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Brands that represent quality above all else

Tidybeard

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Originally Posted by James Bond
Quality of football? Liverpool?
snork[1].gif


It's a universal truth
fing02[1].gif
 

Tidybeard

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I'd like to add one more - Turner mountain bikes. Fantastically well made, solid, no-frills bikes backed up by a guy who believes in his product and puts quality service first. I have an RFX (my third Turner) and the experience has been excellent. Even the Turner board at MTBR.com is quality!
 

gomestar

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On the mountain bike thing, I have a Santa Cruz that is just fantastic throughout. Still, I bought it like 4 years ago and I'm not sure how quality is these days. A lot of a bike depends on the components, most producers just make the frames.
 

Dmax

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I disagree that some consumer goods mentioned in this thread necessarily belong here if we would define "Brands that represent quality above all else" as someone who makes the best product they possibly can and charge appropriately for it.
If a company makes several different product lines with the sole purpose to hit a particular price point this places them outside this definition, IMHO. If a company makes changes to their product line-up for the sole purpose of cutting costs this would indicate to me that "Quality above all else" is no longer the main objective of the management and is likely to decline.

Apple - to me they represent design above all else, innovation second. The quality is just good enough not to interfere with the other two.

Shun - the Classic line is just one of the product lines manufactured by the parent company KAI to a particular price point. The Classic line knives are very good and the customer service is excellent but KAI makes similar knives using superior steel (Elite line) and as well as some lower end lines.

All Clad - Excellent product and customer service, though still falls outside of the definition. Several lines are made to different price points. The copper core line uses too thin layer of copper to make a difference, yet has a cut-out to show it off. Aluminium is used instead of copper as much as possible in "sandwich" layers, I don't see why except to cut raw material costs (Copper is significantly more expensive then aluminium).

Mauviel - Comes close to the definition though some vintage Mauviel pieces had 3.5mm layer of copper on the outside while modern top-of-line Cuprinox only has 2.5mm layer of copper. Newer lines, like Cuprinox Style and most pieces sold at Williams-Sonoma appear to have only 2mm layer of copper.
 

LapelQueen

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Toto and Leica are liked.
 

RJmanbearpig

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Originally Posted by voxsartoria
Anyone here have Longmire cufflinks?

Originally Posted by iammatt
One pair. Nice. Seaman Schepps is nice too, and goes on without compromise.
I prefer Seaman Schepps to Seaman & Spearn.
 

shoefan

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Originally Posted by voxsartoria
Okay, if I stray into this territory, what do I get rather than a Shun? Let's say a 10" chef.


- B


Well, there are alot of options. I suggest you may want to visit these two forums:
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showforum.php?fid/26/

http://www.foodieforums.com/vbulleti...isplay.php?f=6

The other thing that can become a bit of a challenge is figuring out what sharpening stones to use -- the Japanese generally use water stones. As with many things, the folks on these forums take things to extremes. For functionality, probably a few stones going up to say 4000 grit is sufficient.

The Japanese equivalent to a chefs knife is a Gyuto/Gyutou. Japanese knives can come with a western style handle or a traditional 'Wa' handle. I recently bought a Masahiro virgin carbon from here: http://www.knifemerchant.com/product...cturerID=11#44

Other great sites to peruse include:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=13159
http://www.korin.com/
http://www.sushi-knifes.com/Merchant...tegory_Code=JK
http://www.epicureanedge.com/
http://www.watanabeblade.com/english/index.htm

Note that carbon blades will take a superior edge but need to be cared for more carefully than a stainless blade. Also, many of these blades are sharpened asymmetrically, meaning more from one side of the blade than the other.

You can also go 'custom.' Some of the leading Japanese makers will custom make a knife to your desired specifications. In the USA, there is Bob Kramer (http://www.kramerknives.com/kramer_k...euro_line.htm), who just started taking orders again (at $100/blade inch, $200 for 'damascus pattern'!) and Murray Carter (http://www.cartercutlery.com/).


For the absolute sharpest edge, you can send your knives to this fellow, who sharpens them with traditional water stones and can, apparently, put an incredible edge on these knives:
http://www.japaneseknifesharpening.com/

Finally, you can get your knives' handles replaced with custom handles (for aesthetic rather than performance reasons).
 

Manton

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^^^ Not trying to be a jerk here, but this did not answer Vox's question.
 

Manton

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Originally Posted by edmorel
Wow, you like your chefs large!

I used an 8" for a long time, then bought a 10". It's much better. Once you go ... you know the rest.
 

RJmanbearpig

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Originally Posted by edmorel
Wow, you like your chefs large!

Originally Posted by Manton
I used an 8" for a long time, then bought a 10". It's much better. Once you go ... you know the rest.

"Hello chillun..."

895656358_456cdf0fe1_m.jpg
 

Dmax

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Originally Posted by Manton
My Shuns are as good as I could possibly want. I even feel sort of guilty about them, like a crappy surfer with a really nice board. All the really good chefs I know use meh knives. They would laugh at me an my Shuns. Me and some $1,000 samurai knife, forget it.
A lot of accomplished chefs use high end Japanese knives. Some of the ones I read about include Eric Ripert, J.G. Vongerichten, Marcus Samuelssona and Thomas Keller.
 

emptym

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Patagonia

BMW Motorrad, both the bikes and the gear

Originally Posted by maxnharry
...I have subjected my "Air Boss" bag to abuse that is almost embarassing and it looks as good as new.
Originally Posted by AlanC
Red Oxx ...Tom Bihn...
These look very interesting... I've been using a Patagonia messenger bag for the past 8 yrs as a daily commuter (when it rains or I need a lot of room) and as a carry-on for trips up to a month. Been thinking about getting a good, real carry-on, but I love the lack of zippers (to break) on the Patagonia, as well as its one large cargo space.

Originally Posted by edmorel
Wow, you like your chefs large!
One of your best.

Originally Posted by shoefan
Well, there are alot of options. I suggest you may want to visit these two forums:..
What do you think about MAC knives?
 

Manton

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Originally Posted by Dmax
A lot of accomplished chefs use high end Japanese knives. Some of the ones I read about include Eric Ripert, J.G. Vongerichten, Marcus Samuelssona and Thomas Keller.

Well, they are outliers, aren't they.

I could see it if you were always cutting fish. But I'll bet that even the best prep, line, and sous cooks in Manhattan are not using expensive knives. None of the instructors at FCI, who all carry their own kit, use anything that costs much more than $100.
 

itsstillmatt

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Originally Posted by Dmax
A lot of accomplished chefs use high end Japanese knives. Some of the ones I read about include Eric Ripert, J.G. Vongerichten, Marcus Samuelssona and Thomas Keller.
Most accomplished chefs don't do a lot of cutting.
 

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