Chef KNIVES!

[slayer202]

I've got a few coupons. I'm looking at a chef central one in front of me, I didn't notice before but Shun is excluded. The others are fair game. I'll check a BBB one

 

[BoomerD]

Dude...ignore all the cutlery snobs here...there's only ONE knife you need in your kitchen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLB7aTmnE4

OR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUarASqrVnY

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Magnet strips.

Don't use a wooden block, they can trap moisture and bacteria.

EDIT:
Cutting boards: Glass = bad
Ceramic = bad
nylon/microban/etc = not as bad but unnecessary some people prefer for raw meats
edge glued wood = getting better
end glued wood = best
EDIT #2:
The most important thing is to care for your cutting board properly. I regularly wash mine down with a water and vinegar solution, let that dry then treat with mineral oil.

I agree on magnetic strips. If you're worried about finish (no reason to be if you put the spine of the blade on first, and "roll" the rest of the knife down), just get some thin tape (packing tape for example) to protect it. I would use masking or electrical as well, but not sure how powerful the magnetic field is on them.

Synthetic/plastic boards are decent for meats. Veggies and meats should NOT be on the same board whatever you choose to do though. Personally I like a nice end grain that's red/dark wood.

I've been using my ikea magnetic strip for 6 months now and have no complaints.

I place the dull side of the knife against the magnetic strip so that the knife/strip makes a 180 degree angle, and then slowly lower the sharp edge in place (by "slowly," I mean like 1-2 seconds, just to make sure that no scraping is involved). remove the knife by repeating the operation in reverse.

and it saves me a ton of counter space, which my kitchen is sorely lacking in.

Yup. This.

Tape trick can help as well.

 

[sourceninja]

I was gifted a full set of cutco knives about 7 or 8 years ago by a friend of mine who got conned into selling them. When he quit he had a full unused set that he used for demo's or something that he gave me.

I would have never payed for them, but they have held up surprisingly well. They still look new in fact.

 

[HumblePie]

I was gifted a full set of cutco knives about 7 or 8 years ago by a friend of mine who got conned into selling them. When he quit he had a full unused set that he used for demo's or something that he gave me.

I would have never payed for them, but they have held up surprisingly well. They still look new in fact.

Cutco = $20 walmart quality set priced at $300.

If you got them for free then oh well. I used a cheap $20 walmart quality set for 7 years as well when I couldn't afford better. They work as in they cut, but not really that well. A good set is MUCH better to use than anything of that quality.

 

[sourceninja]

Cutco = $20 walmart quality set priced at $300.

If you got them for free then oh well. I used a cheap $20 walmart quality set for 7 years as well when I couldn't afford better. They work as in they cut, but not really that well. A good set is MUCH better to use than anything of that quality.

Before that I had to buy a set of walmart knives all the time because my dish washer would eventually eat them and melt the handles.

I'm lazy and all I need to do is cut stuff.

 

[lxskllr]

I thought wooden blocks were good because they will help wick away any moisture left on the blade (obviously you need to dry them thoroughly first, but for that little bit that doesn't come off...). And I don't see how the can trap bacteria if you only put clean knives in them...

Wood is naturally antibacterial which is why it's good for blocks, and cutting boards. I wouldn't use a plastic board for meat, or anything really. Bacteria gets caught in the knife cuts, and doesn't wash out due to accessibility. Where wood would kill the bacteria, it just festers in a plastic board.

For a chef's knife, I have a Henkel 4star Japanese style that I much prefer over the traditional knife with a sharp point. I also have a cheap Chinese chef's knife that I like for some things.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

parents have a set of cutco with various knives.
the only ones worth anything are the shears (they're amazing), and the steak knives.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

I've owned a variety of brands and the most expensive were in the £300 range, most of them sucked compared to what i have now, Global REALLY sucks, i wouldn't pay £10 for a Global knife, Wusthof is almost as bad, you can buy a LOT cheaper knifes that are just as good as those.

If you want the best knife i know of you'll get a Porsche, they are cheaper than Globals (at least in the UK) and they are A LOT better. Intial sharpness is about 2x any other blade and you won't have to resharpen it anytime soon.

Now, sharpening them with a steel takes some effort though but if you know how to do that all you'll have to do is to either do it every five times you use them for half a minute or give them a full minute later on, it won't wear on them either.

So that's my recommendation.

http://www.chefdepot.net/porsche.htm

 

[Patterner]

Wood is naturally antibacterial which is why it's good for blocks, and cutting boards. I wouldn't use a plastic board for meat, or anything really. Bacteria gets caught in the knife cuts, and doesn't wash out due to accessibility. Where wood would kill the bacteria, it just festers in a plastic board.

For a chef's knife, I have a Henkel 4star Japanese style that I much prefer over the traditional knife with a sharp point. I also have a cheap Chinese chef's knife that I like for some things.

I've heard quotes from chef's before that over time, dust and bacteria can build up in completely inclosed wooden blocks and lead to badness (the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Tyler Florence from Food 911).

Agreed about the plastic boards. They're ok on the knife edge, but you need to replace them often for the reasons you mentioned. A nice end glued board can be sanded down if you get a deep groove in it.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Wood is naturally antibacterial which is why it's good for blocks, and cutting boards. I wouldn't use a plastic board for meat, or anything really. Bacteria gets caught in the knife cuts, and doesn't wash out due to accessibility. Where wood would kill the bacteria, it just festers in a plastic board.

