Henckels Knives

So this thread (and admittedly myself) have been inactive for a while now but I just thought I would give it a little update:

I bought a Shun 7" Santoku (with the Damascus blade... beautiful if just to look at), from the store I mentioned earlier, over the summer and my folks bought me the three knife set of Henckels twin pro S with an 8", 6" and a 4" paring. I have to say the Shun is the best knife I have ever used hands down, it is unbelievably comfortable to hold, keeps a razors edge and does just about everything I need. That said, the Henckels almost hold their own and they come in handy when I need a different shape/size. Not as sharp out of the box and don't hold quite as well but then again, the one Shun cost almost as much as the three of them. They are also very comfortable for my ape-sized hands which is hard to find.

Also thanks all for the advice, it was very helpful!

I have a set of shuns and I LOVE them. The only complaint I have ever heard is that some people dont like the handles.

Oh god I'm too late, there's too much to say. I feel like I crammed 4 months of work conversation into 10 minutes of reading. Here's what I say:
I love Chad. He said everything I wanted to.
I hate hate hate Wustof. And Global.
I love the living loving out of my Messermeister knives.
Shun's are great if you duck up the dollars for the good ones, I wasn't happy with their lower end models.
MAC's are a gray area. I like them but sometimes feel they are clumsy and slow.
Recently got turned on to Sabatier. Bit on the expensive side for a carbon steel I feel but they take an edge like a razor.
See if you can find a company called Masahiro. They work out of Sekai Japan and make incredibly well built and affordable knives. Their Santoku is my go to line knife. It's carbon steel sandwiched in stainless. It'll take a razor edge on a steel, almost never needs to go on a stone.
I love you guys. Seriously.

P'shaw. Our friend JacktheKnife, HE makes a helluva knife...



What, you can't do a chiffonade with a shiv made from a railroad spike?

http://jacksknifeshop.tripod.com/

This thread reminds me it's time to get the kitchen knives sharpened by a pro again. Funny how fast a year goes by.

I know these are probably not something anyone professional woudl be using but my wife just got a smoking deal on a set of forged pampered chef knives. They are a forged German steel knife, full tang, pretty well balanced, for me they have a nice handle, and of course are dishwasher safe which i will never actually test. They have a lifetime warranty, and so far have kept a nice edge, i think when they start to get dull ill have them professionally sharpened. They do have that kinda heavy feel to them but they dont feel clumsy while using them. I am by no means a knife guru but i just thought i would put in my .02 cents since im pretty darn happy with mine.

Like i said, they arent probably the caliber of some of the nice professional knives, but they are a very nice set of intermediate knives, im very happy with mine, and are probably the nicest knives ive owned.

Anyone sharpen their own? I've got some Wustofs that would benefit from some sharpening, but aside from boyscouts I've got little experiance with whetstones. Should I pony up the bucks for pro sharpening?

MikeRLynch said:

Anyone sharpen their own? I've got some Wustofs that would benefit from some sharpening, but aside from boyscouts I've got little experiance with whetstones. Should I pony up the bucks for pro sharpening?

Click to expand...

I sharpen my own, though I use a diamond stone. I've been sharpening woodworking tools since I was a kid so it was an easy transition. If you're ok taking the risk of having to send it out anyway, give it a shot. It's a great feeling of achievement to put a fine edge on a tool yourself.

I've been meaning to stop by the woodworking store and get a good stone. Chad's book walks you through all that you need to know to sharpen your own.

I sharpen mine with a Gatco system. Not sure if that is the best to use or not, but for me it works out pretty good.

Mike

I use Japanese water stones. I have a 1000 grit for sharpening and a 6000 grit for the polish on the edge. Works for me.

the_bird said:

I've been meaning to stop by the woodworking store and get a good stone. Chad's book walks you through all that you need to know to sharpen your own.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the plug!

Woodcraft stores usually carry King and Ice Bear waterstones. The King 1K/6K combination stone is a great start if you are just getting into (or back into) hand sharpening. Any Home Depot or Lowes will carry Norton waterstones, which are pretty decent. Hardcore places will offer Shapton stones, which are the Holy Grail of sharpening stones. They're expensive, though. Start with the Kings.

Chad