Kitchen CutleryWhat do you use, what would you use if you could?

[alaskanativeson]

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a cutlery snob. I won't have just any old grocery store knife in my kitchen cutlery. (I'm talking about knives for prepping food, not table butter knives.) I don't have any plain grocery store knives, most of the knives I have are Henckels Pro S series knives. I have the large Cold Steel chef's knife because I like the tacky rubber handle on it, I also have 3 very old Old Hickory brand knives, they were Mom's knives that she got from Grandma. I don't use them but I won't ever get rid of them.

So what kind of knives do you (or your S/O) use in your kitchen? Are you particular about what you use? What brand or type would you get if money was no object? What do you think makes a good kitchen knife?

 

[Sniper X]

Recently I have bought a few different sizes of Suntokus, really like the shape and handling, all three are Katana Series Calphelons, beautiful quality for the money. here's a link to the Honesuki I also have a couple of.
http://www.calphalon.ca/calphalon/consumer/products/productGroup.jhtml?catId=CLCat100476

here's the pic of the Suntoku, and I also use (for chefs and bread knives top shelf Henkels.

 

[Soap]

I frequently use:

-Benchmade Rukus
-Kabar (gets used very infrequently since I sharpened the swedge)
-Gerber LMF II
-Dexter Chinese Chef's Knife

 

[eliphalet]

Forschner, Case, Henckles, Old hickory, etc. but for quality to price Forschner is hard to beat IMO.

Among several older rescued kitchen/butcher knives I own is a old Remington Kleanblade and Winchester made in the USA kitchen/butcher knives but they don't get used. I have seen the same knife/knives on display in the Cody Firearms Museum in Wy.

Oh hey! I forgot, we have a ginsu around here somewhere the little lady had when I met her.

 

[MillCreek]

I have a large collection of Dexter Russell Sani Safe knives. I figure if they are good enough for most commercial and restaurant kitchens, they are good enough for me.

 

[hrgrisso]

Don't Laugh

I actually regifted my wedding present Henkels to my sister in favor of my own Cutco.

For work in the Kitchen in my mind no one makes a better knife. I liked the Cold Steel Kitchen knives but I always come back to cutco. Their Double D edge is great! I love their Trimmers and you can't beat such a useful paring knife in length and especially length and grip of handle.

In fact I just bought another few pieces.

Their sales tactics suck (you can't order online you must have a rep come to your house) but the knives are so worth it. And since they'll sharpen (their proprietary edge requires them to sharpen) and polish your knives for free all you pay is shipping how can you complain.

Speaking of which my carvers could use a new edge.

 

[CWL]

Handforged Japanese knives, but these stay in the drawer. I keep a set of Shun damascus clads out in the knife block for the wife so she doesn't try to use mine.

I have a pair of American forged knives on the way from knifesmith David Wesner www.kelseycreekknifeworks.com and another pair ordered from Dan Koster www.kosterknives.com.

If you look around, you'll find out that American knifesmiths charge only about as much as a good Henckel or Wustof knife would cost.

 

[Brian Williams]

An old Cattaraugus 8" French knife and an Old Hickory 6" boning knife, a set of Stainless paring, boning and slicing knife.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Eclectic

Years ago I wandered into a second-hand shoppe in Copenhagen (DK) and bought a number of things: a Hermes 3000 typewriter (Swiss, hands down the finest manual I've ever owned), some plumbing stuff, a few tools, and some yellow-handled kitchen knives (new) labelled "SWIBO" and "Wenger," also made in Switzerland.

Those SWIBO knives became my favorites. I ruined one of them trying to cut into the end of a bone, but kept the other two.

--[ For those of you who like Forschner (by Victorinox), I invite you to try SWIBO (by Wenger). ]--​

When I came back to the states, I was only able to find one more in a restaurant supply store.

They've had a place of honor in my kitchen for years.

Since I found eBay a few years back, I have managed to pick up a few more SWIBOs and sent one to my daughter (who grew up with them), much to her delight.

I was also able to find some classic (1970s/1980s) Gerber kitchen knives, among them the French that my mom used to have.

Along the way, we've found a knife here and another there that makes its way into the kitchen knife block. Right now, it looks like a fugitive from a yard sale. Plastic handles, metal handles, wooden handles, and some rubber+aluminum handles.

But you know what? If I ever get my hands on a complete set of Tupperware knives, I may just keep one knife block just for them. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Like I did before I tried them.

 

[alias]

hrgrisso,
If you send back any Cutco for sharpening you become a repeat customer and they start sending catalogues in the mail. As an established customer you can order online, or over the phone from the sales catalogue. I've only bought one new piece of Cutco for myself, but I bought a set for my stepdaughter (who loves cooking) for Christmas a couple years ago with no problem. Never had a salesman come to the house. I love the stuff. My mom has had a set since 1955. Mine I bought used over 25 years ago.

