Knife Thread

glitch · 18 Jan 2017 at 18:22

glitch said:
ramdrive said:

Not wrong a fact, we get to try a lot of knifes in the restaurant and the head chef (2 stars) would not touch a German knife, he uses UX10's that he paid for...

Click to expand...

Who do you work for? Sat?

Any chance you might enlighten us further on this one?

2013 · 18 Jan 2017 at 19:08

has anyone on here used the wusthof ikon, Stellar Damask or does anyone have a better option?

also any recommendations on a budget range set?

2013 · 18 Jan 2017 at 22:51

Moses said:
I have a load of the Wusthof Classic Ikon range. They're great, but they're the only quality knives I've had so I can't compare them to other things. I guy I work with has a bunch of Globals but I prefer mine... not that I've used his much.

Thank's I was thinking of getting one for my set. originally I was looking at both the Ikon and Shun but the price is higher on the shun.
I just wanted some info on them, how sharp are they and how easy are they to maintain?

2013 · 18 Jan 2017 at 23:13

Moses said:
Ridiculously sharp. I've had no issues just honing them so far. Might crack out the whetstones soon but it's a commitment and I'm lazy . They've not let me down and I use them an awful lot.

How long have you had them?

My current knife range has been discontinued (I should have done some research) so I'm wanting to get something decent this time which has proven to be good.

2013 · 18 Jan 2017 at 23:43

Moses said:
Between six and nine months. Bought a couple and fairly rapidly added to the collection .

Thanks.
if you don't mind me asking, what price did you pay?

2013 · 19 Jan 2017 at 03:41

Moses said:
£97.50 for a 23cm chefs knife (but I got a knife roll included... one of these, https://uk.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-wusthof-knife-pouch.htm?gclid=CIOV7Of2zNECFUM8Gwodm_cFFA).

£196.22 (inc VAT) for a super slicer, filleting knife, and boning knife (£64.96 + VAT for the super slicer, £49.28 + VAT for each of the other two).

46.67€ + VAT for a paring knife.

£25.76 for a ceramic honing rod.

Thanks.

Talking about honing rod, I need a way to sharpen my old knifes, will the ceramic honing rod work or would I need to get a stone?

if stone what type and grit would I need?

I've used a stone some years ago but it was only a basic one from B&Q with no idea of what grit it was.

ramdrive · 19 Jan 2017 at 09:56

2013 said:
has anyone on here used the wusthof ikon, Stellar Damask or does anyone have a better option?

also any recommendations on a budget range set?

I would look to try any knife before you buy, do you have a local cook shop that has stock of the knives you are interested in?

If you must go European I can recommend K Sabatier over the knives you mention above:-

http://www.sabatier-shop.com/kitchen-knives_129_authentique-1834-limited_.html

ramdrive · 19 Jan 2017 at 10:10

2013 said:
Can anyone recommend a good but cheap family knife set that everyone can use ?

have good knives for my own use.

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox...-Knife-with-Wallet/F221/ProductDetail.raction

or

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Dick-Pro-D...riusFeaturedProducts-_-productRecsTop-_-GH738

Just add a Victorinox bread knife and you are done on a good basic set...

Pho · 19 Jan 2017 at 12:58

Moses said:
£97.50 for a 23cm chefs knife (but I got a knife roll included... one of these, https://uk.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-wusthof-knife-pouch.htm?gclid=CIOV7Of2zNECFUM8Gwodm_cFFA).

£196.22 (inc VAT) for a super slicer, filleting knife, and boning knife (£64.96 + VAT for the super slicer, £49.28 + VAT for each of the other two).

46.67€ + VAT for a paring knife.

£25.76 for a ceramic honing rod.

2013 said:
Thanks.

Talking about honing rod, I need a way to sharpen my old knifes, will the ceramic honing rod work or would I need to get a stone?

if stone what type and grit would I need?

I've used a stone some years ago but it was only a basic one from B&Q with no idea of what grit it was.

Protip with Knives and tools, you can order from their German or Netherlands sites, just change uk to nl or de in the URL:

https://nl.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-wusthof-knife-pouch.htm?gclid=CIOV7Of2zNECFUM8Gwodm_cFFA

https://de.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-wusthof-knife-pouch.htm?gclid=CIOV7Of2zNECFUM8Gwodm_cFFA

That pouch is currently £13 cheaper on the NL site. As it's part of the EU there's no VAT or anything. Just use Chrome and translate the page, using the English site as reference if you need to.

I ordered a ceramic steel and sharpening stone from them via the NL link yet they shipped them from their German warehouse according to the tracking - it arrived in a couple of days

.

joeyjojo · 19 Jan 2017 at 18:54

ramdrive said:
Do you mean Japanese?

Nope, Chinese. They look like cleavers so people usually call them that but they're nothing like our cleavers which are for meat/bones.

There's a bit on wikipedia about them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife#Chinese_chef.27s_knife

I've got a santoku I like very much but curious about the Chinese equivalent.

Thanks for the recommendations for regular chef's knives though, will have a look anyway!

2013 · 19 Jan 2017 at 19:16

I would look to try any knife before you buy, do you have a local cook shop that has stock of the knives you are interested in?

If you must go European I can recommend K Sabatier over the knives you mention above:-

http://www.sabatier-shop.com/kitchen...-limited_.html

Nothing nearby I would need to travel to the next town.

Depends what the family knives will be used for. Most people who buy a set like that/one of those knife blocks with one of everything and some steak knives at the bottom never use a the boning or filleting knives for anything other than cutting cheese. For most people, going for a chef knife/paring knife/serrated knife combo would be better... those three cover everything most home cooks would ever need.

