Kitchen Knives: Preferences, Tips, General Care

[AzRaeL]

my 2 main blades:

#1. Henckels Professional S 6" Santoku (gawd i love that knife)

#2 Kyocera Ergonomic 3" paring knife (it's so sharp it's scary)

i also have a 4" Global Utility Knife which I can't really figure out what to use for since my Heavy work is done on the Santoku and delicate work on the paring knife.

i also have a Wüsthof sheepsfoot paring knife which i use for stuff that seems too dangerous for my Precious (Kyocera knife).

[JC]

Wow, a 14" Wusthof! What in the world would someone use such a large knife for??

[budrichard]

Wow, a 14" Wusthof! What in the world would someone use such a large knife for??

I have a Wusthof 12" 'Bonespliiter' which is essentially a wide heavy cook's knife where the back half of the blade is used for actually splitting bones for marrow and the front half for slicing and so marked. The knife can be used to chop a lot of vegetables very fast. I imagine a large person could use a 14" knife. One of things i have learned with Wusthof is that the longer or wider the blade, the larger the handle. My first Wusthof was a 10" cook's since replaced by a 10" wide cook's which is far more comfortable on the other hand, my wife uses a smaller cook's. -Dick

[JC]

Thanks for that insight.

[AzRaeL]

i'm planning to buy a new knife in a few months, i already have a 6" Santoku.

Should i get a Global Cleaver or a 10" Chef's knife?

[itch22]

What are people's opinions of MAC knives? I am looking to get a set of Japanese kitchen knives including deba-bocho (cleaver), nakiri-bocho and/or usuba-bocho (vegetable knife), and probably a yanagi-ba but not a tako-biki. I like the rounded point of the Osaka style sashimi knife. Anyway, being Canadian I am finding MAC to be the brand of Japanese knives easiest to come by.

[k43]

Now THIS is a knife:

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/shop/details.asp?SKU=608

Thats a 14-inch Wusthof HEAVY. Its like a freaking broadsword.

I'm thinking I'd like a 10 inch "wide" in the Culinar series but it dont exist.

holy cow! 14"!

that's not a Knife, that's a frickin sword.

NICE though but i'd think it'd be rather impractical.

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Fred Bridge had them made with his personal imprint. I splurged for one on my birthday several years ago. It's great for splitting a chicken or chopping veggies, and the blade is so high you don't need anything else to scoop them up with. The worst problem is that my cutting board is too small, and, of course, it will take a fingertip off in a blink.

[peppyre]

I have a 14" butcher's knive that was custom made for my grandfather and I have found it very handy. Actually, I love this knife. Before I got my Henkel, I used it as an all purpose chef's knife. It's still good for scaring people when the first come into my kitchen.

[RETREVR]

What are people's opinions of MAC knives?  I am looking to get a set of Japanese kitchen knives including deba-bocho (cleaver), nakiri-bocho and/or usuba-bocho (vegetable knife), and probably a yanagi-ba but not a tako-biki.  I like the rounded point of the Osaka style sashimi knife.  Anyway, being Canadian I am finding MAC to be the brand of Japanese knives easiest to come by.

←

MAC makes good knives. As you probably know, they make many lines. Some of their western style knives are bolsterless, some have half bolster. Throughout their lines, they seem to be well designed. They also use quality steel that will perform better than Solingen steel.

[Chef A]

I, personally prefer Wustof. But the last four knives I've purchased are Global. I work with a knife in hand about 4-6 hoursa day. I sharpen my own knives with a Japanese wet stone @31-36 degree angle. sounds like a crazy degree, ballpark! As long as it cuts, I don't care!

aloha,

[stephenc]

I use one of 3 old chinese cleavers that I bought at the asian market.

[halloweencat]

i just purchased my first "good knife" (a shun classic chef's 10", it hasn't arrived yet), but also bought these (which arrived today):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...g=UTF8&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...lance&s=kitchen

we had no, +no+ good knives in the house...the best one was my grandmother's ginsu, and the other was a less-good farberware. (i will admit to just finding last week the thin, long henckel's that was a long-buried-just-rediscovered present behind some really bad knives in my cabinet...that one is also nice. frankly, the cuts i get off of anything after my ginsu and farberware pair are miraculous.)

i wanted to get these other knives for the times when someone might be wanting to borrow a knife (a guest in the kitchen). plus, i'm in the process of upgrading a few things in the kitchen, and could only afford one good knife purchase at this point.

i tried out the vegetable santoku. i was really surprised at how nicely it cut, for a $20 knife. admittedly, i'm no chef or practiced amateur, but still, i thought it worked well for the price. i'm curious to see how the edges hold up. the reviews say they hold up well.

you won't hurt my feelings any if you think these knives aren't worth the time of day. i welcome your opinions, either way. :)

cheers :)

hc

Edited April 5, 2005 by halloweencat (log)

[ace92503]

I am re-doing my kitchen and want to have a minimal knife collection as opposed to the generic wedding present knife set I'm getting rid of. Can I get recommendations on two or three knives that are must-haves. The ones that are dancing around in my head are Nenox, Wustoff and Global. I plan on having these for a long time, so I want quality.

