Anyone know of a good set of knives

[mpalamar]

Does anyone know of a GOOD set of knives to buy? I'm currently looking to replace my pathetic set of Ikea knives and I can't seem to find anything worth buying. I was looking at Miracle Blade for a while, but quickly discovered (like most "As seen on TV" products) that they are "too good to be true".

So? Any particular brand I should look for? I need something that can withstand my brutality... lol. I'm a cook so I use these items on an everyday basis and what I have now just won't cut it (no pun intended).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Melissa

 

[stinemates]

Hey Melissa,

I buy all of my knives from JapaneseChefsKnife.Com Top Page

They hold their edge really well, hand crafted, 'cheap' (for a good knives, I only use 3 and I didn't pay more than $125) My first knife took 5 days to ship all the way from Japan.

I have the Tojiro line, Gyuto 210, Boning knife, and the Paring knife.

Good luck!
- Nick

 

[Robo410]

buy quality ...be that middle quality such as calphalon, kitchen aide, etc, or top quality Henkles, Wustoff, (both of which have a middle grade and a top grade), or go artisinal high tech New West Knife Works. Find a knife that feels good in your hand. You need about five: chef, slicing, paring, bread, fileting. for good quality expect to pay several hundred for your hand picked set.

 

[mpalamar]

For good quality expect to pay several hundred for your hand picked set.

Well that's a given, lol. I was given the Ikeas knives when I bought my house, and since then I began taking a course in cooking and slowing making it up the "food chain" in the actual industry. So needless to say, I can FEEL the difference in the knives I use at work and the ones I have at home. Just not the same quality at all, so it's time to buy some new ones, and if it costs me a few hundred bucks, then so be it!

 

[TATTRAT]

quality doesn't cost, it pays. it is an investment that if done right, will last years and years.

there are a million and six different threads on this topic, if you search, you should find all the info you need.

 

[Caine]

You just might love THESE! I love mine.

I just wish I could use them without hurting myself every **** time! Christmas day I butterflied my left pinkie, and it seems I can't take any of them out of the rack without sticking myself in a finger or thumb tip, or even worse a cuticle, and I am a prolific bleeder!

 

[JDP]

Does anyone know of a GOOD set of knives to buy? I'm currently looking to replace my pathetic set of Ikea knives and I can't seem to find anything worth buying. I was looking at Miracle Blade for a while, but quickly discovered (like most "As seen on TV" products) that they are "too good to be true".

Anything with the name "miracle blade" I would run away from. These are just gimicky marketing ploys. Buy a quality blade of good high carbon steel. Do not fall prey to the term surgical steel, it means nothing. One that is through the tang ( blade goes to the end of the handle). Don't worry about buying a set. Get a piece or two and go from there. You may even find that you like specific knives from different manufactures. Get one that fits your hand well and has a balanced feel. I upgraded my Chicago cutlery set that was 20 years old last year. I ended up getting a collection of Anolon knives that I really like. Start off with a:

8 inch chef
6 inch boning
3-4 inch pearing knife
10 steel

These will effectively take care of 90% of you cutting

You can then add:

10 inch slicer
10 inch bread knife
10-12 inch chef
Cleaver
8 inch santuka
These would also make great ideas for you gift lists when holidays come around.

JDP

 

[CharlieD]

Yeah, the best set of knives is 10" chef and 3" paring knife by Wustoff, if you get them on sale. Otherwise sets are no good. have to choose your knives one by one. There have been few threads about that, search.

 

[Caine]

See, now this is one statement I can NOT agree with. I bought a set of knives, with a block. I have a meat cleaver which I used to bust up a turkey carcass, a 10" Chef's knife which I use for most of my slicing and dicing, a Chinese cleaver that is great for chopping vegetables or mincing garlic with one smash, an 8" chef's knife for slicing and dicing smaller items like shallots, a 8" carving knife that is also great for slicing tomatos paper thin, a carving fork, a serrated bread knife which is self-explanatory, a utility knife, and a paring knife. I have used every single piece in the set at least once since I bought them in October of 2006, and they would have cost me a lot more money if I had purchased them separatly, like you are suggesting. In fact, I regret that I didn't buy the set that included 6 steak knives, which would have been $75.00 more, but now will cost me $149.00 if I wish to add them to my current set.

The same with my pots and pans. I bought a 7 piece stainless steel tri-ply set, which had a 1 1/2 quart sauce pan w/ lid, a 3 quart sauce pan w/ lid, a 5 quart dutch oven w/ lid, and an 8" frying pan. Now you tell me what piece in that set you feel you'd not use? Of course, since then I have added significantly to the set, but the first seven pieces were, again, much cheaper than buying each piece separately.

 

[JDP]

[

The same with my pots and pans. I bought a 7 piece stainless steel tri-ply set, which had a 1 1/2 quart sauce pan w/ lid, a 3 quart sauce pan w/ lid, a 5 quart dutch oven w/ lid, and an 8" frying pan. Now you tell me what piece in that set you feel you'd not use? Of course, since then I have added significantly to the set, but the first seven pieces were, again, much cheaper than buying each piece separately.[/quote]

For my style of cooking the 1.5 quart sauce pan and the 8 inch fry pan would be collecting dust. For you it's great you found sets the meet your needs. The sets I see for the most part seem to have some dogs in them that I would never use. As for costing more, yes they will cost more if you go out and buy full retail. I bought my set of Calphalon One pans by picking pieces out on Ebay and a discount store called TJMAXX. It took me a while but I saved more than half of what any set would have cost, plus I would have had some unused pans and still need to buy others to take care of my needs. Now I have what I want and saved over $250.

JDP

 

[CharlieD]

This is an endless argument. I for one returned the set my mil gave it to me and went and got all the knives i wanted separetly and now I have more knoves that I would have had in the set + some money left to play.