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Hey folks,

I love to cook. I'm not a chef or anywhere close to an expert. I do however know enough to know, I need some better knives.

I have a limited budget but don't wanna be penny wise & dollar foolish. 

I'm asking for suggestions for a highend of middle of the line (or low end of top of the line) set of knives. 

To show my ignorance, I don't know how many of exactly which knives I need.

I appreciate your suggestions.

JD

 

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5 hours ago, PlumFishing said:

Someone selling a good set in BST

 

Thank you for that heads up. I will seriously consider purchasing that set. I posted some questions there in that thread but know they would be more appropriate and therefore more likely to be answered here.

I the BST forum someone is offering a set of four knives:

JA Henkles Professional S:

7" Santoku

5.5" Boning

6" Chef/Utility

Wusthof Classic 9" slicer.

I don't know enough about knive to make a good decision about these. My questions are:  

1 Are these good quality knives?

2 Should I worry that they are used?

3 What are the basic general uses of each of these models?

4 Are these all of the basics that a home cook would need or are there a couple more that would complete /round out the setv

5 If I would need a couple more to round out a general all around cooking set, what are they (i.e. What other knives would I need)?

6 Are there other good quality all around basic sets that I should consider? 

Thanks in advance!

JD

 

 

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8-10 inch chefs knife JA Henckels $50-60 I think. Victorinox pretty good slightly cheaper but too light for me, not enough spine

6 inch boning knife

paring knife

serrated slicer

good shears

Chefs knife is one you may want to pick up and feel for fit before you buy

think about sharpening.  Carbon steel generally inexpensive but take a good edge although you'll need to sharpen more regularly

"I have ... put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water ...  if a little sea salt be added to the water we shall produce a fluid sensibly colder than the ice was in the beginning, which has appeared a curious and puzzling thing to those unacquainted with the general fact."- Joseph Black

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My best advice is to avoid sets and buy each knife individually. You'll find that the money you've spent wasn't wasted on blades you rarely use.

Start by deciding what style you prefer.

The traditional choices are German style rocker or French (Sabatier) style - this refers to the amount of curve in the blade. French style knives tend to be long and flat, while on a German style the curve goes back much further towards the handle. The German style is easier to keep tuned and you don't have as much blade length that has to be kept flat and level. I find the French style is much better for chopping vegetables while the German style is better for mincing herbs and greens - I chop a lot more veggies so I prefer the French style.

A lot of people swear by their Japanese style knives but I don't have the experience to comment there.

Carbon steel or stainless ? Carbon is high upkeep but very easy to keep razor sharp.

I would advise getting an 8" chef's knife to start, you'll use that far more than any other knife in your black and it can be used to do other things like boning and paring until you get a dedicated blade for those jobs.

If you're looking for the most blade for the best $$ be sure to check out the Victorinox line.

I started out with a cheap set of Chicago Cutlery knives my wife got at her bridal shower 30 years ago. Since then,doing the one at a time thing and keeping my eyes open at antique shops and garage sales - along with putting in a lot of time and effort with files and sandpaper, I've got my block pretty much where I want it.

Out of all of these I use the 8" carbon chef and the carbon boning knife the most by a long margin.

And make sure to get a good steel to keep the edges straight, and a good block with sideways slots to protect the edges. Never keep them loose in a drawer or put en in the dishwasher (plus carbon will come out completely covered in rust)

My block Aug 2017.jpg

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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8 minutes ago, Sudsy said:

My best advice is to avoid sets and buy each knife individually. You'll find that the money you've spent wasn't wasted on blades you rarely use.

Start by deciding what style you prefer.

The traditional choices are German style rocker or French (Sabatier) style - this refers to the amount of curve in the blade. French style knives tend to be long and flat, while on a German style the curve goes back much further towards the handle. The German style is easier to keep tuned and you don't have as much blade length that has to be kept flat and level. I find the French style is much better for chopping vegetables while the German style is better for mincing herbs and greens - I chop a lot more veggies so I prefer the French style.

A lot of people swear by their Japanese style knives but I don't have the experience to comment there.

Carbon steel or stainless ? Carbon is high upkeep but very easy to keep razor sharp.

I would advise getting an 8" chef's knife to start, you'll use that far more than any other knife in your black and it can be used to do other things like boning and paring until you get a dedicated blade for those jobs.

If you're looking for the most blade for the best $$ be sure to check out the Victorinox line.

I started out with a cheap set of Chicago Cutlery knives my wife got at her bridal shower 30 years ago. Since then,doing the one at a time thing and keeping my eyes open at antique shops and garage sales - along with putting in a lot of time and effort with files and sandpaper, I've got my block pretty much where I want it.

