Kitchen Knives

^^^ short reply...

your Wusthofs are fine - just need to practice your freehand sharpening. Flatten your stone if it seems to have dished. I think there's a sharpening thread around here that should help you out.

Japanese knives are wonderful, but the only one I use is a Gyotou, which is their version of the western Chef's knife. The rest are specialized and I wouldn't know where to start with them. Probably put an eye out or something.

If you and your family/friends/guests like what you put on the plate - you don't suck.

I have a set of Wusthof I got on ebay. I really like them.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Almost solely Japanese steel, usually handmade. Most of them are non-brand names and are handmade to order by a few different Japanese companies. All I know is that if you want a knife, talk to our special knife Chef with the hookups and he'll get you something incredible for a few hundred bucks.
Awesome. I'd love to know if you know any of the makers....

Originally Posted by Douglas

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I am suffering through with some Wusthofs that have served me well but could really use a sharpening - it's been a few years. I probably kill them when I hone them but it does seem to make a difference - I'm honing by hand and probably not at the perfect angle but it's definitely easier to cut after I've done so.
Wusthof's are great knives. Sharpen them up and they'll be good as new. Like Thomas said, if the cooking is good, who gives a **** what type of knife you use? I split time between a $30 Forschner and a $120 Global and I've found no difference except for the handle shape and weight.

Originally Posted by Invicta

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Personally, having owned the Classics and now owning the Ken Onion line, I vastly prefer the KOs. They hold an edge much longer than the Classics and the blades are aesthetically pleasing to mine eye.
Do you own the standard Shun Ken Onion or the Shun Ken Onion Elite? The standard Ken Onion use the same steel as the Shun Classics (VG-10 @ RC59-61) so the edge retention should be identical, provided they are sharpened at the same angle. The Ken Onion Elite use SG2 steel @ (claimed) RC64 which should offer better edge retention than VG-10. SG2 is also used on the standard Shun Elite, the Shun Kaji, and the Shun Bob Kramer Meiji lines.

^^^ Jeebus - how many lines does Shun put out???

Originally Posted by Thomas

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^^^ Jeebus - how many lines does Shun put out???
11 here in the U.S., which is partly why I never tried them out before (I also despise Alton Brown).

I asked the chef at Minibar what he was using, and he had (IIRC) a cheap Kuhn Rikon pink chef's knife.

I currently use the Henckel Santoku Twin Cusine...very nice knife.

Now I would recommend the Global Knives if I had to buy a set of knives again.

I'm very satisfied with my Wusthof's.

A little bump. I want to get a nice versatile knife (probably a chef or santoku) as a Christmas present for the house. Can anyone tell me a good reliable knife and why I might get a french chef or a santoku knife over the other?

Originally Posted by lemmywinks

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A little bump. I want to get a nice versatile knife (probably a chef or santoku) as a Christmas present for the house. Can anyone tell me a good reliable knife and why I might get a french chef or a santoku knife over the other?

How much are you looking to spend?

Definitely not a budget knife but not some custom forged knife made by the Ancient Samurais of Japan. Maybe like the entry level into good knives? The APC NS or Allen Edmonds of knives? I was thinking maybe like a Shun or whatever it's called but would they end up being like the True Religions of knives?

Man these are like the stupidest analogies ever.

Also I have to be able to buy it at a relatively common store. Macys, Williams-Sonoma etc.,

I'd get a Masamoto VG Series Gyuto.
Personally I'd get the 210 mm knife, but you may want to opt for the 240 or 270 depending on personal preferences. 270 mm is just over 10.5 inches, 240 is about 9.5, and 210 is 8.25.

The 210 is a 2mm thick blade and weights 150g. The 240 is also 2 mm but weights 235g, and the 270 is 2.5mm and weights 287g. The 210 can be found for right at $150, the 240 for about 190, and the 270 can be found for around $240.

The entire VG series is hyper molybdenum vanadium stainless steel. Full tang, with black handle. The knives get incredibly sharp, but also hold an edge through a lot of wear and tear, in case you don't know how or are intimidated about sharpening your own.

It's not exactly "entry level" but it's very nice for the price.


Edit: Just saw it has to be at a store. That hurts things. This would probably need to be online, unless you live in NYC, then you could just go to the Korin store in lower Manhattan.

What on earth would you do with a 390mm gyuto?

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...=44327&page=14