Selecting a Kitchen Knife Set

Thank you for pointing out that the price of a chef's knife shouldn't be the first factor you evaluate. With a tool this useful and used, it is actually cheaper to purchase a high quality knife initially since it will last much longer and be a more effective, comfortable tool. A less expensive knife will actually cost more over the long run because you will need to replace it eventually. An important lesson that has been co-opted by the continual marketing bombardment of Wal-mart.

Hi everybody.

I just wanted to echo what Dave mentioned. I'm a novice in cooking but decided to invest in good quality knives for this course - it really paid off!

I could do the practice exercises with a lot more consistency, speed and ease. Not to mention that it was a lot of fun! So, if you can make the investment, you won't regret it!

What's the conventional wisdom on these sort of sharpeners?

http://www.chefsresource.com/chefdiamhonm.html

I was given a similar one a while ago, but have always shied away from using it.

These, in general, give you a very rough edge, though sharp for the first few cuts. They also tend to rip away at your knife much faster. Let's put it this way, I wouldn't put my best knives through them, but perhaps would my $5 a shot paring knife. Renata makes the key point in all this: cutting will be a joy with the best edge you can produce. Look for a future lesson on how to do this with a stone.

I have a Katana chef's knife, and was told by the Calphalon dealer that I should not use the steel on this blade, but should only sharpen it, once it's dull. I got an OZITECH sharpener, recommended by Peter Hertzman and Toronto's The Healthy Butcher. I've only used it once, but it seems to work really well. Not sure what it will do to the blade in the long run. And I wanted to remind other novices like me that a sharp blade is critical for safety. Always keep the knives sharp.

I use 2 Mac knives and they recommend a sharpener like this. I works very well and is easy to use.

Makes your knife glide through everything like butta, for only $25 bucks one can't go wrong.

As an amateur I think the rocking motion of the chef's knife is easier and safer then the the up and down chop of the santoku.

As for sharpening I've tried them all and if your not having much luck take the knife to your butcher or knife store to get your edge back. The key is to have a sharp knife and keep it sharp with the fine part of the sharpener (usually the white one).

I'd like to agree and disagree with dave and renata...
As someone who cooks commercially as a profession and as
the primary cook at home.

Although price shouldn't be a primary issue, let's face it, not everyone
can afford $1000+ Masamoto knives or even a $80+ Global Knife

I've used $1000+ knives and to most the degree of skill to just sharpen
the knives should turn away prospective buyers.

What I'm trying to get to is that the best knives that I use most
frequently is a $70 8inch chef japanese chef knife which i forget the name, and a $8 5inch Caddy Slicer knife for paring and slicing
I work 50-80 hrs a week for 3 years in culinary and my knives
are still sharp and still comfortable.
Seeing that I sharpen only once a month and hone with a steel

I mean it would be great to have a knife you wouldn't have to sharpen
24/7 and keep for a lifetime. But hey by that time you use your knife
for a lifetime you'll have arthritis and wont be able to cook, and in lets
say 50 years they will probably cutting vegetables with lasers and robots anyways

Does anybody have any experience with keramic knives (e.g. kyocera) made from zirkonium? Would you prefer keramic instead of steel? From my point of view steel is much easier to sharpen, but maybe keramic would not need to sharpen at all?

A few people have also made comments here:
http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/7/topics/352

Maybe post your comment there, as I personally have not heard of kyocera brand, but I will have a look. Good Luck!

no money to buy a good knife. me so sad

Ceramic knives do not mean it will not get dull. You eventually have to sharpen it but with diamond. Ceramic is brittle. Sharpening a knife by using water-stone is not that difficult, you can also use ceramic stone to sharpen your knives. But I will not use other sharpening gadgets to sharpen good quality knives. Took a lesson about a year a ago in how to sharpen knives with water-stone. It only takes about 10 min ( about once every two to three weeks) to get the edge back and make cutting a breeze.

The video shows that Granton knives have scalloped edges. However, in many kitchen stores the scalloped egded knives are called Santoku knives. Also, in your store you'll get a Santoku knife as a bonus if you buy a Viking Cookware set. I am confused...

