Chef's knives... school me

My wife's father has offered a nice gift for us for Christmas. We've talked about what we want, and we both agreed a NICE set of knives would be great. When we look on Amazon there's 300 pages of chef's knives. DAMN! So, what would a GOOD set be? Something that will hold its edge for a long time, and can be razor sharp. We've only ever had basic knives. Our budget is around 500.

I told my wife there WERA board knows everything.

 

We have a few of the Wusthof knives and we REALLY like them. Best advice is to avoid the stuff they sell on TV and get the good stuff.

A decent chef's knife will run somewhere in the area of $100. Don't be afraid. Once you use the good stuff, you will wonder why you waited so long.

 

I just found an 18 piece set for $329. Is there a lesser quality Wusthof? They look damn nice. We deserve a nice set after this kitchen remodel is done.

 

No knife blocks. Knives get put away wet and stuff gets down in the wood that you can't get out.

I have a couple of good Wusthof Santoku knives (the wide blade chef's knives - 5" and 7") that I use for just about everything. A good bread knife is nice to have, but not required. Maybe a good paring knife...

I like the Santoku style because it's useful for things like crushing garlic and excellent control for choking up for fine chopping.

And I'll echo the sentiment - get good stuff. It'll maintain an edge longer...

Never put them in the dishwasher - always handwash. And never put them away wet. Water and detergent do more to ruin an edge than cutting something tough ever will.

I took a bunch of gourmet cooking classes after I got divorced and my knives are my favorite kitchen tool next to my cast iron skillet.

 

You NEED an 8" Chef's and that will be your workhorse. I like Wusthof classic because it holds an edge and has a good balance (full tang). Do not skimp on your 8" and no hollow edge.

A 10" Chef's is great to have but you do not have to have one like the 8".

I got a 7" Wusthof Santoku to try and this thing is awesome for vegtables and has become my number 1. Worth the money!

A nice carving knife, a few pairing knives, a bread knife and maybe a Nakiri and a steel, you have the basics and then some. Shop it smart and you can get under the $500.

 

I like Shun knives. They do stain if you leave them wet, but the sharpen well.

http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives

 

3 knives is all you 'need' although I have way more:
1) A 150mm utility knife
2) 7in/180mm Santoku
3) 240mm gyuto/chefs (imo the 8in is too close to the santoku)

You can get them in Japanese styles, or more conventional French/German chef knife styles. Choose based on what sort of blade/handle shape your cutting style prefers. And if you like beating on knives, maybe get something that isnt too lightweight/thin.

Check out some places like chefknivestogo etc.

Secondly a knife is only useful as long as it stays sharp, so if you like them sharp, get used to sharpening, it's can be quite zen after a while/beer or 2.

 

Clay has a good marriage!

 

No shit! I got a watch from the girlfriends parent one time. They paid $150 at a Caribbean resort for something that was worse than one from a dollar store.

 

My comment/opinion is not based on the value of the gift but the sharpness.

 

Don't buy the big block sets. You don't need all of them. Three basic knives especially if you are just getting started. A good chefs knife - 8 inch is the kitchen tool. A utility / boning knife. Does the small detail work. Very useful for breaking down birds, large bone in meats, etc. A paring knife for the really detailed stuff. Brand isn't as important as quality of construction and how it feels in your hand. I like Shuns. Wustoff and Henckels are good. There are a ton of other brands out there as well.

They don't stay sharp without work. You need to get them sharpened by a pro or learn how to do it well yourself. Four to six months. Also get a steel for honing them frequently, like every time you use them. Keep them clean and dry.

Some other advice from Alton - http://altonbrown.com/10-knife-buying-tips/ and from Ruhlman - http://ruhlman.com/kitchen-tools/

 

And invest in a good cutting board.

 

Best advice is go to a big store and hold/feel every knife. its like suspension settings, everyones different

 

Thanks guys. My bro in law is a chef and my wife asked him. He said Shun. Seems like Shun and Wusthof are the favorites. I'd also be interested to hear opinions about sharpeners. I want to be able to shave with this knife. No matter what I've used, I've never been able to get any knife I've owned to that point. Maybe all my knives are just crap, or maybe I don't know crap about sharpening a knife!

 

I get mine sharpened at a fancy boutique kitchen place twice a year, the guy there told me to only use wood cutting boards the plastic ones will take the edge off much quicker.

 

My wife bought me a Kramer wusthof 8" knife recently. Amazing. Now I want more...

 

CUTCO

Best of the best. Hands down

 

End grain cutting boards are best.....

 

Sharpening is a skill. The little electric deals that you slide the knife through are junk. The latest thing I have seen is basically a mini belt sander with angle finders. Not sure what I think of those. Good wet stones are a bunch of work but do the best job short of a really nice water wheel stone setup. I have about 6 grits of stone from 250 to 6000. There are a lot of good tutorials online. Read and watch a bunch. And take your time.

 

Most of this has been covered in other threads. Even really well made knives are a bit like racing tires -- design differences mean differnt thinkgs to different people,

Very hard steel knives that hold an edge a long time are also harder to sharpen.

German/french knives are quite a bit differnt than Japanese style knives.

Cutco are a very poor choice if you are looking for quality knives.

An 18 piece set from Wustof that goes for 329 is almost certainly stamped, not forged -- doesnt mean they are not good knives, but for me, Forshner will always be the go to blade for modest priced stamped knives (and if you check out a lot of butchers, that is what they are using).

Wetstones are where it's at to sharpen knives, but they require skill and patience of effort to use correctly. The belt sanders have problems with heat and removing too much material, but can produce sharp edges very fast.

Finally, I'm glad I dont have a watch fetish and just a knife fetish, becuase of the 40 or 50 knives I have in my kitchen the most expensive one cost about the price of a nice Timex.

Carry on!