Yeah…those are all the knives we have in our kitchen, and incredibly only two of them are *good* enough to be used for cutting anything.
Here is what Wikipedia says about the term “knife”:
A knife is a sharp-edged hand tool used for cutting. A minimal knife is a blade and some method of gripping it. Knives have been used as tools and weapons since the Stone Age.
For something that has been used since Stone Age, and for something that is used almost everyday in almost every household in the world, one would expect quite some sophistication and advancement in the art of making such a tool. However, it doesn’t look like the knife-making activity has been getting enough attention (even computers are cheaper than some knives). Most Walmart brands (the ones we students can afford), generally become worthless after a few weeks of moderate cutting. And the brands in other stores (Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.) that *look* like they will slice our veggies and meat very well for a long time are also quite capable of cutting big holes in our pockets.
In short, here is our knife story:
In the image below, are our two latest hopes (again from Walmart; Farberware brand); the bigger one (”santoku” knife) is about 10 bucks and the smaller one (”perfect tomato knife”) is about 7~8 bucks. The knives have behaved very well till now; the santoku even sliced through a huge loaf of garlic bread like nobody’s business (even though it does not have serrations - like bread knives have) and the tomato knife has allowed us to dice our tomatoes to record small sizes. But, I have no idea how long this knife-honeymoon is going to last.
May be we are buying really *cheap* knives, may be we are not taking good care of our knives…or may be we should invest in some kind of a knife sharpening device…I am not really sure. What’s your experience with kitchen knives? Any good recommendation? Is anyone using a knife sharpening device that seems like worth it?
On a related note, I was searching for “good quality” kitchen knives and came across the following product on this website:
For a better perspective, the retail price for that set is about as much worth as our junker car or about as much as 3 ounces of gold! 
Just how rich does one have to be in order to buy that stuff?
Note: If you are using Google Reader with Firefox, at times, you will see only the image description in place of the images. To view the images, right click on the image description and select “view image”. I am trying to figure out how to solve this problem.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d say splurge a little on ONE good chef’s knife. I have an 8-inch Henckel chef’s knife that cuts through everything. Every two years I get it professionally sharpened for $5 - it’s as good as new.
I agree with Him, you need to have at least one really good knife in the kitchen if you do even a modest amount of cooking.
I just had a very bad experience a few weeks ago resulting from our cheap knives. I have kitchen aid santoku knife that I use on a daily basis but it only 6 months old and becoming very dull.
Well, needless to say the dullness required additional force to make cuts, and while I was chopping an onion I literally cut the end of my thumb off. Right through the nail and it shaved off a huge chunk of skin at the tip.
It is the same exact thumb I tried to cut off a few years ago with a carpet knife, but that’s another story.
So anyway, you always hear people say that sharper knives are safer than dull ones and I now know that firsthand. I will be purchasing a good chef and santoku knife soon so that an incident like that doesn’t happen again. Sometimes it really doesn’t pay to be cheap.
I agree with most of the above, but I want to add a couple of things.
First of all, as important as a decent knife is a good knife steel. This isn’t for sharpening, as most people think, but for honing. Every time I pull a knife from the block, I use the steel. I NEVER have to deal with a dull knife.
As for finding a good quality knife, do not underestimate your local restaurant supply store. I have found great knife deals on Forstner brand knifes (they feel the same as Henkels or Wusthoff). Also, I believe Cooks Illustrated just did a chefs knife review and found that the normal institutional chefs knife (the ones with plastic handles that are dishwasher safe) rated better than all the others.
All you really need is ONE good chef’s knife. I bought a 8” Pro-S Henckel’s Chef’s knife on ebay for around $70 and I am extremely happy with it. I’ve had it for at least four years and it’s still going strong. This knife is leaps and bounds better than knives I’ve owned in the past. Calphalon / Faberware / etc. is pretty crappy. I recommend you spend the money and it’s a good investment.
There are probably better knife sharpeners out there but I got a cheap sharpener and it works well. You just pull the blade through a couple time and you’re good to go for a few months.
I bought it here: http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1704
I, together with many others from FatWallet, got this knife from J C Penney. It fits my requirement OK between quality and cost ($15 for 7″ knife).
JC Penny Elite Santoku Knives
Years ago, Consumer’s Union gave Chicago Cutlery a big thumbs up, rating them a best buy. At the time, I thought they were nuts cause the knives didn’t have odd names, were rather plain looking, and well, didn’t have yuppie cachet. I bought some anyway, and while I haven’t gotten any status points they are fantastic knives.