You hit the nail on the head, the last set i got neatly all of them had the tip ben to or broke by getting used as screwdriver, scraper and can opener, that's why I'm not looking to spend a lot on family use knife's, I think ill do this and get the 3 main knife and add any more when needed,

Moses said:
Depends how screwed they are. If they're screwed, you'd have to start at like 400/600 grit, then up to 1000, then if you want to up to 3000... then you can go even higher.

They are not screwed, just blunt or need sharpening, I assume I would need a 1000 and 3000 whetstone. what about the rod would i or should I also get one of them ??

Protip with Knives and tools, you can order from their German or Netherlands sites, just change uk to nl or de in the URL:

https://nl.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/...FUM8Gwodm_cFFA

https://de.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/...FUM8Gwodm_cFFA

That pouch is currently £13 cheaper on the NL site. As it's part of the EU there's no VAT or anything. Just use Chrome and translate the page, using the English site as reference if you need to.

I ordered a ceramic steel and sharpening stone from them via the NL link yet they shipped them from their German warehouse according to the tracking - it arrived in a couple of days .

Thanks for the advise ill be doing the same.

ramdrive · 19 Jan 2017 at 20:28

joeyjojo said:
Nope, Chinese. They look like cleavers so people usually call them that but they're nothing like our cleavers which are for meat/bones.

There's a bit on wikipedia about them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife#Chinese_chef.27s_knife

I've got a santoku I like very much but curious about the Chinese equivalent.

Thanks for the recommendations for regular chef's knives though, will have a look anyway!

Ahh, a few here might be of interest:-

http://japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html#ChineseCleaver

jpaul · 19 Jan 2017 at 21:01

joeyjojo said:
Nope, Chinese. They look like cleavers so people usually call them that but they're nothing like our cleavers which are for meat/bones.

There's a bit on wikipedia about them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife#Chinese_chef.27s_knife

I've got a santoku I like very much but curious about the Chinese equivalent.

Thanks for the recommendations for regular chef's knives though, will have a look anyway!

you can get the real deal

High quality steel handmade slicing knife duck leather household Beijing duck / Professional Chef Knife Chinese style cutter
have been tracking a number of blades on here, you can get Japan vg10 too
The additional depth of the blade and flatness look interesting compared to Santoku (zwilling) I currently use.

.... Have never bought a honer myself seems to me you could quickly do damage(wrong angle/wear it down) versus a steel or waterstones I use ?

2013 · 19 Jan 2017 at 21:05

Moses said:
Honing rods and whetstones are for different things. You'll want both if you're intending to maintain your knives yourself.

Thanks, what type of rod would you recommend, ceramic, steel, diamond?

also are they different quality or are they the same example ceramic do they all come in one spec to should I be looking for a spec or model?

jpaul · 19 Jan 2017 at 22:08

Here is a contradictory article

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/how-to-choose-knife-honing-steel.html

personally would only use a steel steel, not ceramic or diamond which sharpen !!!

and had bought
Wusthof Hanging Sharpening Steel with Black Base, 26 cm

joeyjojo · 20 Jan 2017 at 19:44

jpaul said:
you can get the real deal

High quality steel handmade slicing knife duck leather household Beijing duck / Professional Chef Knife Chinese style cutter
have been tracking a number of blades on here, you can get Japan vg10 too
The additional depth of the blade and flatness look interesting compared to Santoku (zwilling) I currently use.

Cool. This seems to be the english site of the same one:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hig...nal-Chef-Knife-Chinese-style/32345275418.html

I've always thought aliexpress looks like a bit of a minefield, how do you know what you're getting is going to be good quality? For £30 it's not the end of the world but I'd be annoyed if it were to arrive and be tat.

2013 · 22 Jan 2017 at 20:46

Moses said:
I went with a wusthof ceramic one,

http://kitchenknifeguru.com/honesandsteels/whats-a-honing-steel/#tab-3

Thank, also what grit stone would i need?

jpaul · 22 Jan 2017 at 21:13

I had purchased this stone from De https://www.fine-tools.com/kombischleifstein.html

313264 Japanese Combination Stone small Grit 1000/3000 Size 175 x 55 x 25 mm NANIWA HOME STONE
NANIWA Combination Stone small
Economical Stone Series
Grain size: 1000/3000
for sharpening and honing. This is an ideal beginner's stone.
Size: 175 mm x 55 mm x 25 mm

2013 · 22 Jan 2017 at 21:44

jpaul said:
I had purchased this stone from De https://www.fine-tools.com/kombischleifstein.html

313264 Japanese Combination Stone small Grit 1000/3000 Size 175 x 55 x 25 mm NANIWA HOME STONE
NANIWA Combination Stone small
Economical Stone Series
Grain size: 1000/3000
for sharpening and honing. This is an ideal beginner's stone.
Size: 175 mm x 55 mm x 25 mm

Thanks,
How long does the delivery take ?
How do these compared to the cheap ones on ebay/amazon?
Also would I be better off with a normal stone like this and learn how to use it correctly or getting Sharpener System like the Lansky.

jpaul · 22 Jan 2017 at 22:32

Delivery was maybe 10 days (albeit 2 years back)
A lot of ebay ones are not natural waterstone, but synthetic whetstone/corundum, so I believe maybe a lot more agressive with non-uniform grain,
you also need to check that ebay ones are a decent size.
I had followed a guide like this
Lansky seemed expensive and potentially agressive, and I thought I could hold it at right angle.
I have not broken a stone but I think waterstones are fragile, and you have to let them dry out naturally, after use.