Knife Thread

Holy moly, my wusthof ikon classics arrived today - from post 868.

Going from my Jamie Oliver brand jobbies (https://online-textil.com/set-of-5-knives-jamie-oliver/uni), these are serious weapons. They feel so solid and well made, it's hard to describe. The balance is fantastic, and something I never fully appreciated. When you hold the knife and release the top of your hand from it, with it essentially just resting on your fingers, it doesn't move an inch. By comparison the chef knife from my previous set would nose dive instantly.

The build quality feels faultless, I'm amazed something so simple can feel so premium. When I pick up the 20cm chef knife, I feel ready to walk into a gun fight.

I have yet to actually chop with the as wife made supper tonight, but can't wait to use them.

Inb4 wusthof shill

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Raikiri said:
They're both good knives. The Mercer I really don't like the bolster (the bit that bulges out near the handle). The Victorinox is very solid but the handle is a little cumbersome.

https://www.kitchenknives.co.uk/kni...f-silverpoint-23cm-cook-s-knife-wt1025144823/

This is going to be similar quality but the general profile, handle shape etc. look more comfortable for me and it's cheap.
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Maybe - at first glance I'm not too sure about the handle material.

I don't have a position on big bolsters, but another option is the Mercer Culinary Genesis 8-Inch Stainless Steel Short Bolster Forged Chef's Knife
 
Can anybody recommend a knife block set which includes slots for a sharpening steel, cleaver, boning knife, carving knife and meat fork.
I've been looking at the following Wurstof Classic set but it seems to be out of stock everywhere
https://www.kitchenknives.co.uk/kni...assic-12pc-knife-block-brown-ash-wt1090171203

I know the usual advice is to avoid sets and buy the knifes you need but we currently have 2 magnetic knife blocks with a selection of different knifes that the Wurstof set would replace with all of the knifes I regularly use. When we renovated our kitchen I put all the knifes in another room with the idea that any I didn't use in a month wouldn't make it back in the kitchen and so far most of them have come back so I do actually use most of them. I do a lot of different style cooking from more delicate stuff to BBQ and prepping my own meat so the cleaver and boning knifes are a must.

Would like to replace them with something of a higher quality and consolidate them all into one block as we don't have much drawer space and haven't got anywhere for a magnetic strip.

Would prefer Western style knifes over Japanese and stainless over carbon although the other half does quite like using a Santoku whilst my preference is a chiefs Knife. Happy with or without bolsters as my current knifes have a mix.

Budget ideally round the £5-600

Alternative is to just find an empty block with the slots I need and fill it with my current knifes and upgrade them over time but I'm struggling to find empty blocks with the spaces for the cleaver and enough slots for the other knifes.
 
flea.rider said:
does not say what it's made of .. get a ceramic whetstone .. had my 2 bout 20 yrs prob more .. 5-10 mins once a month or so .. keeps them sharp then a diamond steel 3-4 strokes before you use the knife ..
keeping the blade at a low angle to the steel .
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At BLADEMASTERS, our whetstone is formed using bonded abrasives that provides consistent grit gradient throughout the entire stone unlike a natural stone. When using a whetstone, the loose grit particles when mixed with the water form a slurry that sharpens the knife more effectively.
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I did a lot of research in whetstones then didn't buy anything, and promptly forgot everything I read about them :p I do have a good steel which I use most times I use the knife, but it's clear now it needs a proper sharpening.
 
I was delighted with my wusthof ikon classics, but with medium use there is a very obvious loss of sharpness.

I know knives are meant to be sharpened regularly, but I feel like even after 10 or so uses the difference was noticeable. I thought carbon steel knives were supposed to hold an edge better than stainless too.

Leads onto my next topic, might they hold the edge not as well - but be sharper to start with - because of a 15 degree angle? In fact I can't find anywhere what they are when they come out of the factory.

Am I worrying over nothing when I worry if I need to find a 15 degree sharpener, or should I be happy to use anything? We've got one of these which I used to good effect on our previous set of knives, but can't find anything regarding the angle on that.
 
dl8860 said:
I was delighted with my wusthof ikon classics, but with medium use there is a very obvious loss of sharpness.

I know knives are meant to be sharpened regularly, but I feel like even after 10 or so uses the difference was noticeable. I thought carbon steel knives were supposed to hold an edge better than stainless too.

Leads onto my next topic, might they hold the edge not as well - but be sharper to start with - because of a 15 degree angle? In fact I can't find anywhere what they are when they come out of the factory.