And another thing, I couldn't understand from the video if it is possible to hone a Granton (the one with the scalloped edges) knife. It is said that it's difficult to hone, but do you still have to hone it or is it not possible?

Many kitchen stores label things according to how items are "commonly referred to" this doesn't mean it is right. A granton knife has scalloped edges, and those scalloped edges can be on any type of knife, whether it's a chef knife, paring knife or santoku knife.

Santoku refers to a particular shaped knife. One that has a rounded edge and a flat blade. Technically any knife shaped like this, whether scalloped or not is a santoku knife.

As for "if you buy a Viking Cookware set, you get a bonus Santoku knife"...this is true. You are getting a santoku, however it could also be thought of as a granton knife as it has the scalloped edges.

As for honing a knife with scalloped edges it is absolutely possible to hone them and yes you do want to hone them but it just becomes more difficult as the knife wears down (like shown in the video).

I hope this clears up some of the confusion for you Naouar :-)

Just bought four ceramic knives and they are very sharp and light weight...a real pleasure to use. Was told by the manufacturer to return to them for sharpening. The service is free, just have to pay $5 per knife for S&H. They are supposed to maintain their edge 10 times longer than steel.

I bought my husband a Zwilling Henckels Five Star-line chef's knife for Christmas, and we've been thrilled - until very recently. We've honed it every time before using (once every day or two) as best we could based on the video instructions, but all of a sudden it seems REALLY dull. At least, relatively. It's only been two months, and suddenly it's a real effort to get it to cut through tomato skin. It tends to squish rather than slice, whereas when we first got the knife it would slice through anything with practically no pressure.

I'm pretty sure none of the things we've cut (basically vegetables) should have dulled it like this, so I have to figure we're 'honing' it terribly wrong. Any idea what we're doing? Should we get it professionally sharpened and then quit trying to hone it ourselves?

I can't tell you how timely this post is. We are just about to release a lesson on this very subject.

Don't worry you likely have not been doing anything wrong. With regular use and even if you hone properly, knives will start to dull.

Rather than getting them professionally sharpened (which can take time and is not always as good as if you did it yourself)...just hang on for another week or so and we will show you how to do it yourself. You will have razor-sharp knives again very soon!

This line by David J made me laugh out loud, "... in lets say 50 years they will probably cutting vegetables with lasers and robots anyways."

One of my biggest problems is chopping onions (really!). I would like to do it in the manner you show. Cut the onion slice down to about a third of the onion and then make horizontal slices (2 or 3) and then chop down. The knife you use seems to cut to the onion horizontally in a VERY easy knife. Would you please tell me what type of a knife is that?

Thank you,

Jorge

The knife we used to chop the onion was a Shun Santoku knife, but any sharp knife will do.

How long should a good knife last. I am assuming that each sharpening takes off a little steal and eventually there will be now more.

If taken care of a good knife can last a lifetime. I haven't actually gotten to that stage yet :-) but I have had some of my chef knives for over 15 years now.

Is there a difference between a scalloped knife and a serrated knife? Are there such things as serrated chef knives?

To answer your question, yes they are different. Topic 1 of this lesson talks about serrated knives (which are sometimes referred to as bread knives) and Topic 4 talks about scalloped knives (which are the knives that have grooves in the side of the blade).

As for "are there such things as serrated chef knives?" - no is the answer, as chef knives are not serrated (see Topic 1). Hope this helps!

thank you, that does help.
Another question I have is what are serrated knives used for besides bread? I have seen serrated paring knives (at least, they looked like paring knives) what would be the benefit of using that over a normal paring knife?

They are used for many things...I use them for slicing tomatoes, cheese etc.

I just bought a Santoku 7" chef's knife and a Santoku paring knife. Which other one should I buy? The boning Knife? If so there are two: The classic 6-inch boning knife and the 6-inch boning and fillet knife. Which of the two?

Thanks

Jorge

Buying knives is a personal choice. I would just say buy the one that you think you will use more. Meaning the one that is more suited to what you cook. Cheers.

anyone got a couple of brands of knives to recommend

Welcome...there are many discussions (and opinions) on this subject already started in the forum. Just type in the word "knives" in the search field (at the top right of each page) and then click on the "forum discussion" tab. Cheers!!

