ISO a nice cheap pack of knives for home.

[babaliaris]

Hello, I'm looking for a cheap pack of knifes for home usage but I also want them to be quite professional (I like playing chef at home ?). Which material do they use to make good knifes? How many different knifes do I need for every situation? Please point me to the right direction.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

There is no such thing as cheap professional knives. You get what you pay for. You just need one knife for each situation, as long as its the right knife.

There are two different knife styles; western and eastern. Western blades have a 23 degree angle, while eastern blades have a 17 degree angle, making them lighter and extremely sharp, but they also get dull sooner.

There are two types of blades; forged or stamped. Forged is arguably better. There are three types of handles; riveted, pressed, and hollow as a part of the knife itself. Riveted is best. Pressed can pull off of the blade. All one piece stainless steel blade and handle is less expensive than riveted.

I have Gunter Willhelm knives and they sure as hell aren't cheap! I have used the Cuisinart Stainless Steel Hollow Handle Knives in the Amoretti Test Kitchen and they are decent knives at a reasonable price, but in my experience they get dull easily. If you do buy a block set, try to find one without steak knives, unless you really need overpriced steak knives.

Oh hell, I could go on forever and other people could argue each point I've made. I am going to go get a haircut now, and I think you should go to a kitchen store and see what they have in your price range. We can meet back here later, where you can check out my haircut and I can check out your choice of knives.

 

[babaliaris]

Can you post some images?

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I got my hair cut. Did you visit a kitchen store like I suggested?

 

[caseydog]

Yes, you can get cheap knives that are used in many restaurants, but not at a Kitchen store. They will NOT be something you use forever, and pass on to the kids. They do a job, and when you wear them out, you toss them.

You will find them at Restaurant Supply stores Like Ace Mart.

https://www.acemart.com/kitchen/cutlery

CD

 

[skilletlicker]

Hello, I'm looking for a cheap pack of knifes for home usage but I also want them to be quite professional (I like playing chef at home ?). Which material do they use to make good knifes? How many different knifes do I need for every situation? Please point me to the right direction.

Babaliaris, I'm assuming English isn't your first language and you are relatively young. If I'm wrong please believe I mean no insult. Do you mean cheap or inexpensive? Cheap implies inferior quality. Here is my question. Do you want to spend enough to buy a knife, or two or three, that you will keep for a lifetime? If so then Sir_Loin_of_Beef has a good suggestion as a starting point. But, in that case, I suggest you first answer for yourself how you are going to keep that knife, or knives sharp. If you want high-quality knives and are willing and able to pay to have them professionally sharpened on a regular basis that's one thing. If you don't necessarily want to make either commitment now, then I suggest you first decide how you are going to sharpen them yourself. Making that decision will teach you a lot about knives. If you're not experienced, practicing on the knives you have now or on "good" but inexpensive knives manufactured for sale to professional kitchens will teach you even more.

My approach to this question is different than most of the members of this forum. That doesn't make me any more right or wrong though. My suggestion is to go Sir Loins shops and feel the knives in your hand and while you're there ask them to show you and explain their sharpening stones as well. Some internet research on the topic will almost certainly be helpful. Also, visit a couple restaurant supply stores and see what knives and sharpening systems they sell to professional kitchens.

So good luck.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Yes, you can get cheap knives that are used in many restaurants, but not at a Kitchen store. They will NOT be something you use forever, and pass on to the kids. They do a job, and when you wear them out, you toss them.

You will find them at Restaurant Supply stores Like Ace Mart.

https://www.acemart.com/kitchen/cutlery

CD

Those are the type of knives that have pressed on handles that will pull off the tang of the blade. They are also stamped as opposed to forged, which means they are flimsy. They are also the reason that, when professional chefs go to work, they bring their own knives!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Your best deal for the money will be Cuisinart, Sabatier, or Chicago Cutlery.

