GolfHos

The Mrs. and I are thinking about buying some new kitchen knives.  We're still using knives from college and hand-me-downs from parents/siblings, so we're looking for a major upgrade here.  The rest of the kitchen is pretty well-stocked from the wedding registry.

Some of y'all seem to be badasses in the kitchen, so I was wondering if you had any preferences in this area.

Some of the makers we're looking at are Global, Wusthof, Henckels, Kyocera, Chroma, Shun. Any experiences with these?  Any thoughts between European vs. Japanese?

bad choices listed.

What would you look at, assuming slightly unreasonable (but not absurd) budget?

http://www.calphalon.com/calphalon/consumer/products/subProductLine.jhtml?catId=CLCat100469

particularly, the nakiri knife (the best knife on the market, period)

Hmm, we've already got a lot of Calphalon pots and pans.  I don't know if I want to be labeled a "Calphalon guy".  Kind of like how I have several different brands in my golf bag to be different from my "Taylor Made" buddy and "Callaway" dude (clubs, bag, hat).

Will check it out, though.

one word....Miracle Blade III

LOL, fair enough,  you can go with something else-  never seen/tried  a chroma... everything else listed is good stuff {in general} ....  i'd say henckles is the most overpriced for the value....   

but do yourself a favor... at least grab the Nakiri  to complement your set   ---  you'll find the ability to cut anything w/ forward motion  to be mind-boggling.  it also has incredible balance. --  you won't find another knife in the 7" range that so literally feels 'invisible'  and an extension of your hand

Thanks.  We'll be testing out knives over the next few weeks, so I'll report back on our findings.
:ninja:

heh, we've got some old Ginsu knives in our current collection.  ;D

You thinking component or oem?  ::)  [sm_anon]




seriously we have a Wusthof cooks knife thats really indispensable but I think any of the top names would work as well.   

We have Henckel 4-Stars, because I wanted the Pro S or Five-Star, but the handles are smaller on the Four and my wife has much smaller hands.

What's important: the weight of the knife, its balance in your hand, how sharp an edge it can take, and its ability to keep that sharp edge.  Personally, I've never minded sharpening a knife, so it's always come down to how the knife feels in use.  If it feels unbalanced or too light/heavy, it doesn't matter how sharp the damn thing is, you won't wield it effectively.

I have knives of varying brands and quality; Messermeister, Henkel, Mundial, Global, F *8==>*, Anolon, and Kasumi.  The knives I use the most are:
http://chefdepot.net/kasumi.htm
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/fdisaknwihoe.html
and an F *8==>* Kyotsu knive which I don't think is made anymore.

My experience thus far with the more expensive Henkels and Messermeister is that are a lot of better options for a lot less money...in fact I prefer my Anolon and Mundial knives over the Henkel and Messermeisters.

(warning, minor thread jack...)


How do you sharpen your knives?  Send it to a pro, use a steel, or do you have some gadget?   I'm considering sending out a knife or two, but they're nothing special knives, so I'm wondering about the effectiveness of  DYI sharpening.

We've had half the brands listed and have settled in on Cutco.  Ergonomically outstanding, great service/warranty.  They don't have a fancy German name or logo though so you might find them Untermensch.   ;)

http://www.cutco.com/home.jsp

A steel isn't really designed to sharpen anything, and most gadget's don't work.

So, your left with either a professional or investing in a 3 sided sharpening stone and a few minutes of your time every once in a while.


Professional sharpening really DOES make a difference. I had my stepmother's done as a Christmas gift a few years ago, and it made a huge difference...

 ???  All I use to sharpen my knives is a steel.  As long you stay on top of it and not let your knives get dull and lose their edge, a steel works just fine. YMMV

I use a steel to keep a good edge on my knives, but I do sharpen them about once a year with a sharpening wheel (kind of like a bench-top grinding wheel) of my dad's.

(FWIW, we have Chicago Cutlery knives. Not necessarily the best or most expensive, but they're decent and we've been pleased with them.)

A steel is really just designed to remove burrs and minor imperfections from a blade (much like a leather strop from the old straight razor days), but for truly sharp blades they need to be sharpened with some kind of stone.

or diamond...

Now Aske, you know only attorney's have diamonds in their kitchen's to sharpen their knives!!!! ;D ;D

Julie, have you been peeking in Clive's drawers again?

Not if you know how to use a steel, and use it religiously.  Though, I will say, that eventually a stone of some sort will be required to bring back a razor edge, but a steel can maintain that edge with proper use.

No such luck!!! ;D ;D ;D

It was just a little pun, due to Aske having a whinge about attorney's in another thread! ;D ;D ;D

My Father-In-Law is a boner so we get him to sharpen our knives fairly regularly.

My wife used to be a chef so we have some pretty good knives anyway....lol

Hard as steel.

Do you have one of these Julie?

I do mine with a whetstone and light oil, like my dad taught me.  He meant for me to be sharpening hunting knives, of course.  Whatever.

No I don't, but there have been plenty of times that I have wished I had one!!!!! [sm_devil] [sm_devil]

Can I get one on ebay!!! ;D

Sorry to hear that.

How about a boner?

Is that a special kind of blade?

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/JohnDoeseven.jpg)

Of the knives you listed, I think the Shun is head and shoulders better than all the others.  To me it's not even close.  I had the Henckels best knife and was completely unprepared for how far superior the Shun was.  The Henckels is gathering dust, and I use the Shun virtually daily.  Got the large Santoku knife.  That knife can do almost anything. 

I'm sure you dashed his dreams long before, by forsaking football, for 3rd seat clarinet in the marching band.

 :-\

And she saw a star. I'm a star, I'm a star, I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star. That's right.

Ahhh Clive ;D............is that what your wife tell you when she neaks a peak!!! ;D ;D ;D