J A Henckels Knives?

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kinte

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
Messages
3
Ok someone recommended that I look into purchasing som J.A. Henckels knives. I have been looking around but im not sure what I should be looking for. I have looked at zwilling and international but i dont know what the difference is.These knives will be for every day cooking I will need

PARING KNIFE
UTILITY KNIFE
BONING KNIFE
CARVING KNIFE
CHEFS KNIFE
BREAD KNIFE
STEAK KNIFE

Can someone point me in the right directioin??
 
No matter what brand of knife you choose, you will find they generally have different lines of knives of various prices and quality.

Henckels has cheap and expensive knives. You will have to check them out in person to see which line and what price suits you.
 
The zwilling is their premium line and the International is their lower priced line.

Their website will lay it all out for you.

http://www.jahenckels.com/


As has been said many times in the past, you have to try the knife in your hand to be sure it's comfortable for you. Go to a kitchen store and hold the knives. Compare them to other brands and styles. You may find you like another brand/style of knife better than Henckels.
 
While high-priced brand name cutlery is nice - I prefer to look at the knives and forget the brand. For example, if it claims to never need sharpening ... run, don't walk, away from it. Same is true for a pure stainless steel blade - you'll never be able to really resharpen it.

Things to look for (the good things) are a forged (forged metal is stronger than stamped), full-tang (the metal is one solid piece that runs from the tip of the blade to the end of the handle), high carbon stainless steel, with triple-rivited handles (stronger than glued on handles). Another thing that I look at is the part of the knife known as the "bolster" - the back end of the blade in front of the handle. Wusthof, Henckles, and other brands of otherwise good cutlery, have lines that have a bolster that runs from the top (spine) to the bottom (edge) of the blade to make the blade "stronger" (and supposedly prevents your hand from slipping and getting cut by the blade) - which means you can't cut with the entire blade, and you can't sharpen the entire blade. This site shows a knife with a bolster that runs from the spine to the edge http://www.cutlery.com/t3/t11t21t32.shtml.

But, once you find a knife of good quality, the next thing is to "test drive" them in a store - like everyone has said. They need a good balance and they need to feel good in your hand. If they don't feel good in your hand - no matter how sharp or expensive they are - you will never enjoy using them. You can get a set of 6-knives that you'll love and will last a lifetime for $50 ... or get a set of expensive "big brand name" knives for $400 that you'll never enjoy using.

 
What Micheal FtW said . . . All of it . . .

I live on the Oregon Coast, around a fair number of fishmongers. The Health Dept. and commercial fisheries requires that handles/grips/scales on a knife be seamless, stable, non-reactive, and non-porous. That pretty much leaves plastic and variations in plastic.

Commercial knives in this realm have all the features of a fine knife -- good steel, full tang, bolster in the larger blades -- but the handle is molded plastic.

Brand names preferred locally are Dexter-Russell and Forschner. I pick up knives in thrift shops that come from canneries, fish markets, etc. I have a 6" filet, Dexter-Russell that I picked up in a flea mkt for $3. Lots of life left in it.

The local marine supply sells Dexter-Russell in carbon blades with hardwood, riveted handles. These don't get into the commercial plants, but my 8" "butcher" utility is the sharpest knife in the block.

Anyway, before you visit the "designer gourmet cooking shop" . . . head into some commercial suppliers of hotel and restaurant equipment -- or the local marine supply shop.

The best knives I own are commercial grade work-horses. Plastic handles, carbon blades, full tang, bolsters on the larger blades. Nothing fancy, but sharp, well made, well balanced, durable.
 

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