Knife Thread

Shadowness said:
I'm tempted to get one of these online, but I also really want to wait until I'm in London and visit one of the amazing looking stores there. Although I feel I may get carried away and spend way more than I intended!

Once you're spending more than £100 or so on a 21" chef's knife for example, what are you really getting more of?! I see the blue steel ones are mega $$$, and seem much more durable and hold their sharpness for much longer.
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Aesthetics mostly. Like most things there's diminishing returns. You can get Aogami blue for under £200 https://cuttingedgeknives.co.uk/products/sakai-takayuki-aogami-super-blue-gyuto-210mm.

You can get slightly better performance but for 99% of people it's not going to matter. Anything you spend over £200 will almost always be purely for the aesthetics or as an art piece (Hattori knives, for example). Or just because you appreciate the craftsmanship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LWXXz2pHI < Don't watch the whole video, it's very boring. But it gives you an idea of what a properly sharp, well made knife will do.
 
So a few months ago I bought some Whüstoff classics and I’m looking at whetsones as obviously sooner or later they’re going to dull.
It’s a bit of a minefield out there so does anyone have any recommendations grit-wise and brand? Presumably I’ll need more than just a 1000 (for example) so may be an 800 and a 2000 and maybe a 3 or 5k?
Trying to avoid amazon and ‘Bearmoo’ whatever the eff they are, but if that’s a good starting point then so be it.
 
thezappa said:
So a few months ago I bought some Whüstoff classics and I’m looking at whetsones as obviously sooner or later they’re going to dull.
It’s a bit of a minefield out there so does anyone have any recommendations grit-wise and brand? Presumably I’ll need more than just a 1000 (for example) so may be an 800 and a 2000 and maybe a 3 or 5k?
Trying to avoid amazon and ‘Bearmoo’ whatever the eff they are, but if that’s a good starting point then so be it.
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I've had my Ikon Classics for 3 years now and just use their diamond sharpener. Obviously not as sharp as they were out of the box, but still super sharp.
 
thezappa said:
So a few months ago I bought some Whüstoff classics and I’m looking at whetsones as obviously sooner or later they’re going to dull.
It’s a bit of a minefield out there so does anyone have any recommendations grit-wise and brand? Presumably I’ll need more than just a 1000 (for example) so may be an 800 and a 2000 and maybe a 3 or 5k?
Trying to avoid amazon and ‘Bearmoo’ whatever the eff they are, but if that’s a good starting point then so be it.
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I remember watching a knife channel and these 2 were the one I added to my Amazon basket.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001TPH9CM/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=A3VKHISRQNP9Z6&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000EBFWY4/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_10?smid=A3VKHISRQNP9Z6&psc=1
 
Hi knife friends. Lots of good advice in here but thought I'd ask a vegetable question. I cook 90% vegan, and when it's meat it's just steak. I need a new knife, the handles on my Stellar Sabatier's have all peeled off after being left in water. I was going to just get a Wustof classic chefs knife, but I'm wondering if a nakiri (or other specialised vegetable knife) would be a better purchase saying most of what I'm cooking is vegetables. Budget would be £100.

I must admit, I don't really like the look of a lot of the overly Japanese style. Seems a bit like someone with a set of Katana's on their fireplace would have. But if they are generally good knives, and that's just the way they are styled I will consider them.

Any thoughts?
 
Been in the market for some new knives for WAY too long, and given Christmas was all but cancelled this year I've just dropped £400 on 3 knives with Cutting Edge Knives. Seems like they should be shipped Wednesday but we'll see!

In the end went for Tsunehisa AUS10 Gyuto, Santoku and Nakiri. The Petty is out of stock but I've subscribed for updates, though estimate is 3-4 months. In no rush.

Given I'll be coming from 10+ year old bog standard ~£50 or whatever for a set of 5, never sharpened or looked after, I'm very excite!
 
Obligatory photos. Great service from Cutting Edge, arrived today via DPD... with 3 plasters :D.

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They pass the paper test with flying colours, and I just did a load of potatoes for a salad and it was like butter. Lovely to hold, took a bit of a punt with the wa handles having only ever used full-tang knives but they hold and balance beautifully.
 
Cleisthenes said:
You'll never find a knife you never have to sharpen, and putting knives in a dishwasher is a no no.

Other than that I don't have any recommendations!
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The Victorinox Fibrox and Swibo ranges can go in the dishwasher just fine, although long-term life may be reduced if bimetallic corrosion occurs. It's the benefit of their plastic handles vs traditional wood ones. They also have POM handles that they use for their forged ranges which can also go in a dishwasher, it's just their rosewood ones where you have to be careful (according to their brochure anyway, see pages 14-15).

Like I say my Richardson Gary Rhodes knife has not been sharpened since I bought it in 2000 and it's still razor sharp. Contrast that with the kitchencraft stuff which only started being used in 2010, no longer responds to a honing steel, definitely needs regular sharpening (as opposed to honing) and goes blunt at just the sight of an onion.
 
ChrisLX200 said:
Yes indeed :) Does everything I need in a knife. I would say if you are not competant at sharpening knives then learn using some cheap blades and a wetstone. You don't want to be learning using your prized Japanese hard steel blades :)
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How often have you sharpened it ? Not a problem with sharpening been practising on a cheapo knife the past year
 
Minusorange said:
How often have you sharpened it ? Not a problem with sharpening been practising on a cheapo knife the past year
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just once on a 2000 grit stone. That was because i accidentally ran it against a pyrex dish and figured it would benefit. I have a ceramic hone which I mainly use on cheaper (softer) blades but it doesn't seem to help with a hard blade. Maybe I'm using it wrong IDK..
 
there's still quite a lot of faff using whetstones, the soaking of them, and the waiting for them to dry before putting them away,
I would do the knives more regularly with a simpler system.
 
jpaul said:
there's still quite a lot of faff using whetstones, the soaking of them, and the waiting for them to dry before putting them away,
I would do the knives more regularly with a simpler system.
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I have a Catrahone (https://www.catra.org.uk/CATRAHONE_Diamond_Power_Knife_Sharpener_p/cu20.htm) for cheap blades and it does a respectable job on them, but I would not use it for my best blades. In the end those cheap (Victorinox) knives end up doing all the heavy work - like slicing up raw beef for my dogs - instead of my good blades simply because it's super quick to sharpen them :)
 
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