I bought 3 of these around 12/13 years ago. Been very happy with them…

http://www.nipponkitchen.com/acatalog/Tojiro_DP_Range.html

(I have the 21cm chef’s knife, the Usuba and the carving knife)

Any decent Sabatier, and look after it.

Im afraid, Al, that “Sabatier” is no measure of quality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier

I have “a” sabatier, and it’s ok, but not exceptional.

Sabatier is the maker’s mark used by several kitchen knife manufacturers—by itself it is not a registered brand name. The name Sabatier is considered to imply a high-quality knife produced by one of a number of manufacturers in the Thiers region of France using a fully forged process; the knives of some of these manufacturers are highly regarded. However, the name “Sabatier” came into use before intellectual property laws and is not protected; knives legally bearing the name range from high-quality knives made in France to cheap mass-produced products of poor quality from France and other countries

Amefa sell some great knives.

My favourite knife.

my go to every day knife.

Global here, not sure how they fail? Min have been fine for 10 plus years despite regularly going in the dishwasher 😯

Global here, not sure how they fail?

Common failure seems to be on the weld between handle and blade. To be honest I didn’t even realise they were welded when I first looked at them, assumed they were one piece

Blok Kniveslovely bunch near us – stonking blades

Victorinox fibrax here too. Very sharp, good value, easy to maintain. never go in the dishwasher, why would you? how hard is a knife to clean by hand?

andyfla: stonking knives, even more stonking prices. There’s a lovely bloke on this forum (forget his name, something like “smartskywalker”), does cracking knives for cracking prices. 🙂
(Though the Blok punk knife is stunning!)

If money were no object this chap would be on the shortlist –

Owen Bush

I’ve done a knife making course with him, and he has talent and knowledge well beyond his years.
He’s also Kate Bush’s nephew.

Henckels here.

Great knives, although Japanese are more in fashion than German style just now. Between the decent brands, a lot comes down to personal taste and handling.

@freeagent thanks again for the heads up to Tsuki/Eden, just been in to Nisbets and sadly they are very uncomfortable in my hand as the handle is too short and also blade too shallow so my knuckles hit the chopping board when chopping. Real shame as they otherwise looked lovely and Nisbets have some great deals on them at the moment.

@simondbarnes
I’m actually quite tempted by the Tojiro, having shopped around a little more I’ve found some pretty good prices, or alternatively they are dirt cheap in the US so might look to pick some up when I am over next month.

How do you find they have held up to very day use? I’m slightly concerned from what I’ve read that perhaps the harder steel of the Japanese knives might be less convenient for an every day set for home use, as they can be more prone to breaking but also more difficult to sharpen. I’ll admit that I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the time involved in getting into sharpening with stones on a regular basis and it seems that the harder metal on the Japanese knives can make this a particularly long process compared to softer steel of European knives.

I’m perhaps over thinking it and/or spending too much time looking at the really geeky end of the knife forums who are really fussy about such things.

Bought all mine (except bread knife) from JCK. Come direct from Japan in a couple of days.

Some very expensive stuff on there but even the cheaper stuff is still great.

Much prefer the feel of Jap knives to Euro knives but might just be because i’m so used to them now.

Bought one of these last year:

to replace my battered old Sabatier 20cm chefs knife. Blooming marvellous bit of kit, and the elevated handle makes it really easy to use without knuckling the chopping board. I even treated myself to a dual sided Japanese water stone and a honing paddle specifically for kitchen use.

https://www.millyskitchenstore.co.uk/WusthofKnivesClassicIKON17cmSantokuKnife-Product-20823.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAnb3DBRCX2ZnSnMyO9dIBEiQAOcXYH98oTETax2uEkuS0489v2xEhICb6qOdDlRO3XoQzf-QaAqcf8P8HAQ

get yourself a cheap vegetable knife and cleaver from your local chinese supermarket. The edge you can get on those is a thing of wonder and they cost you less than a tenner

[video]https://youtu.be/8PQiaurIiDM[/video]

This one.

tenacious_doug – Member
I’m actually quite tempted by the Tojiro, …

Tojiro is generally fine as I have their F-920 Chinese cleaver like this one. Screaming sharp and a pleasure to use. It is no.2 medium weight so might be heavy for some but very nicely made. I love it.

Bit of a hijack but what are people using to sharpen their knives? I’ve got a steel I use regularly but I could do with getting a stone or similar.

Are the pull through sharpeners terrible?

How do you find they have held up to very day use?

I’ve found them very easy to live with. They’re the only knives I’ve used since I got them and I do a fair amount of cooking. I don’t have a dishwasher so they’ve never been in one of those (just clean in soapy water) and have been kept sharp by using a ceramic sharpening wheel thingy.

mrjmt – Member

Bought all mine (except bread knife) from JCK. Come direct from Japan in a couple of days.

Some very expensive stuff on there but even the cheaper stuff is still great.

Much prefer the feel of Jap knives to Euro knives but might just be because i’m so used to them now.

Yes, JCK is very good. I bought all my Japanese knives from JCK. Order is very fast and arrived on time. Excellent service.

I used to deal with Koki who has been very good with all the services. I intend to order a Fujiwara deba from them in the near future.