Hello,
I have always had a pasion for cooking and this class deffinitly teaches me the basics! Who knew that a simple knife could make such a difference!

My first set of knives is a Global 3pc starter set that cam with a 10'' cheks knife, a 3'' pairing knife, and a 6'' Vegetable knife. These knives cost me a pretty penny but well worth it. They are so shar and the Chromova stainless steel used in these japanese knives is so strong it is hard for them to go dull. Ever since I bought these knives my cooking has become easier and less time consuming. The fisrt thing evey chef should have is a set of good knives.

Hi there... I just signed up for a year of lessons. Looks like we're off to a good start! On knives, my wife saw to it that a set was among our suggested wedding gifts. They sat in boxes in a basement for a few years after we moved overseas and we used a cheap Ikea set instead (which aren't all that bad, by the way).

Then I started to get more interested in cooking so we "smuggled" them over in our checked luggage... and wow, what a difference it makes to have good knives. By default, our 10" chef's knife indeed became my most used item.

One last thing I wanted to add, which you've probably covered by now in the lessons, is that I read somewhere that the steel is great for keeping the edge between sharpenings. For a real sharpening, it's better to get the whetstone or whatever off the shelf every couple months or so.

John F, welcome to the Rouxbe Cooking School. Glad to hear you dug out your good knives. In the lesson on Handling a Chef's Knife we show you how to hone a knife in Topic 2. There is also an entire lesson on Knife Sharpening with a Whetstone. Check these out to know the difference between honing/sharpening and when each should be done. Cheers!

Hmm... I have one of these sharpeners http://www.chefsresource.com/chefdiamhonm.html, and have been using it, but now I'm wondering if I should be. It's from Henckel, too! I knew I needed to get a steel, but I guess I also need to get a whetstone.

Is it possible to sharpen a serrated knife, or do I need a pro to do that for me?

Indeed, for the best edge it is better to sharpen your knives with a whetstone.

Serrated knives however cannot be sharpened on a whetstone but there are some knife (and saw) sharpening places that can sharpen them. Cheers!

Hi all, I've got a Minosharp 3 ceramic water sharpener. It basically is a water whetstone in a handheld sharpener format and will sharpen to about 15 degrees. You fill the handle with water, roll the knife through the angled ceramic wheels (there's 3 different sets of wheels) and it sharpens. Voila.

I'm a home cook and I've had this for about 6 weeks now and it does a fairly good job at keeping my Wusthof and Tojiro knifes sharp.

http://www.minosharp.jp/

I'd be interested to hear from the Rouxbe team or anyone else who has this item on what their thoughts/experiences are of this product.

Cheers T

We do not have any experience with this ceramic water sharpener so we can't comment here...sorry. Perhaps someone else has some feedback or comments. Cheers!

ceranic are great for veggies and some slicing of meats do not try to any boning with them and a good knife store can sharpen them. i prefer a cermic steel over metal..

I need a new chef's knife. If you can only get one knife, what do you recommend, brand & size. Preferably around or under $100.

I bought my first 'real' chef knife about 2 years ago at Kohls, the Food Network brand. If it weren't for an awesome Wusthof Ikon that I got for my birthday I would still be very happy with the FN knife. That is now my backup, and the one that I used to practice sharpening and it is now just as sharp as the Wusthof. I would definately recommend the FN (it was $49 iirc), and make sure you also get a good honing steel.

Go to any store to try out sizes and get the one that feels comfertable to you, ours are 10". My wife didn't like how big that was at first, so I got her a 6". Now she always uses the big one, and the 6" is hardly ever used.

As we say in the topic called "Which Knife is Best for You", selecting a chef's knife is very personal. What is comfortable for me may not be comfortable to you.

That being said, for the moment I am quite happy with my Kashumi knives and my Shun knives...but then again I have other brands which I also like. The only one I have reservations about are my Global knives, as they sometimes give me a blister on my index finger if I do a fair amount of chopping.

You may also want to check out this thread on Knives as many other people have talked about the knives they use and like. Cheers!

