I need some knives

I need to replace the selection of crap kitchen knives that we have. I have no idea what to buy.

What can I order right now?

What’s the difference between reasonably priced stuff and ridiculously expensive?

What should I store them in? They’re definitely not going back in the drawer.

How do I keep them razor sharp forever?

Thank you please.

I’d recommend Wusthof Classic.

You want something with a full tang handle, and for most people a stainless blade. Carbon steel does get sharper, but stainless is easier to look after.

I bought mine as a set of 5 plus steel. However if I was buying them again I’d buy them separately so that I could have bought a longer carving and bread knife, and probably a larger chefs knife.

Store them either in a decent knife block, or if you’ve got space on your wall then a magnetic wall rack.

Personally I think that a chef’s knife, carving knife, scalloped bread knife, filleting knife and paring knife are sufficient. It upsets me whenever, on Masterchef, I see them filleting with a chef’s knife. 😖

I use a wetstone and diamond hone to keep mine sharp. YMMV and there are some fancier rolling sharpeners that look interesting but spendy. Do not use anything that you have to drag the blade of the knife through. Little and often are the key.

Go to Nisbets (other catering stores available) and buy knives that you like the feel of.   Good knives don’t have to be expensive.  Beautiful knives are expensive.

To get the best possible advice on this and to get better answers to all your questions than you’ll get on here, get this

Knives that’ll last a lifetime are expensive.

TK Max

I will second Wusthof Classic, and also second buying them separately so you get the knives you want rather than having a block set with knives you never use.

https://www.japaneseknives.eu/c-2812040/stainless-steel/

Fill your boots.. I’d go for more a stainless steel like Aus8 or vg10 though for ease of maintenance..

I’ll third Wusthof Classic. A mate who’s a chef told me to buy Victorinox if I didn’t want to spend too much, or Wusthof if I was happy spending a bit more. Because I’m a middle class snob, I went to John Lewis and they had Wusthof.

They’re very sharp is ability the limits of my cooking ability at the moment. I keep them on a magnetic strip on the wall. I’ll be worthy of them one day. Maybe.

Yeah one thing I will say is the magnetic wall strips are good as you’re not dulling the edge by pulling it in and out of a knife block all the time.. Or heaven forbid, having it rattling around in a cutlery tray!

scalloped bread knife

completely pointless IMO. A normal chef’s knife is fine for slicing bread – if it can’t do it then you just haven’t sharpened it properly! Which is something you can’t do easily (or at all?) with a scalloped blade.

#changemymind 😂

Wusthof Classic are indeed nice.  I also have a Global but the Wusthof is great as well.  Second the magnetic wall strip and not putting it in the dishwasher

Robert Welch

Cook’s & Chef’s Knives

Would recommend them out of hand.  They’re beautifully designed with good ergonomics, and razor sharp.

Keep them keen with a steel and he’re I’d recommend a Chantry sharpener, which isn’t a sharpener, it’s a steel..

Great timing, the guardian had an article on this very topic from Ottolenghi last month:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/13/ask-ottolenghi-advice-buying-new-kitchen-knife

I got some Global ones as a gift and they are damn sharp – by the time you notice you’re through the veg, it’s already quite far into your finger…
I’d v much agree with the point above and made by OL that it’s probably better to buy the individual knives you want rather than get a set. And dishwashing being bad was something I hadn’t previously been aware of

Victorinox Fibrox knives – not posh, not expensive, sharp and hold an edge. And they use them in the canteen at work.

https://www.victorinox.com/en-GB/Products/Cutlery/Chef%27s-Knives/c/CUT_ChefKnives/

Google clements knives

https://www.clementknives.com/

Mate of mine.

As a working class snob I recommend Wustuf Classic,  years of trouble-free cutting and slicing.

I like Robert Welch, Marttiini and Porsche. Equally though, one of my most used knives is a Chinese cleaver that cost about a tenner from my local Asian supermarket.

Whatever you go for, getting them properly sharpened and then using a (diamond) steel little and often will transform your cooking prep.

It depends on your budget and level of interest. If you’ve got this far without being all that bothered then

Victorinox Fibrox knives

is probably the right answer. I don’t think you need more than a cook’s knife, a paring knife and a bread knife. A serrated utility knife can be handy but if you’ve got this far without one you don’t need a filleting knife.

