[Closed] OT: Recommend me some chef knives

You need less than you think.

[url= http://www.globalknives.uk.com/ ]Global Knives[/url] are supposed to be good and expensive.

Golbal knives are excellent make sure you get the sharpening tool too.

[i]CaptJon - Member
You need less than you think.
[/i]

I have no idea how many I need hence the comment [i] I know less than **** all about.[/i]

i'd not bother with global personally, they're a pita to keep sharp due to the curved edge. I would save some money and get some of these victorinox knives:

[url= http://www.kitchenknivesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Fibrox_Handles_.html ]victorinox[/url]

go down to your local butchers and these are what they'll use. Nice handles, nicely weighted and very easy to keep sharp - and a hell of a lot cheaper than global.

Unless you're a professional chef, and have to chop all day every day, it makes less than eff all difference. You may as well get a bog standard kitchen knife, and spend the difference on decent ingredients.

[i]i'd not bother with global personally, they're a pita to keep sharp due to the curved edge.[/i]

Yes it's real pain putting the blade on the rollers and pushing back and forwards a few times.

Go to a good kitchen shop and try some out. Sounds odd, but they do all feel a little different. I went for Wusthof Classics in the end, as they're lovely, well made, well balanced, take a great edge and look "normal".

+1 for global

yup agree with nickc,

it's nice to have expensive knives,
but like most things not necessary,
especially if its for a home kitchen,

if he's using them professionally it would be a different answer and he would need to pick the knives himself, lots of different weights, grips etc.

just get a decent set something by judge sabatier is more than adequet,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Judge-Sabatier-Piece-Knife-Block/dp/B00009Y32X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

i would say the modestly keen home chef needs at least one decent, proper sharp knife - mainly for dealing with the cutting of raw meat and fish

cheaper knives are fine for veggies and stuff but I could do with something proper sharp (and easy to keep sharp) for that kind of stuff

One good knife will do 99% of what you need, in my humble...

If you like Global (easily the most comfortable and balanced, at least in my hand and the way I hold the knife), then I think one of two options would make you happy. The GS-5 Veg Knife is a actually a great all-rounder: [url] http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=C069 [/url]

...as is the 8" Cooks Knife [url] http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=C075 [/url]

The G series is the standard, the GS are a bit lighter (although still weighted). I use this steel:[url] http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=C237 [/url]

Don't forget a good wooden chopping board. I hate plastic personally, and find the wood the best for feel and blade life. My Globals need replacing now really (other than my brutal tomato knife, which I never use), but I've had them for over 12 years so I've had good value and a lot of use from them.

If you don't get on with Global, have a look at Wusthof Trident - lovely knives and more substantial in the hand if you prefer that...

[i]nickc - Member
Unless you're a professional chef, and have to chop all day every day, it [b]makes less than eff all difference[/b]. You may as well get a bog standard kitchen knife, and spend the difference on decent ingredients. [/i]

I think that's bollocks - and I'd ask if you've ever spent money on a decent knife. If you have, I don't understand how you can draw that conclusion.

I could cook everything that I cook now with a cheaper knife (but I'd then need a mandolin) I suppose, but I think a good knife and good basic, but quality stainless pans (Bourgeat are bombproof) make the whole thing a nicer experience.

I don't race professionally, but I still appreciate XT/XTR/Dura Ace, carbon/ti...

A decent knife is just nice to use.

I have a set of sabatiers - but be careful with them as they come in different qualities. Mine are the one piece forged ones.

The 8" is the one I use most.

I wanted a decent set and had a budget of £150 - I was STUNNED by how much you CAN spend. I agree with the comparison with bike kit - it is just nice to have good kit.

When I am cooking, I get my good knives out. If I am just whipping together a quick meal, I will get out a cheap knife which can be banged in the dishwasher. It makes it a sense of occasion.

I ended up with some Wustof knives BTW - and a year later have just got them nicely sharp to my liking using my steel (you can find that new knives go blunt quickly as you try to sharpen them as your action and angle of sharpening actually blunts them for a bit...)

