Spec me a knife set - £100 budget

[Imy]

Hi all. I'm new to this part of the forum so thought I'd start with a little background of my cooking knowledge and experience.

I have none. With that over with, I'm after some new knives as I've been using a cheap set for years now which were pretty much blunt from day one. The final straw was having to use both hands and most of my body weight to slice a potato in half after deciding to have a go at making my own chips.

I cook maybe 4-6 meals a week. I need knives suitable for cutting the following foods:

• bread products (but not an entire loaf)
• chicken breast
• sirloin steak
• large potatoes
• other common vegetables
• removing damaged bits from an apple

So I'm guessing a heavy meat knife of some sort, a bread knife (but not the really long ones), a multi-purpose knife and a small knife for fruit which shouldn't be too sharp.

Budget is about £100 but can go up a bit if it's really worth it. I would also like the knives to come in a knife block and bonus if a sharpener is included. I don't mind buying the knife block and knives separately.

I appreciate any suggestions

 

[Imy]

Best thing to do is go out and hold the knives first. What feels too light to one person will be too heavy to another.

Pop down to a department or specialist household store and take it from there.

That might be a little overkill for my limited use/budget. So long as they are of a fairly standard design I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm more concerned with long term durability and how frequently they need to be sharpened. Both of which I'm hoping I can learn about from peoples' personal experiences on here.

I'm not sure I've even ever come across a store around here that has sharp knives out on display for customers to handle...

Storage is important as is a good sharpening steel too.

I've seen knife blocks on their own which can use up my entire budget and then some. I have seen some nice features though like magnets inside which keep the weight off the blade edge and/or built-in sharpners.

i have found a bread knife and a good chefs knife was all i needed

worth spending good money on buying one or two good knifes

That makes a lot of sense actually. If I go this route though I'd like to be fairly confident that other knives in the range will still be available later on should I wish to complete my own collection.

 

[Imy]

Hi, first of all thanks for all the replies.

One thing which I didn't mention earlier which I should have is that I would like a matching block set which means no mixing/matching of knife brands but don't mind spending the bulk of my budget on a block + 2 knives + sharpner and add additional knives at a later date. The block should also be black or silver in colour to match my kitchen.

There are no Streamer Trading stores near me unfortunately and the nearest John Lewis will cost me £12 to visit.


I think we need a starting point so here's what I've come up with so far. Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve my choices:

• Magnetic Knife Holder 47cm ~£8
• Minosharp Universal Water Sharpener ~£25
• Victorinox 22cm Chef's Knife ~£26
• Victorinox Pastry Knife ~£24
• Victorinox Paring Knife 8cm ~£6

Total: ~£89

 

[Imy]

I've read quite a lot of reviews now and yours is the first to have anything negative to say about the Victorinox range.

The Robert Welch Signature knives do look like higher quality but according to Which? magazine which uses a computer-controlled knife testing rig to test sharpness and durability, the Victorinox scored higher in the sharpness category (4 stars vs 3 stars) and higher overall (78% vs 70%). I don't think Which? reviews take price into account either.

I am still considering the Robert Welch Signature knives however as they do look a lot better and are almost twice the weight of the Victorinox. My hands aren't the steadiest so the extra weight might help there.

p.s. the block is available separately but costs in the region of £100 i.e. my entire budget.

 

[Imy]

What's a santoku? Are handheld sharpners like this one:

http://www.robertwelch.com/Products/Default.aspx?id=1091160&tid=104

better or worse than steels? The handheld units look easier to use but don't know if they're any good.

I'm gonna try to use a magnetic wall-mountable strip for knife storage as they should work and look well with any brand of knife and also save a lot of money. Most knife brands seem to offer only a limited choice of blocks and they are quite expensive.

 

[Imy]

A specific design of knife blade. Typically one with a flat edge and a handle that runs parallel with the top of the blade - you'll also see them with little 'scallops' on the edges of the blade if they are a Western-focused design.

They are used more for an up and down 'chopping' action rather than slicing.

Thanks for explaining. I think I'll avoid - I don't trust myself with "chopping" actions!

I have no issue with them, but some people hate them and some people eulogise about them.

Different strokes for different folks, but you just need to use the correct type of sharpener for the blades you have. Plenty of info in here on that.

I'll give the handheld type a go then if opinions are split as it looks easier to use.

The chefs knife is so sharp I can use it instead of a serrated bread knife to slice bread.

I've had them for coming up to a year now, and I think they're as good as the day I got them. People are always commenting on how sharp they are and how nice they are to use.

Personally, I'm loyal for life. Can't see how it could be possible to get something that does it job better for the price. As long as they keep making them, I'll keep buying them and recommending them.

Good to hear - thanks.

I've looked for as much information on them as I could gather and I'm not really seeing what makes them worth the extra. But as I alluded to in a previous post, the additional cost is probably partly down to the name, the ice-hardening process and the Fibrox handles.

From what I've read so far, they offer sharpness, durability and comfort which is comparable to premium brands but at a much lower cost. This next bit is pure speculation but I'm guessing the swiss knife heritage got the ball rolling and the good reviews and low price made them popular over cheaper and less known brands in the long term.

