quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
Yes you can. I got my best friend a Zwilling 4 star set for $150.

You have to be careful with the Henckels they sell several lines the Pro S series are the ones I always get. My mom bought me an entire set of Henckels for less than I purchased my chef knife for.

The good hecnkels have 2 men in the logo on the blade. The logo with a single man in it is junk.

Nice tip Jimmy. Just checked mine. Can confirm all my good ones are 2 and the crappy ones are a single. Never knew that.

EDIT - Just googled it, here is a link.

I used to sell kitchen knives a long time ago at Williams-Sonoma. Knife sets are heavily promoted as necessary for the kitchen by home stores and various cooking shows. They're a nice ring at the register as some can spiral up to $1k/set It's nice to have all matching knives, especially if they're exposed in the open however, any serious cook or, professional chef has a variety of knives, all or, most from a variety of manufacturers. Like any tool box, there's a variety of makes and models.

There are three types knives that will do 90% of tasks in the kitchen: Chef knife, Paring knife and a Bread knife. All other knifes are specialty knives. The chef knife (8" minimum length) is the most important tool in the kitchen and where your investment(s) $ should be. Paring knives are exceptionally handy however, you should spend no more than $20/each, and stamped metal is fine. A bread knife (longer is better) is quite useful and will likely be the longest knife in your set. Besides slicing all sorts of breads, biscuits and rolls, you can also use it for cakes, melons, tomatoes, pineapples and chocolate.

Other tools to consider: kitchen shears, a boning knife, a cleaver and a slicer. A second chef knife or, Santoku is also nice to have.
Check this set out. Use the left-over funds for a second, better quality chef knife or, pick up the above specialty items.

Here you go, this is an INCREDIBLE deal on an excellent set of German Forged Henckels at Bed Bath and Beyond. $136 for a 7 piece set: 8" chef, 2.5" peeling, 4" parer, 5" serrated utility knife, sharpening steel, kitchen sheers and wood block. I'd jump on this in a NY minute, as it's a much better choice than Victorinox/dexter/ or any stamped knife. You can also use a 20% coupon off on these in the store, even though the coupon says you can't.

$136 (Twin Signature)
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...768?categoryId=12069

Here's an 8 piece Henckels German set for $149.99 (5 star)
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...598?categoryId=12069

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
You have to be careful with the Henckels they sell several lines the Pro S series are the ones I always get. My mom bought me an entire set of Henckels for less than I purchased my chef knife for.

Love me some Pro S Zwilling J. A. Henkles!
The Pro S ones that get the most use are the 7” Santoku, (which alone will max out a $150 budget) 6” chefs and 4” paring.
Buy a piece at a time and have a set that lasts decades.

If they are for you and not a gift, buy a used set for cheap. Find an older set. Henckels from the 70s/80s were made from much better steel than current product. Be sure they were made in Germany, not Spain or Viet Nam or elsewhere. To get really good new steel these days, you have to spend a lot, and yet you can still get very good used knives for not too much money. They will last generations. Who cares if they have a few scratches? It is all about the quality of the steel. I see them for sale at estate sales, frequently. I look for the older H-Pro knives with black plastic handles. Bombproof. Avoid the wood handles with rivets. I worked in commercial kitchens for many years when I was younger, and good knives make all the difference. I do not know this seller but this is what I am talking about below (example). I'd take these over a new set with inferior steel. But you'd still need a chefs knife--8 inch? I am not recommending you buy this set below--just want to show you how cheap you can buy used knives that are very good quality. Think about how many older guns are better-made than the new models. Would you rather have a PPK from the 30s-50s or a new one? Or a Belgium Browning, vs a new one? Same concept with knives. If this resonates, then you can learn about proper sharpening techniques. But that is a topic for another day. Just my two cents.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zwill...8:g:7GEAAOSwRi9d5rqD

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FishOn,

I have had great results with Zelite knives for carving, slicing, cleaver. For steak knives I really like mu set of Bellemain.

America’s Test Kitchen didn’t steer me wrong on the Victorinox knives.
My using knives are an 8” chef knife and a paring knife; about a $60 investment. They do a good job, get hand washed and put back in the block after use. They’ve stayed sharp for the 2 years I’ve had them.

I've had top luck with my Buck Knives kitchen knives...they are often on sale and mine work as good as any I have had over the years (e.g., Shun, German, el-cheapo knives from Costco, etc.).

Cold Steel Kitchen Classics (Jesse, I can order them for you, drop shpped)
Lifetime warranty and sharpening.
About $150

Echoing some of what the others have stated here...

I've been picking up Wusthof Classic (not gourmet) knives over time and am very happy with them.

