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Kitchen Knives: Preferences, Tips, General Care

mamster

By mamster
in Kitchen Consumer

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mikeycook

mikeycook

Posted
Posted

I use a combination of Henckel 4-Stars and 5-Stars. My current regular-use knife is a Henckel 4-Star 10" Chef's Knife. We are getting a new house, so I am thinking of trying something different. I am leaning towards trying Sabatier (all I really need is a Chef's knife and a few other knives.) I may try Carbon Steel this time, instead of the stainless.

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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mikeycook

mikeycook

Posted
Posted
Mikey- You owe it to yourself to see how a Wusthof feels in your hands.

I used a Wusthof in the skills class and liked it, but it felt similar to the Henckel that I have (and I am not ready to commit to replacing all my knives yet.) I imagine I'll collect a few different chefs knives (I use my large chef's knife almost exclusively.)

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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MatthewT

MatthewT

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i have grown to love global knives. they keep a good edge and are easy to maintain. my favorite global would have to be the flexible boning knife. for less expensive, i would go with a Forshnier . they are very comfortable, cheap and keep a nice edge and are easy to sharpen on a stone. i love knives

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MichaelB

MichaelB

Posted
Posted

Let's see; where do I start?

First, some might say that I have a thing for knives.

I am a big fan of Bob Kramer's knives. I have the 8" Oriental shaped chef knife -- ground on both sides but with a handed handle. Lefty for me. Great balance; takes an unbelievable edge and is easy to maintain. His alloy will stain and discolor a bit. So, if you aren't willing to work on your knives a bit . . . . This knife is a work of art. When I ordered the knive, Bob told me the backlog was about 15 months. When I hadn't heard from him in two and a half years, I figured my $25 deposit was down the drain. The, one day, out of the blue, I get this call "Uh, you might not remember me, but you ordered a knife from me. I can ship it tomroow if you are still interested." Turns out he lost my order in a move.

My most recent acquisition of a work of art is an Hattori fruit knife. WOW! Thank you TSA for dumping my only 5" utility knife out of my roll while you searched my bag -- thereby enabling me to justify the purchase of this knife.

I have a couple of Globals -- a single ground Deba and a vegetable knive. They are easy to maintain and hold a nice edge. If a use either of them for an extended time, my hand gets *very* tired and my knife callus hurts a lot. They get a lot less use since I lost all feeling in my middle finger for 4 days after using the Deba to dice 40 pounds of smoked salmon one afternoon. Be prepared to use a knife a *lot* before use decide whether you really like it.

The rest of my knives are the usual assortment of Henkel, Wusthof and "old" Sabatier. Each is like an old friend.

For knife accessories, talk to Ken de'Grau at www.handamerican.com. He has a great selection of stones, hones, and leather/grit sahrpening products. My current favorite of his products is the glass smooth steel hone. Unfortunately, I bought a bunch as gifts and forgot to keep one for myself -- so I have to go out to use it.

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mikeycook

mikeycook

Posted
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Mikey - Your old knives will not work in your new house? Am I missing something?

:huh:

We are keeping our apartment in the city and will have the house as well, so I am trying to figure out what to keep at the house and what to keep at the apartment.

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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  • 2 months later...
Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow

Posted
Posted

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=3548&st=0

THE thread on Chefs Knives.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted

I've merged a new discussion on "Best Knives" (formerly in the "General" forum) into this older one (pointed out by Jason a few posts back, so clicking on his link will take you right back here!).

fresco's link is to a topic on a specific type of knife (Chinese Cleavers), so I've left it separate.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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viaChgo

viaChgo

Posted
Posted
Surprisingly, I liked a new line of Wusthof, the "Culinar" (click)

B00005MEHH.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anyone have any experience with these? They are way different than the other Wusthofs, for sure.

Jason,

I picked up the 8" Culinar knife this summer while in Germany. I got a good price on it. I had been coveting it for a while too. Previously, I was using a 10" Henkels. It took a little getting used to the smaller size but I like it and haven't picked up my 10" in a while. They do have a 10" available now.

However, I'm thinking of getting a Japanese knife now. I'm leaning toward MAC. But nothing's final...half the fun is trying to find the rght one!

