Knife Thread

[panthro]

If anyone is interested, JA Henckels has a new shop at Bicester village with some fantastic savings on all knives including their Japanese range. I'll be buying a full set next month as my wife gets a discount there

 

[LizardKing]

Got fed up of having to sharpen a cheep kitchen devil knife all the time so just bought myself a Wusthof Silverpoint 8inch, and tbh its probably to big for home use. Feels nice to use though but its clearly aimed at a more professional setting. Scares the wife mind (women )

Quite like the look of the Global GS-58A but not a fan of metal handles. If anyone has a well made Utility knife i'd appreciate it?

When i worked in Kitchens back in my youth these were some of the best knives i used, little workhorses, cheap enough to not worry about them and held there edge reasonable well for the abuse they got.
http://www.s-staniforth.co.uk/range/1/Samprene

 

[Dr House]

Is this a good starter set?
http://www.e4electricals.com/product.aspx?id=2568

seems like a good price

 

[Relentless81]

I bought the full set thats on offer at Tesco at the minute, a few questions please -

Whats the difference between a santoku knife and a normal cooks knife, it doesnt say on the first page?

How do I keep them sharp, I have a normal knife sharpener but not sure whats best for a decent knife set?

Also, whats the best way to dispose of old knives?

Thanks

 

[Glaucus]

Amazon recommends...

[
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kai-Shun-Santoku-Hand-Japan/dp/B00AQRLWZ4/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kh_7

They look amazing, reason they're so expensive is they're a limited edition. Only 200 ever made. they're premium range which looks similar are I'm the £120-200 region each.

 

[Dr House]

Also, Sakai Yusuke seem to have good reviews

 

[Jolteh]

I bought the full set thats on offer at Tesco at the minute, a few questions please -

Whats the difference between a santoku knife and a normal cooks knife, it doesnt say on the first page?

How do I keep them sharp, I have a normal knife sharpener but not sure whats best for a decent knife set?

Also, whats the best way to dispose of old knives?

Thanks

A santoku is basically the japanese version of a cooks knife. You can use them for basically the same jobs. You can google image the difference in appearance if you've not already seen them. Which you prefer basically comes down to preference. Santoku have a flatter knife edge which can make it easier to do some things, but harder to do others. Quite often santoku also have a 'scalloped edge', which is essentially vertical grooves in the blade which are designed to stop vegetables sticking to the side of the blade when you're chopping.

Keeping them sharp is up to you really. You should get a decent steel and hone the edge of the blade each time you use it and it should stay pretty good for six months or so. Be careful how to store and handle them - keep them out of drawers and sinks full of other kitchen pieces as a sharp blade notches easily. When they finally lose their edge properly you can sharpen them in a number of ways. The best is probably a whetstone, which you can buy cheaply off Amazon, but takes longer than other methods and has a degree of technique that you need to learn. Some people advocate taking them to a local butchers and asking them to sharpen them with their equipment for a small fee. Slightly more expensive (but still not too bad) is having them sent away for a mail order company to sharpen. You old good it granddad fashion with a angle grinder/dremmel or finally you can use the gadgety knife sharpeners - some are better than others but in generally they don't have a good reputation.

Most tips/recycling centres have knife disposal facilities.

 

[Jolteh]

Is this a good starter set?
http://www.e4electricals.com/product.aspx?id=2568

seems like a good price

They're a bad choice for starters imo (or at all). If what you're after is knives that will look good on your counter then go for it, but they'll go dull and become bad to use within a month or two like any knife unless properly cared for. Everyone buys expensive knife sets with best intentions, but if honing and sharpening isn't already habit then it's an expensive set to learn with.

When I got "into" cooking, I got a victorinox fibrox cook's knife and paring knife set for £20, based on reviews I'd seen and a recommendation from a friend who works in a kitchen. I keep them sharp as hell and I've never needed another knife. I've replaced the paring knife a few times because they cost about £3 and I'm too lazy to sharpen them, but the original cooks knife is still going strong after several years. The only other knife I've bought since was a serrated bread knife, but I never use it because my cook's knife is so sharp it does a better job of even cutting hard bread.

I've cooked at people's houses with pretty global sets on their counter that they got for their wedding or whatever and have long since gone dull. They look nice but they're useless to cook with.

Gotta remember that knives are just tools.

This is a good video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtAU51AEzho

(that whole channel is totes amazeballs actually)

 

[Relentless81]

A santoku is basically the japanese version of a cooks knife. You can use them for basically the same jobs. You can google image the difference in appearance if you've not already seen them. Which you prefer basically comes down to preference. Santoku have a flatter knife edge which can make it easier to do some things, but harder to do others. Quite often santoku also have a 'scalloped edge', which is essentially vertical grooves in the blade which are designed to stop vegetables sticking to the side of the blade when you're chopping.