Out of all of these I use the 8" carbon chef and the carbon boning knife the most by a long margin.

And make sure to get a good steel to keep the edges straight, and a good block with sideways slots to protect the edges. Never keep them loose in a drawer or put en in the dishwasher (plus carbon will come out completely covered in rust)

My block Aug 2017.jpg

What's this used for?

 

IMG_3205.PNG

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The poultry shears ?

Surprisingly not much, they rarely get used for anything, but the pair i upgraded from have been getting a lot of use cutting green crabs for blackfishing.

Upgrading my block is something I'm always attempting to do - right now there are two slicing knives in there I've been going back and forth on for almost a year. One will go on the BST here when I finally decide which one I like best, same goes for a pair of cleavers.

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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Chicago Cutlery still make some good value knives for the price imo

Sudsy-I need to get back to that sharpening thread I started in DIY. Eventually did get a 1inch belt.   So far it's been doing a great job on lawn mower blades.  Next I'm going to have a go with a couple junk knives. The knife I need to really clean up we've had almost 40 years (wedding present) so would like to not scree it up

"I have ... put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water ...  if a little sea salt be added to the water we shall produce a fluid sensibly colder than the ice was in the beginning, which has appeared a curious and puzzling thing to those unacquainted with the general fact."- Joseph Black

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I'd stay away from power tools on anything special.

Go with the "Scary Sharp" system, completely idiot proof, always keeps the blade flat and level, and you never have to worry about messing up the profile or the temper.

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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39 minutes ago, Sudsy said:

The poultry shears ?

Surprisingly not much, they rarely get used for anything, but the pair i upgraded from have been getting a lot of use cutting green crabs for blackfishing.

Upgrading my block is something I'm always attempting to do - right now there are two slicing knives in there I've been going back and forth on for almost a year. One will go on the BST here when I finally decide which one I like best, same goes for a pair of cleavers.

Duh! I was looking at the top (handles) and thought they were the business end of something bizarre!

Edited by PlumFishing
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13 minutes ago, Sudsy said:

I'd stay away from power tools on anything special.

Go with the "Scary Sharp" system, completely idiot proof, always keeps the blade flat and level, and you never have to worry about messing up the profile or the temper.

I need to get some meat off it so I can straighten the edge at the heel. 

Ill pick that thread and post pics when I get to it.  Hopefully soon

"I have ... put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water ...  if a little sea salt be added to the water we shall produce a fluid sensibly colder than the ice was in the beginning, which has appeared a curious and puzzling thing to those unacquainted with the general fact."- Joseph Black

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That's different, I use the 1" belt to rough out the bolster then finish with files and sandpaper

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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1 hour ago, Sudsy said:

My best advice is to avoid sets and buy each knife individually. You'll find that the money you've spent wasn't wasted on blades you rarely use.

Start by deciding what style you prefer.

The traditional choices are German style rocker or French (Sabatier) style - this refers to the amount of curve in the blade. French style knives tend to be long and flat, while on a German style the curve goes back much further towards the handle. The German style is easier to keep tuned and you don't have as much blade length that has to be kept flat and level. I find the French style is much better for chopping vegetables while the German style is better for mincing herbs and greens - I chop a lot more veggies so I prefer the French style.

A lot of people swear by their Japanese style knives but I don't have the experience to comment there.

Carbon steel or stainless ? Carbon is high upkeep but very easy to keep razor sharp.

I would advise getting an 8" chef's knife to start, you'll use that far more than any other knife in your black and it can be used to do other things like boning and paring until you get a dedicated blade for those jobs.

If you're looking for the most blade for the best $$ be sure to check out the Victorinox line.

I started out with a cheap set of Chicago Cutlery knives my wife got at her bridal shower 30 years ago. Since then,doing the one at a time thing and keeping my eyes open at antique shops and garage sales - along with putting in a lot of time and effort with files and sandpaper, I've got my block pretty much where I want it.

Out of all of these I use the 8" carbon chef and the carbon boning knife the most by a long margin.

And make sure to get a good steel to keep the edges straight, and a good block with sideways slots to protect the edges. Never keep them loose in a drawer or put en in the dishwasher (plus carbon will come out completely covered in rust)

My block Aug 2017.jpg

Don't see any of those old Chicago's Left in your block Suds. (if they're the old walnut handle versions)I still have a couple in mine from 30yrs ago or more. I agree on the Victorinox, I've got one of their boning knives I use quite a bit in my block.

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