Great advice, thanks
I'll head into town at the weekend and see if I can find somewhere to try them out.Tell me about knives.
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Great advice, thanks
I'll head into town at the weekend and see if I can find somewhere to try them out.
Soldato
then don't spend £100 on a knife.
try analon or victorinox knives, cheap cheerful pretty sharp stay relatively sharp. but again sharpening them little and often is the best way to keep a knife sharp.
Cookability in cardiff
Nesbitts in Avonmouth
are the two places i've used to get my knives. I used to work for nesbitts they ahev a massive range of knives in their shop. as do cookability.
but since i don't know where you live or the area you live in i can't recomend one you just have to go hunting pretty much every city has a cookware shop.
I'm always halfway between laughing and cringing when I read these threads and see the autoreply of "get a set of Global, Henckels, IO Shen etc".
If it takes you two minutes to dice an onion with a £3 cook's knife from Tesco, it'll still take you two minutes to dice an onion with a IO Shen Santoku, the only difference is that you'll be about £100 poorer.
Fancy knives don't make you a better cook, and they're probably not going to impress anyone visiting your kitchen.
I'd say two things:
1. Instead of plumping for the top of the range knives that are totally overkill for an amateur home cook, have a look around for mid-range knives with decent reviews (hint: victorinox fibrox) and keep them sharp.
2. As fancy as it looks to have a matching block full of different knives, be honest with yourself and come to terms with the fact that you probably only need a cook's knife and a large serrated knife for things like cutting bread if you're cooking at home.
If it takes you two minutes to dice an onion with a £3 cook's knife from Tesco, it'll still take you two minutes to dice an onion with a IO Shen Santoku, the only difference is that you'll be about £100 poorer.
Fancy knives don't make you a better cook, and they're probably not going to impress anyone visiting your kitchen.
I'd say two things:
1. Instead of plumping for the top of the range knives that are totally overkill for an amateur home cook, have a look around for mid-range knives with decent reviews (hint: victorinox fibrox) and keep them sharp.
2. As fancy as it looks to have a matching block full of different knives, be honest with yourself and come to terms with the fact that you probably only need a cook's knife and a large serrated knife for things like cutting bread if you're cooking at home.
Ahaha.
How much for one knife?
Let me show you the kind of knives that get used to cut the meat you buy and some find a need to use a really expensive blade on.
http://www.russums-shop.co.uk/knives-c44/giesser-knives-c58/giesser-knives-c59
Out the back when a steel isn't good enough anymore they get run through a diamond wheel/hone machine: http://www.chefschoice.com/page2d_sharp.html and yes you can shave with them if you're that way inclined.
A knife stays sharp depending on how much you use it, how much you abuse it for the wrong job and how often you sharpen it.
But that's commercial knives when all you need is a good durable knife that can hold a nice edge, cut well and not cost much to replace.
Enthusiast knives are another matter ^_^
How much for one knife?
Let me show you the kind of knives that get used to cut the meat you buy and some find a need to use a really expensive blade on.
http://www.russums-shop.co.uk/knives-c44/giesser-knives-c58/giesser-knives-c59
Out the back when a steel isn't good enough anymore they get run through a diamond wheel/hone machine: http://www.chefschoice.com/page2d_sharp.html and yes you can shave with them if you're that way inclined.
A knife stays sharp depending on how much you use it, how much you abuse it for the wrong job and how often you sharpen it.
But that's commercial knives when all you need is a good durable knife that can hold a nice edge, cut well and not cost much to replace.
Enthusiast knives are another matter ^_^
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Soldato
Tell me about knives.
They are sharp.
They are sharp.
We have a speed limit of 70mph on the UK's motorways and a SMART car has a top speed of 80. Does that mean we should all drive SMART cars? Does it make you cringe every time you read a thread in motors? Does it make you cringe when you see someone asking you to spec them a 60" LED in Home Cinema when clearly a 26" LCD would be fine?
Associate
My girlfriend got me one from here:http://www.japaneseknifecompany.com/HOME/tabid/36/Default.aspx
They have 3 shops in London. I've been to the one near Baker Street and they will let you try them out or do demonstrations. Don't think they have globals there but they do have a very large selection of extremely high quality knives, inc ceramics.
Caporegime
I've got a set of Wusthof 'Le Cordon Blue' knives. I like them because they have a ground down bolster unlike a classic cook's knife, as well as thinner blades in an attempt to appeal to the section of the market that prefers a more Japanese style of blade.
The absense of a bolster means there is no bolster to get in the way of a full cut. The thinner blade means it's slightly sharper and more precise than some, but on the other hand these two features also reduce the weight of the knife, so are not ideal if you want a heavy robust-feeling knife.
The absense of a bolster means there is no bolster to get in the way of a full cut. The thinner blade means it's slightly sharper and more precise than some, but on the other hand these two features also reduce the weight of the knife, so are not ideal if you want a heavy robust-feeling knife.
Soldato
i have a set of knives that were given as a present, Viners if i recall? they cost about £45. They are actually pretty good, decent feel and weight and really quite sharp when brand new. They came with a steel, but I'm not 100% sure on the correct way of using it? I run it down the edge at the same angle as the "slant" and away from the handle, is this correct?
Sounds stupid but you could obviously do more harm than good if you've got the technique wrong.
Sounds stupid but you could obviously do more harm than good if you've got the technique wrong.
I bet many people would laugh at how much you spent on your PC. Some people enjoy owning things others don't, if you find this surprising you need to get out more.
I have one of these; http://japan-blades.com/big-seller/2559.html however I only paid $65 for it.
Sharper and holds a better edge than my Victorinox knives (both of which are great for the money, £12-20 each).
As for chefs not using expensive knives at work... well duh, either they're provided for them or they won't want to ruin £100 knives by using them 8-10 hours a day.
Sharper and holds a better edge than my Victorinox knives (both of which are great for the money, £12-20 each).
As for chefs not using expensive knives at work... well duh, either they're provided for them or they won't want to ruin £100 knives by using them 8-10 hours a day.
What a load of rubbish, firstly you can't get cheap knifes razor sharp and you can't keep them sharp, this means you can't slice as thinly or with things like tomatoes you half squash before it starts cutting, it makes all your cooking so much easier, just like good pans.
I know a lot of people like to selectively quote as if the person being mis-quoted is a bigoted fool so I'm going to quote the rest that you deleted.
We clear?
Associate
I would have to agree with this, I am a Chef myself with over 30 years experience and as such have used many brands of knifes from the most expensive to the cheaper end of the market,
A knife like most things is down to personal choice, the weight , balance, and "feel" of the knife when you are using it.
I personally dont have one brand i work with, but remember one thing the better the steel used to make the knife, the better edge on the blade you will achieve and maintain.
The best idea as has been said before is to go and try as many as you can until you get the one that feels right for you.
and for you information i use Gustav Emil Ern at home.
Best of luck with your search.
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Soldato
Has anyone used knifes from ProCook before? I've got a couple at home, and they're ok -better than my old supermarket ones. But they don't stay sharp for very long and one of them the edge is chipped quite a bit.
Just wondering how they compare to some similar priced ones from other brands; Victorinox etc?
Just wondering how they compare to some similar priced ones from other brands; Victorinox etc?
Keep good knives away from housemates, unless they are the type of person who has respect for other people's things and treat them better than they would than their own. When I lived with rubbish housemates I found my G4 in the sink with other cutlery and with a couple dinks in the blade! I wasn't happy.
Associate
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- 8 Jan 2007
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I Just purchased some kyocera ceramic knifes really liking them at the mo.