[melkor]

I've been using a Messermeister Meridian Elite 10" cooks knife for the past few years and love it. Fits my hand well, easy to sharpen, holds a good edge, good weight and balance, and the curve of the blade works really well when using it in a rocking motion on the board.

The most important thing is to find a knife that is comfortable in your hand. The right length, blade shape, handle design, and weight are all different for different people. Go to a knife shop/kitchen store and try out everything you can get your hands on and see what works for you. Some things can be changed later, others can't - I spend most of my time using a pinch grip so I rounded off the spine with some sandpaper to make holding the knife more comfortable.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Do yourself a huge favor and check out the recommendations in this exceptional thread on chefs' knives

I personally am using a 7.5 inch Santoku by Daniel Boulud which I love! The weight is wonderful for me ...

[jayt90]

I am re-doing my kitchen and want to have a minimal knife collection as opposed to the generic wedding present knife set I'm getting rid of.  Can I get recommendations on two or three knives that are must-haves. The ones that are dancing around in my head are Nenox, Wustoff and Global. I plan on having these for a long time, so I want quality.

←

You'll have to describe your needs and preferences. There is a vast amount of info here and elsewhere, but who knows what is good for you, except that it has to be expensive and prestigious???

[russ parsons]

i did a piece on the new wave of gyutous, japanese chef's knives based on the old French style, and i was completely won over. i own a misono ux10 that has almost completely replaced by old wusthof. i tried santokus, but found them really too light (gyutous are much lighter than german knives already). but i'm a pretty beefy boy and i do understand that women and those of more delicate frame might like santokus.

[chefpeon]

For me, all I want is sharpness and nothin' but sharpness. I do agree that the handle is sort of important comfort-wise if you're doing a lot of choppin' and the like, but since I'm a pastry chef,

I don't do as much chopping as the hot side, so I'll forego a comfy handle if I get my sharpness.

Such is the case with my Global. Man I love it. It's razor sharp and STAYS sharp. Big points off for

the handle though. It looks cool, but one wonders where the designers heads were when it comes to comfort. It's a blister-rama in the making!

[wattacetti]

I read the thread that Gifted Gourmet refers to and have gone with Kershaw Shun and Shun Pros. So far, a Shun Classic boning knife and 10" chef's knife, and 4" and 8" Shun Pro debas. Need a bread knife, a yanagiba and a nakiri but have to wait until Kershaw deigns to send stock to Canada.

Your preference will of course vary and you should try them out and see how they feel. I had a thing for Wustofs earlier (they're very good) but never liked the feel for Globals.

[Octaveman]

I am re-doing my kitchen and want to have a minimal knife collection as opposed to the generic wedding present knife set I'm getting rid of.  Can I get recommendations on two or three knives that are must-haves. The ones that are dancing around in my head are Nenox, Wustoff and Global. I plan on having these for a long time, so I want quality.

←

In a nut shell.....of the three brands you listed Nenox wins hands down. The S1 series is highly coveted by many who own Japanese blades and those who own Nenox swear by them over any other Japanese brand. But they are expensive. The minimally basic "four" that you'd need IMO is a Gyuto (Chef), Yo-Deba (heavy duty chef), Paring and slicer or bread knife. Gyuto for just about everything. Yo-Deba for boning chickens or heavy duty work since a Gyuto is to fragile for this type of cutting. An argument can be made for using a yo-deba instead of a qyuto as the profile is almost the same but a typical gyuto is 8 ounces and a typical yo-deba is 12-14 ounces plus a gyuto is much thinner and more precise. Paring and bread knives are self explanitory. All knives are double beveled. I would suggest a few brands:

Best bang for the buck: Tojiro DP series

Best workhorse: Tojiro Powder Steel series

Best looking with high quality blade: Hattori HD series

Best hand made at reasonable cost: Watanabe (recommended without reservation!!)