The latest Cook’s Illustrated rated chef’s knives and the winner was the $23 Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch knife, which beat other knives that were up to 10x its cost. cheap and excellent.. can’t beat that
Lauren - Yup, that’s the one! I just got home from work and you beat me to the post!
I agree. You need very few knives in your kitchen. I think you need 3. A great chef’s knife, a paring knife (3-5 inch) and a serated knife. The serated doesn’t need to be great, infact you can get a cheap bread knife and replace it when it gets dull.
The serated knife is for breads and things like tomatoes. Neither requires a super sharp knife. The paring knife is for small things you need alot of control over.
The chefs knife does everything else.
I use Global and Shun knives. Both are Japanese and very high end. They are expensive, but I rarely even hone them because they hold their edge so well. Also, 3 knives will cost far less than a full set.
Knives stay sharp if they are made from hard material. The softer the material the easier you will destroy the edge. Never touch anything hard with they knife. Not bones in the chicken, the edge of the counter, not a plate, nothing. It will ruin a razor sharp edge with just a touch.
Also, as Tom said, hone the knife to “unfold” the edge of a sharp knife and make it sharp again as long as you haven’t destroyed the edge.
I used to work at a slaughterhouse and those guys know what a sharp knife is. They cut only meat with it and it stayed sharp all day. When I started out my knife was a razor but I kept touching things here and there with it (like a bone for example). Nothing I thought was major, but the knife had to be sharpened and honed constantly until I learned how to handle it right. Sharpening is a neat skill to learn also.
I found that if you really don’t want to spend any money, a cheap serrated knife is a lot better than a cheap non-serrated knife. I think I spent about £6 ($10) two years ago and it cuts. Eventually, I’ll upgrade to a real knife, but this is ok for now.
Try sharpening your knives on steel or on a fancier knife sharpener - it extends the lives of cheap knives significantly.
lol, I love the illustration Golb, “really crappy ones”. Nice way to represent what really just plain out, well, stinks!
By the looks of that first photo though, don’t play around, get some new knives :p
Your knives are getting dull and you need a knife sharpening device, that’s all. Really cheap knives are made from inferior materials and will generally need to be sharpened more often, whereas higher quality knives will hold an edge better and are usually balanced better making them easier to use. You can get a cheap sharpener from just about any online place that sells knives. A sharpener generally has a couple of fine abrasive blocks set at an angle; you use them by scraping the knife in the groove and the blocks will sharpen the knife. To put a superb edge on it you’ll need to get a sandstone an learn how to use it, but it’s not necessary. You should also get yourself a steel, which will straighten out the edge between sharpenings. Dull knives are somewhat hazardous because you have to apply a lot more effort to cut, and that making slips more dangerous. Ironically, an extremely sharp knife can cut you without your ever realizing it (until you start finding blood) but it’s better for a knife to be oversharpened rather than dull.
Due to popular suggestion, we are going to go on a little knife hunting tour during the coming weekend
Will update on the status.
Thanks for the response guys, I have heard about a lot of knife brands through your comments…which otherwise I wouldn’t have known.
Also, I am going to try a cheap sharpening tool and see how it goes with my already wasted knives. If I get them to work even for a month or two…it will be worth the 5~10 bucks spent on the sharpening thingie.
Btw, just emphasizing Jeremy’s and Mr.Hengist’s thoughts in their respective comments: blunt knives are more dangerous than sharp knives (probably I am the only one in this list of comments who needs to be reminded of this
)
Hello to all: Love everyone’s comments and it’s all so true. A good quality knife is hard to beat. Once you’ve used one you’ll appreciate having spent the extra money. Also a good quality sharpener is invaluable. I use both a good steel to help hone an edge and I have an electric diamond hone sharpener made by Chef’s Choice (I bought this at Kohl’s). One thing I’d like to bring up in addition to all that’s been said is that I NEVER put my good knives in the dishwasher. Through experience I’ve found that even though your knife may be dishwasher safe, it just seems to me to get banged around in there and get dull quicker. Also, sometimes chemicals in your dishwasher liquid or the jet dry can “stain” the blade.
If you’re looking for good, but not overly expensive knives, check my web site at http://www.mylittlekitchenstore.com. We’re not up and running just yet, but will be in the next couple of weeks. Remember, any sharp knife is a good knife!
