Kitchen Knives?

zorba

Wife wants a new set for Xmas.

Henkel or other?

Please advise...

GunNut

Lots of good ones.  Had Henkels  for many years and they were superb.  We now have Shun and they hold an edge forever.  Daughter loves her Wusthof knives.  

Jermanator

https://www.coldsteel.com/products/commercial-series.html

Jermanator

Specifically? Both the 10" and 8" chef knives, the scimitar, and the flexible boning knife. Beyond that, I would add a quality bread knife and a couple paring knives would be handy.

GunNut

Jermanator said:

https://www.coldsteel.com/products/commercial-series.html

Jermanator said:

Specifically? Both the 10" and 8" chef knives, the scimitar, and the flexible boning knife. Beyond that, I would add a quality bread knife and a couple paring knives would be handy.

Yep, what he said.  And they are an outstanding value.

bullsi1911

I have a lot of kitchen blades. The ones I love the most are the Shun Ken Onion series. 

The ones Wes I use the most are the various commercial kitchen knives I’ve picked up from restaurant supply houses. Some Victorinox, some Dexter... need to try the cold steel ones.

Do go to a restaurant supply place and buy a handfull of the cheap $5 pairing knives. You use them a lot and are handy as hell to have spares
https://www.acemart.com/kitchen/cutlery/paring-knives/victorinox-6-7606-l114-3-1-4-green-paring-knife/FOR6-7606-L114

Linefinder

I've been very impressed with Mercer Cutlery.

Mike

zorba

Thanx guys - I now have a lot to look at. Gonna have to ask her what she actually uses.

Jermanator

While I have some of the Cold Steel knives at my camp up north and do like them, I use the commercial knives they sell at Sam's Club at the house and in my prep kitchen. Why? They are cheap so I don't have to worry about them, ergonomic, plus hold a decent edge and sharpen up pretty easily.

No matter what you get, make sure you get her a steel to go with them to touch up the edges. When you use one you will be surprised at how long the edges actually last before you need to sharpen them. The steel just straightens out the existing edge, and that is typically all a knife needs to cut right.

Accipiter

Jermanator said:
I use the commercial knives they sell at Sam's Club at the house and in my prep kitchen. Why? They are cheap so I don't have to worry about them, ergonomic, plus hold a decent edge and sharpen up pretty easily.

This in spades.  They are the best value in kitchen knives out there.  They hold a better edge than my name brand knives, are dirt cheap, sharpen well, and feel good in the hand.

Jermanator

https://www.samsclub.com/p/bakers-chefs-paring-knives-4-pk/prod5250045?xid=plp_product_1_18

https://www.samsclub.com/p/bakers-chefs-boning-knives-2-pk/prod5250046?xid=plp_product_1_15

https://www.samsclub.com/p/bakers-chefs-cook-s-knives-2-pk/prod5250044?xid=plp_product_1_10

https://www.samsclub.com/p/7-santoku-knife-di-2-pk/prod5250043?xid=plp_product_1_7

You could do a whole lot worse for quite a bit more money than these.

Linefinder

Here's another, Zorb.

Don't laugh. Kiwi. Sold in most Asian food markets (or online) and so cheap it's almost like you're shoplifting them. I'm talking $4.89 for an 8" chefs knife, and $1.49  for a paring knife.

Cheap steel, sharpens easily, and holds that edge for most kitchen chores. The best way to sharpen a Kiwi is by "steeling" it on the back edge of another Kiwi. Anything else, even ceramic is too aggressive. But, you can repeatedly whip out a true razor's edge in less time than it takes for you to decide it's dull. I'd not pick one for sectioning a rack of ribs (leave that to the Mercers), but I've yet to meet a veggie (including green acorn squash, which is saying something) that they wouldn't handle with aplomb.

Got a drawer full of great Mercers, but truth is, the Kiwi's do 90% of the chores.

Mike

Tugar

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/420-how-to-build-the-best-knife-set

That will be my next set. These guys rigorously test stuff. 

Gila

zorba said:

Wife wants a new set for Xmas.

Henkel or other?

Please advise...

Ours are Henkel, and my Onion makes them razor sharp in seconds when they need it.

Linefinder

Gila said:

zorba said:

Wife wants a new set for Xmas.

Henkel or other?

Please advise...

Ours are Henkel, and my Onion makes them razor sharp in seconds when they need it.

Gila brings up a great point.

The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition sharpening system will turn any old crap knife into a razor in seconds. It works equally well on really nice knives.

I've felt for years that the sharpening method or system was actually of more import than the knife steel itself. (Selection of the proper blade shape for the task at hand is the first consideration, of course. It's tough to slice whole ribs with a paring knife, and it's equally difficult to peel an apple with a carver. Exaggerated, I know, but you get the point). And I avoided anything other than hand honing on high dollar stones for decades.

All knives get dull with use, be it Henkel (dollars) or Kiwi (cents). Getting them back into fighting trim is usually the issue and why most folks become disappointed  with "the knives they have".

You can spend upward of $800 per blade on some fine Japanese folded steel or $4 for a Kiwi. My recommendation is to put your first $150 into a Work Sharp Ken Onion and you won't need to concern yourself very much about what you drag through it.

You can thank @Knitepoet for this PSA.

Mike

jaywapti

Forschner Knives, for the price I dont think you can get a better knife.

JAY

zorba

Sharpening was my next question - and I've heard of the "worksharp". Thanx!

zorba

I have plenty of cheap knives to practice with!

Gene L

I bought a Ken Onion Work Sharp today.  It was $129.00 on Amazon, but if I got an Amazon Credit card, I could get $100 off...so it cost me $35 with shipping.  Looking forward to using it.  I can sharpen pretty good, but it takes so much time.

