All Purpose Knife?

[zepfloyd]

I am brand new to cooking, and when I mean brand new to cooking, I mean I have yet to try to cook anything. I was wondering if there is a solid all purpose knife that anyone could recommend. Just the typical knife you see food show hosts use to chop/dice just about everything up with. Any replies are greatly appreciated

[Scotch]

The basic knife you want is what's called a French Chef's Knife or just Chef's or Cook's Knife. It should have a blade about 8 inches long and look like this:



However, you probably also will want a smaller knife for some things, like this one with a thinner 6-inch blade:

[mike in brooklyn]

I agree with Scotch and use 2 knives for 90% or more
of my needs.
While most western cooks choose the classic French Chef's
or (lately) Santoku knife along with a good paring knife
my go to main knife if an 8" Chinese knife - along with my paring
knife this gets most jobs done.

[zepfloyd]

any particular brands you guys recommend? nothing to expensive, around 50-60 dollars?

[mike in brooklyn]

Forschner makes an 8" Chefs knife for about $35
and it is consistantly top buy rated by America's Test Kitchen.

I am partial to Dexter Russell (American company)
and they made my Chinese knife and are major suppliers
of knives for the restaurant industry.
See below.
Dexter-Russell, Inc.

[buzzard767]

In your price range ($55) I recommend a Togiharu Molybdenum Gyuto. A Gyuto is a Japanese chef's knife, shaped very much like a French Chef's knife. The steel is thinner and harder than comparable French or German knives so it cuts better and the edge lasts longer. Get a 210mm (8.2") at Korin.

[Grovite]

I'll second the Forschner knives. They're good and inexpensive.

Also, check out the Wusthof Gourmet line, the KAI Pure Komachi and the Kershaw 9900 series. All of those are in your price range and are well made knives.

[Rob Babcock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzard767 In your price range ($55) I recommend a Togiharu Molybdenum Gyuto. A Gyuto is a Japanese chef's knife, shaped very much like a French Chef's knife. The steel is thinner and harder than comparable French or German knives so it cuts better and the edge lasts longer. Get a 210mm (8.2") at Korin.

The add copy seems to imply it's differentially beveled- is that the case? If so that would minimally complicate sharpening for a novice. I've been meaning to try that knife out; do you think it's a better deal the the Fujiwara FMK? The Fujiwara is only $68 at JCK.

[Rob Babcock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zepfloyd I am brand new to cooking, and when I mean brand new to cooking, I mean I have yet to try to cook anything. I was wondering if there is a solid all purpose knife that anyone could recommend. Just the typical knife you see food show hosts use to chop/dice just about everything up with. Any replies are greatly appreciated

A 'chef's knife' is the primary tool for most cooks, be it pro or home cooking enthusiast. As much as I want to agree with Buzz I'm not sure if you need anything better than the Fibrox. How much will you use it? What do you anticipate cooking? That said spending a bit more on a better knife will make cooking far more pleasurable.

[FincaPerlitas]

I prefer traditional French/German-style forged knives. The Forschner Fibrox knives and Wusthof Gourmet knives are both stamped, not forged, and don't have the wieght and balance of a good forged knife. For an inexpensive, good-quality set of forged knives, I recommend the Calphalon Traditional series knives. You can buy a full set with an 8" chef's knife, 6" utility knife, 5" serrated utility knife (tomato knife), and a 3 1/2' paring knive, plus storage block and sharpening steel for $100 from Amazon: Amazon.com: Calphalon Traditional 6-Piece Knife Block Set: Home & Garden .

These are good knives and will serve you well for many years. Like most "knife freaks", I don't allow others to use my personal knives, and have a set of these knives for everyday use by friends and family. We've been using them for several years and they've held up extremely well to heavy use and abuse.

Another benefit is that they're open stock, so you can add to the set as desired. For our style of cooking, I've added an 8" slicer, an 8" bread knife and a 5" boning knife.

A few important tips for all knives: Never put them in the dishwasher or in the sink with other dishes. Always use a wood or soft plastic cutting board. Before each use, take 3 or 4 passes oneach side of the blade with a sharpening steel. This keeps the edge aligned and greatly extends the time between sharpening. After each use, simply wipe or hand wash them and put them back in the storage block.