Check out "Bladeforums.com" in the Knifemakers for sale section. They have a lot of GREAT Makers that do amazing Knives! I may do another run after the first of the year. I find Chefs Knives VERY personal.

I bought Wusthof's by the piece.Williams and Sonoma had a good Variety of models .

Another vote for Zwilling JA Henckels.
Mine are from the Professional "S" line. Started with a 2-piece set consisting of an 8" chef's knife and a 4" paring knife, and got hooked. Have added several since.

Sandown Forge made a custom set for my wife. He is on the Forum and is a good man.

http://www.sandownforge.com/Sa...tchen_Knife_Set.html

Hers is the first set. he got fancy later on.

quote:

Originally posted by tleddy:
The missing blade...

The classic Chinese Cleaver!

A really good one is less than $100 and as far as I am concerned, indispensable.

I also have the Shun trilogy mentioned above.

I was going to post this as well. A good Chinese cleaver is a wonderful addition. I use mine more than any other blade.

If only we had a KNIFE section on the forum?

quote:

Originally posted by sybo:
Check out "Bladeforums.com" in the Knifemakers for sale section. They have a lot of GREAT Makers that do amazing Knives! I may do another run after the first of the year. I find Chefs Knives VERY personal.

Bladeforums has everything about knives. You could waste years reading their forums (not only about knives).

A couple of principles:
Sharpness is much more important than the cost of the knife. You can get amazing results with a $40 Forschner knife if you can get it sharpened properly.
Incidentally, a well-sharpened chef's knife cuts bread at least as well as a typical bread knife.
And I agree with sybo that these are personal. Pick one that you just like to use. This is difficult for gifts. Hopefully you already know the handle and blade styles that she likes. Or you don't mind exchanging.

I got a Fallkniven VG-10 Santoku more than 15 years ago, and it's still my favorite all-around kitchen knife.
I also like Opinel folding knives for kitchen use. Their kitchen-intended knives should be good too. Prices are very reasonable.

The best time to buy is after Christmas. I got this Zwilling® J.A. Henckels Four Star 6-Piece Studio Knife Block Set for $100 from Woot:

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...PpD3lrcaAvvFEALw_wcB

You got me curious ... Macy's has the Wusthoff 8" Classic "Cook's knife", list $175, on sale for $99. I think I paid more for my first Classic "Chef's" knife almost ten years ago. I also bought a backup a few months later, for whatever reason, maybe a gift, on sale $79 + tax. Still have the second NIB, blade protector and all. Every time I think I'm going to gift it, I decide to keep it.

The box says "Chef's" knife but now it is coming up as a "Cook's" knife. Not sure if there is a difference.

I do remember the sales gal telling me Wusthoff changes the names of their products "all the time"

https://www.macys.com/shop/fea...ok%27s-knife%2C-8%22

The red logo with trident is a sticker. At least, it was on mine.

A couple years ago I had a smattering of different knives and used them frequently. I still use a few Imperial Veri-Sharp knives that my mom gave me 25 years ago when I moved out after college. I'd picked up a few nicer knives since then but got a chance to handle some Miyabi Artisan knives. A bit of eye candy to be sure, but they are a pleasure to use in the kitchen. I do have a few miscellaneous Wusthofs, Henckels and Shuns. Probably way too many knives really. My wife doesn't complain as she's happy to have someone cook for her.

Any experience comparing the different Shun lines? (Classic vs. Kanso vs. Premier vs. Sora vs. Blue)

The handles are obvious, but they all have different blade construction.

I'm seriously considering dumping my knife block and going with 3 or 4 high quality knives that stay in a draw.

^

quote:

draw(er)

I keep a minimal set of knives on one of those hanging magnet strips and it works great, fwiw. Less bulky than a block, drains better, no reaching into drawers for them, etc.

The magnetic strip would be handy, but I think it would magnetize the blade, such that the sharpening dust would cling to the blade. Hard to get off. I don't like knife blocks either. My solution: I make sheaths from thin, dense cardboard, and keep my knives in a drawer.

Mine get used and cleaned a bunch, never noticed it being a problem, but it sounds reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
The magnetic strip would be handy, but I think it would magnetize the blade, such that the sharpening dust would cling to the blade. Hard to get off. I don't like knife blocks either. My solution: I make sheaths from thin, dense cardboard, and keep my knives in a drawer.

IIRC, the fans of Busse knives call that Tactical Cardboard as it comes with all new ones.

Admittedly, I've used nothing but that on a few knives over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
The box says "Chef's" knife but now it is coming up as a "Cook's" knife. Not sure if there is a difference.

Wusthof name their 'Chef knife' as a 'Cook's knife'..simply a naming issue.

The one thing to keep any eye-out with Wusthof is they have the separate packaging with their forged blades with their stamped-metal knives. The forged blades are a grey box with a red stripe and the name of the collection inside the red stripe. The stamped blades are also in a grey box but, have a blue stripe with the name of the collection inside. The stamped blades are for price-sensitive customers and retailers looking for a big name brand but, not big brand pricing.

$99 for a 8" Classic Chef knife is standard mark-down pricing...$79, that's a deal, they're looking to move those items or, close them out, at that price buy two.

Crate and Barrel has a very good sale on Wusthoff knives right now. Up to 65% off on their semi-annual Wusthof sale.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
The box says "Chef's" knife but now it is coming up as a "Cook's" knife. Not sure if there is a difference.

Wusthof name their 'Chef knife' as a 'Cook's knife'..simply a naming issue.

The one thing to keep any eye-out with Wusthof is they have the separate packaging with their forged blades with their stamped-metal knives. The forged blades are a grey box with a red stripe and the name of the collection inside the red stripe. The stamped blades are also in a grey box but, have a blue stripe with the name of the collection inside. The stamped blades are for price-sensitive customers and retailers looking for a big name brand but, not big brand pricing.

$99 for a 8" Classic Chef knife is standard mark-down pricing...$79, that's a deal, they're looking to move those items or, close them out, at that price buy two.

The stamped knives also have one little man on the logo as opposed to two.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
The one thing to keep any eye-out with Wusthof is they have the separate packaging with their forged blades with their stamped-metal knives. The forged blades are a grey box with a red stripe and the name of the collection inside the red stripe. The stamped blades are also in a grey box but, have a blue stripe with the name of the collection inside.

I was under the impression that the Wusthof Classic line is forged and the Gourmet line is stamped.

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
The one thing to keep any eye-out with Wusthof is they have the separate packaging with their forged blades with their stamped-metal knives. The forged blades are a grey box with a red stripe and the name of the collection inside the red stripe. The stamped blades are also in a grey box but, have a blue stripe with the name of the collection inside.

I was under the impression that the Wusthof Classic line is forged and the Gourmet line is stamped.

You are correct.

I ended up getting the Miyabi Artisan - a 7" Santoku, a 5.25" utility, and a 9.5" slicer. My wife is very happy with them. They are beautiful and razor sharp. They use SG2 steel if that means anything to those interested.

There are a lot of YouTube vids comparing the different brands and different series from each manufacturer. I watched quite a few this weekend.

Side note: they were delivered by Amazon today. In the delivery notice email they included a photograph of the package as they left it by the front door. Appears to be something new they are doing.