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samuelsontag

samuelsontag

Posted
Posted
Adam a/k/a Mr. Wise Guy: The category of "honing devices" includes more than steels. There are ceramics, and there are those things that look like boxes, and I'm sure there are other things. Too many people are under the impression that honing steels are sharpeners. Even more people seem to be under the impression that these other honing devices are sharpeners. Even some of the knife manufacturers and catalogs are guilty of mislabeling these products and failing to inform people of the distinction. The Henckels Web site, for example, inexcusibly refers to its steels as "sharpening steels" and lists them under the category of "sharpeners." But you can sit around for thirty years rubbing a knife on one of these things and you'll never sharpen it. And even if you could sharpen it with a steel, you wouldn't want to do so on a skinny cylindrical surface.

Actualy,ceramics do sharpen.You may have noticed that when you sharpen a knife with a ceramic sharpener,the sharpener is blackened (actualy,silvered)with metal dust. :biggrin::hmmm:

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Chad

Chad

Posted
Posted
Actualy,ceramics do sharpen.You may have noticed that when you sharpen a knife with a ceramic sharpener,the sharpener is blackened (actualy,silvered)with metal dust.   :biggrin:  :hmmm:

Quite true, indeed. And if you'll take a look here -- the Knife Sharpening & Maintenance Clinic -- you'll discover the mechanics of how each type of sharpener & steel work. The eGullet Culinary Institute is worth exploring.

Chad

Chad Ward

An Edge in the Kitchen

William Morrow Cookbooks

www.chadwrites.com

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Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow

Posted
Posted
Surprisingly, I liked a new line of Wusthof, the "Culinar" (click)

B00005MEHH.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anyone have any experience with these? They are way different than the other Wusthofs, for sure.

Jason,

I picked up the 8" Culinar knife this summer while in Germany. I got a good price on it. I had been coveting it for a while too. Previously, I was using a 10" Henkels. It took a little getting used to the smaller size but I like it and haven't picked up my 10" in a while. They do have a 10" available now.

However, I'm thinking of getting a Japanese knife now. I'm leaning toward MAC. But nothing's final...half the fun is trying to find the rght one!

I eventually went out and bought the 10 inch wusthof classic in the "wide" configuration, and I'm happy with it. I don't think they do a 10 inch culinar in wide yet.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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budrichard

budrichard

Posted
Posted

I switched to the 10" wide a number of years ago from the regular 10" Wusthof and it certainly makes a big difference in the amount one can process under the blade. The 10" wide also has a slightly larger handle that I find more comfortable. Great knives!

BTW, I never use my steels opting to sharpen only. On some of my blades that are over 10 years old, one can see the effects of sharpeneing. -Dick

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Pickles

Pickles

Posted
Posted
Here's the problem I have with Global knives: Although the handle is textured, it is metal. If my hands are wet from slicing tomatoes or still have some oil from a marinade, I just don't trust them not to slip.

Hate global knives! I am used to a heavier knife. Used a Global at my Mom's to slice some carrots for pot roast. Applied my "usual pressure and technique". Got a VERY bad cut. But to loosely quote Jacques Pepin..."Sharp knives give good, clean cuts. And...they heal much faster! :wink: " I actually decided to give The Miracle Blade Perfection Series a chance. Not too bad for cheap knives. The rest of the time I have a 8" Henckles that never holds an edge. And a drawer full of other "experimental" knives as well.

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samuelsontag

samuelsontag

Posted
Posted
QUOTE

Adam a/k/a Mr. Wise Guy: The category of "honing devices" includes more than steels. There are ceramics, and there are those things that look like boxes, and I'm sure there are other things. Too many people are under the impression that honing steels are sharpeners. Even more people seem to be under the impression that these other honing devices are sharpeners. Even some of the knife manufacturers and catalogs are guilty of mislabeling these products and failing to inform people of the distinction. The Henckels Web site, for example, inexcusibly refers to its steels as "sharpening steels" and lists them under the category of "sharpeners." But you can sit around for thirty years rubbing a knife on one of these things and you'll never sharpen it. And even if you could sharpen it with a steel, you wouldn't want to do so on a skinny cylindrical surface.

Actualy,ceramics do sharpen.You may have noticed that when you sharpen a knife with a ceramic sharpener,the sharpener is blackened (actualy,silvered)with metal dust.

WHERE DID MY POST GO? :huh::sad: ,also:

To answer your question Suzanne F,I mean the highest quality knife.Thanks for the link jason
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AzRaeL

AzRaeL

Posted
Posted
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.

Do not expect INTJs to actually care about how you view them. They already know that they are arrogant bastards with a morbid sense of humor. Telling them the obvious accomplishes nothing.

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