Cooking Resources

Silver · 01-02-2007, 09:11 PM

Hey guys and gals,

Did some post-holiday shopping today and decided to expand my
knife collection a bit. I currently have 7" (I think) Santoku that I got for my birthday and two old blocks of "Laser" knives. The blocks of knives are basically garbage, they aren't sharp and do more tearing than cutting. Bad news. The Santoku is nice, but I thought a nice addition of a chef's knife would be good for when my gf and I are both at work in the kitchen.

I hit my local store and they had a couple of knives on clearance that felt good in my hand, have a nice thin blade and looked sharp, so I picked up a chef's and a boning knife for $9 and $6 respectively. Then, while perusing the shelves I came across this briefcase full of knives without a tag on it. They guesstimated a price on it at $50 and the knives look and feel great. They're nice and heavy with a fairly thick blade. I couldn't resist, so I picked that up, too. The kit seems to have:

1 9" Chef's
1 9" Carving
1 7" Cleaver
1 7" Bread
1 7" (??Utility??)
1 6" Boning
1 4" Offset serrated (for purposes I'm unaware of)
1 3.5" Paring
12 Steak
1 Fork
1 Kitchen shears
1 Spring loaded shears (poultry maybe? - serrated on one blade and flat on the other)
1 Steel
1 Briefcase (nerdy)
___
25 pieces = $2/piece

The brand appears to be "Couteau du Chef" (labelled on the knives and the briefcase) and they're stainless steel (also labelled in French), but I can't find anything more about them anywhere.

This may seem a bit extreme considering I'm most often cooking for one or two, although sometimes 4 - 8.

Or I could get the clearance knives (limited selection - Charles Meniere brand) and get 1 Chef's, Boning, and Carving for a total of $24, I think.

The last time I tried to bone a chicken breast with my piece of junk "Laser" boning knife, I decided that those breasts would have to be on sale REAL cheap for it to be worth it, but I'd like to have a .

The "Laser" bread knives generally do the trick because...really...it's bread.

The chef, carving and cleaver sure are nice and heavy and the handles feel good. I could add a carving knife from the clearance rack where I found the other chef's knife, though too (also $9).

I'd have to buy a cleaver somewhere else, as they didn't have one, and I'd like one for separating poultry, but I wouldn't be rushing and don't find it to be necessary but would still be nice.

I have a decent Henckels paring knife (just a cheapy, but sharp) and a 7" or so "Forever Sharp" serrated knife with a forked tip that has worked well for carving before.

I would still want to get a good utility knife in the 6" range for general stuff. I don't think they had any on the clearance rack, although I'd have to double check.

I also want a steel as I don't have one now.

The only "problem" with the Couteau du Chef knives is the storage. They don't fit in the current block that I have because the blades are that much thicker and the briefcase isn't sightly and/or practical in the kitchen AND there are a lot more knives there than I'm used to. I guess I could just buy a block or a drawer organizer somewhere.

I'm not super concerned about warranty on these, considering the price. I just want something that feels good can be sharpened.

Long post, sorry about that...I dunno...any thoughts? Overkill on the briefcase set? Too good a deal to pass up? Here are some shots of my various knives and the Couteau du Chef set:

stinemates · 01-02-2007, 10:13 PM

If they feel nice and cut nice, keep em! Who cares about brand when they were cheap and work well.

kitchenelf · 01-02-2007, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver

I also want a steel as I don't have one now.

What's that thing in the top part of the case to the left of the scissors? Isn't that a steel? It's hard to see so I'm not sure.

Silver · 01-02-2007, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitchenelf

What's that thing in the top part of the case to the left of the scissors? Isn't that a steel? It's hard to see so I'm not sure.

Yeah, the ones in the case come with a steel, I was just mentioning that as it would be something that would have to be purchased if I didn't keep that particular set, regardless.

Basically, the knives I REALLY want in addition to whatever I currently have:

9" Chef's = cost approx $9 on clearance
Boning = $6
Steel = $?
Bread
A *good* utility knife

If I get decent quality, regardless of brand, I'm probably close to what I paid for the big set, which includes so much more.

It seems like a no brainer, in some ways. And not much money at stake (I almost wrote "steak" for the pun, but elected not to

); however, the big set entails it's own inherent difficulties (storage, for one - may have to pick up a knife block at some stage that'll fit most of them).

TATTRAT · 01-02-2007, 11:05 PM

sounds like with all the description, you know what you want and don't want. And yea, isn't that a steel, still in plastic? If they hold an edge, and you are not looking to build a knife set tat will be with you for the next 30= years, looks like you are doin ok. And storing your knives in a block is a bad practice, imo. wood is nothing more then a substraight for some food borne illnesses. You can not sterilize those lil ol slits in the block, and anything that moist and dark is bound to cause mildew.

As for the case, just tell people you are Bond, James Bond.

Silver · 01-02-2007, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TATTRAT

storing your knives in a block is a bad practice, imo. wood is nothing more then a substraight for some food borne illnesses. You can not sterilize those lil ol slits in the block, and anything that moist and dark is bound to cause mildew.

the logic makes sense, but that begs the question - what's your preferred method of storage, then?