Cooking Knives thread

[Aloysius]

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My favorite slicer is the Wusthof Classic 10 inch Super slicer.

It has a wavy serration that is softer than a typical bread knife so it is excellent for breads, meats, cakes and even soft cheeses. When looking at a bread knife get one that’s curved not flat like the Henkel show earlier in the tread. I had one of these for years and was always barking my knuckles on the cutting board.

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Thanks for the rec. I'm gonna check this one out.

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A knife steel for keeping you blades sharp and in true.

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What's proper technique for this? Is this about right? Also:

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The other issue with the CC system is that the grind angle is fixed at 33 degrees which is OK for most chef’s/utility knives. Shuns and certain other Japanese knives use a blade grind of 22 degrees so if you use a CC on one if these you’ll ruin it.

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Does the differing blade grind degree impact the angle when using knife steel? Thanks guys, some great info in here.

-Al

[Wu36]

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There are 3 good knives in my kitchen - a $160 MAC japanese 9" chef's knife, a $30 10" forschner, and a maybe $70 global utility knife.

If i could pick only one to use for everything, regardless of price, i'd take the forschner. The MAC's blade is the sharpest, but the weight and the feel of the forschner is better for me.

This 10" knife was issued to me for culinary school. It does not look nearly as good as the german or japanese knives which are 5x expensive, but the blade quality and the balance and the grip are almost as good. Also, I don't feel bad about banging it around or doing heavy chopping with it.

I don't think it can be argued that this is the best value you can get in a chef's knife.

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This is worth stating again. I have a 12 inch global and a shun cleaver that are both excellent knives (and shuns just look insanely awesome). But the set I got from culinary school (http://www.chefcutlery.com/) still gets heavy use. And now that I'm not working @ restaurants anymore the difference is really negligible for all my kitchen tasks.

So basically, while the japanese/germans are nice (and the better choice if price isnt an issue) there are some very solid knives out there that will be easier to maintain (with the added bonus of being cheaper if you're not altogether positive about how to hone/sharpen them properly).

Last quick thought, make sure whatever knife you pick feels good in your hand, the 12" I got as a gift was good when I was still learning(for some reason the large blade helped) but now it feels a bit unwieldy compared to a more reasonably sized knife (I'm 5'9", and think a well balanced 7-8 inch knife is best for me). I rambled a bit here, just want to reiterate, find a knife thats really comfortable for you. After all, you're the one who has to use it everyday.

[MrMon]

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FWIW, Food & Wine surveys chefs every year and lists their top preferences in knives. Every year, Misono comes out on top by a wide margin, though a quick search indicates they're not exactly easy to find.

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http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/MISONO2.html
http://www.paulsfinest.com/Misono-Knives-p-1-c-25.html
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/misonoknives.html

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Well, yes, I know you can find them online, but they're not easy to see in person.

Reading up on these, I see they're intended to be used right-handed only, which eliminates them for me. You also shouldn't put them in the dishwasher, again, a no go. But for someone right-handed that intends to take care of them properly, this is as good as a knife gets according to the pros.

[geormiet]

One other point I'd like to make is that you need to be steeling and sharpening the knife correctly, otherwise after a few weeks it doesn't matter much whether you have a wusthof or a cutco.

[El Diablo]

g,

Assuming you're cooking small meals 4-5 nights per week, about how often will you need to sharpen your knives?

[slamdunkpro]

You should steel them every time you use them (OK in the home every other). For the home user you should have them sharpened (assuming you don't cut on ceramic plates, glass cutting boards, counter tops etc) every 3-6 months. The real tell is when you steel it and it doesn't get really sharp.

[turnipmonster]

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You also shouldn't put them in the dishwasher

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uhhh, you're not really supposed to put most cooking knives in the dishwasher.

[slamdunkpro]

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What's proper technique for this? Is this about right?

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Pretty much spot on.
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The other issue with the CC system is that the grind angle is fixed at 33 degrees which is OK for most chef’s/utility knives. Shuns and certain other Japanese knives use a blade grind of 22 degrees so if you use a CC on one if these you’ll ruin it.

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Does the differing blade grind degree impact the angle when using knife steel?

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It can if done incorrectly but remember you don't use a lot of pressure when you steel and you're not removing metal from the blade.

[Aloysius]

Slamdunk - cool, thanks for the info.

-Al

[MrMon]

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You also shouldn't put them in the dishwasher

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uhhh, you're not really supposed to put most cooking knives in the dishwasher.

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They're going there anyway. Sometimes the realities of life take over. My Henckels are not much worse for the wear, and any slight pitting over 10 years is far outweighted by the convenience.

Buying new knives every 12 years >>>> washing by hand.