Victorinox or Henkels. Spend the money saved over expensive jap knives on a course to learn some knife skills.

I have this set of Richardson Balance Knives [img] [/img]

I find the suit me fine, comfortable handles and easy to keep sharp (they also sell them in Macro in the catering area)

I would go and get a feel for a few as all of the aforementioned are good quality. If you go for the 'traditional' looking chefs knife then look out for a full tang - this is where the metal in the handle and blade are one piece of metal, not 2 peices joined in the middle.

The brands to look at are:

Gustaf
Wusthoff
Sabatier - as mentioned earlier avoid the cheaper ones found in Argos for example
Victorinox make very durable knives and are heavily used in volume catering
Richardson Balance
Global - although I find them a bit more form over function

You really need to get them in your hands and get a feel for them, any decent shop should be happy with that.

As a bare minimum I would recommend a paring knife, 8 or 10 inch chefs knife, carving knife, fish knife (if you cook a lot of fish), and a steel if you are confident or a good quality sharpening tool.

Nothing beats the sensation of sharpening on a proper steel - it makes you feel like the hunter in the house, ready to carve up the mammoth you just caught with your bare hands.

🙂

I broke my favourite knife ever a few months ago.

It was a carbon steel one (the sort that will go rusty) very thin blade.

I always prefer carbon steel. They lose their edge but are easy to sharpen again with a steel and the thin blade makes cutting carrots etc a treat.

I bought mine in a hardware shop in Dolgellau in about 1978 for £2.50 ish. Look out for old ones in charity shops.

Have a look in TK Maxx at their household section. I picked up a set of knives in there that had an RRP of £90 for only £20 and they're absolutely fantastic.

iamtheressurection, explain to me how an expensive kitchen knife makes any difference to the food on the plate at all. Not about how it feels, or what the "experience" is, just how it makes a difference to taste?

Pots and pans are different as it impacts how food cooks.

If you are going for a good carbon knife then I suggest looking at. They have all sorts.

[url= http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html ]Japanese Knife[/url]

Go for Gyuto type as that is very similar to western knife.

I bought this from them ... [img] [/img]

🙂

Does anyone else find that when you sharpen your knife the next time you use it you cut your finger?

I got these six months ago off Amazon, respected make and are as sharp as a don't know what.

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Henckels-Pollux-Piece-Knife-Block/dp/B002GB75HC/ref=sr_1_154?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1248175119&sr=1-154 ]knife clicky[/url]

[img] [/img]

go down to your local oriental supermarket and buy a large chinese style cleaver,and buy a untility high carbon steel knife shorter thin blade .This is all you need ,keep razor sharp and i use mine for everything,learn to use your knife,that i personally think make more difference than the knife used.
hope that helps
Bruce

I would avoid buying a big set of knoves. You won't use half of them.

Just get one or two good quality ones.

A 6 or 8" cooks knife is a good start.

I've got a [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wusthof-Classic-Cooks-Knife-15cm/dp/B00009ZK07/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1248177088&sr=8-12 ]Wusthof Classic[/url].

Things to look for: The blade extending through the handle and the solid shoulder where the handle meets the blade.

[img] [/img]

Nick C, I find that it's much easier to cut things, since the knife is sharper. Because I only have a limited time for cooking (OK, I'm often just starving!) it makes it much easier to dice stuff finely, which helps it to cook through more evenly.

For the O/P, I would highlight the fact that you only really need one knife. Sure, a rack of knives looks better, but for that you could get something great. I have one I O Shen chefs knife, which was about £50 (birthday present). It's loads better (sharper, holds an edge, finer balanced) than the £10 one I had before.

As bikerbruce says - I have a chinese cleaver as well and it is very good - takes and holds a superb edge - good enough to shave with

As above you can't go wrong with Solingen knives, Zwilling are the biggest but also the Wusthof are ok.