So I've noticed that a lot of sites say to not use a chef's knife to cut through bone, as it can damage the blade's fine edge. (Actually the Wusthof classic chef's knife I was looking at the other day also came with a note to the same effect.)

Is this really the case? The lesson seems to indicate that you can cut through bone with one, but is that really advisable?

The lesson indicates that some heavy-duty European knives with thick, heavy blades can be used to cut bones. Thinner, delicate knives should never be used for this purpose. If the manufacturer does not advise cutting bones with that particular knife, don't do it. You'll shorten the life of your knife substantially. Reserve a heavy-duty knife just for this purpose or use a cleaver if you have one. Cheers!

My steel has become smooth and lost the sound I should be getting as my knife passes across it. I might as well be running my knife across a piece of pipe. Do steels wear out? Is there something I should have been doing to maintain my steel? This is a J.A. Henckles steel which I thought was a reputable brand.

Steels do eventually wear out. One thing to keep in mind is to clean them by giving them a good wipe as many tiny fragments magnetizes to the rod. But if it's quite smooth, time to get a new one. All brands make different qualities of steels, but if buying a new one remember than the bigger and heavier, the better.

does any one knows this brand? Do you think this knife is good?
http://www.zwillingonline.com/16008181.html
Thanks!

I have not heard of this particular knife. I say as long as you follow the guidance from the lesson on "Selecting a Knife Set" (in particular the topic on selecting a chef's knife) you should be okay. Cheers!

I bought a set of J.A.'s about 2 years ago. I use them regularly. I have neglected them unfortuantely (sharpening only once this year) so they have lost their edge. That being said, seeing and using a couple of my friends chef knives, I can say that my J.A.'s are of much higher quality. Even without sharpening I've never felt that they are exceedingly dull or dangerous. Can't say so much about my friends knives.

I saw the video on the mezzaluna and wondered if there is anything on the ulu. I bought one and, when I remember I have it, enjoy using it. I would like to get more use out of it though. Any tips or suggestions on using the ulu?

I had not heard of this knife before so I looked it up online. After seeing what the knife looks like I would have to say that I do not have any recommendations on using an ulu knife as it is completely different than the knives I use regularly. The knife I use daily is my chef's knife. I feel much more in control of what is happening with the food and most importantly with my fingers when using a chef's knife. I would say that perhaps you might want to contact the manufacturer or even do an online search for tips on using this particular knife. Sorry we couldn't be of more help. Perhaps there are others out there in our community that might be able to help you out with this. Cheers!

I noticed there is no instruction on sharpening the serrated knives.
Is there a special way to do this or do you sharpen till its worn down and buy another one?

I'm going to the store this week to try and find the wet stones
where can I buy those, my husband has little stones for pocket knives but not the large ones

I have an entire set of J.A. Henckles knives and I do like them. I also have several other pieces.e.g. Globe and Wusthof. They are all about equal. Just keep them sharpened and a person should be ready to chop with the best. Hope this helps

You may be able to take your serrated knife somewhere to be sharpened but you will not be able to sharpen it yourself.

As for where to buy a whetstone, that sort of depends where you live. I would start by calling your local kitchen store(s). If you have a Lee Valley near you they also sell them. Then of course there is always online. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I also have an Ulu knife I purchased in Alaska. They use them to skin game they have hunted. The sharp edges on either side help in this manner. Some are a single blade and some are double. I have both. I use them for chopping herbs.Works great. I would not go out and purchase this product just for herbs only, it is really a novelty for some and I do forget to use it at times.

Thanks Dawn I live in South Carolina I know they have some stores around, Ill have to dig.. We also have a culinary arts school in the city by us I could always contact them if I have no luck

Thanks for your comments. I got mine in Alaska too. I used it tonight to chop some candied ginger and it worked out great. Other than that I've just used it for herbs too. Have you used yours to cut meat?

