Recommend a decent set of knives?

J

Joe Nonety

Registered User
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I've seen a few reviews online, but I was wondering about people's first hand experiences.
Also, do the knives require sharpening?
 
Have these



for about 2 years and have proved to be excellent.
Haven't had to sharpen yet.
 
I find that if the blade is not serated it is fairly useless. The smooth ones do not seem to be able to get a grip on things like tomatoes and cheese. In our house all the serated ones get used up first and sometimes I have to fish one out of the dishwasher rather than use to smooth ones. I like Kitchen Devils.
 
The Tupperware knives are excellent (well, have to get my plug in first! :) )

A chef (German, in case it makes any difference) friend of mine once told me that F. Dick are the best knife manufacturer.

Be careful when buying knives as I've noticed a lot of knives advertised as genuine German Kochmesser. Kochmesser just means cook's knife so is pretty meaningless and there are some really bad knives out there marked Kochmesser.

The acid in tomatoes can blunt/damage knives very quickly. You should keep a separate knife for tomatoes and be prepared to need to sharpen and if necessary replace it more often than other knives.
 
Have a look at Cutco knives - lifetime guarantee - my family bought a set (from me I have to add - I sold them for a summer when I was a teenager) twenty years ago and they are still as sharp now as the day they were bought
 
We got a set of Newbridge kitchen knives for a wedding present - You need to keep them sharpened though. Once every 2-3 months is enough. Have found the straight edge knives to be the best myself. Don't like the serated edge at all!
 
Ned_ie said:
We got a set of Newbridge kitchen knives for a wedding present - You need to keep them sharpened though. Once every 2-3 months is enough. Have found the straight edge knives to be the best myself. Don't like the serated edge at all!
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Global knives (expensive Japanese brand) are pricy but brilliant. I have two, and also a ceramic sharpening steel, which I use every so often. Razor sharp, nicely balanced and lovely to use.

Never, ever put knives in the dishwasher. The detergents are very harsh and blunt the cutting edge very quickly.

cheers,
Diziet
 
I have anumber of "Prestige" knifes and find them excellent and they are not expensive. Stainless steel doesn't hold an edge for very long due to the low level of carbon in the steel. I like to use an combination oil stone to sharpen my knives and unless the knive has been abused I generally only need to use the fine grit stone. With skill and some WD40 you can get a razor sharp edge that'll cut any tomato- but using an oilstone properly is a skill that takes a little effort to acquire. I don't like using a chef's steel for sharpening blades.
 
Why don't you like using the chef's steel?
Aren't you supposed to use the stone for the major sharpening and the chef's steel for everyday, Carpenter?
Am not too up-to-speed on sharpening (as my knives will testify!) but my mother uses a gadget that belonged to my grandfather (a butcher) you run the knife through it . It has two metal discs on each side and apparently does the business.
 
I can hone a blunt edge back to sharpness pretty quickly on an oilstone- I think the chef's steel ruins the geometry of the knifes bevel- if you know what I mean! That said I know that chef's and butchers use a sharpening steel all the time but I regularly use (Norton) oilstones to sharpen my woodworking tools so I can sharpen and hone a kitchen knife very quickly without removing too much metal. I would only sharpen knives every 3 months or so.
 
Upstihaggity said:
Am not too up-to-speed on sharpening (as my knives will testify!) but my mother uses a gadget that belonged to my grandfather (a butcher) you run the knife through it . It has two metal discs on each side and apparently does the business.
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Tupperware sell one of them too :D
 
I'd second the reccomendation for Global knives, I have a vew and they are excellent and easily sharpened (occasionaly) with a ceramic wheel. You don't really need a whole set either, just a big cooks knife, a smaller vegtable knife and maybe a serated knife for tomatoes etc.
They are expensive but well worth it as they take the chore out of chopping.

Gnash
 
Upstihaggity said:
Ì take it that you're a fan of tupperware??!!!!;) Do you have a website ...?
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Definitely. Most people here know that I do the occasional party - I'm probably the least successful Tupperware Lady in Ireland but I do try every now and then! :)

There isn't a UK or Irish website with product details yet. You could see some of the products on the German (.de) or French (.fr) sites if you wanted. PM me if you'd like a brochure - new one came out a couple of weeks ago.
 
Hi all ,
I am a hard working chef :( and think global are the best knife around.
The best sharpener is a tool called "accusharp" ,It cost about 20 euro and I bought my one in Ballina Co Mayo so I'm sure they are available everywhere in catering shops
 
sueellen said:
Is it true also that leaving knives soaking in water doesn't do the blade any favours?
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I always thought the biggest danger to knives from soaking in water/ washing in dishwashers was:
(a) detergents/ boiling water can degrade some plastic handles over time
(b) risk of contact with other metal objects/ crockery which will dull the blade.

That said most washing up liquids contain salt which will oxidize metal with prolonged contact.
 
Carpenter said:
That said most washing up liquids contain salt which will oxidize metal with prolonged contact.
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Thanks for that Carpenter. Brother-in-law wasn't too wrong so.
 
Sabatier are really good and really reasonable. I thought sharpening them would be a pain but I got the stick yoke you use as a present and it's really easy and quite fun. I am definitely a good knife convert.
 
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