Knife Thread

[Mr Badger]

Something like this is a good place to start.

Victorinox Fibrox 15cm Chefs Knife (5200315)

The Victorinox Fibrox 15cm Chefs Knife is one of the most relied upon tools in your kitchen. With an ergonomic, slip-resistant handle and high-carbon, stainless steel blade, this Swiss made knife has a perfect balance between comfort and precision.

www.kitchenknives.co.uk

Good quality, no frills.

I second the recommendation for something from the Victorinox Fibrox range.

 

[InHuman]

Awesome, thank you.

 

[Mr Jack]

Something like this is a good place to start.

Agree at the price point, you don't need to spend a lot to get a decent knife if you make sure you keep it sharp. More expensive knifes are more about look and feel. That said, I'd personally say 15cm/6" is too short for a main knife, I'd go for 20cm/8".

 

[mattyfez]

Yeh agreed... Depends what you are comfortable with. 99% of the time I use a 14cm ulility/small chef knife or an 18cm Nakiri.

I'd suggest buying a couple of decent practical knifes rather than a full 5 or 7 piece set.

 

[Haggisman]

Not sure if this is better in its own thread, but since there are a few posts on sharpening in here, I'll give it a go.

Looking to improve on my sharpening, currently have a couple of whetstones; a pretty coarse 2 sided one, (not sure of the grit) and a Suehiro (sp?) 1000/3000, but to be honest I've never been able to get an amazing result from them, think I just struggle to keep the angle consistent - mainly around the tip.

Wondering if it's worth getting a guided system, the options I've been considering are the lansky diamond system (plus the leather strop), or work sharp precision adjust (maybe the elite?)

Only problem is I've read quite a few 5hings about them not being so great for long kitchen knives; they are more targeted at the US EDC/hunting market?

Also noticed the work sharp electric knife & tool sharpener being mentioned a couple of times, which is around the same price as one of those manual systems? Would give a bit more flexibility in terms of what I can use it for, but how's the quality?

Most of my knives are relatively cheap & cheerful - not bottom of the barrel budget supermarket quality, but nothing special either, however I do have a nice damascus petty and a 10" sashimi which could do with a little more care.

I could just keep practicing with the whetstones, but to be honest the poor results are frustrating me and putting me off actually sharpening them at all

 

[kg648]

Not sure if this is better in its own thread, but since there are a few posts on sharpening in here, I'll give it a go.

Looking to improve on my sharpening, currently have a couple of whetstones; a pretty coarse 2 sided one, (not sure of the grit) and a Suehiro (sp?) 1000/3000, but to be honest I've never been able to get an amazing result from them, think I just struggle to keep the angle consistent - mainly around the tip.

Wondering if it's worth getting a guided system, the options I've been considering are the lansky diamond system (plus the leather strop), or work sharp precision adjust (maybe the elite?)

Only problem is I've read quite a few 5hings about them not being so great for long kitchen knives; they are more targeted at the US EDC/hunting market?

Also noticed the work sharp electric knife & tool sharpener being mentioned a couple of times, which is around the same price as one of those manual systems? Would give a bit more flexibility in terms of what I can use it for, but how's the quality?

Most of my knives are relatively cheap & cheerful - not bottom of the barrel budget supermarket quality, but nothing special either, however I do have a nice damascus petty and a 10" sashimi which could do with a little more care.

I could just keep practicing with the whetstones, but to be honest the poor results are frustrating me and putting me off actually sharpening them at all

I might be causing chaos but Horl? I really don't want to get into faffing around guessing with whetstones.

 

[Haggisman]

I might be causing chaos but Horl? I really don't want to get into faffing around guessing with whetstones.

Is that the rolling one? Have seen mixed reviews of those (although probably down to people using cheap knock-offs, which is obviously going to be the case with any system).

Edit: also ridiculously expensive by the look of it, £150 for the "starter" with a single stone & hone, £50 for extra stones?!

 

[BUDFORCE]

Just practice, a whetstone, well two, are all you need really.

I have three, they go from 600 - 6000/8000, but you only really need two.

On a decent knife that's only a bit dulled I'd start quite high maybe 3000 or more.

I'd only go down to 1000 for some dinged up cheap kitchen knife, and the 600 I only ever use to rub against other whetstones so they stay flat.

Get a leather strop as well.

My Japanese nikiri I've only had to sharpen twice, both times didn't take long at all, and just did it on 6000 to start, and even then not many passes either side, then strop and it was like a razor again.

The metal is hard so you are really only taking a tiny bit of material off, almost polishing the edges.

Cheap stainless steel kitchen knife is another story and often they do need to be worked a bit more.

 

[kg648]

I pulled the trigger and got a Horl 2 I had a demo in a shop local to me - amazing thing, sharpened all my knives in under 20mins, no regrets purchase. I don't really want to or have the time to learn another hobby, keeping it simple for 150 quid and a few minutes, I'm fine with.

 

[Haggisman]

Just practice, a whetstone, well two, are all you need really.

I have three, they go from 600 - 6000/8000, but you only really need two.

On a decent knife that's only a bit dulled I'd start quite high maybe 3000 or more.

I'd only go down to 1000 for some dinged up cheap kitchen knife, and the 600 I only ever use to rub against other whetstones so they stay flat.

Get a leather strop as well.

My Japanese nikiri I've only had to sharpen twice, both times didn't take long at all, and just did it on 6000 to start, and even then not many passes either side, then strop and it was like a razor again.

The metal is hard so you are really only taking a tiny bit of material off, almost polishing the edges.

Cheap stainless steel kitchen knife is another story and often they do need to be worked a bit more.

I picked up a cheap "Trend" 400/1000 diamond stone, and it's on a whole other level to my whetstones, only used it on the cheaper knives so far, but got a really nice edge on them, and use my 3000 grit stone to finish them off. Also grabbed a strop and some compound, and definitely an improvement!

 

[delta0]

I use a Shapton 3000. The angle you grind at needs to be consistent and the right angle for the knife. I use Japanese knifes and those can be around 10-15 degrees angle.

 

[Lopéz]

Happy with these three for now. The Nakiri is GREAT for chopping veg, I use it a lot.

I've no idea how, but my wife has cut herself with the petty knife three times in a week. Her mother came to stay for a week and used it multiple times daily with no problems, and I've come nowhere near cutting myself so I think it's a skill gap!

I came home from work the other day to find my wife using the Nakiri like a cleaver to chop through the woody stems of some flowers.

So now it's a Nakiri with some nice chunks out of middle of the sharp edge.