I use a carbon steel knife too. It's a sharper edge than St/St, easier to sharpen but blunts quicker too, and a lot cheaper!

At the end of the day, you'll find pretty much all knives are good, as long as they are sharp, and you can keep them sharp.

I would learn how to sharpen knives properly before buying any expensive knives.

Aldi was doing 100 and a 150mm ceramic kitchen knives very recently. I bought the smaller one for £6.99 and it's incredibly sharp. It seems to chop tomatos without actually touching them.

Ceramic coated knives, should keep the edge a lot longer, as long as the material under the ceramic is good quality. Typically get 10x the lifespan with ceramics, if not abused.

The knife i bougth, the blade was made of a cermaic material. When you hold it up to the light it's slightly translucent.

iamtheressurection, explain to me how an expensive kitchen knife makes any difference to the food on the plate at all

I love our globals.

The knife i bougth, the blade was made of a cermaic material. When you hold it up to the light it's slightly translucent.

[i]nickc - Member
iamtheressurection, explain to me how an expensive kitchen knife makes any difference to the food on the plate at all. Not about how it feels, or what the "experience" is, just how it makes a difference to taste? [/i]

When did I say it makes it taste different? I said: I could cook everything that I cook now with a cheaper knife...[but a knife helps]...make the whole thing a nicer experience. You said it makes eff all difference, although you didn't make it clear whether you meant in the prep or the taste so I assumed you meant the former.

For what it's worth though, I'd say I can slice shallot far finer with a good knife that a cheap one. If I'm making a risotto or a Thai salad then that makes a difference to the dish...

I'm off to the lakes this weekend for a week, with the missus. I'll pack a good cooks knife and board, plus a couple of pans because that's what I'm used to cooking with. I don't get much pleasure from preparing food with a shitty knife and a crap board, or using crappy pans. Make of that what you will: I'll re-iterate that to say using a good knife makes eff all difference is ludicrous.

But hey, we're allowed to disagree - and clearly do. No sweat.

Like others have said - Victorinox best 'pressed' knives you can get and great value for money (most other's recommended here are forged).

All you need is:

One 20cm Chef
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=C021

4 Tomato knives
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=C628

A shrapner
http://www.cooks-knives.co.uk/acatalog/MinoSharp_Sharpener_for_Global_Knives_Black_Red.html#aGRUN_2dSH_2d220_2dBR

Forget about using a steel for sharpening unless you really know what you are doing.

and a cheap cleaver from a chinese supermarket or tkmax.

I got these at Christmas:

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?SiteType=&productCode=S188

Excellent value and great quality. I'm not a profesional but do like to cook a fair bit. [i]More[/i] than enough for home use.

Although I was cooking for the sift at work tonight and someone put my chef's knife in the industrial dishwasher! 😯

Does anybody know the correct grip for a chef's knife?

I usually have my index finger along the top of the blade, but for some reason when I notice myself holding it like that, I suspect it's wrong and change my grip to all four fingers around the handle.

No idea what's correct but I use the knuckle of my first finger on the top of the back of the handle/blade joint to control and balance.

Something from Damascus Steel, just because it looks good.

[img] [/img]

[i]BigJohn - Member
Does anybody know the correct grip for a chef's knife?

I usually have my index finger along the top of the blade, but for some reason when I notice myself holding it like that, I suspect it's wrong and change my grip to all four fingers around the handle. [/i]

For me, I hold either side of the blade between the thumb and forefinger - I don't really hold the handle at all, it's there to push down on with the palm. Does that make sense I wonder?!

I'll give it a go Mr Stone Roses Fan.

Oooh - that's exactly the grip I use when I'm sharpening the knife on a steel (as I found out last night when sharpening my knife and I noticed!).

I have some great knives from Nippon Kitchen. A chef's knife and a Usuba in damascas steel and a small veg knife in "regular" steel. A water wheel sharpener keeps them sharp but a steel and diamond file are slightly better if a little tricky to use.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

SSP