My wife is a professional chef and uses both Wusthof and Lamson Sharp. Until I met her I never really understood the value of a good set of knives in the kitchen.
My wife is a professional chef and uses both Wusthof and Lamson Sharp. Until I met her I never really understood the value of a good set of knives in the kitchen.
uh huh wrote: "That was until I got a 6" santuko - that baby rocks."
yeah i have a 7" one and it's awesome, definitely my favorite knife for chopping and dicing.
Haven't used one of those but imagine I'd like it better than a standard chef's knife. For the last decade I've used a Chinese chef's cleaver (aka vegetable cleaver, I think; weighted more like a chef's knife, not like a heavy meat cleaver) - once you're accustomed to it, it's great for chopping and then scoops up the bits like nothing else. A regular chef's knife seems so limited by comparison.
That (or a chef's knife or santuko), a paring knife, and a bread knife are what I reach for about 98% of the time; the others get very little play.
I use Henckel, but there are other good German and American knives as well. Something to consider besides whether the blade is pressed or forged is how the knife feels in your hand --both in terms of the design of the handle and the balance of the knife as a whole. This site will give you some idea of some "Block Sets":
This is the one I want to get:
http://japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=05%2E011%2E240&dept_id=13517
Here's a review of it:
http://www.foodieforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1989
I currently have a Hiromoto HC (high carbon) 240 mm gyuto that is pretty nice for the price... it's been the value pick on the cooking knife discussion forums for the past year or so. I got it for about $50 from
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/HiromotoHighCarbonSteelSeries.html
but they are discontinuing them there and you'll probably see them move into retailers at a much higher price.
The Japanese knives chef knives are generally thinner and sharper than the German knives, but are not as tough (they are other styles for cutting bone, etc). They are best sharpened with waterstones - some people get the edges to mirror polish sharpness.
I can't believe no one has mentioned CUTCO. It is the best by far.
Go Global wrote:
If you want the best there is go for Global.Made in Japan they are definitely not cheap though. Other than that you have so much choice , just got to get something well made and solid.
When I was a young chef starting out some-one gave me a beautiful set of knives from a small factory in Thiers France.
They've served me well although I must admit I gave in to
my envies a couple of times and bought a 2 Globals,A Thin bladed Salmon Knife and a sturdy bone remover.
For what it's worth, I do have a 10" chefs knife that I rarely use (except for melon) because it's too unwieldy in my hands, that I'd be willing to put up for adoption to the right home. In the hands of a pro you could do magic.
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