudent, defensive suggestions would be to go with Victorinox with plastic ("Fibrox") handles for whatever odd-shaped, special-purpose knives you find you need, plus a decent quality (but non-obvious) "chef's knife" as your standard super-sharp slicer.

And work on the sharpening technique - have you seen Chad's eGullet tutorial?

Its, how can I say, um, pretty... comprehensive? :smile:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

:cool:

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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For a chef'sknife I'd recommend a Tojiro dp 240 mm, you can find them on Korin, some people find the handles a bit square, I just use sandpaper to get it the way I want it. Korin and epicedge also has waterstones, I'd get one that was close to 3 inches broad.

Globals might stay sharper for a bit longer than german knives, I think Globals are heattreated to be harder than germans, and a bit thinner. Tojiro, Hiromoto etc are harder than Globals however.

I' don't think light is a bad thing in most cases, light and thin is perfect especially for veggieprep and cutting boneless meat. A heavy knife might stand up to more abuse against bones but every cut you make into say an union is going to be more work, then it is better to have 2 knives, one boning, one chef's knife.

Some other options are:

The TJ-20AS on http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/TenmiJyu...HEIGHT:%20184px

is also very nice, the edge isn't stainless though in case that bothers you ( the G3 has a stainless edge but the AS edge will probably hold up longer.

These I havn't tried but they look good for the money.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/KANETSUG...0HEIGHT:%2087px

Or if you are willing to spend more.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/RYUSEN.html

Personally I'd just start out with a Tojiro dp from korin which shouldn't be that expensive or the Hiromoto AS from jck.

This is one of my favourites though, the look is a bit nonstandard so don't know if it is for you.

http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=83472.

Do get a good waterstone though, the one you have seems a bit narrow and no idea what grits it is.

The guy you go to sharpen your knives at uses a slow wheel I suppose? Not one of those guys where sparks fly?

my Henckel was marked for life because of a spark guy :(

this one is normal, the victorinox was not marked at all after i got it back.

about the tojiro you recommend, i cant find it on the website ( http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html ) can you help me out? from what i read , it seems like pretty solid. probably gonna get the victorinox fibrox i have at home to the restaurant (italian btw) and keep the new one for me only :P

Edited by Toufas (log)
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It isn't available from japanesechefsknife any more but you can get it from Korin, Tojiro decided to stop selling through jck because I think jck cut into their wholesellers in the rest of the world.

http://www.korin.com/models.php?cat=54&sub...bcatname=Tojiro

It seems Korin is now charging the same low shipping that jck does. $7 worldwide, no idea if it is permanent. I havn't bought anything from Korin, but from what I understand it is a very reputable dealer. Be advised the knife might get tax and duty charged on it.

As Dougal said, shiny things are more likely to disappear, If you take the Tojiro to the kitchen you could always run it over with sandpaper on the sides, it makes it less shiny and pretty but won't hurt the cutting.

Korin also has some stones, you can probably find cheaper places for that but as Korin won't charge you extra shipping for it, you might want to get one.

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I love my Japanese knifes and use as a daily knife a ZDP-189 from japanesechefsknife and for more special occasions an Itou knife I got from them as well.

As an alternative that has a more western hand feel but with Japanese steel I picked up a Henckels Twin Cermax M66 which is performing very well.

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For a chef'sknife I'd recommend a Tojiro dp 240 mm, you can find them on Korin, some people find the handles a bit square, I just use sandpaper to get it the way I want it. Korin and epicedge also has waterstones, I'd get one that was close to 3 inches broad.

Globals might stay sharper for a bit longer than german knives, I think Globals are heattreated to be harder than germans, and a bit thinner. Tojiro, Hiromoto etc are harder than Globals however.

I' don't think light is a bad thing in most cases, light and thin is perfect especially for veggieprep and cutting boneless meat. A heavy knife might stand up to more abuse against bones but every cut you make into say an union is going to be more work, then it is better to have 2 knives, one boning, one chef's knife.

Some other options are:

The TJ-20AS on http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/TenmiJyu...HEIGHT:%20184px

is also very nice, the edge isn't stainless though in case that bothers you ( the G3 has a stainless edge but the AS edge will probably hold up longer.

These I havn't tried but they look good for the money.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/KANETSUG...0HEIGHT:%2087px

Or if you are willing to spend more.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/RYUSEN.html

Personally I'd just start out with a Tojiro dp from korin which shouldn't be that expensive or the Hiromoto AS from jck.

