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I've had that standard entry-level Victorinox Fibrox chef's knife for a while now and I'm starting to want something better. I know the Tojiro DP Gyutou gets talked up a lot as a great buy; is it enough of an upgrade from the Victorinox to be worth upgrading, or is it what I should have bought instead of the Victorinox and I should now be looking at higher-end stuff? A couple other questions as well. - I do these things with my cooking knives: promptly hand wash and hand dry; use honing steel; store in their sleeve in the drawer. I do not oil this knife or anything. Do I need to start oiling if I buy these or do these also not require it? - Is storing these in their sleeves okay? I'm in an apartment, I can't mount magnetic knife bars on the wall or anything and I don't own a knife block, although I would buy one if you guys tell me I need to. (Do they even make knife blocks that don't come in sets?) - I have a cheap KitchenAid honing steel. (I like that it gives me a guide to help me get the angle right.) Is this okay for a knife like the Tojiros or do I need to get a ceramic rod? - I cook almost exclusively vegetarian. Not quite, but very close. Should I get a nakiri instead of this? In addition to this? - I have never actually sharpened this knife. Honed, yes. Sharpened, no. Is it worth taking a $40 knife to get sharpened? Where do I do this? I have a cheapo Accusharp thing that Amazon sold me for cheap along with the knife but I am pretty sure it is bad for the knife. On the other hand, it's a $40 knife. I don't really want to get super into sharpening my knives myself if I don't have to. EDIT: Okay, now I am considering learning to sharpen my own. Bleh. guppy fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jun 3, 2014 |
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Jun 2, 2014 23:08
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Good to know, thanks. I asked around and apparently there is a guy who does great work at the farmer's market downtown. Ended up ordering a Mac knife after talking to my professional chef buddy. It's this one. It's still okay to hone that on my metal honing steel, right?
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Jun 3, 2014 02:49
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Word. Thanks.
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Jun 3, 2014 11:14
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The new baby, she has arrived.   Unfortunately I cooked about a week and a half of food on Sunday, so it will be a little while before I can use it for anything meaningful. But man is it pretty.
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Jun 5, 2014 02:29
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I'm looking for a bread knife. The OP suggests the Victorinox Fibrox ones, but they're like $35 which seems excessive for a bread knife that I'll use only occasionally. Is this still what I should get, or is there something else people like? There's like a $15 (low-end) Henckel one that seems to be popular, and probably some others; I don't want to buy a knife I'll hate, but I don't want to overpay for something like a bread knife. I am probably already putting more thought into this than I ought to be.
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Jul 13, 2014 06:52
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Armchair Calvinist posted:Bread knives are really only useful for fresh bread. A standard chef's knife will cut bread just as well if not better and won't leave as many crumbs. At least from what I've noticed. Yeah, that's one reason I don't want to spend much. I only make bread once in a while.
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Jul 13, 2014 13:05
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Some sharpening questions for a newbie sharpener. I want to learn to do this myself and mostly I expect to be sharpening three knives for the time being: the standard-newbie 8" Victorinox Fibrox chef's knife, a small (3 1/4") Victorinox paring knife, and this 8 1/2" Mac Professional French chef's knife. The questions: 1. The Victorinox knives should all be sharpened on a 20 degree angle, right? And I can sharpen the parer the same as the chef's knife? 2. The Mac knife is a French style but as I understand it Mac is a Japanese manufacturer and this blade is meant to be sharpened on a 15 degree angle. Is that correct? (Same angle for honing, right?) Any tips on getting this right? I know this is hard to answer, but how important is it to be precise about this, and will I gently caress my knives up permanently if I do it wrong? 3. Can I use a DuoSharp on the Mac or do I need to get water stones? I assume it's fine on the Victorinox knives, right? I have no real grasp of steel hardness and couldn't tell you what alloy is used in the Mac with a gun to my head. I'm interested in sharpening knives myself in order to get the job done quickly without going anywhere, but I don't actually care about the sharpening process beyond the results (and didn't want to drop $250 on an Edge Pro or whatever) so the idea of doing this way faster and more easily appeals. 4. I'll be practicing for a while on the Victorinox before I trust myself not to destroy the Mac, but any general tips? The links in the OP to sharpening videos don't seem to go anywhere useful anymore -- I couldn't find any sharpening videos on that site, just ones breaking down types of Japanese knives and basic cutting techniques. (EDIT: Here are the videos, they've moved http://www.chefknivestogo.com/knife-sharpening-tutorials.html) guppy fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Jul 15, 2014 |
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Jul 14, 2014 12:32
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I got my DuoSharp and have been practicing on some of my grandmother's old, unusably dull knives. I just put a pretty good edge on a knife that would previously have had difficulty cutting butter. This rules. I wanna get really good at this and be able to do it for my friends. I think I am sick.