Keeping them sharp is up to you really. You should get a decent steel and hone the edge of the blade each time you use it and it should stay pretty good for six months or so. Be careful how to store and handle them - keep them out of drawers and sinks full of other kitchen pieces as a sharp blade notches easily. When they finally lose their edge properly you can sharpen them in a number of ways. The best is probably a whetstone, which you can buy cheaply off Amazon, but takes longer than other methods and has a degree of technique that you need to learn. Some people advocate taking them to a local butchers and asking them to sharpen them with their equipment for a small fee. Slightly more expensive (but still not too bad) is having them sent away for a mail order company to sharpen. You old good it granddad fashion with a angle grinder/dremmel or finally you can use the gadgety knife sharpeners - some are better than others but in generally they don't have a good reputation.

Most tips/recycling centres have knife disposal facilities.

Brilliant thanks for the helpful post

 

[Dr House]

They're a bad choice for starters imo (or at all). If what you're after is knives that will look good on your counter then go for it, but they'll go dull and become bad to use within a month or two like any knife unless properly cared for. Everyone buys expensive knife sets with best intentions, but if honing and sharpening isn't already habit then it's an expensive set to learn with.

When I got "into" cooking, I got a victorinox fibrox cook's knife and paring knife set for £20, based on reviews I'd seen and a recommendation from a friend who works in a kitchen. I keep them sharp as hell and I've never needed another knife. I've replaced the paring knife a few times because they cost about £3 and I'm too lazy to sharpen them, but the original cooks knife is still going strong after several years. The only other knife I've bought since was a serrated bread knife, but I never use it because my cook's knife is so sharp it does a better job of even cutting hard bread.

I've cooked at people's houses with pretty global sets on their counter that they got for their wedding or whatever and have long since gone dull. They look nice but they're useless to cook with.

Gotta remember that knives are just tools.

This is a good video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtAU51AEzho

(that whole channel is totes amazeballs actually)

thanks, I do see your point but we are stocking a new kitchen and wanted to put nice stuff in it.

I went into a cook shop today and had a play with a few different knives and bought this in the end
http://www.wuesthof.com/international/products/Product-details/knife-set-9448

 

[Illgresi]

A santoku is basically the japanese version of a cooks knife. You can use them for basically the same jobs. You can google image the difference in appearance if you've not already seen them. Which you prefer basically comes down to preference. Santoku have a flatter knife edge which can make it easier to do some things, but harder to do others. Quite often santoku also have a 'scalloped edge', which is essentially vertical grooves in the blade which are designed to stop vegetables sticking to the side of the blade when you're chopping.

A Santoku is half way between a chef's knife and a cleaver. A Gyuto is the Japanese equivalent of a chefs knife.

 

[CHokKA]

Hey guys

I'm looking for a new Santoku knife to replace my broken Global. I'm really not impressed with it, somehow the middle of the blade developed a small chip, I sharpened it to sort it and it did, but now where the chip used to be the blade has actually split. So there was clearly a weakness in the blade. Global's warranty doesn't cover for chips and splits in the blade so I'm stuffed!

So anyway, I was really impressed with the Globals up until this point but now I think I need to look at something different. What are the recommendations for a good Japanese santoku? Or indeed other santoku?

 

[cheesyboy]

Hey guys

I'm looking for a new Santoku knife to replace my broken Global. I'm really not impressed with it, somehow the middle of the blade developed a small chip, I sharpened it to sort it and it did, but now where the chip used to be the blade has actually split. So there was clearly a weakness in the blade. Global's warranty doesn't cover for chips and splits in the blade so I'm stuffed!

So anyway, I was really impressed with the Globals up until this point but now I think I need to look at something different. What are the recommendations for a good Japanese santoku? Or indeed other santoku?

If you haven't already, it's probably worth getting it sent off to Global for warranty assessment anyway - nothing to lose. I had two which broke off at the handle (one was dropped, the other normal cutting (normal-ish: my wife was using)). Both turned out to have a manufacturing fault which caused a weakness, so were replaced.

I took mine in to House of Fraser, without my original receipt, and they handled the return to Global.

 

[SizEzE]

IMG_5716 by sma.ll, on Flickr

Worth doing so Global replaced mine. Although to this day I think they are overrated. Have a Look at http://www.japanesechefsknife.com for alternatives.

 

[FrenchTart]

That knife looks fine to me. I don't know what you're complaining about

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Bought some Richardson 'V' knives from tesco when they were on offer last week.

Link

Pleasantly surprised with thier feel and quality - my 'main' chefs knife is a Wusthof classic -and I think I prefer the feel of the Richardsons tbh.

 

[2013]

are Stellar Damask Knives any good for the price?

 

[Puzzled]

As a complete kitchen novice I'm hoping you guys can help me pick a knife set as a gift for the old man.

Been looking at these two:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richardson-...id=1402227195&sr=8-25&keywords=kitchen+knives


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richardson-...qid=1402226929&sr=8-5&keywords=kitchen+knives


Any preference on the two sets above or an alternative suggestion around the same price?

He's never had a nice knife set before so anything will be an upgrade but I would like some that will last. He also has big hands so a decent sized handle would be more comfortable.

Thanks

 

[opstrat]

personally i like the second set.

never liked the riveted handles. I use a Richardson Sheffield chefs knife at work. does the job with know dramas.

 

[Burnsy2023]

Out of those two, I too would get the second set.