One of the more important points is to get something that is comfortable in your hand. my wife has small hands and even an 8″ chef’s is probably too big for her.
high grade carbon steel will retain edge better, but they still will need to be honed or sharpened.
i’ll also double what others have said, in that you do not need to buy the entire knife set. chances are you will never use all of them.
i would also recommend a good cleaver and a good scissors. you can cut through bones with a good scissors as well as so many other things.
I got three Henckels and a steel off of cooking.com for $150, and they’ll last a long time. When you go to the site look for some promotional code for free shipping or something.
I had the same dilemma with knives that you are having for two years, and it’s really a relief to finally have some decent cutlery (I once bought a $3 knife at Wal-Mart that came apart in my hand!).
You can actually sharpen knives with tin foil…works surprising well if you need to sharpen a knife at the last second.
We bought a J.A. Henckels set a while back and have not been disappointed. As Tom mentioned, the key to knife use is using a steel — PROPERLY. You can keep knives sharp for years with a quality steel when you use it right.
Being a professional chef…I had been sold on the idea of expensive knifes are the superior choice. They are not. As other have said, proper care and use the knives is extremely important. But I have found that finding a great cheap knife can serve my needs and provide superior quality work. the Farberware Santoku is not an all purpose knife, it is main for vegtables, boneless meat and should only be used on a proper cutting surface. Easily the best knife I used every day!
If you didn’t pick up knives yet, hit the Amazon Friday specials. I got a great set of Wusthof Grand Prix (pretty close to their top of their line, but discontinued) for around $150.
Just a follow up. Never discount the advantage of a really sharp knife. Knives don’t need to be expensive to be sharp, but the better the quality of the steel, the more likely the knife will be to hold an edge. Don’t spend a fortune on your knives unless you’ve got nothing better to do with your money. Buy one or two mid priced quality knives and keep them SHARP! Visit us at http://www.mylittlekitchenstore.com and try our knives by Victorinox (the people who make the Swiss Army Knives). They are of a good quality steel and won’t break the bank.
There are some decent quality knives out there that aren’t too expensive. Just make sure to take proper care of them so they don’t get dull quickly.
This forum has been very helpful. My fiancee and I have decided we need to get a good chef’s knife in the kitchen being she’s watching a lot of the Food Channel and trying different recipes. In other words, she’s cooking much more now.
I realize from what y’all have written that it’s very important to protect the sharp edge of a good knife to all extremes. However, I am wondering what kind of cutting board is best to use? Wood or plastic?
Thanks,
Arnie
Arnie,
Any cutting board will eventually dull your knife a bit, just as cutting into a bone when slicing will dull it. I would’nt worry too much about what kind of cutting board to use, other than that I’ve found that plastic or nylon cutting boards will groove up faster than wood. Personally, I prefer either a good wooden board, or a glass cutting board.
There are two good ways to get those in between knives:
New there is only really one way to do it, ignore the shiny fancy stainless and large quantity sets, and get something like this
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=52770&cat=2,40733,40738
Instead it is high carbon steel
it looks simple and it is, no fancy materials, handles or anything.
the metal will stain and darken quickly, but it is very easy to get it sharp enough to shave hair with.
The other way if you really want the shiny knives is to get them from thrift stores like the salvation army. They often end up having 1 or 2 really good knives mixed in with the crap ones.
They are often abused and very dull, but paying 5$ for a knife and 5$ to get the edge reground and maybe 15 more to get it repolished if you really want to go all out(to fix a 150$ knife) always struck me as the best bargain in stainless steel knives.
If you don’t have a sharpening stone, the unglazed bottom of a mug does a fine job as a ceramic stone until you get one.
1000$ worth of knives is insane for a home kitchen if you are trying to save money.
You can only use one at a time anyway:)
save money on things that will rarely be used like the fork, and get a couple really good knives, I like a medium sized chefs knife like the lee valley one for almost everything and a boning knife(doubles as a filetting knife and a paring knife in a pinch)as a second good knife.
for that thousand dollars you could get 3 or 4 great custom knives made just for you by a knifemaker who lives in the same country as you do.
good custom knives retain value and can last a lifetime instead of continually replacing junk with more junk.
Many good makers have lifetime warranties(including sharpening) as well.
buy once cry once.
I would not use a glass cutting board. The glass will destroy any edge you have on a knife. I have used a sharpener http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=41170&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults
and have been able to get several knives to shaving sharp. I went shopping for knives and was disappointed in the edge on the $100 knives. I have cut myself with a sharp knife one time and it was while I was talking on the phone doing some butchering work (not the smartest thing looking back).
Leave a Comment