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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 7:45:53 PM

LafayetteLady

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angelikaJ,

I am actually using some Kohl's gift cards that I have, which is why the search has been focused on Kohl's. I decided I would get something useful with them, instead of pleasure shopping on clearance items, lol.

I was debating between a mini food processor or a sharp knife. My cat broke my mini chopper while I was on vacation (the only time he has made it on top of the refrigerator), and when I make things like pasta salad, I used it a lot. But while chopping by hand definitely is more time consuming, I could use the sharp knives for so much more than the chopper. Although I would still like a Ninja.

As an aside, I'm totally losing my mind. As I was looking at the threads with new posts in them, it took me a couple seconds to realize this was mine. For a moment, I thought it was a post about the best knives for edge play!

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 8:32:00 PM

littlewonder

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quote:

ORIGINAL: shallowdeep

quote:

ORIGINAL: littlewonder
Ok, she just said that her favorite are Kyocera knives. Apparently they are a ceramic knife, light but yet extremely strong and sharp. The only downside though is that you have to sharpen them with a a diamond wheel. Or you can send the knives to Kyocera for sharpening.

I have a couple of ceramic Kyocera knives. I'm pretty happy with them, but they do have downsides beyond the difficulty in resharpening. While the ceramic is "strong" in the sense of being resistant to compression, its not flexible in the same way steel can be, meaning it's easier to chip or break the knife blade. As a result, you can't use them to cut hard objects - frozen foods, meat with bones, even hard bread crusts are all off limits, so they aren't as versatile. You also need to avoid prying or twisting and probably shouldn't throw them into a drawer without a protective sheath. That said, they do have an extremely sharp edge that they retain for a long time and they are great for things like vegetables. I wouldn't call it a downside, but the sharp edge does mean you need to exercise a bit more care when using them than with most knives as it takes almost no pressure to cut yourself.

Like Hillwilliam, I like Chinese chef's knives. They're versatile, and the big blade is convenient for quickly scooping mounds of chopped stuff up from the board into a pan or wherever else you need it. Quite possibly atypical, so take it for the single data point that it is, but my one experience owning a Chicago Cutlery knife was mediocre.

Yes, my daughter did just mention that to me about Kyocera. She said they can chip and the pointed edge can break off if you're not careful. She said you do need to be more conscious when using them. But she still seems to to like them a lot and she's the type of person who takes pretty good care of things these days since she's now the one paying for them lol.

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 9:31:05 PM

DomKen

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

I knew that about Henckels, which was why I was looking at those to begin with.

As I said earlier, I HATE serrated knifes for anything but slicing bread, rolls, english muffins and the like.

I used to have a butcher's steel (my dad was a butcher), but lost it in one of many moves. I loved watching him whip the knife back and forth on Thanksgiving. Took me years to learn how to do it, since if you do it incorrectly, you can dull the blade rather than sharpen it. I'll never be able to go that fast, but I can at least do it correctly.

So that is better than one of those sharpeners on your counter top?

Those counter top machines are not for honing. They are for actual sharpening.

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 9:53:49 PM

DomMeinCT

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For me, it was all about which quality knife felt the best to use. Just as a start, go to Macy's, kitchen supply store, bed bath & beyond (anywhere that has lots of basic knife sets) and FEEL how they fit in your hand. Think about how the handles will feel in your hand many months into the future. Frequently sets are heavily discounted at certain retailers with sales + coupons (Macy's, BB&B, Kohl's), so you may be able to buy more for your $.

I have a smaller hand and like a more square handle (not too rounded or slick) that helps me comfortably grip my knives. The set I chose was a mid-priced Henckels and I bought a basic set, then have added on as need/desire/sales came along.
I traded a non-forged blade for great comfort and good home-chef durability and quality(http://www.zwillingonline.com/cutlery-zwilling-twin-signature.html).

Also, you might find signing up for email with a manufacturer you like, you'll get sales/shipping/specials and you can add
to your set. (The Henckels sets online are more expensive than you can get using a coupon+sale at Macy's, but their individual knives can be a bargain online when they offer sale+free shipping, which they frequently do when you get their emails.)

Sharpening
Zwilling/Henckels has great videos by Bob Kramer on how to sharpen:
http://www.zwillingonline.com/honing.html
http://www.zwillingonline.com/stoning.html
Many basic knife sets come with a steel....you don't need to spend a fortune on them or on a stone.
One more thing: some grocery stores' meat departments will sharpen your knives for free.

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 9:57:12 PM

LafayetteLady

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I did not know that about the grocery stores!

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 10:10:07 PM

DomMeinCT

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

I did not know that about the grocery stores!

In CT/MA, Big Y will sharpen knives for free. Call around to your stores' butcher shops and see if they will.

My hairdresser has a guy who has a sharpening business and drives to various locations where he sharpens on-site. Wonder if there are any like that near you.

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/20/2013 10:27:21 PM

DomKen

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DomMeinCT

quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

I did not know that about the grocery stores!

In CT/MA, Big Y will sharpen knives for free. Call around to your stores' butcher shops and see if they will.

My hairdresser has a guy who has a sharpening business and drives to various locations where he sharpens on-site. Wonder if there are any like that near you.

I would assume any place with a lot of good restaurants does. Chef's would not be able to send their knives out to be sharpened so they need someone who can come to them and do the work.

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RE: Knife Advice - 4/21/2013 4:38:26 AM

LafayetteLady

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quote:

ORIGINAL: shallowdeep

Quite possibly atypical, so take it for the single data point that it is, but my one experience owning a Chicago Cutlery knife was mediocre.

Why do you say it was mediocre?

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RE: Knife Advice - 5/7/2013 7:42:27 AM

LafayetteLady

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UPDATE:

I finally bought my knives last night!

But got home and was too tired to try them out. Looking forward to making some potato salad today, using the knives to cut the potatoes, celery, carrots and tomatoes (yest, it is a different potato salad, lol). I got the Chicago Cutlery knives suggested by DomKen.

Hopefully, my blood or a stump of a finger won't become part of the recipe.

Oh, and with the leftover money on the gift cards, I got a recipe book, a cooking thermometer (for candy and frying) and two stuffed toys for my granddaughter.

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RE: Knife Advice - 5/7/2013 8:02:31 AM

mnottertail

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Some caveats, never, and I mean never leave your knifes in the sink or dishwasher, immediately soap and clean them and dry them. nothing dulls a knife as fast as the water scum.

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RE: Knife Advice - 5/7/2013 12:05:48 PM

DomKen

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Good luck and remeber to keep your fingers out of the way.