This is one of my favourites though, the look is a bit nonstandard so don't know if it is for you.

http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=83472.

Do get a good waterstone though, the one you have seems a bit narrow and no idea what grits it is.

The guy you go to sharpen your knives at uses a slow wheel I suppose? Not one of those guys where sparks fly?

my Henckel was marked for life because of a spark guy :(

this one is normal, the victorinox was not marked at all after i got it back.

about the tojiro you recommend, i cant find it on the website ( http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html ) can you help me out? from what i read , it seems like pretty solid. probably gonna get the victorinox fibrox i have at home to the restaurant (italian btw) and keep the new one for me only :P

JCK no longer carries the Tojiro's, but at least for the time being, Korin still does.

http://korin.com/product.php?pid=333&df=knife

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Odd points I think worth noting

-- both Korin and JCK offer extremely reasonable knife shipping (just $7) to those of us in the UK (and others outside the USA)

-- for restaurant use, I think it'd be more usual to get yourself a bit of decent knife transport kit (whether a roll or a case) rather than a knife block.

And I do think its reasoned advice to suggest (at least until you know that kitchen well) that you keep the really good kit at home, and take in more workmanlike kit (such as the fibrox Victorinoxes and maybe the odd Tojiro) rather than flashy Globals.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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I've got one of the 240mm Tojiro DPs and I really, really like it. It certainly performs well as well as knives costing much more IMHO.

I can't decide between the 240 and the 270...

I have a 240mm Tojiro DP gyuto. Love the knife. Not the best Japanese knife out there but best bang for the buck. Plenty big for me even with a pinch grip. I was use to a 8" german chef knife so the Tojiro seems quite big. I also have a Tojiro 270mm Sujihiki for slicing large cut of meat like a brisket.

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my shopping cart so far

8pcs Knife Bag - Black 8 pcs (folded size: 20"long x 6"wide)

Tojiro-DP Gyutou 8.2" (21cm) (both of my current knives are 21cm so it will be easier for me to adapt)

King Sharpening Stone - Medium #1000 (S) 8.2" x 2.6" x 1.3"H

does it look ok?

i am considering getting the fibrox to the restaurant and using the tojiro at home :D

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my shopping cart so far

8pcs Knife Bag - Black  8 pcs (folded size: 20"long x 6"wide)   

Tojiro-DP Gyutou  8.2" (21cm)  (both of my current knives are 21cm so it will be easier for me to adapt)

King Sharpening Stone - Medium #1000 (S)  8.2" x 2.6" x 1.3"H 

does it look ok?

i am considering getting the fibrox to the restaurant and using the tojiro at home :D

You might want to get some blade guards while you are there.

As for size-I had been using an 8" knife prior to getting the 240mm Gyuto and found myself wondering how I'd managed so long with the shorter knife. It took me very little time to get used to the longer knife. Keep in mind that the japanese knife will also be much lighter than a similarly sized European style knife as well. I guess I'm urging you to reconsider getting the 240 :rolleyes:

Jon

--formerly known as 6ppc--

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While we're discussing knives, I have a question. On Alton Brown's knife episode he says that having a scalloped edge like most of the santokus doesn't make sense to him on chef's knives. I'm not sure I have an opinion either way. I understand that they are there to prevent whatever you're cutting from sticking to the side of the blade, but he seemed adamant that chef's knives shouldn't have them. A slicer on the other hand, he reccommended having the scallops. Anyone have an opinion?

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On Alton Brown's knife episode he says that having a scalloped edge like most of the santokus doesn't make sense to him on chef's knives.

Most Japanese santoku knives do not have a scalloped edge.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I have a glestain slicer with very large scallops, I like the fact that I have to push things of the blade a lot less.

Don't know how their heavily scalloped chef's knives work out, I don't see scallops as bad in any way but probably they arn't that neccesary either, if your chef's knife double as a slicer I think they might be nice to have.

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Glestain is about the only brand where the scallops actually work. Since just about every brand charges extra for this feature, unless you get Glestain, it ain't worth it. Glestain's slicer is pretty sexay too.

Edited by Octaveman (log)

My Photography: Bob Worthington Photography

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I can only say good things about the integrity of this company. I recently ordered from them and there was a shipping error. We exchanged emails and resolved the issue as noted.

Hi,

YES, it's a mistake.

This knives is named NOGENT.

The blade is also forged by hand.

Today, we send to you the ordered knife by Fedex. You will receive Tracking Reference from them.

Very sorry for this mistake. You can keep the 1st knife for our apologize.

Best Regards,

Philippe

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