I received a new Cuisinart knife set for Christmas. Not having much to compare them to it's difficult to judge their quality. This I do know, they're a heck of a lot better than the old cheap set I've been using. The set consists of seven knives, sharpner and sissors (plus six steak knives).

well I ended up ordering my stone from the Blade Gallery in Washington state
double sided 400/800 Japanese whetstone with case. it was hard finding it without giving up my firstborn for payment. from what I could search they had about the best prices for a quality stone and had all grit levels.
If anyone else is looking www.bladegallery.com

first i enjoyed the lesson. i have been in the culinary most of my adult life . I have purchase many knive my favorite is the soligen steel. What are thoughts on this brand. thank you . john

Today is my first day at Rouxbe, and this was my first lesson! Woohoo~~~~ I just bought Farberware Pro II Forged 15-Piece Knife Set with Block (http://amzn.to/g7Fl9f) two weeks before I joined Rouxbe. I had a really cheap knife set before and always have trouble cutting, especially meat. Now with the new set of knife, food prep has become much faster and easier. So far I am happy with the knife set. I checked my knifes after the lesson, and they are good quality knife as described in the lesson. This set isn't too expensive. Maybe when I become a better cook (with Rouxbe's help, of course), I can invest in even higher quality knifes. Now continuing to my next lesson.... :-)

I just cookat home and so o use smaller (less than 200mm) knives. I started looking at higher end chef's knives and they seem to be standardized at 210, 240, and 270mm. To me they see very big for home use. Esp considering larger blades require larger cutting boards.

I suppose in a commercial setting, the size may help in preparing large amounts of materials? Though it still puzzles me because while the amount may increase going from home to commercial setting, its not like the materials increase in size.

So my question is, do people cooking at home benefic from large knives? And, is there a particular reason these knives are so big? I mean, ive yet to come across anything requiring more than 200mm of blade. Or perhaps some meat cuts require the blade length?

The best knife to use is one that is comfortable for you and also one that is suitable for the type and size of food you are preparing. Cheers!

Several months back, I bought a new knife set that was fairly cheap. OK - it was downright cheap. At the time, I had not been schooled in the importance of a good quality chef's knife. So this weekend I went to the mall and went to this great store that carries all kinds of cooking gadgets that are high quality and range from reasonable to outrageously expensive.

I spoke with one of the sales staff and told him I wanted a good chef's knife. I told him I wanted a six inch knife and I was open to the type of knife. I wanted to try several to see which fit me the best. He pulled out 2 knives. One was a 6" European style knife with no bolster and the other was a 7" Granton knife. They had a nice cutting board and several types of veggies to try the knifes out on.

After trying both, I decided I liked the European 6" knife w/o bolster - (made in Germany). It felt great in my hand and the cutting action was superb. The sales assoc. commented that he was very impressed with my knowledge of chef's knives and he also said my technique was quite impressive. I told him I was enrolled online in Rouxbe and before starting the online classes, I had no knowledge of the importance of a chef's knife. We talked awhile about the school and I gave him your website. I hope he becomes a student!!

Anyway - I left the store very happy. The knife was on sale for $99 and the sales assoc. told me with proper maintenance/honing, the knife would last me the next 30 years.

Having compared both a cheap knife and a well made knife, I can't stress enough to all aspiring chef's - go get a good knife!!!! The investment is so small for all the years of use I will get from my new knife.

I'm thinking of naming her :-) Any suggestions???? LOL

So, I guess you would not recommend buying the Chef Knive over the internet as you would not be able to get the feel of it in your hand or test it.

You might be better off to go to a physical store first and try them out and then order it online if you find it cheaper. Unless of course you know which knife it is you want to buy. Cheers!

My friends bought my husband and I a knife set. It has been a great set. It is a Chicago cutlery set. It needs sharpening. I told my husband the other day that we need to get them sharpened for I am going to be doing more cooking at home thought you all would like to know I have had my set 19 years now and would not trade it of another on like it. Rachel Adamson

Definitely try knives out in a store before buying online. A good set should last you 20+ years so do your research, try before you buy, and while you don't have to invest $2,000 into a set, don't go cheap. Expect to spend $300+ on a starter set. If money is tight, buy one here and one there. Happy cutting!

I would agree that if you want REALLY high quality, you should be prepared to pay top dollar. However, there are plenty of good quality budget knife sets out there.

