Have we talked kitchen knife sets?

[Vipergrün]

During this Covid fiasco I've been doing more cooking and invested in a nice set of 5-ply stainless cookware. Wow, what a difference in cooking, a whole different experience than non-sticks.

Anyway, I find myself constantly sharpening the easily dulled blades of my low-end knive set. My favorites are the paring knives and Santoku-style knife.

I've been thinking about upgrading and looked at the Zwilling/Henckels in the 400-600 range.

What are you all using? I'd like a set with a little room to add specialty knives down the road. I'd love to get a nice Japanese filet knife.

Thoughts?

[vash]

i dont do knife sets. super annoying to me when you get knives that look just like a chef's knife,but shorter and called a "sandwich-knife" sure.

i have a Wustof chef's knife. two of them. a 10" i use and a 6" my wife loves. i find them way superior to the Henckles i use to have. (i still have a paring knife from Henckles)

Wustof has one line of knives with respect to steel. there might be different handles or whatnot, but only one steel. you wont find Wustof at any discount stores because they don't have that line.

just my 2 cents.

[Cajundaddy]

I really only need 2 quality kitchen knives. A 3.5" Paring knife and a classic 6" Chef's knife. About $200 all in for high carbon stainless from Germany.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CBFDFVS/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00CBFDFVS&pd_rd_w=WS6LS&pf_rd_p=a64be657-55f3-4b6a-91aa-17a31a8febb4&pd_rd_wg=Jx8LH&pf_rd_r=GAJTYVBA8G9JQ38Y5PVV&pd_rd_r=61efe06f-ff0d-4613-b746-a1b276a5cde2&smid=A17JMGFJQ7S29T&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyS1EzWkVKMDU0NU5LJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDI4MjUwM09WSVoxSTNQSjdXWiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzA4ODYwMkc1MkhWNDdYT1hISyZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2t SZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[rusnak]

I have a mixed bunch of knives, mostly Wusthof Gran Prix chef knives, and J.A. Henckels "Pro S". I find that the Pro-S 5" utility knife is my favorite and most used. I also love my "Martin Yan" Chinese cleaver. I bought it from him when he came to town and did a cooking demonstration at the local fair, haha !! Loved that guy, such a showman.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by vash

i dont do knife sets. super annoying to me when you get knives that look just like a chef's knife,but shorter and called a "sandwich-knife" sure.

i have a Wustof chef's knife. two of them. a 10" i use and a 6" my wife loves. i find them way superior to the Henckles i use to have. (i still have a paring knife from Henckles)

Wustof has one line of knives with respect to steel. there might be different handles or whatnot, but only one steel. you wont find Wustof at any discount stores because they don't have that line.

just my 2 cents.

I agree. Of the department store german knives - wustof >> henkels. The steel's better and so is the workmanship. I like the deeper belly of the wustof, too. The henkels are too straight for my tastes.

And no to sets, too. You don't need all of that. 8-10" chefs and 6" utility of high quality then a few more as you figure out what you need. Nobody really needs a $100 bread knife or $70/ea steak knives. I have a (grown too big) ragtag collection of nice german, nicer japanese and <$20 chinese/food service blades.

Consider how you're going to sharpen these. Both of the above german knives usually have fat bolsters that extend below the handle to the cutting edge - interfering with sharpeners like the Chefs Choice electric ones. Some other makes have a "clean" end of the blade.

[vash]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I have a mixed bunch of knives, mostly Wusthof Gran Prix chef knives, and J.A. Henckels "Pro S". I find that the Pro-S 5" utility knife is my favorite and most used. I also love my "Martin Yan" Chinese cleaver. I bought it from him when he came to town and did a cooking demonstration at the local fair, haha !! Loved that guy, such a showman.

i dont know why it bothers me, but it bums me out that Martin Yan fakes his Chinese accent. dude had skills!! mad skills. it was enough.

[Otter74]

I've always cooked a lot but muddled through with mediocre knives for years out of inertia until my sweetie bought me a set of Wusthof knives a few months ago. I might have picked them a la carte rather than as a set but she executes like nobody's business and I can't complain. Apparently a Japanese knife is also on its way. I'm thrilled with the Wusthof knves. The chef's knife and the utility knife get the most use, unsurprisingly.

[Noah930]

We have Wustoff in our kitchen. Bought three sets to assemble into our kitchen knife collection. Really like them, though we're not gourmands or anything. I think as long as it's forged (not stamped) steel, you'll be pleased with most of the stuff in that price range. It'll be more durable, hold its edge longer, feel better in your hand, etc.

[badcar]

I have been using Shun product. Not as durable as the German goods as the sharpening angle is a bit more, but when kept sharp-amazing stuff. Many grades to look at. I have a knife from almost every style/series they make.

[edgemar]

I have Henckels, but for some reason I always tend to use this knife:

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Cutlery-Rosewood-8-Inch/dp/B0019WXJ5Q/ref=sr_1_19?dchild=1&keywords=victorinox%2Bknife&qid=1595619569&s=home-garden&sr=1-19&th=1

[Chocaholic]

Japanese. All the cool kids are using Mac. Thinner blade, harder steel, rarely need sharpening. Vs German that are heavier but softer steel. Typically.

[gtc]

I'm a big fan of the Shun Classic D-shaped handles. If i weren't already heavily invested in Henckels i would probably switch over to them.

[madcorgi]

These are the only three I ever use. Got a thing for Damascus blades.

[LWJ]

I have a thing for vintage carbon steel.

[vash]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

These are the only three I ever use. Got a thing for Damascus blades.

Damn nice!

[aigel]

Wusthof for sure. Had good luck with sets and just selling on CL what we don't need. It is cheaper than buying them one by one.

My go to for most my chopping:

[TimT]

Agree those knife kits prefab knife have a bunch of blade you might not ever use..

I think ATK and Serious Eats have done episodes on"required" Kitchen knives.. I forgot exactly what they came up with either three or four knives..

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/420-how-to-build-the-best-knife-set

https://www.seriouseats.com/2019/04/the-best-essential-knives.html

Having said that I'm a collector, knife geek... I have some really expensive Japanese sushi and santuko knives and have some cheap Dexter/Russel boning and filet knives, oh and a scimitar..

My go to day to day knives are Global, of which I've put together a nice collection


https://www.globalcutleryusa.com/

[mepstein]

My mom gave me a set of Henckels knives when I bought my first house at 21 years old. I'm now 54 and still have them. I'm sure there are better knives out there but these do the job. I sure wouldn't go cheaper,

[masraum]

I prefer Japanese style knives with narrow angle edges and harder (more brittle) steel. I also seem more likely to push cut vs rock, so I prefer a flatter belly.

I prefer to buy knives ad hoc vs a set. When we moved, we started buying Shun "classic" knives. They are very nice knives, but I'm sure, not the best. I was going to purchase ad hoc types and possibly brands, but the missus also has a requirement that things are attractive and look nice. The Shun were a nice compromise.

Shun Classic


Shun Premier (not sure that this is a higher quality than the classic other than just being better looking, and more expensive)


I'm also always attracted to the Bob Kramer knives for Zwillig when I see them.

https://www.cutleryandmore.com/bob-kramer-knives-by-zwilling

[masraum]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

These are the only three I ever use. Got a thing for Damascus blades.

I always want the Bob Kramers when I see them.

Is that middle knife a Miyabi or something like that?

The missus has a 3.5 or 4" paring. I want something in the 5-5.5" range