Any decent Sabatier, and look after it.

I bought a Boots branded Sabatier set about 20 years ago and they’re still all going strong. Not very niche but they sharpen OK and cut things fine, so can’t complain…

everyone – Member
Bit of a hijack but what are people using to sharpen their knives? I’ve got a steel I use regularly but I could do with getting a stone or similar.

I use all of them …

For maintaining the edge quickly I use steel, diamond steel (only when necessary) and ceramic rod. I have some diamond coated stone/plate too.

Once a while I would use Shapton glass stones when needed with grid from 500, 800, 1000, 4000, 8000 then strop on leather. I also have King waterstone at 1000 grid.

The stone is then place on this when sharpening which you can buy from Axminster.

Are the pull through sharpeners terrible?

They are fine for quick edge maintenance but if you want very sharp knives then you need to train yourself to use waterstones …

Are you guys surgeons or what?

Bit of a hijack but what are people using to sharpen their knives? I’ve got a steel I use regularly but I could do with getting a stone or similar.

Are the pull through sharpeners terrible?

I found this a very good guide to sharpening;

I also got his book for Christmas and can highly recommend it if you are into cooking knife porn. Only £7 on amazon at the mo;

gofasterstripes – Member
Are you guys surgeons or what?

I love sharp knives me. 😛

Sharp knives are safer to use too.

Just received a Victorinox fibrox chef knife from Amazon based on the comments here. The tip of the knife isn’t a perfect point but it doesn’t look like its been chipped. Is that right?

damitamit – Member
Just received a Victorinox fibrox chef knife from Amazon based on the comments here. The tip of the knife isn’t a perfect point but it doesn’t look like its been chipped. Is that right?

You need to show picture.

Mine looks exactly like this but with all the logos. The tip very sharp.(UK number: 5.2063.20, US: 40520)

Not like this.

Thanks again for all the great advice here. Just ordered a combination of Victorinox paring knives and carver, and Tojiro chefs knife and Santoku.

Mines like the bottom one but a 52003.19.

I guess its ok then?

damitamit – Member

Mines like the bottom one but a 52003.19.

I guess its ok then?

If that is the original shape not damage then it is fine.

Unless the person/machine preparing the blade edge had a bad day when grinding the edge it is still fine, not perfect but fine.

Mind are all sharp like the first pic so I don’t know if they have changed the grind on the tip as I bought all mine about 4 years ago.

tenacious_doug – Member
Thanks again for all the great advice here. Just ordered a combination of Victorinox paring knives and carver, and Tojiro chefs knife and Santoku.

Which Tojiro did you buy?

Once you’ve got them this is quite a good watch if you have a Facebook account or want to create one with them. This particular course is free

https://www.craftsy.com/cooking/classes/complete-knife-skills/35338

Which Tojiro did you buy?

The 170mm Santoku DP
http://www.knivesforchefs.co.uk/tojiro-dp-santoku-knife–f-503-blade-170mm–67-handle-120mm-1977-p.asp

And 240mm Gyuto

http://www.knivesforchefs.co.uk/tojiro-dp-gyuto-knife–f-809-blade-240mm–94-handle-125mm-1981-p.asp

I’m aware they will do fairly similar jobs but my wife is not keen to use the bigger knife day to day and there’s no way we could get away with the 170mm as our biggest knife. Figured since the victorinox parers are only £4 I could afford to splash out a bit on the big ones.

I’ve had / used all sorts up to £150 Japanese jobs and for day to day use you can’t beat Victorinox – not too expensive, easy to handle and sharpen up nicely.

The fancy ones are all very nice but having spent time in a commercial kitchen, you’re better off learning how to handle a blade rather than worrying about what type of steel or label is on it – a bit like bikes really 🙂

Ive got a Vicorinox Fibrox Santoku knife which is great and only about £25. Also just treated myself to a Zelite Infinity Japanese steel santoku. Bit pricey but a lovely bit of kit!

Oh I’ve just figured out why you guys want such fancy knives, you eat meat. I don’t!

The fancy ones are all very nice but having spent time in a commercial kitchen, you’re better off learning how to handle a blade rather than worrying about what type of steel or label is on it – a bit like bikes really

+1.
Same goes for sharpening it – you’re better off with a £25 knife which is sharpened to perfection, than a £150 Japanese thing which you don’t know how to sharpen properly.

opinel intempora

Have a full set of Máxime Giraud Sabatiers, including some carbon steel ones. Nice but work keeping the edge on them.

Then had a set of globals which the ex now has. Probably better but buggers to sharpen.

So the knives I use mainly now are Ikea 365s, especially the santuko shaped one… 😳

More than happy to dishwash those…

tenacious_doug – Member
The 170mm Santoku DP
And 240mm Gyuto

Good choice with good Blade material (VG10 core).
The price is good too by comparison to other knives on that forum.
VG10 is very popular and good for edge maintenance.
I would choose the same knives too. 😛

I’m aware they will do fairly similar jobs but my wife is not keen to use the bigger knife day to day and there’s no way we could get away with the 170mm as our biggest knife. Figured since the victorinox parers are only £4 I could afford to splash out a bit on the big ones.

Your wife could also try Nakiri at 165mm or get some small Santoku at 140mm.