Knives

[LilSmoker]

Hi all, well lately some of us have been talking about knives, mainly salmon/ham slicing knives, but i just wondered what you all use in the way of knives. Like what brand?, cost?, are you happy with them? etc etc.

I have two sets of Sabatier knives, and one set is much better than the other, now there was quite a difference in the price, i thought this was because it had been such a long time between buying the first set, and my new/latest set that i bought a few months back. Anyway i did a bit of research, and heard a story that many years ago, the Sabatier brothers started making knives of fairly decent quality. Well as their business grew, they started getting their own individual ideas, and were frequently rowing arguing until eventually they split up as a business. Apparently they went their own ways, but continued making knives as two seperate companies. But one company produced much better knives than the other, and still does to this day.

Has anybody else heard this story, or a variation of it?, is this why my two sets of Sabatiers are of such different quality?
Would be interested if anybody knows anything of this, also any knive reviews etc.

Thanks guys...........LilSmoker

[Dalby Spook]

The best I have come across but unable to afford are the Japanese Kasumis. The are made damascus or samurai sword method i.e. repeatedly folded over and beaten. Properly honed you can shave with one no prob. Beautiful to behold but eyewateringly expensive.
Try 80 pounds for 6'' chefs knife.

[manxman]

But one company produced much better knives than the other, and still does to this day.

That may explain why the last set of Sabatier knives I bought we pretty poor IMHO!

I agree with DS about Japanese knives, unfortunately they are outside my price range!  >:(

http://www.decuisine.co.uk/cookshop/knives/haiku_knives.html?

[LilSmoker]

Thanks guys, the Japanese knives in the link are definately something else!, i shudder to think what a set of those would cost. Real craftsmanship.  ;)

[Habanero Smoker]

In September 2005 I went into a cutlery store to purchase some Forschner knives. They are made by the same company that makes Swiss knives. They are well made and are sold at a very reasonable cost. When I went into the store, they were having a demonstration on Ergo Chef knives. The inventor Ergo Chef's President Scott Staib, and Chef Andrew Selz were there. I end up buying the Pro-Series 7pc. Block Set at a discount, got a free 7" Pro-Series Santoku. Plus by going to that store I was entitled to another 10% discount so I got the 8 piece set for $199.00; thats including an 8.25% sales tax. I really love these knives. It's funny, I would have never purchased them if I didn't have the opportunity to try them first. They are well balanced and fit in your hand real nice. I have had no problems keeping them sharp.

http://www.ergochef.com/products.asp?cat=13

[LilSmoker]

Hi Habs, that's another great set of knives, obviously superior quality, anything made by Forschner i'm told is excellent quality.

Makes my Sabatiers look very inadequate, both sets i mean  :o ;D ;)

[headgames]

crap did not post my first response . here goes again .

I struggled for years being pissed off at good quality dull knives . now I am happy . this was my christmas present after a few friends of mine purchased them   http://www.accuratesharp.com/edge-pro.html and the cheapest place I found to buy the complete kit ........  also this link helps a lot about understanding how to get and maintain a good edge   http://www.caseyspm.com/Knives.html  you can have the best metal in the world and if its dull .  you wont cut butter   a few of my friends bought the pro model for 400.00  only difference is the main frame.  stones and abrasive papers are the same .   http://www.edgeproinc.com/images/apex_or_the_pro.htm   makes any cutting project a pleasure instead of a swearing contest between me and my knife  lol

p.s  Iam not selling just showing my meat loving friends a awsome product I enjoy  ;D

[Gizmo]

LilSmoker,
The best advice I can give you is to go to a cooking store where they have lots of different brands and pick up the knives in your hand.  As Habanerno pointed out, trying them and holding them are key to fitting your hand and being comfortable.  Wusthof (German), Global (Japanese), and Furi (Autstralian, uses German and Japanese steel), are some other good quality knives but also have different models, with varying quality.  Typically, depending on what country the knives are made in, the characteristics of the steel (composit of material) are different.  Japanese steel is made softer which means they can be sharper, sharpen easier, but don't hold the edge as long.  Other countries have harder steel, which can take more to sharpen but hold the edge longer.  The angle of the edge is also different.  Japanese typically uses 15 degrees and most of the rest use 20 degrees.  The Globals are some of the lightest I have personnaly held.  The Furi has gotten popular from the TV Nework show and Rachel Ray.  I would like to check them out the next time I am in a store.  I have the Wusthof Grand Prix and they have worked very well for me.  Here is a link for the Furi, http://www.furitechnics.com.au/.  I bought the knife sharpner and it is very easy to use.  One of the attachments will actually bring new life into abused blades.  You can actually see it strip off very fine slivers of steel.  You only use it if absolutely necessary.  I broke a tip off of one of my older paring knives (Spyderco) and after reshaping the tip on a firestone, the reshaping steel put a perfect 20 deg angle on the blade.  I then used the coarse fingers followed by the finish fingers and it was back in business.

[Habanero Smoker]

I should have mentioned earlier, that I haven't had a need to sharpen my knives since I bought them. On the other hand my behavior changed real quick after buying that set of knives. After spending that amount of money, I have never misused a knife since. ;D

I only have had to use a sharpening steel to keep the edge straight. Often people think that they may have a dull knife when it is just a matter for realigning the edge. Though the store that I purchase my knives from stated I should have them sharpened yearly, I'm going on a year and a half with not problem.

[LilSmoker]

Thanks for the great posts and links guys, very informative and a good reference for the future, there's some real quality steel there for sure. I think you have a good point Gizmo, the knives have to feel right in your hand, being sharp is important, but other things are to be considered.

When i was a kid, i had a saturday job in a butchers shop, i worked all day saturday, and a few hours after school in the evenings, it was fascinating, i learned a lot about meat various cuts etc, which has served me well to this day. One of the things i'll never forget was the knives, we always had to take great care with them as they were as sharp as razors. At the time they had riveted hardwood handles, well i remember some new knives being delivered, and they had yellow plastic handles, as usual they were very sharp, but when the manager tried one out, he was not happy at all, "I don't like these" he said, when i asked why he said the handles were too light and made the knife unballanced, and it took him ages to get used to the feel of the "modern" knives. So yes they must feel comfortable indeed.

Also as we all know, there's nothing worse than trying to cut with a blunt knife ::)

Thanks a lot guys...........LilSmoker ;)

[PetersCreek]

I have a block full of J.A. Henckels Vier Sterne knives that I began piecing together in '95.  Not the fanciest, trendiest, or most expensive...but they've served me well and should for many years to come.  The latest edition is a 7" Santoku that's replaced the 6" chef's knife as my favorite.

[iceman]

The latest edition is a 7" Santoku that's replaced the 6" chef's knife as my favorite.

That too has become my favorite knife as of late. :)

[smokin stu]

I know a Cordon Bleu chef and I asked her what knives she uses and how she cares for them.  She has a magnet strip on the wall and a wooden block in a drawer to protect the blades when not in use.  The biggest tip she gave me is that even though she has very good knives, and sharpens them regularly, she brings them in to a store who professionally resharpen them every six months to a year. 

She recomends a cleaver, a large carving knife and two small pearing knives along with a bread knife, thats it.

I love her kitchen and when that lottery ticket fianlly comes in, I'm gonna order me the same kitchen.

[nodak]

A sharp jack knife works well on bull calves :D ;D :D