 

[sargenv]

Personally I prefer the Wustoff Grand Prix series. I do have one Forschner, an offset cheese knife. For paring knives I just use the disposable $3 Dexters. If it gets dull I chuck it and buy a new one (or three). I used to have a Wustoff Paring knife, but either lost it or it was stolen. Now I need not worry about it. I can use just about anything (Professional cook, 10 years) but I like what I have and don't really think twice about using them for anything. For a bread knife I have a dexter also. Eventually they wear out and I just get another. As long as the knife I use keeps an edge and does the job at hand, I have no complaints. I prefer to sharpen my own knives and always found the Cutco thing annoying. Though I did get one for my mother and she likes it just fine.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I'm not sure how much I can contribute to this.

I was raised to use what I could get and just make do. I didn't seek out top quality, because I knew it would just be left behind on the next move. (I'm not sure how may times we moved, but I'm pretty sure that I changed schools 33 times.) I'm just now learning to care properly for a quality knife.

Once I learn that skill set I may treat myself to some good steel. In the mean time, Chinese stuff from WalMart (and a little Old Hickory) will have to do.

 

[Mp7]

http://www.zwilling.com/de-DE/Sortiment--sortiment/Messer--knives/Serien%FCberblick--serien/TWIN%AE-1731--3674/animation.html


( nice 360° animation of the newest Zwilling knife )

I use a Zwilling chef´s knife, as well as a few others i´ve
found and bought from unknowing folks on flea markets.

"Made in Solingen" is stamped on every single one.

 

[sixgunner455]

Henckels (very rarely use, because we don't leave them down for the kids to mess with), Old Hickory (most inherited, some bought on purpose), custom pieces from my dad, one custom piece I made, Dexter Russel paring knife with a white rubber handle (wedding present), and a bunch of Tramontina that we got in a set as a wedding present and I reworked so I could stand to have them in my kitchen. Got some others, just random knives.

One really long, narrow chef's knife that I got from a lending closet at Fort Ord years ago. It wasn't stainless, they didn't want to let me borrow it because it was rusty and they were going to throw it away. It was, by far, the best knife they had (all our stuff was in storage a thousand miles away), so when I asked them for it they just let me keep it. Cleaned up really easily, keeps a good edge. Can't really read the maker's mark, but it's fun to use.

 

[schadenfreude]

+1 for Dexter Russell and Forschner

I have a few that are the top of the line Wusthof and Henckels that I never use anymore. My favorite is the 7 inch Santoku knife thats a Dexter Sani Safe. They are NSF for cleanliness, easy to maintain, clean and use..... the best thing is they're only like $15.00 at the cash and carry. Compared to $140 for my Henckels chefs knife.

 

[craftsman]

Ceramic Blades

I just purchased an Eagle Ceramic Zirconium Oxide (white blade) 5 in. utility
($35 at Target) - it is amazing.

3rd hardest material (Diamond being first). Razor sharp - cuts like a dream. Saving up for their next up model - Ceramic Zirconium Carbide (2nd hardest material) - same knife - $75.

Not for cutting or chopping frozen food - Not for stabbing - just slicing - don't drop it. Don't chop on a hard surface (hardwood cutting boards are OK). No need to use force for slicing either.

Wafer thin slices that I could not achieve with a steel blade unless it was on an electric slicer.

Don't take my word - You have to try one yourself!

 

[Floppy_D]

I bought my wife a Wusthof set for Christmas a few years ago... makes prep work a joy.

 

[thebaldguy]

We have several Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives that are now more than 20 years old. They work well, still look great and hold an edge. My mom has some really nice Wustof-Trident kitchen knives that work well also, but they were a lot more than the Chicago Cutlery.

I have been curious about those kitchen knives with the dimples on the blade just above the cutting edge. Do they really help keep items from sticking to the blade?

 

[schadenfreude]

thebaldguy Yes the dimples are great. Food doesn't stick as much and it seems to make it great for carving meat as well.

 

[MaterDei]

I have a set of Wusthof knives that I bought when I was stationed in Germany. I also have a set of Henckels. I like the Wusthof knives better but the Henckels are good too.

 

[simpleguy]

I too concur on the Wusthof, I have both Henckels and Wustof. Of all the knives I have the Wusthof brand are my favorite. Of all the knife styles I have, the Santoku knives are my favorite. Good steel and a good edge make cooking a dream.

 

[Inspector3711]

Wusthof classic set with a Wushof sontoku we added later. I'll never go back to Henckels.

 

[schadenfreude]

I actually met a chef a while back at one of the nicest restaurants around here and he said most chefs he knows use Wusthoff and global.

 

[Skofnung]

I use a hodgepodge of blades in my kitchen, but I find that the blade that I reach for most often is a 3" stainless Henckles paring knife.

 

[alaskanativeson]

I have to agree with the small cutouts on the blade. I know Henckels call it a kullenschlief(spelling?) edge. My 10 inch carver has this type of blade, I can tell a difference using it on a roast.

CWL, I really liked some of the knives on both of the sites, I especially liked the Ulu from Dan Koster. I sent him an email requesting a quote for an ulu made to my specs, I like a much larger ulu than the one he shows.

If you haven't used an ulu before, I'd really suggest trying one. It is a really great knife.