Good knives?

Stephen_Leak

I have just two, which have coped with everything I've asked of them for almost 4 years. A Victorinox (a good compromise between quality and price, and therefore good value for money) 19cm cooks knife and a Victorinox 8cm pointed paring knife. £15.99 (inc. P&P) from Culinaire/Kitchen Knives Direct. The paring knife was free with the cooks knife, and the best price I could find for it at the time was £2.90.

A cooks knife with a blade over 20cm can be a bit unwieldy in - and potentially dangerous to - non-professional hands. The same goes for a small knife with a blade over 9cm. A 10cm blade is a "utility" knife which, despite its name, is too big for peeling and chopping fruit and vegetables and too small for much else.

And, thanks to regular use of my Kitchen Devil "X-style" knife sharpener, they are now scalpel sharp. After each use, wash and dry them and then give them a few quick sweeps through the sharpener. They are then ready for the next time you need them. After a while, the edge will be perfect. Look after your knife, and your knife will look after you.

I was thinking about getting the matching 21cm serrated bread knife, but the cooks knife also slices fresh bread.

jackieb

I bought these last year.. I have a few others but mostly use these. I also have a steel but haven't used it on these ones yet. I've never had knives with covers on them before but I like them. I also have an electric knife that I use for cutting meat.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zyliss-Piece-Knife-Set-E72404/dp/B004NP9Z4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325720007&sr=8-1

anniemf2508

My most used knives are my anolon (not the new raymond blanc ones but the older silicon handle ones), i have a Santoku, carving set and boning knife.
The rest of my knives are cheapy ones but they aren't used that much as the santoku does most jobs

Alison_Funnell

angeltreats wrote: »

1. A big chef's knife for almost everything

2. What's called a pastry knife (a big serrated bread knife type thing) for bread, tomatoes, carving meat and a few other things

3. A small paring knife only occasionally

4. A flexible filleting knife for filleting fish. I once saw a fishmonger fillet a mackerel with a bread knife but I don't think I'd be able to copy him

Once you get used to a chef's knife it becomes very difficult to use a small knife.

As above but minus the filleting knife as we don't eat fish.

Mine where all really good old knives I got at bootfairs years ago. I need some new ones, got a dd who ruined the wooden handles in the DW, really don't like metal handled ones though.

kittendothroar

I use (well have been in storage but finally get to use them in new home next week!) Jamie Oliver knives from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jamie-Oliver-Knife-Block-Knives/dp/B001U0O1CC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325788462&sr=8-1 and I've been really impressed by them. Are comfortable to use, amazingly sharp, so much so I am missing a tiny bit of my finger thanks to the bread knife! Also I really like that the ends of them say what they are, without having to pull them out till you find the right one!

Once had an a electric carving knife, made my bones rattle - gave it to the then mother-in-law!

rinabean

This ikea knife is my main knife. It's really good. The indents don't work as well as they claim, but it's a great knife overall. Comfortable to both my small hands and my husband's massive hands. I have a cheap utility knife and bread knife that I think were from TG Hughes, and a little paring knife, but I don't use these nearly as often.

Smithfield

Originally Posted by angeltreats
1. A big chef's knife for almost everything

2. What's called a pastry knife (a big serrated bread knife type thing) for bread, tomatoes, carving meat and a few other things

3. A small paring knife only occasionally

4. A flexible filleting knife for filleting fish. I once saw a fishmonger fillet a mackerel with a bread knife but I don't think I'd be able to copy him

Once you get used to a chef's knife it becomes very difficult to use a small knife.

Basically this is bang on. If you want the cheapest decent knives got for plastic handled victorinox, a huge amount of pro kitchens use these are their house knives.

Personally I use japanese chefs knives that came from https://www.japanesechefsknife.com in japan, its $7 postage and they arrive in 48 hrs via ems.

I dislike the G2 global's myself, handle is far too light and flimsy and I dont like how they sharpen. The knives from jck are much better quality and cheaper.

My advice would be invest in a 210mm or 240mm chefs knife, get a decent one and it will still be like new 10 years from now (mine are!).

Go to amazon or your local chefs supply store and pick up a 3.5mm victorinox paring (small get lost etc, v cheap) and one of the victorinox serrated. knives (these cant really be sharpened and are very cheap, so no drama replacing every few years)

Now we come to the important part you need a 6000/1000 waterstone to sharpen you knives. Otherwise even the fanciest knife in the world will start to go blunt. These cost about £12, you can learn online. These will return your paring and chefs knife to scary sharp in minutes.

Also, no more glass chopping boards, they blunt your knives. You can get plastic boards in a chef supply, one for veg/bread and one for proteins (dishwasher safe so easy to keep clean too)

Good knifes make cooking, faster, safer and a pleasure. Mine are probably the best kitchen purchase I have ever made (a decent sized lecreuset cast iron slow cooker is the second!)

meritaten

I use an ordinary kitchen knife - in a pack of knives from aldi - and the large chopping knife that came in pack.
I use really large scissors as 'kitchen scissors' (and gawd help anyone who nicks them to cut paper etc!)
I possess an electric knife (Salter) which my OH bought me for Xmas pressie when the kids were small (about 20 years ago at least - and nearly meant his vasectomy wasnt required). Electric knife copes with most joints and poultry and can give lovely thin slices when you are used to using it! great for really fresh bread too!
I have a meat slicer which resides in the Utility room, and if its lucky it will be brought out once a year, when I have a joint large enough (or tough enough), to warrant the faff of washing the ruddy thing up afterwards! otherwise - I have a section of the cutlery tray filled with knives I never use!

Edit - can I give a 'tip' on using an electric knife? resist the temptation to use a 'sawing' movement with the knife. just rest it where you want the cut to start, start it up and gently guide it downwards where you want the cut to go. and DONT use your fingers to hold the meat or whatever - It's much safer and more efficient to use a fork to hold it in place!

Smithfield

Oddly for breaking down chickens I have a knife called a western deba.

Bought it second hand. It's like a cross between a chefs knife and a chopper, takes chickens apart with no effort at all.

Its so hardcore I one used to to split of floorboards to make sticks for the fire lol

gibson123

Good knives are the best OS money saving device ever. You get more meat of the bones, can carve finer and every cooking job is much easier.

I have carbon steel sabatier chef's knives, they look rusty because they stain, however get a better edge on them than any other knife I know. the only other knife I use is a small stainless steel kithch devil for slicing eggs as the carbons leave these looking dirty.