Well I've just ordered my knife rack: Stellar Magnetic Knife Rack - 500mm

At £25 it costs a fair bit more than the £8-£10 ones I was originally looking at but I'm hoping the extra size will come in useful for other metal utensils and I liked the design.

As for the knives, I'm torn between the great bang for buck Victorinox range and the quality look of the Robert Welch Signature range. I just need to add up the costs if I got all the knives I wanted from the RW range and see if I'm willing to spend the extra.

Thank you all for your replies so far.

 

[Imy]

I've used the victorinox knives for a few months in my first kitchen job and they are OK but for the price range I preferred the stellar sabatier chefs knife as the handle felt better. I wouldn't purchase a Véritable Sabatier again though, I had a bread knife and after dropping it once the riveted handle fell apart. If you can a Henkels 4 star is a fantastic knife, nice and heavy (good for large food stuffs like potatoes) and stays sharp.

As far as sharpening goes the ceramic sharpeners are OK but I find a diamond (which can be purchased for the same price) is gives better results.

I would purchase these:

Cooks Knife: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Cooks-Knives/CF832/ProductDetail.raction
Paring Knife: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox-Parer/C652/ProductDetail.raction
Diamond Steel: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox-Diamond-Steel/GD047/ProductDetail.raction

I'm really liking the look of the Henckels Four Star knives. They have a good weight to them, attractive design and from what I can tell from the pictures, a good handle design where the blade starts close to the index finger but is guarded. I could be wrong though as Which? only gave it 3 stars for comfort but that could be due to it's above average weight (208g).

There is currently a 3-piece starter set going on Amazon for £85 which includes a 20cm chefs knife, a 13cm utility Knife and a 10cm paring knife as well as a 2-piece promo set with a 20cm chefs knife and 20cm bread knife for £70. I wonder if the range is going to be discontinued soon.


I've taken a look at a number of knife ranges now including all the ones mentioned here and have taken the following out of the running as they are too expensive across their entire range meaning a low possibility of me ever expanding my collection:

• Global
• Wüsthof Classic
• Kai Shun

In addition, there are reports that the Global knives may snap where the blade meets the handle after a period of time; possibly due to metal fatigue and the Wüsthof Classic are potentially too heavy (225g for 20cm cook's knife).

 

[Imy]

I've got a Wüsthof Classic 20cm chef's knife and I love the weight.

Definitely not too heavy.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the cost stopping you from expanding your range; just expand it more slowly.

Quality>Quantity.

It's already been said, but go and try them out, don't order online (until you've held them). I had my heart set on a Global until I actually tried it in the shop and went for a Wüsthof instead.

I do agree with Quality > Quantity but I have to draw a line somewhere. I have to pick and choose carefully where and by how much I apply that philosophy amongst my interests as I am by no means a rich person. With those 3 knife ranges I mentioned the total cost of a reasonable collection of knives is more than I want to spend regardless of over how long a period I purchase the knives over given my level of interest in cooking (at the moment anyway).

Buying online vs trying out in shop is just a time/practicality/expense issue. I'm at work for most of the day and if I'm waiting on something to finish or am on a break I'll browse a little online.

Edit: I was tempted by the Wüsthof Classic though and it did come 2nd in Which?'s knife tests. If I see a decent price I will re-consider it.

 

[Imy]

snip

Yes your comparison was very helpful and reinforces what I've read about those ranges in this thread and in other reviews.

Both your links were the same but I presume they were to the nicer looking set. However it's the first time I've heard of that brand so they are a bit of an unknown quantity to me and I've been procrastinating for long enough now!

Loved it

Worked in a kitchen shop for 3 years, by far and away my favourite knifes were the RW ones. Just a fab package all round with them.

Thanks for your input. I think I've learnt as much as I'm going to without shopping around in person and trying out the various knife ranges for myself. Quite frankly I can't be bothered with that so it's decision time and based on yours and others' recommendations I've decided to go with the Robert Welch Signature knife range.

The RW range is what I'd called moderately priced but has a premium and stlyish look to it which became a more important criteria when I ordered a magnetic knife rack as it meant any knives I bought would be prominently displayed in my kitchen.

It was for the looks that I decided to go with the RW over the Victorinox range which seemed to be the "smarter" buy on my budget as they offered the best cut for buck and I could've bought a full set in one go.

I was also very tempted by the special offers available on the Henckels Four Star knife range at the moment but the knives not on offer were too expensive for me so thinking more long term I decided against them although they did look really good.

 

[Imy]

Already got one although it's slightly too big for my sink so a pain washing it!

Once I'd sorted the knives out I was gonna look at getting a couple smaller chopping boards, maybe with a stand.

I know that glass can be harsh on blades but thought plastic was ok although not as hygenic.

 

[Imy]

My knives finally arrived!

Left to right: 20cm cooks knife, 17cm santoku, 14cm tomato knife (serrated) and 8cm vegetable knife

I think I would've preferred the 18cm cooks knife but otherwise very happy with them. I also got the RW handheld sharpner.