Kitchen Knives

[5String43]

It's past time for some serious upgrading at our house.

Our knife drawer contains a mix of Wusthof and Zwilling/Henckles knives. Had 'em all for probably 30 years. Sharpening them this morning to get ready for the day's festivities, I noticed that the paring knife is especially rough.

So I'm thinking of Japanese knives. Does the brain trust have a preference? Are they really that much better than the standard German/Swiss knives?

I'd like something that's readily available at Sur le Table or Williams Sonoma. I'll start with a 3.5-inch paring knife. As always, budget is important - just will not spring for a knife that costs $300; would like to balance quality with value. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[TimT]

I'm a big fan of Global knives, not silly expensive, but still high quality. Available at Williams-Sonoma, etc.

Global Knives




I think there was a epic multi paged thread about cutlery a few years ago

[tangerine911S]

I have a set of Shun knives, bought from Williams & Sonoma. They are wickedly sharp and are a pleasure to use. I think the German Wusthof/Henckles are more durable if you're rough on knives but the Shun's hold up very well and are extremely well made.

[mjohnson]

++ on Shun. They're not as awesome as the crazy Japanese blades but they're not as expensive either. For the good stuff: JapaneseChefsKnife.Com Top Page Japanese Knife,Japanese Kitchen Knife,Japanese Cutlery,Japanese Chef's Knives.Com


Wusthof > Henkels for durability. We have a mix and I've found that the Henkels corrode much more easily. We do abuse them in the dishwasher (the German ones only) though.

[jyl]

Traditionally, German knives have a less acute angle (a wider angle) at the cutting edge, a thicker blade, and use steel that is softer but tougher. They are made for heavy work and even some abuse. Your biggest Wusthof chef's knife is willing to crunch through chicken bones, chop through a hard squash, etc.

Traditionally, Japanese knives have a more acute angle (a narrower angle), a thinner blade, and steel that is harder but a bit more brittle. They are made for precision slicing, producing see-through thin cuts, smooth cutting of soft foods. Of course the Japanese have heavy duty knives too, some are called "deba", but those aren't usually seen in the Global and Shun collections.

If used for too-heavy or too-abusive work, the Shun or Global is more likely to be damaged, including having half-moons broken out of the edge, while the Wusthof is more likely to take the beating. So, keep a couple of the German heavyweights around.

Also, Japanese knives traditionally need to sharpened to that more acute angle, so if you use a sharpening "system" or machine, be sure it can accommodate a 20 deg angle in addition the the typical German 30 degrees.

[ossiblue]

Add me to the Shun crowd. We've had a set for about ten years and use them daily. A few licks with the steel before use, an occasional tuning with a sharpening stone, and they stay razor sharp. Never put them in the dishwasher, only hand wash, dry, and store in the block.

[Noah930]

Did anyone ever purchase those Wantanabe knives?

KITCHEN KNIFE | WATANABE BLADE

[LWJ]

Big fan of vintage carbon steel here. Cheap. Easy to sharpen. Lot of quality for pennies.

[Jim Bremner]

Kitchen Knives

[DARISC]

My Shuns

[trekkor]

Dexter-Russell.
http://knives.dexter1818.com/

Fantastic commercial grade kitchen knives.

I have many.
I have many of the Sani-Safe line.
They are very good.



KT

[tchanson]

Originally Posted by jyl

Traditionally, German knives have a less acute angle (a wider angle) at the cutting edge, a thicker blade, and use steel that is softer but tougher. They are made for heavy work and even some abuse. Your biggest Wusthof chef's knife is willing to crunch through chicken bones, chop through a hard squash, etc.

Traditionally, Japanese knives have a more acute angle (a narrower angle), a thinner blade, and steel that is harder but a bit more brittle. They are made for precision slicing, producing see-through thin cuts, smooth cutting of soft foods. Of course the Japanese have heavy duty knives too, some are called "deba", but those aren't usually seen in the Global and Shun collections.

If used for too-heavy or too-abusive work, the Shun or Global is more likely to be damaged, including having half-moons broken out of the edge, while the Wusthof is more likely to take the beating. So, keep a couple of the German heavyweights around.

Also, Japanese knives traditionally need to sharpened to that more acute angle, so if you use a sharpening "system" or machine, be sure it can accommodate a 20 deg angle in addition the the typical German 30 degrees.

This is a spot on summation.

After years of exclusive Wusthof use, I've added some Shun santokus for everyday use. I still prefer the Wusthofs for the heavy lifting, but for use with vegetables, fish, mincing herbs etc the Shuns are a joy to use.


Tim