Knife Thread

I'm considering something potentially blasphemous....

I only own fairly cheap knives and I have a Lansky sharpening kit which I use to take care of them. It works but they blunt again pretty quickly as they're presumably made out of cheese.

With that in mind I'm considering purchasing a cheap sharpener of the variety that essentially removes half the knife metal each time you use it. I'm guessing even with that I'll get another year or so out of these knives and then I can look into getting something a bit better (by that I mean, get better knives and go back to using my Lansky kit).

Any thoughts?
 
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Okay am getting sick of using my 3 wheel minosharp on my Globals repeatedly, it gives an okay edge but does not hold, probably because it does not give that decent an edge (i tend to use the finest of the three to just regularly hone it) and because I do not use a steel (need to get one but then will the wife use it).
Two questions:

Do I need a particularly hard steel due to the hardness of the Globals or can i get away a cheapish one and any recommendations?
Also thinking about the "Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening System" so I can put a bevelled edge on it, what the difference between this and the standard one and is it worth getting the deluxe version?
 
Moses said:
I bought an Anysharp Pro recently because the work knives are rubbish/not sharp, and I wasn't going to faff around with a whetstone for knives that aren't mine/I don't care if it sacrifices more metal than if I put the effort in!
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Yeah, I think it makes sense really. There's a cheap one in Aldi at the moment that I might grab for convenience. If anything, the fact that it will wear away the metal quicker will be a good thing in terms of encouraging me to buy new/better knives sooner :p
 
f00b4r said:
Okay am getting sick of using my 3 wheel minosharp on my Globals repeatedly, it gives an okay edge but does not hold, probably because it does not give that decent an edge (i tend to use the finest of the three to just regularly hone it) and because I do not use a steel (need to get one but then will the wife use it).
Two questions:

Do I need a particularly hard steel due to the hardness of the Globals or can i get away a cheapish one and any recommendations?
Also thinking about the "Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening System" so I can put a bevelled edge on it, what the difference between this and the standard one and is it worth getting the deluxe version?
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The minosharp are pretty crap for sharpening, they just hone really, and once a layer of metal builds up on the wheels then they don't do much at all. And they're very awkward to clean.

I use a ceramic rod to hone the knives and a knife wizard KE-198 electric sharpener every once in a while to sharpen. But a Lansky or edge pro system will work very well also.
 
Last week I bought the Eden Classic Damast chefs knife as it was on offer for about £24. On paper it looked to be a decent knife. VG10 core, 280 reviews with 9.1/10 rating.
However, I tried it briefly the other day and it seemed somewhat disappointing, tried the paper test and it barely cut when I sliced.
I'll try again with different foods but this was supposed to be a gift for my dad at Christmas, as he has pretty old and not too great knives at home, but if this isn't that much better now...
Not sure what to do? I don't have any sharpening kit. And won't have time to learn/don't have the money to dish out on sharpening stones when it should come sharp to begin with.
 
Pho said:
Thanks for the suggestion. This is why I didn't replace the Global sooner, there's so many to choose from.

I hate decisions :D.
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Been waiting for the Masakage Yuki to came back in stock. It did on Thursday so I snapped it up :). Haven't used it too much yet but it is rather sharp :eek:.

pc9juSU.jpg
 
Pho said:
Been waiting for the Masakage Yuki to came back in stock. It did on Thursday so I snapped it up :). Haven't used it too much yet but it is rather sharp :eek:.

pc9juSU.jpg
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That's a work of art not a knife!

Would love a couple of Masakage, but they're seriously expensive and I don't think I could take care of them properly. They recommend only sharpening with whet stones don't they?
 
JohnnyG said:
Can anyone give some recommendations on a decent 5-6 knife block set in the £50 or so price range please? :)
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FrenchTart said:
For that money you're better off buying one or two half-decent knives rather than 5 blah knives :)
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Agreed, so many people think they need a knife block set, when only 2-3 decent knives will cover 99% of your needs. Unless you're quite a competent cook and need more specialised knives.

A paring knife, chefs knife, cooks knife and a bread knife is all you need. If your budget isn't big then I'd look at victorinox. And don't forget a good sharpener and steel/ceramic rod.
 
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ganesh said:
That's a work of art not a knife!

Would love a couple of Masakage, but they're seriously expensive and I don't think I could take care of them properly. They recommend only sharpening with whet stones don't they?
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Heh I hate spending money unnecessarily and had to seriously weigh up the pros and cons of the cost/quality balance :p. I figured the same with the Global I had previously and that shattered :/.

According to their website:
Use a ceramic honing rod or leather strop for the edge maintenance. Never use a coarse steel sharpening rod or diamond rod.
Do not use a wheel sharpener or sharpening tools. Always sharpen by hand on waterstones.
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I use a whetstone to sharpen my knifes so I'm all good. I should probably invest in a honing rod mind.
 
I need to get some knives as mine are totally rubbish and had to use sissors to cut food up the other day:D

I really have no knowledge of whats good and bad but noticed Aldi have a set of 5 i think x Global knifes for £199. Seems expensive to me for something in Aldi but made me think they must be good. Would i be better buying something like that or just a £20 set off ebay and throw them away when blunt? rinse and repeat.
 
Kimi said:
I really have no knowledge of whats good and bad but noticed Aldi have a set of 5 i think x Global knifes for £199. Seems expensive to me for something in Aldi but made me think they must be good. Would i be better buying something like that or just a £20 set off ebay and throw them away when blunt? rinse and repeat.
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Global knifes are good and would be significantly better than buying cheap ones and replacing them frequently.
My dad has a similar set of globals and they must be around 8 years old now. They are well looked after but also used every day.

Having said that, there might be something else around which is better value - particularly if you'll only ever use a couple of the knifes in the set. You might be better spending less money on 1 good knife.
 
FrenchTart said:
I'm considering something potentially blasphemous....

I only own fairly cheap knives and I have a Lansky sharpening kit which I use to take care of them. It works but they blunt again pretty quickly as they're presumably made out of cheese.

With that in mind I'm considering purchasing a cheap sharpener of the variety that essentially removes half the knife metal each time you use it. I'm guessing even with that I'll get another year or so out of these knives and then I can look into getting something a bit better (by that I mean, get better knives and go back to using my Lansky kit).

Any thoughts?
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What Lansky system do you use?

It's worth thinking about the angle and type of edge you're leaving on the knife - lesser steels (within reason) will lose an edge of a lesser angle more readily than the same steel with a greater angle. However, this depends on whether you're adding things like a microbevel.

Some very thinly-ground knives almost don't need an actual edge to cut - sure, you'll notice, but things like Robert Herder pairing knives are ground so ridiculously thin from the factory, that many won't notice the edge itself has been lost. This does mean that they will suffer a great deal if abused, but if treated well (i.e. for careful cuts and not slammed into a glass chopping board) they will last and last and last.

Your knives may just need a good reprofile, rather than simply adding/sharpening the existing edge, depending on the primary grind on the blade stock.
 
Hello guys,

I think it's time to get some decent knives. Will only need 2 I think, a chef's knife and a smaller for chopping celery or slicing tomatoes.

I've tried Global, not a fan, ideally I'd like something with a wooden handle (metal through), what do you guys recommend? Or shall I sake, what brands out there should I start looking at with that spec?

I'd say £100 to £120 for the pair?
 
I am just finishing a set of I.O Shen knives might be around your price. A main and smaller veg knife would be around that. I only started building up a set as I got 5 main knifes though a promotion at work and will post a picture soon.
 
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