If you do want something heavier in the hand but still at the affordable end of the spectrum then Mercer are good for the money. If you want to get spendy then most of the recommendations above are sound but I’d steer clear of Japanese, they’re a more acute grind and harder steel which is tricky to maintain for a beginner.

Equally though, one of my most used knives is a Chinese cleaver that cost about a tenner from my local Asian supermarket.

Yeah, these can be a real bargain!

if you’ve got this far without one you don’t need a filleting knife.

A fair point. If you don’t do any filleting then there’s not much point in having a filleting knife.

Get knives you like, get a sharpening steel and read/watch how to use it , and for storage the spaghetti type universal blocks are ace , never buy a block that restricts you to a set , rarely used knives on a magnet attract dirt in a kitchen

Most steels don’t sharpen knives, they just hone them. So if you have decent knives you need something else as well to sharpen them, which is usually a wetstone.

I asked the same thing on here around 4 years ago and was advised to go for  a set of Victorinox kitchen knives, which I did and crucially, I’ve kept in a knife block whilst not in use since.

They remain bastard sharp, like cut you to the bone sharp if your not giving it your full attention.

It was the Classic Kitchen set around £100.00

I’m not going to deny anyone who wants some whizzy knives, but unless they’re a very keen cook, or a professional, then a set from ProCook would be more than adequate. And not spendy. I’ve got two of their knives a Santoku and a Nakiri, full tang, Micarta handle slabs, one canvas the other wood; German stainless steel. Nicely balanced and finished, I don’t think I paid much more than £20, because they often have offers on.
Pretty sure they’ll outlast me by some margin, with a bit of care.

https://www.procook.co.uk

Pro cook are really over priced these days.

I bought some of thier Nihon knives and whilst ok are a bit flimsy. Japanese style but German steel.

Good value if you buy them for ten to fifteen quid a piece on special offers but they are currently selling 3 piece sets for £70 ish and they are not worth that price.

Don’t get me wrong.. They are decent knifes but no way are they worth what they charge unless they are in a clearance sale.

The ‘elite’ range they do are very good as they are a higher quality steel.. AUS8 I think.. But I think they are overpriced currently, IMO.

I need to replace the selection of crap kitchen knives that we have. I have no idea what to buy.

What can I order right now?

What’s the difference between reasonably priced stuff and ridiculously expensive?

What should I store them in? They’re definitely not going back in the drawer.

How do I keep them razor sharp forever?

Sharp forever ? just general care and learn the sharpening techniques, they’re not difficult really. Invest in fancy motor driven whirry diamond disc things, or chantry or whetshtoes or whatever. Whatever works best for you and there is no really right way.

But yeah, never store ina drawer. magnetic rack on the wall is the way to go.

Better quality knives use better quality of steel, might take a keener stronger more long lasting edge than the cheaper brands, but sometimes that means its not dishwasher safe, whereas cheap or fibrox handles can be easily sterilized in one. But some can and its nice to have something nice and personal, even if its not your trade or profession. It’s something you enjoy so what the hell

Can you order right now ?.

This is the internet. you can easily order a cooking knife, trumpet,hitman and even a tent at your leisure.

All the above suggestions.

Buy some reasonable ones but try out the shape or the angle of cutting to see if they suit your usage. i.e. some knives are good for rocking motion with their belly shape but some are just straight.

Currently I am trying out Shibazi S2911-B1 that I bought from Chinese supermarket in the toon for £12.50.  Quality is alright.

https://www.zwilling.com/uk/kitchen-knives

We bought 2 or 3 knives and have gradually added to them. The first ones we bought are now 24 years old and apart from the logo on the shaft of the knife, they are as good as when we bought them.

We use a steel and a whetstone – they are frighteningly sharp after that

We also have a Robert Welch carving knife which was a gift – beautiful balance and looks but the Henckels always get picked up first

I’d second Victorinox Fibrox knives if you just want a decent step up from supermarket type knives. Wusthof Classic are decent to, although I wouldn’t buy sets personally unless you really want all the styles in it. Up from there you’re really into Japanese knives territory but they generally need quite a bit more care (many don’t use stainless steel) and I’d avoid single bevel ones (they’re weird to chop with). Personally I buy IO Shen knives, Japanese steel with Western style handle (although they are chunky so I don’t think would be good if you have small hands).

