Whats in your knife drawer??

[westexasmoker]

I know we've had several questions about what are the best knives to buy, but I was just curious what ya'll have in your knife drawer?  I started out like most everyone else with some made in china set that I think we probably got for a wedding present, and used these for years, until a friend of my mothers husband passed away and was given one of his knives, he had owned a butcher shop for years.  I'd been living in the dark ages this knife was amazing, held an edge like no other, let's just say at the point I was hooked on forged carbon steel and with a little time and of course ebay have assemblied a decent set (and of course always looking for more!)  From left to right, this is my go to knife for pretty much anything, not sure of the brand its stamped only 'Hammer Forged' 'Made in USA' 6.5 blade - The next one is the one that got me hooked Henckels 38-10 first time I sliced a brisket with it there was no turning back.  Next Henckels 6 in. cleaver in stainless (everybody needs a cleaver), Henckels 65-10 another great bisket slicer, Case XX 400-8, Case XX 6 in., case makes a very nice knife, Harold Leonard 10 in. and last but not least Sabatier bread knife these are my main tools!

So I guess its not 'Whats in your wallet?' but 'Whats in your knife drawer?'  You already know whats in my wood box!  ;D



C

[Oldman]

let's just say at the point I was hooked on forged carbon steel

Amen....

[mrmodine]

I hope that's just a bad picture...those knives look rusty in the photo.

I have been very happy with my knives.  I put together a full block of Cutco knives with the help of Ebay.  I have not been disappointed at all.  I've had them for 4 years now and recently sent them to Cutco for sharpening (FREE for life).  Had them back in a week looking good as new and they even replaced two of the steak knives with brand new ones.

Very nice quality knives in my opinion.

-CS

[La Quinta]

I have a friend in culinary school right now who has Cutco knives...and the chefs recommended them for home cooks. Thought that was interesting.

[westexasmoker]

Nope not rusty, they take on a very nice pantina with age.  They will rust in a heartbeat if you don't dry them well!

C

[car54]

My wife is like a sous chef in a high end grocery store and she has used many knives.

Here is a link to a type of knife  that she uses. The ability of a knife to be sharpened is very important. Some knives are very difficult to mantain a sharp cutting edge. The knives are beautiful because of the multiply layers of steel that are fused together.

https://www.newwestknifeworks.com/information/aboutphoenixknives

Brad

[Oldman]

Now this is the set of knives I wish I could afford.


Best German forged steel. Oh ya their only $1,799.95 LOL~~on sale!

[Smokin Soon]

I have another thread going on my knife situation, but I gotta ask if anybody here has any experiance with Sani-Safe Knives? A couple of starving San Francisco Culinary students told me these are the best bang for the buck on a tight budget. The prices are very good compared with Henkels and the rest.

[iceman]

I have another thread going on my knife situation, but I gotta ask if anybody here has any experiance with Sani-Safe Knives? A couple of starving San Francisco Culinary students told me these are the best bang for the buck on a tight budget. The prices are very good compared with Henkels and the rest.

I use the sani safe for fish and game processing. Easy to sharpen and reasonably priced. For the price they are okay. I really like my Forsner set though. I find my Hinckles and Wusthof a lot harder to sharpen.
This is my "Traveling" set I take with me.

[car54]

Iceman,

That is exactly whay my wife has found. A good knife holds it's cutting edge for as long as possible but can easily be resharpened.

Brad

[philmiller]

I use Forschner knives with the fibrex non-slip grips.  They can go in the dishwasher (no-one who ever values knives would do so) but sometimes another member of the family will use one of my knives and it will end up in the dishwasher.

These knives hold an edge like very few others, they are not very heavy so not tiring to use all day, if necessary.  They are quite reasonably priced for the quality.  I know of many commercial kitchens who use these knives.  The parent company is actually Victorinox

I have attended several professional chef's schools and have never used better knives.  The ones I use most are:  a 12" chef's knife and a paring knife and a steel.  I also have, but use much less often a cleaver, a 6" boning knife, a 7" filet knife and a 12" granton edge slicing knife, all by Forschner with Fibrex handles.

Incidently, I don't keep my knives in a drawer but use a maple knife block

I hope this helps.

Phil

[West Coast Kansan]

What is the favorite approach / tool for sharpening your knives  ???

[westexasmoker]

Just a normal old steel, nothin' fancy around here!

C

[philmiller]

I use the steel to condition and maintain already sharp blades.  Basically, I steel the blade each time I take the knife from the storage block.

To sharpen the knife I now usually use a Chef's Choice # 130 sharpener.  I also frequently use DMT Diamond whetstones, particularly if I am dressing out dings in the edge.  Sometimes I have to resort to the Carborundum oil stones to dress out really bad dings.

To quote one of my instructors in a Chef's school,  you want your knives "lightning sharp"

Hope this helps

Phil

[La Quinta]

I use a ceramic sharpener from Wustof.