Best fit/finish in production knife with high quality blade: Misono UX10 (HRC not as high as some others)

Best stainless benefits with high carbon edge (sandwich): Hiromoto Tenmi-Jyuraku Series (comes with cool saya)

Best new kid on the block: Ryusen Blazen series (powdered steel)

Other brands such as Shun and the Meridian Elite aslo deserve mention. I've heard good things about the Meridian Elite but have never handled one. I use to own a Shun which was very sharp out of the box and very good looking but I replaced it as I felt the damascus on this brand was rough causing drag as it cut(imagined?) and the handle was a tad uncomfortable for me.

The decision has to be made on stainless versus high carbon. Stainless will not get nor retain the same sharpness as high carbon. VG-10 comes very close to the proerties of carbon but does fall slightly short. I've read peoples comments to this effect and they prefer the high carbon over stainless. I own a Tojiro Powder, Hattori HD, Misono UX10 and several of Watanabe's knives and love them all. Hattori has the most comfortable handle for me. The others are also comfortable. The Misono's handles are slightly beefier and feel good in the hand. My next purchases will all be high carbon knives.

The other consideration is size of knives you want. The standard that most people get is a 240mm Gyuto. I personally prefer the 270mm and at three ounces heavier than the 240mm, it handles the same as the balance is just about the same place. There may be a time where you'd need that extra inch or so. The Deba should be 180 or 210. I have a 180 and it's fine. The size of the paring is up to you. Many people prefer 3" but some like 4". Since most Japanese "petty's" or paring knives don't come shorter than 120mm or 4.5". There are some 105's out there. Dojo Blue Steel petty comes highly recommended. Blue steel core surrounded by stainless steel at 120mm.

Also keep in mind that it would be highly advisable to buy wetstones to sharpen your own knives. DO NOT take them to the knife shop at the mall to sharpen...they will ruin it. Many people have Norton and King stones and love them. I have Shapton Pro and Norton and love them. Get the sharpening video at Korin. There is a learning curve but not at all complicated. You can get combo stones or individual stones. Combo is cheapest route but won't last as long. I recommend 1000, 4000 and 8000 grit. You'll need a lower grit like 220 to fix chips, etc but 1000 is the lowest grit you'll need for touch ups.

Here's a few places to look at:

Japanese Chef Knife (Outstanding service, best prices and extrememly fast shipping from Japan)

Korin

Epicurean Edge

Watanabe Blade

The Japan Woodworker

As I said, in a nut shell

Cheers,

Bob

[Genny]

I'm currently using my Henkel santoku but it sure doesn't keep an edge worth a damn. I'm thinking about the Kyocera FINE black ceramic knife. Is anyone using that? If so, what do you think of it? Mind you, I'm all of 5'2, very small hands and not looking for a lot of heft behind my knife, I do have others for that. This would be for every day chopping of onions, chicken breasts, etc.

[russ parsons]

i did try the kyocera and i have to say taht i didn't care for it at all. it wasn't terrifically sharp and it was really, really light. unless y ou're 5-2 and arthritic, probably not a good choice.

[snowangel]

I recently bought three new knives for our cabin because the stuff up there is 50 year old crap that bangs around in drawers (these new knives will travel with me). I happen to like Wusthof and the way it feels in my hands, and I got an unbelievable deal from a place that was going out of business. But, I only wanted three knives, so I have a paring knife, a chef's knife and a bread knife. I thought about what I used most often at home, and realized I would be perfectly happy with just these three. Oh, I take that back. We also have a Finish fileting knife (that comes in a leather sheat) for when we catch fish.

I think once you have decided what style of knives you want, the most important thing is to try them out. Go to stores, pretend you are cutting. What feels good in your hand? What gives good balance?

[Chris Amirault]

IMHO, If you're going to buy an expensive knife, you ought to learn how to take care of it yourself. I really urge you to consider investing in a sharpener or sharpening system.

I have several Henckels and Wusthof knives, an OXO bread knife (which I love), and a Chicago Cutlery boning knife that I got for $5 (does the trick). They're all great in my hand and keep their edges. Though I find many of the knives mentioned on this thread very sexy indeed, I'm resistant to spending more to replace knives I use and like.

However, I did make a big investment recently when, thanks to the eGullet Culinary Institute course on knife sharpening and maintenance, I bought an EdgePro sharpening system. It is by far the best kitchen purchase I've made in years, and has already paid for itself. Just as important, I now have a set of extremely sharp knives that haven't been screwed up by the ding-a-lings who, in the past, charged me money to ruin my little friends.

[Carlovski]

Those OXO knives are surprisingly good - the handles are sooo comfortable (Possibly even too much - too tempting to give it a solid 'fist' grip, which isn't always good). Pretty good balance and weight too - can't vouch for edge retention yet though.