As for caring for them, there’s been a few threads on here about sharpening which are worth reading (as is Reddit r/sharpening). My own experience is unless you’re willing to spend a lot of time on it then whetstone sharpening can be frustrating (especially as I don’t actually use my knives a whole lot and can go months between sharpening so never really gained the muscle memory). I switched to a Worksharp Pro Precision Adjust, it works well and requires minimal effort to learn how to use it. It’s expensive though (but I wouldn’t recommend the cheaper non-Pro version, it has a few issues that are resolved in the Pro version)

My (German) wifes brother is a chef over there and over the last 30 years he has given us knives from Zwilling. Westhof and others. Nice enough and obvious quality but the one knife my wife uses for just about everything and swears by (it apparently never looses its’ edge) is a professional butchers knife I bought 20 odd years ago. Now  it doesn’t look like a nice kitchen knife but if you want function over form that you can abuse day in day out and shapen on the corner of the patio then these knives are the dogs.

https://www.dick.de/messer/en/cutting/series/ergogrip

Just realised from their website that they also do normal kitchen knives so maybe worth a look there if you want something a bit more conventional.

I’m quite happy with the IKEA ranges of knives. Mostly have the Briljera and a couple each of Vorda and Vardagen knives too.

Hold an edge well, not badly weighted and easy to sharpen. My Brother also gets 365+ and Vardagen knives to use in the kitchens he runs (currently head chef over a handful of mid/high end venues). Good enough to use in a professional environment but cheap enough to not worry about if they get damaged.

Hiya,

I have a few of these and find them good and, good value. I do have a very expensive Damascus steel knife but to be honest I don’t see a major difference in the sharpness of the blade and keeping the edge.

https://taylors-eye-witness.co.uk/professional-series-5-piece-magnetic-bamboo-knife-block-set-5027.html

I would note important thing to consider and that is how you sharpen them I use a traditional whetstone to keep the edge and sharpen the knives I have about 3 times a year. Quite a useful guide here:

https://taylors-eye-witness.co.uk/knife-care

Hope it helps.

BR

Jerry

+1 for Nisbets

If you’re nearby their Bristol (avonmouth) site, the clearance section is great for a rummage

+1 for Nisbets

If you’re nearby their Bristol (avonmouth) site, the clearance section is great for a rummage

Heck I live in Portishead didn’t even know they were there 😉

JeZ

The answer to this question is Victorinox – used in professional kitchens the world over. They also do them with rosewood handles if you want something nicer looking. i have an old Victorinox Chefs knife which we’ve got razor sharp.

Victorinox:

Chef

Santoku

Parring

Bread

Job done.

Just looked at Welshfarmer’s German knife site

[Whether in the industry, in crafts or for home slaughter, ErgoGrip knives are…]

popular amongst your murderer customer cohort as well perhaps.?

We’ve had global knives for  20 years – fabulous. Sharpen with a minosharp

Stored in a knife block with the blade edge up so not to dull it.

Quite fancy trying some of the niwaki mainichi to add a couple of knives, which seem very keenly priced..

https://www.niwaki.com/mainichi-knife/#P00587-3

Nisbets are also on or close to Suffolk Street in Birmingham for the midlands folk.

Most knives will take a decent edge.
Just don’t let my partner wash it up as she just rams them into the drainer basket with all the other metal cutlery despite frequent pleas not to 🙄😭

Another vote for Victorinox.
I’ve recently added a Santoku, pairing and bread knife to my collection to replace some RichardsonSheffield ones that were a present from grandmother-in-law’s QVC habit 10 years ago. They are just simple, sharp and easy to sharpen with a whetstone.
Chef’s knife will be the next one to be replaced. And maybe a couple of the serrated tomato knives added as well.

As for storage, we have the JosephJoseph drawer rack. Possibly not the greatest as you’re technically storing them resing on the blade, but used carefully it protects them from damage. And it keeps them out of sight in the drawer as we have limited wall space.

EDIT: That image is off their website – I do not have a gopping yellow kitchen