 

[babaliaris]

Yes, my first language isn't English, I'm Greek 21 years old and a university student. I have 3 years of cooking experience and I know how to cut without cutting my fingers. Sir Loin, these are exactly what I was looking for. I should not say professional, I'm just looking for good knifes for home for every situation. Also I want them to be quite sharp, not like these fake knifes I have which they can't even cut an onion without applying strong pressure.

 

[babaliaris]

I found this in a Greek online store http://www.cookware.gr/gr/prdid/e20383fc0fec48bfa9646c03150183b3/productinfo.aspx
Will this be suitable for cutting vegetables? Like onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots etc. And it's worth 20 euros including shipping which is about 21 dollars.

 

[babaliaris]

Let's start again, I shouldn't ask for too much. My first priority is a knife that can cut vegetables sausages and maybe some basic meat (I'm still not good with meat, so I won't need a separate knife for that). In videos on YouTube I see they use a knife that it's called chef's knife and it looks like this one http://www.cookware.gr/gr/prdid/e20383fc0fec48bfa9646c03150183b3/productinfo.aspx
Will this be enough for starters?

 

[GotGarlic]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

Most of us typically recommend having a chef's knife, a paring knife for small tasks (like coring tomatoes before chopping) and a serrated knife for cutting bread.

It's definitely a good idea to go to a kitchen store and handle a few knives to determine which ones are most comfortable in your hand. Different people prefer different lengths and styles of knives and handling them is the only way to find out your preferences.

 

[babaliaris]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

Most of us typically recommend having a chef's knife, a paring knife for small tasks (like coring tomatoes before chopping) and a serrated knife for cutting bread.

It's definitely a good idea to go to a kitchen store and handle a few knives to determine which ones are most comfortable in your hand. Different people prefer different lengths and styles of knives and handling them is the only way to find out your preferences.

Something like this pack?
https://www.hellas-tech.gr/product/...tem-antibaktiridiaka-antikollitika.html?ref=1

The middle knife in the picture, what is it for?

Thank you for your welcome message!

 

[babaliaris]

I also found this https://www.hellas-tech.gr/product/...088-set-antibaktiridiakwn-antikollitikwn.html
Only 13 euros in offer??? Sounds very cheap for good though.

 

[tenspeed]

My opinions:

While it's nice to have high quality knives at home, the demands of the home cook are much different than a professional. The most important thing is to keep them sharp. A lesser quality knife will not stay as sharp as long as a higher quality knife, so it will need to be sharpened more frequently. For normal home use and not abusing them (such as bouncing around in a drawer), a lesser quality knife will still stay sharp for quite a while.

You will find that the most useful knife is a chef's knife. The Victorinox 8" chef's knife is often regarded as the best budget knife (USD 30). I have one, and it works just fine. My paring knife is not particularly sharp, and it serves its purpose. Other blades in a set probably won't get used much.

You will probably want a honing steel for daily use and a pull through sharpener (or learn to use a sharpening stone) for occasional touch ups between professional sharpenings, which might be once or twice a year.

Welcome to DC. While your Mom's cooking might be the best, mine wasn't, so I had to learn to cook on my own.

 

[skilletlicker]

babaliaris, I suggest you start with a 20cm or 25cm chef knife. One of your links was to a 15 cm chef knife, which is a good length for a utility knife with a narrow blade but too short for a chef knife. In order, the first 4 purchases I'd make are listed below.

1. Two sided sharpening stone
2. 20 or 25 cm chef knife (8 or 10 inches)
3. 10 cm paring knife (4 inches)
4. 15 cm utility knife (6 inches)

Lots more can and should be said about stones but I suggest you start another thread on that topic if you are interested. If you don't buy a stone to begin with, you must buy a steel.

 

[babaliaris]

babaliaris, I suggest you start with a 20cm or 25cm chef knife. One of your links was to a 15 cm chef knife, which is a good length for a utility knife with a narrow blade but too short for a chef knife. In order, the first 4 purchases I'd make are listed below.