GunNut

Gene L said:

I bought a Ken Onion Work Sharp today.  It was $129.00 on Amazon, but if I got an Amazon Credit card, I could get $100 off...so it cost me $35 with shipping.  Looking forward to using it.  I can sharpen pretty good, but it takes so much time.

I thought I was pretty good with stones and ceramic rods so I resisted for a long time.  The Worksharp changed my mind.  I now know I suck at sharpening.

It has never been so easy to put a razor edge on a blade before.  I still keep the super fine rods around for a quick touch up but for serious work you can’t beat the Worksharp.  

I had two knives I really loved but I was convinced were made with inferior steel because whatever I tried never gave me a satisfactory edge.  The Worksharp fixed that in about 3 minutes.

Linefinder

GunNut said:

Gene L said:

I bought a Ken Onion Work Sharp today.  It was $129.00 on Amazon, but if I got an Amazon Credit card, I could get $100 off...so it cost me $35 with shipping.  Looking forward to using it.  I can sharpen pretty good, but it takes so much time.

I thought I was pretty good with stones and ceramic rods so I resisted for a long time.  The Worksharp changed my mind.  I now know I suck at sharpening.

It has never been so easy to put a razor edge on a blade before.  I still keep the super fine rods around for a quick touch up but for serious work you can’t beat the Worksharp.  

I had two knives I really loved but I was convinced were made with inferior steel because whatever I tried never gave me a satisfactory edge.  The Worksharp fixed that in about 3 minutes.

You just exactly described me. I could have written that same post. 

I probably have almost $2K in stones and steels. I still use the steels for touchups, but I don't think I've touched a stone in well over a year.

Mike

Gila

The great thing about the Onion is that once the edge is on the knife, resharpening only requires seconds as there is no need to change belts.

Linefinder

Gila said:

The great thing about the Onion is that once the edge is on the knife, resharpening only requires seconds as there is no need to change belts.

And keep your "worn out" belts. They make for great "intermediate" grit belts. For example, a worn out coarse belt is coarser than a medium, and a worn out fine belt becomes a polishing belt.

One caveat.....discard any belt that you've worn or cut a hole into.

FWIW.....once you've initially sharpened your stable of knives, chances are you'll be using only fine belts from that point forward unless you've really damaged a blade or bought a new blade that you want to change bevel.. I bought a variety pack from Amazon, but have used nothing but the fine belt.

Belts last quite a while, so it's not like you'll be replacing them every time you turn around.

Mike

Linefinder

zorba said:

Sharpening was my next question - and I've heard of the "worksharp". Thanx!

Zorba,

WorkSharp makes a few different sharpening systems. Be sure you get the Ken Onion edition.

Mike

zorba

Just ordered the "onion edition" worksharp yesterday. From Amazon. Paid $20 more for it than Gene did...

Jeff in TX

Bought a Henkel's set from Amazon a couple years back.  They've done really well at holding and edge.  A couple of them have lost their edge due to a lot a use.  With Thanksgiving upon us I just purchased a Wusthof Precision Edge 2-Stage  knife sharpener off of ebay for $20.00.  Has two slots one course one fine.  A few pulls through the course followed up with a few through the fine slot and they all shave hair off.  Simple and works great.  

GunNut

Jeff in TX said:

Bought a Henkel's set from Amazon a couple years back.  They've done really well at holding and edge.  A couple of them have lost their edge due to a lot a use.  With Thanksgiving upon us I just purchased a Wusthof Precision Edge 2-Stage  knife sharpener off of ebay for $20.00.  Has two slots one course one fine.  A few pulls through the course followed up with a few through the fine slot and they all shave hair off.  Simple and works great.  

Use the coarse side really sparingly, really only for seriously damaged or dull edges.  It has two tungsten blades that eat up a LOT of steel when you draw the knife through and sharply decrease the life of the blade.  

If you buy a ceramic rod (just like a steel with a handle but it’s a thick ceramic rod) you accomplish the same thing as the coarse slot without wearing out the blade nearly as much.  

On the other hand, that course side is a fast way of putting the right edge angle/geometry to a new blade that doesn’t seem to take an edge for you.  It quickly exposes new steel at the correct angle for kitchen knives which is a little shallower than the what you want on camp/hunting and other types of hard working blades.

Diver43

Jeff in TX said:

Bought a Henkel's set from Amazon a couple years back.  They've done really well at holding and edge.  A couple of them have lost their edge due to a lot a use.  With Thanksgiving upon us I just purchased a Wusthof Precision Edge 2-Stage  knife sharpener off of ebay for $20.00.  Has two slots one course one fine.  A few pulls through the course followed up with a few through the fine slot and they all shave hair off.  Simple and works great.  

I was looking at Henkel sharpeners.  There are so many listed, which one did you get?

Linefinder

zorba said:

Just ordered the "onion edition" worksharp yesterday. From Amazon. Paid $20 more for it than Gene did...

Good for you @zorba.  Glad you did it, and I'm sure you'll be well pleased with the results.That's still a great price.

And once again.....check out Mercer Cutlery. You'll be pleased with them, too. Personally, I lean strongly toward the Genesis series, but all are waaay better than the price point would indicate.

Mike

jaywapti

Been thinking a while about getting one of the "Ken Onion" sharpeners but it seems there are 2 or 3 different styles one uses a 1" x 18" belts another 3/4" x 12" belts, which one are you guys using ?? 

JAY

Linefinder

I'll check. Don't know what I have, but logic tells me wider is better for this job.
Mike