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Author Topic: Kitchen Knives  (Read 13508 times)

Offline bernman

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Kitchen Knives
« on: December 01, 2012, 02:50:39 pm »
Looking for recomendations for a kitchen knife set. I am not a pro chef so I don't need a $400.00 set of knives. I am looking for something good quality in the $100.00-$150.00 or so range. I have read reviews for a number of sets in that price range and they mixed. I was looking at Victorinox 8-Piece Knife Block Set
 online and the reviews are good and it is in my price range. Any suggestions or recomendations?

Thanks

Offline greatplainsbrewer

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2012, 02:53:10 pm »
Have the Fibrox handled victorinox and really like them.  Might just get the chefs knife and build up from there.

Offline denny

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2012, 03:30:03 pm »
Have the Fibrox handled victorinox and really like them.  Might just get the chefs knife and build up from there.

Same here.  Choice of Cook's Illustrated and I love them.  When I bought my last one, the guy at the knife shop said they're what just about every chef in town uses.  Great knives don't have to be expensive.  The 8" chef's knife is $25-30 and the 3 1/2 in. paring knife is about 6 bucks.
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Offline mihalybaci

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2012, 04:26:02 pm »
I have a Shun 8" santoku and a Shun Pro 10 1/2" yanagiba knife, and I highly recommend them. They are extremely sharp and they're well-balanced. They'll run about $120-160 each, depending on sale price. I haven't used the Victorinox Forschner Fibrox, but, as already mentioned, they're the preferred knife of America's Test Kitchen and performed just as well as $100+ knives in their tests.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2012, 07:36:05 pm »
Wusthoff.  We love the ones we have.

Bought the cheaper version (classic?) for my mother in law, because her knives were atrocious.  They're fine knives.

Never really tried anything else, except a few Chicago Cutlery knives that I still have around and use regularly.

Anything with a good weight and a good edge should do you just fine. Keep them sharp.
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Offline euge

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2012, 04:17:51 pm »
Really all you need is one good knife for almost all applications. Then at some point you can branch off, but I'd recommend at least an 8"+ Chef's knife to start with. This will give you bang for the buck be it chopping, slicing or de-boning meat and vegetables.
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Offline thetooth

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2012, 06:23:16 pm »
I have a Shun 8" santoku and a Shun Pro 10 1/2" yanagiba knife, and I highly recommend them. They are extremely sharp and they're well-balanced. They'll run about $120-160 each, depending on sale price. I haven't used the Victorinox Forschner Fibrox, but, as already mentioned, they're the preferred knife of America's Test Kitchen and performed just as well as $100+ knives in their tests.

I bought my wife a Shun Chef's Knife for XMas last year and she loves it.  They work great and I think the damascus blades are beautiful.

Offline redbeerman

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Kitchen Knives
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2012, 07:29:26 pm »
I still use a 35 year old Wusthof set.
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Offline nateo

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2012, 09:00:55 pm »
8" Shun santoku is a good all-around knife. If you'll only have one "good" knife that's a good style to get, or a chef's-style like others suggested. Some Wuesthof knives are kinda heavy. If you have a local source, it'd be a good idea to get a feel for it before you buy. Some brands have a weight/balance/handle shape that may not work as well for you as others.
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Offline majorvices

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Kitchen Knives
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2012, 05:54:28 am »
Looking for recomendations for a kitchen knife set. I am not a pro chef so I don't need a $400.00 set of knives. I am looking for something good quality in the $100.00-$150.00 or so range. I have read reviews for a number of sets in that price range and they mixed. I was looking at Victorinox 8-Piece Knife Block Set
 online and the reviews are good and it is in my price range. Any suggestions or recomendations?

Thanks

I have the Victorinox set for a year now. Quality blades and sharp. I recommend it, especially for the price.

Offline erockrph

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2012, 01:10:25 pm »
The best advice I ever got was to pick up the chef knife from a bunch of different sets and see which one feels best in your hand. I have the Wusthof Classic set and I love it. The chef knife is a bit heavy, but it is perfectly balanced in my hand and I like the extra heft.
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Offline weithman5

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2012, 02:30:09 pm »
we have had multiple brands of knives from solingen as we have had at least 8 foreign exchange students from there and they bring them.  my favorite are the made by robert herder.  they are not stainless, they are carbon steel and need to be cared for a little bit but they hold edge and slice better than any knive i have including the wusthof, cutco, and a few japanese knives that have been brought over
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Offline punatic

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2012, 05:15:10 pm »
I still use a 35 year old Wusthof set.

My Wustof set is only 15 years old, used daily and as good as new.  Tried many other bands, but Wustof is the best IMHO.  Wouldn't trade them for all the Victorinox in Switzerland.
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Offline euge

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2012, 05:33:41 pm »
But I like my Chinese-made $8 chef's knife bought at the local grocery store! Virtually indistinguishable from my Henckles Fine-edge Pro sontoku in blade construction, forging and quality for a fifth of the price. The steel is marginally different- slightly softer but can hold a very sharp edge. I hand-sharpen all my knives and suggest avoiding anything cheap with a "ground-edge" BTW.

I figure they're probably made in the same place. Twenty years ago a cheap knife was exactly that.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

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Offline weithman5

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Re: Kitchen Knives
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2012, 06:22:06 am »
But I like my Chinese-made $8 chef's knife bought at the local grocery store! Virtually indistinguishable from my Henckles Fine-edge Pro sontoku in blade construction, forging and quality for a fifth of the price. The steel is marginally different- slightly softer but can hold a very sharp edge. I hand-sharpen all my knives and suggest avoiding anything cheap with a "ground-edge" BTW.

I figure they're probably made in the same place. Twenty years ago a cheap knife was exactly that.

slightly softer as in having lead in the alloy? :o
Don AHA member