Quality Kitchen Knives Suggestions

[OleBrewing]

@Immocles Do you have a price point you are looking at? Cooks Illustrated and others have consistently rated the Victorinox Fibrox Pro as being equal in steel quality and function with many of the most expensive European knives at a fraction of the cost. I have Wusthof Classic knives my dad bought me many years ago that are very nice. Some say they are over priced but they have a solid reputation and will last a lifetime. My wife bought me a couple Wusthof Ikon Classic knives a few years ago to supplement the others. It's the same steel but different handle. Those knives feel a lot nicer in the hand so it would be nice to hold some different knives if you can to see what you like.

Decide if you want stamped steel or forged steel. You can get stamped steel blades that are the same metal as forged for less investment. The difference is largely how they feel in your hand. Forged is not necessarily synonyms with quality steel. That varies by manufacturer and manufacturers have various grades of quality also.

I have never had the opportunity to use any of the Japanese knives but the quality ones are said to be another level up from quality German steel. They are sharpened differently so be sure you know how to work with them if you go with a good Japanese steel knife.

My most used knives in order are 7 inch/17cm Santoku hollow edge, 6 inch/16cm utility and 3.5 inch/9cm paring. Once I got the Santuko I kind of stopped using the chef's knife. Top is the Classic handle. The other two are the Ikon handles.

View attachment 684793

used chefs knife with those two bottom handles. did not fit my hand well. had to make my hand fit the knife. otherwise there blades are great.

 

[OleBrewing]

i barely use any soap washing the knife. unless i got it oily some way. hot water wash and dry immediately. i like to take care of them right away as to leaving them on the counter for me or someone else for an accident. sharp knives are no joke can make a weekend turn bad quickly.

 

[InspectorJon]

I have the trusty ooool Ginsu set that's finally basically useless and due for an upgrade. What's a decent set of knives for a lousy cook that won't break the bank?

Why are the knives you have useless? If they are just dull you can get them sharpened for a lot less than buying good new ones. That is unless they are serrated. Serrated knives are very difficult to sharpen. The meat department at some grocery stores will sharpen knives for free if you ask.

This looks like a decent knife set for a reasonable price Zwilling Henkles Four Star 8 Piece set

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I have the trusty ooool Ginsu set that's finally basically useless and due for an upgrade. What's a decent set of knives for a lousy cook that won't break the bank?

Yeah, rather than replacing them, I'd suggest sharpening them. Even cheap knives can be sharpened and take a damn fine edge; the cheap knives just won't hold it very long. Better knives (harder steel) will hold that edge longer.

Given that you're already looking to replace them, I'd consider just learning how to sharpen your knives. A decent set of sharpening stones is a lot cheaper than replacing knives, and will keep your knives perfect for years to come. You should be sharpening your knives every 3-6 months depending on usage frequency--most people who complain about "old knives" haven't sharpened them in a decade.

That said... If you're looking to replace, the first thing I'd say is that buying a "knife set" is often unnecessary for most cooks, as they generally have lower quality workhorse knives to keep the set price down while including a bunch of knives you may rarely/never need to keep the "piece count" up.

So I'd often suggest buying individual knives. And for a budget, absolutely nothing beats the Victorinox for price and quality. They do make their knives with rosewood handles if you want something that looks "nicer" than the ones with Fibrox handles, but either way they're great knives at great prices. In reality you only need the following:

1. Chef's knife. This is your workhorse. Personally I like a 10" chef's knife compared to the more common 8". Partially because I have large hands and because a 10" will make it easier to clear larger items when chopping.
2. Paring knife. Needed for small detail work. I.e. a professional chef may be able to supreme an orange with a chef's knife, but us mere mortals will probably cut a finger off attempting it.
3. Serrated bread knife. Good for bread (obv) but also for other slicing jobs, large cuts of meat, etc. I also have a 12" slicer for meat, but that's because I'm a knife junkie.
4. (Optional) Utility knife. The link is a 6" "chef's knife", but this one functions great as a utility knife. Think of it as something you're going to use for light chopping of small items when you don't want to pull out an 8" or 10" knife. I.e. you're slicing cherry tomatoes in half, or things like that.

