kitchen knives

same, or at least they're washed carefully and individually.

my concern with the electric machines is that if you dwell in one place - you just made a nice scallop in your blade. same thing with the draw-through devices if you can't take a full stroke consistently, such as if the bolster blocks full insertion of the blade (one reason I like choils). you end up grinding a step into the edge.

obviously I'm talking about this sort of gadget, not something only an enthusiast would have like a Tormek.

honestly, the vertical method is so safe and aligned with normal use of the knife that anyone should feel confident having a go, and as long as you keep the knife aligned roughly the same way each time you'll get a better result than you started with.

 

I have to give a vote of confidence to this. The method shown in the linked image is most definitely *not* the best way to use a steel, but is absolutely the safest way to learn how to use one. Learn first, master later.

Tip of the steel down on a cutting board, hand on top. Move the knife across the steel at the appropriate angle (around 20°) from heel to tip (of the knife) in a downward motion from guard to tip (of the steel) with the knifes sharp side leading. Repeat on the other side of the blade and repeat several times for each side.

Eventually, you will reverse the movement. Heel to tip of the blade upwards, from the guard of the steel to the tip of the steel with the sharp side of the blade following. The steel is held free and not placed tip down on anything. This is the best way that I have found from personal experience. It's how I keep my (non-serated) knives sharp.

The vertical method that caspian has linked to is safe enough that a child (with adult guidance) can do it.



8 minutes 20 seconds for where he tells you what age he taught his kids basic knife skills. You should really watch the whole thing. At the very least, from 6 minutes on.

 

Personally a good manual pull through sharpener is probably better than an electric one. I agree with caspian that they can take too much metal off.

 

Send me the remaining knives you have and I'll repair and sharpen the blade to good as new lol...

Those knives are claimed to be made in saki... So I'd like a look at them and see if they can be repaired and sharpen... How many do you have of them left?

 

Honestly, If you don't mind getting out the steel, pick up a couple cheap knives from Ikea. We were given a set of decent knives as a wedding present and the biggest benefit is their ability to take and retain an edge, which I must admit makes them a joy to use. However, I'm not certain it's enough of benefit to justify the outlay if I had to buy them myself.

My father, who was a chef for the better part of 3 decades, swears by his Ikea knives.

 

But even different chefs have different opinions. A mate's brother in QLD is an exec chef who used to work for a big name restaurant there - now he's opened up 2 of his own bistros. I remember asking him once about Globals (due to their Masterchef fame) and generally stylish unique handles - he basically said, they are the most commercial and he bought them once, and they ended up on his fishing boat in the space of a couple of weeks. They were that bad.

 

I made my own set of Wutshof Classics. Came to abouth $1000. Can't fault them, much prefer the feel of them to the thinner / delicate Japanese ones.

 

I wouldn't touch global with a 50ft pole either. They're the BOSE of knives.

 

what about a nice set of mundial knives?

 

Go to a shop and hold them in your hand to see how they feel. May or may not be comfortable. Just stay away from Global and Furi.

 

good idea, cheers.

i have used mundial in the past, are they considered a decent knive?

 

Yes generally...

Personally I recommend Victorian fibrox to everyone because they are affordable knives that commercial cooks often use...

If you're the type of home cook that uses nice knives and keeps them sharp with regular maintenace then get the best you can afford. Mondial, henckles, wusthof, dick, shun etc... Just make sure you know how to care for them

 

Victorinox rosewood are lovely to have and use. I look after a 12" chefs knife and a slicer that she's had for 20 years. the handles need a good treatment with olive oil every couple of months but that's part of the pride of maintenance.

 

Same... I like the heft of the heavier Euro style knives.
Sure, a good Japanese style knife can get a crazy sharp edge and they have their place in the kitchen... but I just prefer to feel that extra mass..

 

Really, I don't see what's wrong with a circa $100 - 200 set of knives as long as you keep them sharp. Mine are going strong after quite a few years, every so often as individual knives start to loose their edge (maybe every two months, for the knives I use heavily) I go over them with a set of diamond laps and finish them off with a leather strop with some compound. They easily pass the shaving and paper test. If I get lazy and let them go a bit I need to start from a coarse diamond lap and go through the full set but done promptly a touch up from the 600 or 1200 grit then a few strokes on the strop suffices. Two minutes per knife, tops. Even going through the full grit range wouldn't be much more than five minutes or so.

 

People like knives that look good as well as feel good in the hands... its all preference

A cheap set of knives can go a long way if you know how to maintain them

 

I'm bad with mine, but I also know that is how it was going to be. I dishwasher them. If I cant dishwasher it, it doesn't belong in my kitchen.

Despite this the Wusthofs still look great, sharp, hefty, great balance. I sharpen them now and then, use a steel and then the Wusthof basic sharpener. I'm going to send them to Wusthof soon, they offer a free sharpening service.

I have two chefs, 1 extra long wunderknife, 2 pairing and a utility.

 

I have a mega sharp cleaver that I use for everything except for bread.

I would love a few Wusthofs, they are solid knives and not over expensive.

 

See.... I actually enjoy the process of sharpening my knives. I find it incredibly satisfying and quite cathartic.

Prepare and lay out the tools, methodically do each knife till it is perfect. Listening to some tunes and drinking some beers or whiskey neat.

Not quite as good as sex but a pretty close second.

 

My name is Lennie. I'm a knife addict.

Recently tried a couple in the MAC pro line. Superior to my yaxell by a fair margin imo. Sg2 is a fine powdered steel. But it's much too time consuming to sharpen imo. Even with a wicked edge.

Really enjoying my shibazi 9" cleaver also. Prefer it to the cck after a couple weeks of use.