Kitchen knife options

[Bobby O'Neal]

What does it cost to get good kitchen knives and what do you recommend? I'd like to find a good chef's knife for my wife but dont know much about cutlery. Thanks.

[Andrew Fleck]

Wusthoff makes excellent kitchen knives, but you are going to pay for it. That is the only brand we buy now. They sharpen well and they hold a great edge.

[Mike Henderson]

I much prefer the Japanese chef's knives. They're thinner and the center is a harder steel than in the German knives. One issue is the handle. Japanese chef's knives come with western handles (which I prefer) or Asian handles. Different people like different handles.

You sharpen a chef's knife just like a chisel or plane iron. Once I got mine to the angle I like, I power hone it when it gets dull.

A good Japanese chef's knife should cost you maybe $100 - about the same as a German chef's knife. Below is a picture of mine.

Mike

Chef's knife.jpg

[David Weaver]

By a chef's knife, you mean literally a chef's knife like an 8" larger do-all knife?

For inexpensive, there are a lot of medium carbon chinese-made knives that are a little soft but otherwise follow a pattern of good german knives. Ginsu chikara is an example, one that I've used quite a bit as I've got the set and used it as a starting point and for practical purposes, the only difference between it and nicer german knives is that they're a little soft.

For medium cost, a chef knife of henckels friodur made in germany is nice, though it depends on what you call medium cost. I'd say $75 for a chef's knife is medium cost. Friodur used to be a cryo treated 440C variant (maybe it still is - the german makers can be horrible about telling you what's actually in a knife), and henckels used it in razors, too. It's nice. Wusthof is another german knife maker of the same patterns, but it looks like they use a very high chromium 0.5% carbon steel (a medium carbon steel that might be referred to in ad copy as high carbon steel, but I wouldn't consider it such - it still makes a usable knife, though - just not as good as 440C).

Medium cost japanese (actually inexpensive for japanese) would be a VG10 core (if stainless) knife or something like blue steel II (if not stainless) in a santoku also for about $75. Only drawback of the better japanese knives is they go to the stones to get sharpened, never a steel, so if you're used to maintaining one of the above softer types on a steel, it's a no no.

If you want to go higher range than that, the sky is the limit. There is a difference between a $75 blue steel knife and a $75 german knife in terms of how acute you can make the angle and get away with it, but the differences above the german knife for practical purposes are very subtle (to an average non-professional chef).

[Dan Hintz]

Found a nice set of Ginsu steak knives on Woot (or some similar site), so I bought two. No serrations, so sharpening is easy, just a few runs of the hone usually does a good job. I want to say I paid about $75/each for the Ginsu sets. For a quality Chef's blade (and a few others to get a good set), expect to spend $100+/blade. David mentioned some high quality brands. for whatever reason, I simply have not purchased any of the bigger knives, but I mean to every time I come across one. Guess I just haven't found a good enough deal yet.

[David Weaver]

If you painted "germany" on the ginsu chikara knives and took off the ginsu logo, and then gave them to someone who doesn't abuse knives, you could convince them they are pretty good knives. I don't know what their hardness is, but it's hard enough that they will work well even though they're soft compared to our tools.

At any rate, they steel well, they're forged (which is the reason I picked them, they were the cheapest forged knives with a solid bolster that I could find), and they sharpen well.

I got them because I don't love to spend money on knives and admit that the rest of my purchases really aren't necessary. I keep the parer of the chikara knife set very sharp (same with the chef's knife) and neither of them really shows any sign that they wouldn't last 50 years at that sharpness before they were unaccpetably misshapen.

[David Weaver]

I much prefer the Japanese chef's knives. They're thinner and the center is a harder steel than in the German knives. One issue is the handle. Japanese chef's knives come with western handles (which I prefer) or Asian handles. Different people like different handles.

You sharpen a chef's knife just like a chisel or plane iron. Once I got mine to the angle I like, I power hone it when it gets dull.

A good Japanese chef's knife should cost you maybe $100 - about the same as a German chef's knife. Below is a picture of mine.

Mike

Chef's knife.jpg

Mike, is that a tanaka knife? My santoku (with traditional japanese handle) is tanaka, and it was about $55, blue #2 and almost criminally good for the price. My wife will not allow it to be accessible because she thinks it's too sharp and she runs into trouble when she uses it.

[Doug W Swanson]

When I got married 15 years ago, I talked my wife into a set of Wusthof knives. She thought I was crazy spending that much but since I had worked for 10 years as a cook, she gave in. Now I think she loves them as much as I do.

If the Japanese knives had been around when I purchased the Wusthof set I would have considered them. I did buy a Santuko style knife (don't remember the brand off hand) a few years ago and I do like the shape and feel of the thinner blade.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike, is that a tanaka knife? My santoku (with traditional japanese handle) is tanaka, and it was about $55, blue #2 and almost criminally good for the price. My wife will not allow it to be accessible because she thinks it's too sharp and she runs into trouble when she uses it.

Sorry, I don't remember much about this knife. I've had it for a while now and like it, but I don't even remember where I bought it (maybe Amazon).

Mike

[Brian Elfert]

I bought a set of Victronix kitchen knives with Fibrox handles a few years back. Way, way better than the cheap Farberware knifes I had. Probably not the best for someone who cooks all the time, but they are good for occasional use. A small set of four knives is around $80. An 8" chef's knife is $40.

[Stephen Cherry]

One thing to remember is that a good knife will cut you very quickly. If you are not used to using sharp knives, and don't have a sense of awareness of the blade, it's all too easy to cut yourself. (don't ask me how I know this)

[Myk Rian]

We bought a set of Rada knives several months ago. Brushed aluminum handles, and are holding their edges very well.
Got them on Amazon. Search for rada cutlery.
We also bought several sets for gifts.

[Mike Henderson]

One thing to remember is that a good knife will cut you very quickly. If you are not used to using sharp knives, and don't have a sense of awareness of the blade, it's all too easy to cut yourself. (don't ask me how I know this)

Yeah, my wife won't use my knives because they're so sharp. She uses some dull junk knives. I've tried to tell her that sharp knives are safer than dull knives but...

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

My wife and I bought ourselves Wusthoff knives at $130 for the pair many years ago.

The sales person showed us how to pick the size. The end of the handle is placed against the bent arm and reaches to the biceps at the elbow. The pointed end should then be in the center of the palm.

Our knives have been great.

We also have a bunch of lesser knives that also work well.

jtk

[Bobby O'Neal]

Thanks for all the help thus far.

David, yes, I'm thinking a do all around 8" Chef's knife. My wife has stated in the past that she'd prefer one really good knife over a set of not so good bed bath and beyond blades like we have. Do you freehand on stones with knives?