I have personal experience with the Food Network brand cutlery that you can get at Kohl's (they always have good coupons too). For instance, there's a 14 piece set for sale at Kohl's for $99 that I would recommend in a heartbeat. The first chef's knife that I got was a FN one, and we still use it, depending on who gets to the Wusthof first ;-). By the way, it sharpens very well and holds the edge beautifully too.

I was really surprised by this video. I had no idea that there was so much to look for when purchasing a knife. I have always just grabbed and went with it. I'll know what to look for this time.

Can you tell me what the difference is between straight and curved boning knives in terms of their purpose? I'm mainly going to be using it on chickens so wanted to know if one is better for that purpose.

Still trying to decide which boning knife to get - not which make but which type ie straight, curved, rigid, flexible etc. I read conflicting advice on other sites so a little confused. Mainly want to use it to debone or carve chicken. Any advice?

Yes it sure can be confusing...the curved one is mostly used by butchers handling sides of meat. It gives you more strength - even myself I do not use a curved one. Make sure it is not a flex one...nowadays they make semi-flex and they are suppose to be good for meat and fish, but like all-season tires, they are not really meant for "all seasons" until you get in the real snow. I would go for a straight non-flex boning knife. I just bought my second boning knife in 20 years and I bought the same one - a $50.00 Victorinox with wooden handle, works for me.

Thanks- I did order a victorinox straight knife. Assume it's not flexible - it didn't state it. I'll let you know what it's like!

By the way, Christophe, whenever I see your picture (on my I phone- it's v small) I always think you are holding a little puppy with a rose in its hair!!!! I know that's crazy but I thought it was funny so wanted to share!!!

We were given a full set of CutCo kitchen knives many years ago. Now that I'm looking at these lessons, I'd like to ask about the quality of the blade. I'm not asking about the feel or balance, as I'm well acquainted with those. I was just wondering if this chef's knife (I have the 8-inch knife) is considered to be of high quality, low quality, or somewhere in-between>

We cannot speak of the quality of CutCo knives as we have not used them personally. Perhaps someone else out there might be able to give you their opinion. Cheers!

I went out to my local kitchen store (Williams-Sonoma) and looked at their chef's knives. After gripping them all and slicing with three of them, I settled on the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro 8" Chef's Knife for $120. That one is now on my Christmas wish list for my beautiful bride to get for me... I hope.

Again, I know the knife feels great in my hand and worked well on the portion of a sweet potato that I cut, but is the blade a good one and worth the price? Just wondering if anybody has any experience with this one.

OK. I picked up a 6 inch Wustof Silverpoint chefs knife. It was light and felt good in my hand at the store. So got in home and had it for a little while, when i decided to get my hand fully used to cutting with the knife.
So, I pulled out some flour and started working on the cuts in the flour to get used to the knifes feel. Was great initially, then i started to notice that when i was using the rolling technique, my knuckles would lightly tap the cutting board. It was just a little annoying at first, but after awhile they started getting sore. It's a good name on the knife, so i can probably count out poor design. Which leaves me with the following possibilities
A) Poor technique cutting, or need to modify somehow.
B) I need to position the food towards the edge of the cutting board so my hand hangs off the edge when cutting
C) the knife i chose is actually to small for my hand
D) keep cutting, after you build up a little bit of a callous on your knuckles it will be comforatable again
E) someone has secretly replaced my chefs knife with a spoon, and are wait to see if I notice the differance

If you are gripping the knife properly, it sounds like the knife may, in fact, be too small for your hand. Your knuckles should not hit the surface of the cutting board at all while you are cutting. You also should not have to adjust your position so that your hand hangs off the cutting board to feel comfortable - that does not sound right at all. I would explain your experience to the store that you bought it from and exchange the knife for a bigger one. I do not think "E" is a possibility :-) Cheers!

Was curious. If you have a good chefs knife. Is there any reason you should have a good quality Santuko as well? And on that note, as supplement knife to a 8" chef knife, would a 5" or 7" Santuko be better for expanding cutting options?

Some like the Santuko for very fine cuts or handling small foods. It's a matter of preference, but worth trying.