That's four high-quality knives for just over $100. The Victorinox is a very light blade easy to work with without fatigue, thin like a high-end Japanese knife rather than a thicker German style knife. It's a great steel and holds its edge beautifully for a good long while, and takes to sharpening easily.

I've got a couple of fancy Japanese knives, but if I'm just doing a quick chop, I'll grab the Victorinox instead.

 

[Lampy]

On a budget the Kiwi knives are my top pick. I got a pair as a gift a few years back and they have been my go-to knives ever since. I have since "paid it forward" and given Kiwi knives as gifts a couple times.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Do NOT get "good" knives. It's a scam for people who love knives more than cooking. If you like a knife that has to be treated like a sick baby, by all means, go Japanese or get some other high-end knife. If you want razor-sharp knives that go in the dishwasher, look elsewhere.

You want cheap NSF-approved knives, like the ones actual restaurant cooks use in the real world. I really like Forschners and Mundials. I have a couple of diamond steels. Five or six seconds, and my knives are ready to cut food or shave. When I'm done using them, into the dishwasher they go.

If you really like fancy knives, I get it. I do, too. But anyone who thinks they make sense in the kitchen is deluding himself in order to justify spending money on a neat toy.

I made the horrible mistake of buying some Japanese knives. I still have a totally useless cleaver that probably costs $350 now. I think I've used it twice since I bought it maybe 13 years ago. I also have a useless nakiri, a horrible boning knife, and a birds beak paring knife. They rattle around in a drawer, unused and unloved. I had some Shuns. This is the stainless fake-Damascus stuff Alton Brown used to shill for. They're really part of the Kershaw empire. There is no such thing as stainless Damascus. They probably press the Damascus marks in with a machine in their giant artisan-free factory.

They used to tell consumers to put them in the dishwasher. I tried it. Chips fell out of my santoku. Soon after I complained to the company and showed them their own recommendation, they changed their copy.

When Brown and Kershaw had a disagreement, suddenly his "favorite" knives were gone, and he started pimping other makers. I wouldn't believe him if he recommended putting butter on toast. I filed him with other overrated culinary gurus like Marco Pierre White and Kenji Lopez-Alt.

He actually did a ridiculous video where he showed people how to care for Shuns. He put one in the sink and rubbed it lovingly with a soapy rag, like a serial killer cleaning a rifle he just Cerakoted and named after a girl who rejected him in high school. Who has time for that? The kind of people who wear boots of escaping and have their own swords made for SCA fairs.

I gave my Shuns away. They were useless.

You can get several Mundials for a hundred bucks, all with dishwasher-safe handles in different colors so you can use more than one while cooking a meal without moving bacteria from one food to another.

Don't bother getting the "granton" blades with the little indentations that supposedly keep food from sticking when you cut. They do absolutely nothing.

If you check America's Test Kitchen, you'll see they agree with me. They recommended a cheap Forschner in their test.

I bought Forschner steak knives with plastic NSF handles. They go through steak like it wasn't even there. The diamond steel fixes them up in a jiffy.

 

[whoaru99]

I have a small set of Victorinox kitchen knives. They are nice, reasonably-priced knives. I recommend them if looking for a decent knife that won't break the bank.

(and, yes, I have a few others too like Global Sai, Wusthof, MAC, and some others)

The Victorinox chef's knife is my most used probably followed distantly by the MAC nakiri-style knife.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I love nice knives. I have $200 EDC knives. Kitchens are different.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Good stuff @Clint Yeastwood

Just wanted to add something for people to avoid confusion... When I say Victorinox and Clint says Forschner, we're talking about the same knives.

https://www.katom.com/learning-center/history-victorinox-forschner.html