Photo of my knives + which should I buy next?

[Chuy]

I'm the daily cook for my family and a fairly serious weekend griller/BBQer and I'm curious about which knife I should think about possibly purchasing next?

My current collection built from inheritances, gifts (hence the dupes) and a few of my own purchases may be viewed under my "images."

It ranges from my great-uncle's scimitar to a big stamped chefs knife from my Nana (which I use at least as much as my Henckels 10" chefs) to a new Henckel's boning knife that was just given to me after someone broke a boning knife they borrowed from me.

Along the way is my trusted Chinese cleaver from way back in my Jeff Smith-watching days, my Dexter slicer which I heavily rely on to my el cheap yet good fillet knife which I bought under the gun this summer when I had to fillet-out some salmon.

I was thinking of a 6" santoku, but now I'm not really sure.

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Andy M.]

If you are feeling the urge to buy a new knife, go for it. From what I saw, what you already have is more than enough to do just about everything.

 

[pacanis]

I don't see the pics

oops, nevermind. I see they are somewhere else now...

 

[pacanis]

I've seen a few of those in various horror movies (lol)

 

[justplainbill]

If well sharpened, your Chinese cleaver, should pretty much do anything a Santoku can do. You might want to add a bird beak and a round belly parer to your complement of cutlery.

 

[GhettoRacingKid]

I say go for and add another one. nice knives.

 

[Chuy]

If well sharpened, your Chinese cleaver, should pretty much do anything a Santoku can do. You might want to add a bird beak and a round belly parer to your complement of cutlery.

Just what is a round belly paring knife? Thanks...

 

[justplainbill]

Shoulda said round belly; haven't seen them for sale lately, think they may have been discontinued-

 

[jpaulg]

Maybe a Laguiole folding knife. I find that it's always good to have a pocket knife handy for odd jobs, plus the Laguiole doubles as a steak knife.

 

[johnbit]

Go for it, personally I think a good cookware and great kitchen knives can really make a big different in cooking

If you are getting santoku knife, Shun Classic is my favorite

 

[Chuy]

Shoulda said round belly; haven't seen them for sale lately, think they may have been discontinued-

Do you mean ROACH belly knife?

 

[Chuy]

Go for it, personally I think a good cookware and great kitchen knives can really make a big different in cooking

If you are getting santoku knife, Shun Classic is my favorite

Oh, yeah, those Sun Classics are gorgeous knives! I like all of Kershaw's offerings including the Shuns and even the Wasabis...

 

[Chuy]

I've seen a few of those in various horror movies (lol)

???

 

[justplainbill]

Close, but the roach has a little less belly than the round.

 

[Kuijt]

for the knives with the wood gripp change them for newones i think

 

[Cornelius]

I have a 7" santoku with hollow edge, and shortly after I bought it, I kind of wished I hadn't. Not because it isn't a good knife, but because I felt it was redundant. Back then I would have told you that anything I could do with the santoku, I could do with a chef's knife.

That is still true, but now I am happy with my santoku. Not because I wouldn't be able to cook without it, but because of subtle differences. For example, it releases clingy foods much better than my chef's knives. So something as silly as making chicken sandwiches becomes slightly easier. I can slice both the cheese and meat with the santoku, and the cheese lets go of the knife much easier than it does with my chef's knives. Could I use a chef's knife instead? Of course, but it is just a little bit easier, and therefore more fun to use the santoku. I could cite more examples, but I'm sure you get the picture.

However, having said that, this purchase taught me that for me, at least, a knife choice is kind of a personal thing. I should choose my knives based on what I need them for. I bought the santoku several years ago, at a time when they were first appearing on cooking shows in great numbers. I thought "Well, if they all use them, I must need one." Fortunately, it worked out this time, eventually.

But, in the future, no more knives for me, unless I know for a fact they are going to help me do something I do a lot, and make whatever that is easier and quicker.

Of course, this is only my opinion, and only one approach. I recently met a guy who said he had over forty knives, and that he absolutely needed them all. And no, he wasn't a pro, he just worked at a kitchen supply store. I guess he must have gotten a discount.

 

[justplainbill]

I had to split-off approx. 1/2 of a 5 lb. hard frozen slab of pastrami for tonight's dinn-dinn. Not having a meat cutting bandsaw, I was sure glad to have an eleven inch Sabatier Chef's knife to do the job. The Sabatier's edge survived the task pretty well. Don't know if current Sabatiers would fare as well; mine is likely some 20+ year's old. I had a Sabatier, purchased in 1972, that was hardened so much that it was brittle. I converted the warped replacement of the snapped brittle Sabatier into a short paring knife that I use whenever I want a knife with a high handle to blade length ratio.

 

[Chuy]

for the knives with the wood gripp change them for newones i think

Thanks!