Hey guys, new guy here, first post... anyway, I'm a 24-year-old dude who's serious about my cooking. Love to try cooking new things, love to cook a wide variety of food types, to grill, bake, and anything in between. Problem is, I'm still using the cheap (and man do I mean cheap) knives that were given to me at the beginning of college, and I'm finally getting really really tired of them. Also, I'm using some old cookware (pots, pans, etc) that's equally as cheap and inadequate. While I'll ask about the pots, pans, and the like in a different post, I wanted to ask some things about knives here.
So here's what I'm wanting to do. I will likely not keep any of my old knives, save for my steak knives, which actually *are* high-quality. I am looking to start out buying 3-4 good knives (any advice on types of knives is appreciated), right now I'm thinking an 8-10" chef's knife, a 4" paring knife, and a bread knife. I am also considering a fillet knife or something along those lines, as I live near the beach and make a lot of fishy kind of dishes. If any of you can think of a good knife I might be able to use considering I make a lot of fish dishes, let me know. Also, if you have any opinions on 6 vs 8 vs 10 inch chef's knives, I'd love to hear them. One last thing - price isn't a huge issue... I just want some quality knives that I can use for a long time to come.
Also - the biggest issue I've been having. I'm assuming that I'm not the only lefty here on these forums... I have been looking online through knives, and have had a heck of a time finding any left-handed knives. I've used a couple of left-handed knives, and for some reason they always seem to cut easier for me, and keep my hand from being forced into an unnatural position when I use them. I can find left-handed knives sporadically on amazon.com, ebay, and elsewhere, but nothing that I really want. I am interested in buying a knife that has some good bulk to it but is still well balanced, i.e. a good german knife like a Wusthof or J.A. Henckels, but have had no luck in finding left-handed knives by either of these brand names, at least online. So do they even make left-handed knives? If so, how can I get ahold of them? Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.
Finally, if you guys have any additional pointers or tips in shopping for knives, I'd love to hear them. Remember that I'm buying some individual knives to begin building a good solid collection of nice knives. I already know to only wash them by hand, to try them before I buy them, and that a chef's knife and paring knife, followed by a bread knife, are probably the most important to have, but I could use any other general advice you can give.
Thanks in advance for your help, and I look forward to hearing anything you might have to say for me.
- Rossodio
So here's what I'm wanting to do. I will likely not keep any of my old knives, save for my steak knives, which actually *are* high-quality. I am looking to start out buying 3-4 good knives (any advice on types of knives is appreciated), right now I'm thinking an 8-10" chef's knife, a 4" paring knife, and a bread knife. I am also considering a fillet knife or something along those lines, as I live near the beach and make a lot of fishy kind of dishes. If any of you can think of a good knife I might be able to use considering I make a lot of fish dishes, let me know. Also, if you have any opinions on 6 vs 8 vs 10 inch chef's knives, I'd love to hear them. One last thing - price isn't a huge issue... I just want some quality knives that I can use for a long time to come.
Also - the biggest issue I've been having. I'm assuming that I'm not the only lefty here on these forums... I have been looking online through knives, and have had a heck of a time finding any left-handed knives. I've used a couple of left-handed knives, and for some reason they always seem to cut easier for me, and keep my hand from being forced into an unnatural position when I use them. I can find left-handed knives sporadically on amazon.com, ebay, and elsewhere, but nothing that I really want. I am interested in buying a knife that has some good bulk to it but is still well balanced, i.e. a good german knife like a Wusthof or J.A. Henckels, but have had no luck in finding left-handed knives by either of these brand names, at least online. So do they even make left-handed knives? If so, how can I get ahold of them? Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.
Finally, if you guys have any additional pointers or tips in shopping for knives, I'd love to hear them. Remember that I'm buying some individual knives to begin building a good solid collection of nice knives. I already know to only wash them by hand, to try them before I buy them, and that a chef's knife and paring knife, followed by a bread knife, are probably the most important to have, but I could use any other general advice you can give.
Thanks in advance for your help, and I look forward to hearing anything you might have to say for me.
- Rossodio