In our house we use these regularly:
Santoku
8" Chef's knife
paring knife
bread knife
honing steel - this is important, I'd buy that shortly after the first knives.


The other thing I'd highly recommend before purchasing knives would be to run over to the local kitchen store and handle them to see how they feel in your hands.

no,

if you look at a dozen video's on youtube,
you will quickly learn that
Knife sets under a hundred dollars are never decent .

and you are almost never going to find a set ( even at $300.00 ) that will do a great job.

one company makes a better than average bread knife , but its chefs knife sucks.

another company makes a much better than average chef's knife , but the paring knives suck,

another company makes a nice cleaver , but the steak knives suck.

and another company makes a great filet knife, and all the rest of their knives come up way short.

take your time, watch some video's,
https://www.youtube.com/result...cooks+country+knives

and buy one knife in January , another in February, a couple in March , and so on.

you will be much happier in the long run.

then there are sharpeners, and cutting boards and storage stuff.

there are good , better and best knife designs, from company to company

Personally I rather have four good knives than a set. If money was an issue I'd get them in this order:

1) Santoku - I use it for 95% of my cutting needs

2) Filet - use for trimming meat and cutting steaks.

3) Bread knife - purely a luxury, non smushed bread is nice.

4) Pearing - rarely used, but does get used.

I could do 99.9% of my cooking with just the first two knives.

Edit a nice carving would probably fit between #2&3, but #1 or #2 could be used for most carving.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
A chef's knife and a paring knife, between them, will do at least a pretty good job of virtually every kitchen knife task, and you can get by without the paring knife if you have to.

Everything after that is pretty much a specialty tool to make certain tasks a little easier.

On a limited budget, I'd spend more per knife on 2-3 knives rather than buying a set.

This is spot on advice.

Good paring knife. Good large chef knife will do %99 of chores for the average home. After that maybe a bread knife & boning knife?

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Originally posted by myrottiety:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
A chef's knife and a paring knife, between them, will do at least a pretty good job of virtually every kitchen knife task, and you can get by without the paring knife if you have to.

Everything after that is pretty much a specialty tool to make certain tasks a little easier.

On a limited budget, I'd spend more per knife on 2-3 knives rather than buying a set.

This is spot on advice.

Good paring knife. Good large chef knife will do %99 of chores for the average home. After that maybe a bread knife & boning knife?

Yes, but you have to figure out if you prefer a French Chef's knife or a Santoku. Since I bought my 7" Santoku 7 years ago, my 8" French chef's knife just sits there and almost never gets used. I use the 7" Santoku 95% of the time, 6" utlity/boning knife 3% of the time and a paring 2%. Rarely use the bread knife, BUT if someone eats a lot of bread than that is a different story.

I am obsessive-compulsive about chef knives! There are about 20 in my collection.

That said, a high quality one will be in excess of $100.00 and up... my most costly one was about $400.00

Then comes a boning knife, about $20.00 and up, then a paring knife, $15.00 up.

Those three will perform almost needs in the kitchen. If you want a specialty knife, a serrated bread knife is handy.

Please do not laugh at this: if I could only have one knife for the rest of my days,it would be a Chinese slicing cleaver! They can be used for every slicing and cutting task, diced and chopped food transfer, pounding and tenderizing meat etc. As with other fine cutting implements, do not chop bones...

Final advice: do not allow others who are not educated in the use of good cutlery to use your good knives. Chipped blades

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
A chef's knife and a paring knife, between them, will do at least a pretty good job of virtually every kitchen knife task, and you can get by without the paring knife if you have to.

Everything after that is pretty much a specialty tool to make certain tasks a little easier.

On a limited budget, I'd spend more per knife on 2-3 knives rather than buying a set.

This is spot on advice.

Good paring knife. Good large chef knife will do %99 of chores for the average home. After that maybe a bread knife & boning knife?

I agree, those are definitely next in line for most used knives for most people.

If you don't bake bread or buy unsliced bread very often, a bread knife may not be important. I am in this category and rarely use a bread knife.

If you don't break down whole chickens, or cook bone-in roasts, etc., a boning knife may not be important. I use mine frequently, maybe more than a paring knife.

And then there's always the personal preference stuff... I really like a more straight-edged knife (like a nakiri or santoku) for veggie prep, so that would be pretty high on my list, even though it might not be for most people.

The Shun Classic 8” chef and 3.5” paring set have served me well. The can be had for $150

https://www.cutleryandmore.com...=nosto-page-product1

I am continually amazed by the stores of knowledge of gastronomic aficionados here on the SIG FORUM.