http://www.best-mini-choppers.com/best-knives-sets-for-cooking/
Best Knife set for cooking?
I’m looking for a really good knife set. I plan on doing a lot of cooking and I don’t want anything cheap. Any suggestions hopefully from folks that actually cook for a living. I’m not concerned about price, only quality and longevity.
The best will be what you like the best.
As for the set itself, you’d save money and avoid unused knives if you make your own set.
3 knives that’d cover 99% of home cook cutting would be chef’s knife(8-12″), small paring knife(3-4″) and a serrated bread knife. You can add boning or slicer, depending on the type of meat you cook, or dedicated vegetable knife like Nakiri or Usuba if you are more into veggies.
Here, kitchen knives reviews sorted by type – http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/ktknv/type/index.shtml
Few more tips to keep in mind while shopping for your knives:
Ignore the most common knife myths and marketing BS.
Forged vs. stamped – As knife marketing tells us good kitchen knives have to be forged, and have full bolster and tang. NONE of that is true. E.g. Stamped Globals are much better performers than most of the forged mainstream kitchen knives.
I bought Forged and stamped versions of the same chef’s knife from Global, and I didn’t get anything but extra weight and spent more money on forged knife.
Full tang – Another BS, Katana swords and bowie knives are not full tang, yet they can cut through armor and leather, so I really doubt you need more strength than that in the kitchen.
Bolsters make sense only on narrow boning knives to protect your hand from slippage, but on other wider knives blade choil area does the job, bolster just makes sharpening a nightmare.
Another good way to spot junk knives is the use of generic terms instead of specific steel, e.g. “stainless steel”, surgical stainless, hardened superior stainless etc…
All the major western brands(Wusthof, Henckels, Messermeister, Sabatier, etc) use X50CrMoV15 or very similar to it steel and harden it around 54-56HRC and you will be very hard pressed to find any noticeable difference in cutting performance or edge holding.
Marketing terminology is different, mentions to high carbon steel, ice tampering (marketing term for cryogenic treatment) and few other obscure things, but in the end, it is the same steel, practically the same hardness, so what should matter for you is the design and how well it fits your needs.
For the record, entry level knives for all three is 420 class stainless steel and it is much worse performer than the good old X50CrMoV15,which isn’t the best knife steel either.
If you can take care of your knives and don’t mind maintaining them then Japanese knives cut a lot better, and stay sharper a lot longer. Thus, they will last you longer.
The only way Henckels or any other kitchen can last 30 years is if you never sharpen it. Otherwise in few years they’re gone.
There’s a lot more on choosing good kitchen knives here – http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/articles/kkchoser/index.shtml including western v. Japanse cutlery comparison,s, brand overviews, tons of kitchen knives reviews and more.
Lisa Brash Selling Antony Worrall Thompson Knife Set Bid TV
|
|
Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef’s Knife $24.95 Nothing is worse than going to cut with your cutlery, and having the handle slip around in your hand. To combat this potential for injury, Victorinox has created this Fibrox chef’s knife. The Fibrox® handle is textured and provides a firm grip, even when wet, and does not slip or slide around. It is comfortable and fits naturally to the shape of your hand, and provides an attractive and modern st… |
|
|
Totally Bamboo 20-7930 3-Piece Cutting Board Set $11.95 This 3-piece bamboo cutting board set includes three cutting boards. Boards measure 6 by 8 by 3/8-inch, 8-1/2 by 11 by 3/8-inch and 9-1/2 by 13 by 3/8-inch. Don’t be caught again without an extra cutting board. 3/8 of an inch thick means that these boards are maneuverable and easy to store. Made up of strong, bamboo. They’re also durable; they have a tri-ply, cross laminate construction with a sp… |
|
|
Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural $27.62 Many associate Ginsu knives with the product’s kitschy infomercial from the â70s that begins with a karate kick to a watermelon and proceeds with a demo of these knives cutting through just about anything in the house. Like the original product, Ginsu’s International Traditions is designed for the home cook who is not attuned to the maintenance required of a more high-end knife. H… |
|
|
AccuSharp 001 Knife Sharpener $5.33 This knife shapener sharpens any double edge blade whether serrated or plain, thick or thin and it will do it faster than youd believe possible. AccuSharp sharpeners are the best, easiest and fastest sharpeners around. The difference is in the specially formulated, precision ground and mounted tungsten carbide blades…. |