For a chef's knife, I have a Henkel 4star Japanese style that I much prefer over the traditional knife with a sharp point. I also have a cheap Chinese chef's knife that I like for some things.

Dead and dried wood is absolutely NOT antibacterial, quite the opposite, as moisture is soaked up and held in it will grow without restriction.

That said, a properly washed board of plastic or wood will be just fine and it won't really matter which one you use.

 

[lxskllr]

Dead and dried wood is absolutely NOT antibacterial, quite the opposite, as moisture is soaked up and held in it will grow without restriction.

That said, a properly washed board of plastic or wood will be just fine and it won't really matter which one you use.

I wasn't completely right, but then neither were you :^P

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]Although the bacteria that had disappeared from the wood surfaces were found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply, and they gradually die. They can be detected only by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface.

http://www.woodworking.co.uk/Technical/Bacteria/bacteria.html
[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[slayer202]

been doing a bit more research. anyone have any of these crazy japanese knives, stuff you wouldn't find in these chain stores in the states? I'm looking at knifeforums.com and I'm starting to get overwhelmed. seems like they prefer gyuto style vs. chef. I'm not sure how extreme I wanna go though, and I want to keep my budget at around $120

 

[lxskllr]

been doing a bit more research. anyone have any of these crazy japanese knives, stuff you wouldn't find in these chain stores in the states? I'm looking at knifeforums.com and I'm starting to get overwhelmed. seems like they prefer gyuto style vs. chef. I'm not sure how extreme I wanna go though, and I want to keep my budget at around $120

Try a couple. Buy some cheapies in a couple different configurations, then when you find one you like, buy a good one of that design. You can use the rejected cheapies as beater knives. I prefer a straight blade, without a point. You might like something different. You don't need a whole knife set. I do everything with 5 knives...

Japanese style chef knife
Chinese chef knife
4" parer
Ulu
Bread knife

Edit:
forgot the bread knife

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

I wasn't completely right, but then neither were you :^P



http://www.woodworking.co.uk/Technical/Bacteria/bacteria.html
[/SIZE][/FONT]

I'd rather use antibacterial soap to just get it out of the surface than having it living in the wood but yeah, with regular manual cleaning they are about the same i suppose.

That said, apart from just cutting vegetables my meat cutting table is wood, i usually just use den ethanol on it and oil it up afterwards.

And yeah, i sometimes need a table to cut meat.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

been doing a bit more research. anyone have any of these crazy japanese knives, stuff you wouldn't find in these chain stores in the states? I'm looking at knifeforums.com and I'm starting to get overwhelmed. seems like they prefer gyuto style vs. chef. I'm not sure how extreme I wanna go though, and I want to keep my budget at around $120

Porsche, i guarantee that regardless of what else you find, you'll never find any knife as good and while there are other good ones out there, i wouldn't bet on any of them ever again.

 

[Patterner]

I'd rather use antibacterial soap to just get it out of the surface than having it living in the wood but yeah, with regular manual cleaning they are about the same i suppose.

That said, apart from just cutting vegetables my meat cutting table is wood, i usually just use den ethanol on it and oil it up afterwards.

And yeah, i sometimes need a table to cut meat.

I'd suggest using vinegar rather than ethanol. A vinegar solution is plenty acidic enough to kill any food borne pathogens, and isn't poisonous to humans.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Try a couple. Buy some cheapies in a couple different configurations, then when you find one you like, buy a good one of that design. You can use the rejected cheapies as beater knives. I prefer a straight blade, without a point. You might like something different. You don't need a whole knife set. I do everything with 5 knives...

Japanese style chef knife
Chinese chef knife
4" parer
Ulu
Bread knife

Edit:
forgot the bread knife

If you have a porche chef knife, a proper filet knife, a parer then you won't need anything else, i can cut freshly made bread or any loaf with the chefs knife without compressing the bred one centimeter one forward, one back without pushing, even through hard bread.

The filet knife is only needed because sometimes you need a smaller blade and you use the parer for fruit, you need that as a set to cook an entire meal.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

I'd suggest using vinegar rather than ethanol. A vinegar solution is plenty acidic enough to kill any food borne pathogens, and isn't poisonous to humans.

Denatured ethanol isn't poisonous to humans either, it's not methanol which many people believe it to be.

I prefer the eth, it works a lot faster and once oiled up after cleaning, all those cuts will seel like they are just gone.

 

[slayer202]

the handle of the porsche scares me a bit, I don't think I'd buy something unusual like that without trying it first. I guess I can take a trip into NYC, I'm sure there are some nice shops there

 

[iGas]

Can't go wrong with this for $29.99

This if you the need for Damascus VG10 then this for $79.99

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/cckcleaver2.html

 

[slayer202]

with some help from the guys at knifeforums.com I'm deciding between

fujiwara FKM, which has a western handle


and a JCK Inazuma which is about $45 more expensive

cost/value or aesthetics. hmmm

 

[silverpig]

I have a Shun 8" and love it. I would recommend Japanese steel over German just because it is typically tempered harder. You can thus get it sharper and it will stay sharp longer as well.

 

[lxskllr]

I have a Shun 8" and love it. I would recommend Japanese steel over German just because it is typically tempered harder. You can thus get it sharper and it will stay sharp longer as well.

Harder steel isn't always best. It depends on individual needs/desires. I generally prefer softer steel. It gets dull quicker, but it also sharpens quicker.

For the OP. I like the looks of that Damascus blade. It's something you should have for the rest of your life, so the money spent will go a long way if you really like the looks of that.