1. Two sided sharpening stone
2. 20 or 25 cm chef knife (8 or 10 inches)
3. 10 cm paring knife (4 inches)
4. 15 cm utility knife (6 inches)

Lots more can and should be said about stones but I suggest you start another thread on that topic if you are interested. If you don't buy a stone to begin with, you must buy a steel.

One last question:

What about this

1 Santoku knife 17.7 cm

1 Chef knife 20 cm

1 bread knife 20 cm

1 knife for general use 12.5 cm*

1 knife also for general use 9 cm*

1 tool for cleaning potatoes and that kind of stuff.

https://www.hellas-tech.gr/product/...088-set-antibaktiridiakwn-antikollitikwn.html

This is the cheapest pack I found online in Greek stores.

I will also buy a sharpening tool. But do you thing that these knifes on the link, which cost in total 14 dollars USD, will broke easily? When i say "broke" I don't mean literally, I think you can understand what I want to say.

So basically, should I buy a cheap pack like in the link above, or should I give some more bucks and buy only one good chef's knife???

 

[RPCookin]

Typically, a cheaper knife won't take as good an edge, and will get dull faster just with normal use. You will find that spending 13 euros on a set of cheap knives will probably just be wasted money.

The best plan is to spend a little more and start with just one that you can do almost everything with. I would start with a 20-25 cm chef knife of decent quality. I use this 10" (25 cm) Wüsthof Cook's knife for almost everything I do in the kitchen.

Learn how to keep it sharp with honing steel and a good sharpener.

The only thing that the above knife really doesn't do very well is slice crusty bread - a serrated bread slicer is best for that. It's also handy to eventually have a smaller 7-10 cm paring/utility knife.

I have a 13 cm boning knife that I use for a smaller jobs when I don't need the big one for anything. If I have to get out the bigger one for something then I'll just use it for everything on that occasion.

Start with a good chef's/cooks knife and it won't take long before you find out what you might need to go with it. Buying a set usually means that you pay for some knives that almost never get used. Buying a cheap set means that you get a bunch of knives that you will never be very happy with.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I also found this https://www.hellas-tech.gr/product/...088-set-antibaktiridiakwn-antikollitikwn.html
Only 13 euros in offer??? Sounds very cheap for good though.

I don't read Greek, but those appear to be ceramic knives, which never need sharpening, but they are a bit fragile. If you drop one on a bare floor, such as tile, it could easily break. I have a set of those, which I usually use for cutting up lettuce and other vegetables, because they won't cause the produce to turn black. They are deceptively sharp, which causes a lot of people to handle them like toys until they end up cutting themselves. I think they would be an inexpensive starter set for you, then as you gain more experience and confidence you can start buying more expensive knives.

 

[skilletlicker]

If that set will make you happy then go for it. I doubt you'll miss the $14 that much. They do look kind of cool if you don't think about it too much. But...I'll bet you end up throwing them away a lot sooner than you think. Not the worst thing in the world. Most people probably throw away the first knife set they buy. I can't think of a single advantage for a non-stick surface on a stainless steel knife blade. The first time you use any kind of sharpener on them, the surface is coming off. That's what sharpening is, after all, grinding away steel to sharpen the edge.

...or should I give some more bucks and buy only one good chef's knife???

That is what I would suggest. Either a "good" one you can use for a few years and resharpen yourself on a regular basis, or, even better if you can afford it, a GOOD one you will use for 50 or 60 years.
If you get a very good knife get a steel too. Watch some YouTube demonstrations of how to use it made by people you trust. Use your new sharpening stones on your old knives. You can make a cheap knife very sharp and some of your old knives may actually be made of good steel. I like to sharpen knives while I'm watching TV. That way when the time comes to sharpen your new GOOD knife you will have acquired enough experience that you won't ruin the edge. By the way, avoid purchasing a good knife with bevel strategy that you can't sharpen at home.