Am I worrying over nothing when I worry if I need to find a 15 degree sharpener, or should I be happy to use anything? We've got one of these which I used to good effect on our previous set of knives, but can't find anything regarding the angle on that.
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just get a diamond steel .. 2-3 strokes before use your golden .. :)
 
flea.rider said:
i preferer the thin ones .. but there all the same ... Diamond Steel 12 inch, Professional Sharpening Steel for Master Chef, Ideal for Kitchen Knife, Cooking Knife, Butchers and Japanese Knife, Hunter or Home Gourmet Blade Sharpening Stick: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
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I have a ceramic one but found it's hit & miss whether I get a good result. My fault of course - the trick is to hold it at the correct angle repeatedly which isn't that easy. Too steep it does nothing, too shallow and you roll the edge over. Recently I bought a Chinese knock-off of the WorkSharp which again requires some dexterity to hold the right angle but at least there is some kind of blade guide to help. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08F2Q8KHP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It comes with a set of bands although I bought extra. Not too difficult to get a razor edge on most any knife with a little practice.
 
ChrisLX200 said:
I have a ceramic one but found it's hit & miss whether I get a good result. My fault of course - the trick is to hold it at the correct angle repeatedly which isn't that easy. Too steep it does nothing, too shallow and you roll the edge over. Recently I bought a Chinese knock-off of the WorkSharp which again requires some dexterity to hold the right angle but at least there is some kind of blade guide to help. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08F2Q8KHP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It comes with a set of bands although I bought extra. Not too difficult to get a razor edge on most any knife with a little practice.
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lol that looks like it would chew thru blades :) .. all you need is a ceramic stone and a diamond steel .. stone once a month or so ..well i do mine every 2-3 and 3-4 swipes on a steel ..
i have knives that are 20 yrs old that can cut thru paper .. using a steel is easy keep your knife just off the steel with the edge touching ..
 
Pull through sharpener and a diamond steel for my knives, wusthof Ikon classics and some pro cook jobbies. Works well and takes but a minute.

And yes the the sharpener removes steel, but that's what sharpening does. Several years down the line and you wouldn't know that I've been butchering my knives.
 
I'm buying a new house and would like a nice set of knives for the kitchen.

I'm far from a pro chef so anything fancy is probably going to be wasted on me, but I do love the satisfaction of using a good knife, also I know they can last many years.

I was considering the Procook X50 pro range such as a 5 or 6 piece set with a block for £119 - £139

But would I be better buying 1 or 2 quality knives, then a few cheaper ones that are likely to be used less?

Someone linked this beauty earlier https://www.hocho-knife.com/fujitora-dp-3layered-vg10-chef-knife-gyuto-180mm/ very tempted but then I have no idea what else I will need.
 
So in a dumb moment put my robert welch carving knife in the sink last night. When I fished around for something to wash up, must have caught the blade, completely painless but pulled my hand out to a finger squirting blood :D

A few years old now and just run with a steel every few meals and its been one of the best investments.
 
Nick1881 said:
I'm buying a new house and would like a nice set of knives for the kitchen.

I'm far from a pro chef so anything fancy is probably going to be wasted on me, but I do love the satisfaction of using a good knife, also I know they can last many years.

I was considering the Procook X50 pro range such as a 5 or 6 piece set with a block for £119 - £139

But would I be better buying 1 or 2 quality knives, then a few cheaper ones that are likely to be used less?

Someone linked this beauty earlier https://www.hocho-knife.com/fujitora-dp-3layered-vg10-chef-knife-gyuto-180mm/ very tempted but then I have no idea what else I will need.
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I was in a similar boat looking at replacing an old set and ended up going latter option with 2 ikon classics. See my posts above. Don't regret it at all, though we do already have a separate paring, vegetable, carving and bread knife anyway...
 
Chef's knife, santoku knife and a paring knife I think is fine. Then a pull through sharpener and a diamond sharpening steel. My knives have stood up well to that approach.

You don't need to overthink it and no need to kit yourself out like a Japanese sword smith.
 
Nick1881 said:
I'm buying a new house and would like a nice set of knives for the kitchen.

I'm far from a pro chef so anything fancy is probably going to be wasted on me, but I do love the satisfaction of using a good knife, also I know they can last many years.

I was considering the Procook X50 pro range such as a 5 or 6 piece set with a block for £119 - £139

But would I be better buying 1 or 2 quality knives, then a few cheaper ones that are likely to be used less?

Someone linked this beauty earlier https://www.hocho-knife.com/fujitora-dp-3layered-vg10-chef-knife-gyuto-180mm/ very tempted but then I have no idea what else I will need.
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to be fair the pro cook are ok knives .. so the choice would be yours they do give a 50yr guarantee ..not many will even go half that .. and your getting more to play with .. :)
 
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