Chefs and Their Knives

[kristin_71]

I pay absolutely no attention to what the celeb chef's are using. I mean when you walk into Williams -Sonnoma and see the Global's you remeber reading about them in Kitchen Confidential and remember how yea Bourdain loves them but that is what he likes. You remember reading somewhere that Alton Brown is aligned with Shun, a wonderful knife, if not somewhat pricey.I tried the Global and the Shun in the store and yea they were nice and the Global's were a great price but then I went on the suggestion of a few people here and tried MAC and I will NEVER use anything else. My mom loves my MAC knives and is looking to ditch her Wustof and go Japanese. I am going to start her out on a paring and veg knife for her birthday in October, and maybe a chef's knife ( I do cook with her so having both the veg and chef knives are a must in this case.)

I will tell you what others told me, go with what feels good. Order a veg knife from MAC or someother place and try it for a bit. ( Make sure you know the return policy.) If it is not what you like send it back.This can be expensive but if you are serious, you need to do serious research. You will spend some serious money on good knives. Another thing too, the sets that are sold in stores are a rip off. You get to many knives that you never use. Get just what you know you will need. An example is in my case I do not eat a lot of bread so a bread knife is not important to me, and because MAC does not sell in sets, I got only what I wanted and needed. They have served me well.

If you go with MAC, go to their official site and download the order form and price list there. Deal with them directly and you will not be sorry. They are so wonderful to work with. They do not care if you are a professional or a home cook, they treat you well.

BTW, the secret to keeping your knives sharp is give them a swipe with a sharpener some sort of sharpening device before you use them and again after you are done and they are clean and dry. I do that and my knives are always razor sharp.

Edited July 5, 2007 by kristin_71 (log)

[david coonce]

Also, never ever put your knife in a dishwasher. It's like rubbing sandpaper on the blade.

To second Kristin, I would also say avoid sets. I pretty much stick to 3 or 4 knives - an offset serrated knife (for bread, mostly, but it's pretty useful. Make sure you get off-set; otherwise, it's useless), an 8" Global chef's knife, a Global paring knife, and a filet knife for fish and slicing big cuts of meat. You don't need all those "utility" knives, etc. if you buy good knives and take care of them.

[kristin_71]

Yea NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher! Wash them with mild detergent. My stupid ex husband never listened when I asked him NOT to put my Chicago Cutlery in the dishwasher and of course, he ruined them for me. Dumbass.

[Porthos]

Yea NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher!

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I ignored this advice for years and finally came around. The biggest benefit to me has actually been a different issue. Since my wife, my daughter (now moved out) and I all cook we have multiple knife blocks and multiple basic knives as well as specific-purpose knives. Because we have multiples, if knives get used then set aside until the dishes get done they may set for a day or two sometimes. We go to do more cooking and grab a fresh knife and then add that to the "pile" of knives waiting to be washed. That's not the best thing to do the surface of the knife - leaving food bits on it for 24 to 48 hours. Now when I'm done I immeadiately hand wash, hand dry and PUT AWAY the knife or knives I just used. They require less maintenance and are ready for use the next time I go into the kitchen.

And here's where having OCD comes into play. Every knife in each block has a specific position. I don't have to pull out similar looking handles to make sure I'm getting the knife I want. MY 20 y/o daughter thinks I'm crazy for wanting such organization and refuses to learn where I want the knives. So when she does the dishes the knife I want might be clean but it is "missing" 'cause it not where I'm expecting it to be. Since I changed my ways my knives are always where I expect then. Regarding being compulsive, the handles have to be oriented so that they already have the blade edge pointing in the right direction ready for use without having to switch my grip. Hey, it's my kitchen...

THe only knife a celebrity chef has ever used that has intrigued me is the one I see Giauda De Le Rentis (sp) using. I'm interested in the knife because of it's blade shape. Someday I need to write and ask what kind it is. Until then I will keep using the knives I have. I'm happy with them. Non-twin Henckels, Chicago Cutlery, F.Dick, some no-names that still get used from time to time.

[ermintrude]

Yea NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher!

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If only my partner would get this.

With global knives it's not that bad regarding the blunting factor BUT it makes global knives brittle, hence havening a V about 1cm wide in fracturing out of the middle of my 18cm Vegetable Chopper and the end snapping off my small chefs knife.

I rant and rave explain why etc. It works for a few days then bingo in the dishwasher again

Do they make a dishwasher that refuses to start with good knives in them, it would be worth the cost over the cost of replacing knives and the time to get a good edge on them again.

[ADF]

Well Daniel would always just use your knife on the station and if it was dull, well thats a different story. This was just faster for him instead to walk around with knives. Most cooks use Misono,I use masamoto and these knives do get "Lost" a lot. Pairing knife, get the cheapest one, I have gone through too many.

[kristin_71]

Yea NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher!

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If only my partner would get this.

With global knives it's not that bad regarding the blunting factor BUT it makes global knives brittle, hence havening a V about 1cm wide in fracturing out of the middle of my 18cm Vegetable Chopper and the end snapping off my small chefs knife.

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The same is with MAC. THE blades are similar to Global, i.e they are ground down to a very thin edge for sharpness and to maintain their edge. Another thing you NEVER do is torque your blades. That is you don't cut into something like a large thick squash and then turn the handle to try to get it through in a way that is going to possibly bend the blade. MAC has instructions telling the purchaser that if you want to cut large thick vegetables like squash or watermelon, get a clever. The blade on the clever's is better made to handle these things. Granted the clever I have set me back almost as much as my chef's knife, but I use it to cut through chicken bones and stuff and it is a great knife.

Edited July 11, 2007 by kristin_71 (log)

[debler]

Again, I am a professoinal cook...many of my colleges prefer a mix of knives, some good quality, ex , global, wustof, henckel, with a mix of the cheeper (hacker) knives.

I do love the older wood handle henckels, diff to find these days..but I do run into the odd knife made from the more modern plastics......

I do belive what you like and is comfortable with depends on so many variables, hand size, strength, tasks, etc....

the Celeb chefs can afford alot nicer, more expencive knives then the reg chef, so they get what they want and like.

In everyday, all day cooking at work, and I mean all day usage I use a large , cheeper knife, with a wood handle, cause I like the weight and I really don't give a toss about it's condition, it cuts well, and sharpens quickly. I have been using and abusing it for about 13 years and it is still around! (in good shape too) it is a victorinox.

I do own henckels, wustofs and other lesser known brands.

Who really cares what the celeb chef has! can he/she get the job done? Great, cudos to them! (do they even cook anymore? LOL)

Edited September 25, 2007 by debler (log)

[budrichard]

I'm sure if your use the Emerilware line of Wusthof knives, you will be a short step away from your own cooking show and line of restaurants!

Emerilware is brandng taken to the extreme. These are stamped blades and are only about making money and not providing a quality product.

Frankly, I don't purchase any product a chef brands and I don't eat at restaurants where the chef is not in attendance.

There is one exception though, I do have an extensive collection of Raynaud 'Point'. It actually is well designed and is quality Limoge!-Dick