Paring knife

[look 171]

I know some of us are big into cooking and know a thing or two about knifes. My wife has thrown out my old Henckles small knife replaced with ceramic garbage off Amazon. I need to buy another because that's the knife I use the most. There are so many out there and my thinking is they will all work and need sharpening on occasions. I like to not spend more then 40-50 bucks on one because she pry things with it. Is that enough for decent one? What brand? I like a plastic handle instead of wood. We throw the knives in the dishwasher. Those off Amazon looks so good but that's Amazon and I sure many are junk. Henckles are only 20 bucks ( fake?). Wusthoff is good but not 130 bucks good.

[Jeff Hail]

Check out Russell International. Great knives bordering higher commercial quality and very reasonable for the price.

High Carbon German Stainless Steel. The whole line of white plastic handles knives are awesome for the price. Will keep an edge like a wife on the rag. These were a surprise out of left field and I am very pleased with the knives I have purchased.

Then there is Cutco. Cant go wrong but will pay a bit more. These will last you a lifetime. The saying goes "they cut so good you wont even feel it, everyone gets cut with a Cutco at least once".

[Bill Douglas]

I was chatting with the Victorinox man and he asked me what I look for when buying a knife. I said I look for German writing on it. He laughed and said "Not a bad game plan."

Edit: And he gave me a free knife for talking with him

[p911dad]

Check out Messermeister knives, on their website. They have a line of very economical small kitchen knives (black plastic handles, super sharp blades for $8 - $13). They last forever, take abuse, dishwasher safe and stay sharp. We have several, and really use the bird beak knife a lot. Not pretty, but a good tool. They also have some really nice lines, but $$.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

My wife has thrown out my old Henckles small knife replaced with ceramic garbage off Amazon. I like to not spend more then 40-50 bucks on one because she pry things with it.

We throw the knives in the dishwasher.

I'm out. I got nothing.

I would never send a knife into that environment. Poor little fellas.

That ceramic is not going to be happy being used to pry things.

And on an unrelated note, the PP 10 image limit includes "smilies"

[Tobra]

Dude, you throw it in the dishwasher, what do you think is going to happen

My wife throws them in the dishwasher. I am the one that fills up, runs and empties the dishwasher.


She still broke the tip off my big chef's knife. How could that even happen, is the the prying thing? There is a screwdriver and a crappy butter knife closer to where you stand. WTF


Buy a set of knives with a block to keep them in, this will cost hundreds of dollars.

Wash the knife after you use it, and return it to the block.

Police the dishwasher and sink area routinely, and return stray knives to their home.

[LWJ]

I have a “Classic Wusthof” that is better than bottom end.

Not sure where I got it. Only had it a year or so. Wife likes it. Not super expensive.

[McLovin]

I have this, it makes, and keeps, even the cheapest knife very sharp.

[gtc]

Check out Mercer Culinary knives on Amazon. Made in Taiwan with supposedly German steel. They are pretty reasonably priced, and it looks like they offer some no-rivet handles that might survive the dishwasher ok.

I have a couple of them, and aside from the branding on the blade, I don't think I would be able to tell them apart from a Henckel or Wusthoff.

[shadowjack1]

Cutco: Lifetime warranty. IF she pries open a "thing" and breaks the tip off. Send it back.

[mjohnson]

Get thee to a restaurant supply shop or asian market.

There's a chance that last night's $x00 dinner was prepped with something < $20 from one of those two places.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I have this, it makes, and keeps, even the cheapest knife very sharp.

Yes - we have the same. A good machine for when you don't have the time/tools/ability to use a set of stones. It does however drive you to knives with bolsters that don't go to the cutting edge. The bolster interferes with getting that last 1/4" of blade sharp - important for a western boning knife or any short little things.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I have this, it makes, and keeps, even the cheapest knife very sharp.

I used to have one. It was great.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

Get thee to a restaurant supply shop or asian market.

There's a chance that last night's $x00 dinner was prepped with something < $20 from one of those two places.

I worked in bars that had full kitchens and made anything that you can imagine. The knives in the kitchen were horrible, not remotely sharp. I assume a place that is primarily a restaurant will be better, possibly with a service that keeps the knives sharp assuming the chefs/cooks don't have their own knives that they keep sharp themselves.

WHen I was tending bar is when I started carrying a pocket knife. I always knew that my pocket knife was sharp (used for slicing lemons and limes mostly).

[Tobra]

All the chefs had their own knives. Restaurant supply knives are about as good as you would expect.

[javadog]

I have paring knives from all of the usual sources. Wustoff, Henckels, CutCo, etc.

The one I use the most has the smallest, narrowest, pointy-est blade. I use it 10 or 20 times more often than the others. No idea which brand it is, probably Wustoff.

I would go for shape before brand.

[green 73]

I have the Henckels, been using it for forty or so years.
It feels comfortable and does what I want it to.
My cousin bought a set of the ceramic knives and they work but they do not have the feel of a Henckels knife.
Maybe not the best, but that is what I have.

[look 171]

thanks for the tip. I don't cook often, once every few weeks. I use a small knife for lots of things from fruits to cutting chicken or fish. Hate those stupid ceramic knifes. Finest quality or holding an edge for weeks isn't the most important, because I keep it sharp often, every couple of weeks it gets dragged through a sharpener for maintenance.

[Gogar]

I spent some time watching videos a few years back and Americas Test Kitchen decided that the Victorinox were the 'best' in the cheap, "i care but i don't care that much" category. I bought some and they are doing well but they require reasonable attention.

[Bill Douglas]

Each time I use a kitchen knife I give it one, or possibly two, strokes on a sharpening steel. They are always nice and sharp for the job. I don't ever go nuts at sharpening like Gordon Ramsey or need a stone or other tool.