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Jul 16, 2014 01:55
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I'm considering picking up a petty/utility knife. I'm just a home cook, and I love my chef's knife, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a smaller knife for smaller, quick tasks. (I do have a paring knife, one of the Victorinox ones, but it's a much smaller blade -- 3 1/4".) I'm looking at a few options, and would appreciate some more knowledgeable folks weighing in. 1. Tojiro DP petty, $47 - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000UANWH8 2. Global utility, $58 - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B005JMI96Q 3. Mac Professional utility, $70 - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000N5FDQS 4. Some other knife 5. You're an idiot, just use your chef's knife Mac makes some cheaper utility knives too, but they aren't that much cheaper -- around $58 -- and they don't have a bolster, which seems like something I might care about for a knife of this length. Shun has a utility knife that's roughly the cost of the Tojiro (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ83I22) but I don't really understand all the different Shun lines and I'm guessing for the money it's not great? I don't know. I wasn't really looking at Global until I realized they had a knife in the middle of that range, and from what I've read here the main knock on Global is pricing, not quality, so I thought I'd throw it in the mix. Thoughts? I tend to prefer to order from Amazon for reasons of convenience and shipping, which I realize will mean some brands (like the Dojo mentioned above) won't be represented. guppy fucked around with this message at 05:16 on Aug 18, 2014 |
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Aug 18, 2014 04:52
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Don't you also have to oil carbon occasionally?
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Aug 25, 2014 00:16
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Spuckuk posted:Thanks to the advice of this thread, I bought myself a Tojiro DP. Waterstones are fine, but remember that sharpening is very different from honing, and you'll be doing it a lot less often. Honing is an "every time" thing done on your honing rod. If you want to get into sharpening, the OP has some resources, but most people don't sharpen their own.
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Aug 27, 2014 12:35
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I've never so much as seen a Cutco knife, but what other people have told me is: - Not great knives, not remotely worth it - The shears are good if you want to make a pity purchase - If you're buying to help someone out, don't take any free poo poo they offer, it comes out of their cut - Kind of a scummy, borderline pyramid scheme company, consider not giving them money
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Sep 12, 2014 14:13
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RedChops posted:A couple years ago I bought a set of Chicago Cutlery knives, mostly because they looked nice. I later found that they don't really hold their edge well. It will definitely be an improvement, it's one of the go-to recommendations for decent entry-level chef's knives. It is not a great knife or anything. If you cook that much you may want to invest in a better knife, but we don't know your financial situation or budget. Note that you still need to hone any knife, high-end ones included, and sharpen occasionally -- no knife will keep its edge after a couple years of use. edit: I say this as someone who decided to learn how to sharpen: You don't need to sharpen your own knives. You can have it done for you. I would not have mentioned this but for the reply before mine. Knowing how to sharpen is not a prerequisite for owning any knife, good or crappy.
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Sep 13, 2014 12:44
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RedChops posted:Well, I have a sharpening stone for my straight razor, though it's probably too high of a grain, 4000/8000 on either side of it. ma i married a tuna right above you mentioned Tojiro as a step up, is that worth it? My budget for cooking stuff varies month-to-month, but I can usually set aside a few hundred dollars for something I know will last The Tojiro DP gyuto is another popular recommendation here. It's still well under $100, and by the time you get to the ~$150 range you're already looking at something like the Mac Professional line, which I'm told is a better knife than many pros have. (And I'm not telling you you need to drop that much.) So you don't need to be completely insane, if you were looking to drop a few hundred you'd be well into the range of handmade knives. We can't really tell you how much to spend on a knife. I think the Tojiro DP gyuto is around $70. You can buy something wacky and handforged by elves and $1500+ if you really want to, or anywhere in between. The main thing is to buy something well-made that you like the feel of. I'd say set your budget, and see what's available in that range. If you can try out prospective purchases at a Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table or whatever so much the better, although I've bought all mine online. There are some things you can't know without feeling them -- some people like Global handles, for example, and some hate them. Edit: Whatever you buy, please do take good care of it. Wash promptly by hand and dry and all that.
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Sep 16, 2014 17:51
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The CCK small cleaver has been $60 at CKTG for a long time now. All the comments indicate that they used to be $30. Doubling is a pretty big jump and turns it from an impulse buy into something I start thinking about whether I actually need. Is there another reputable store selling them for less, or is that just what they cost now?
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Oct 3, 2014 22:22
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I got this one. Used the steak knives I sharpened with it last night and they cut through rib eye like it was tenderloin. Very pleased with the result and a lot easier than the spyderco sharp maker. The product description says it's fixed-angle, but the reviews seem to suggest the angle is adjustable. Can you adjust the angle on that to sharpen on a smaller angle? My knives are mostly Japanese-made and I don't want to sharpen them on too large an angle.
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Oct 22, 2014 13:17
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Great, thank you!
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Oct 22, 2014 16:23
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Please stop referring to Victorinox knives as "'Nox," it sounds very silly.
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Nov 3, 2014 13:59
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A friend of mine sent me a CCK small cleaver as an early birthday present!  This thing is carbon, right? I've never owned a carbon knife. I wash and hand dry like anything else and then... rub mineral oil into it? Is that right? Do I hone this thing on the same ~20 degree angle as Western knives?
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Nov 15, 2014 21:34
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Gift shopping for someone who likes to cook but has little experience with knives, looking to replace her Cutco with a better chef's knife, probably 8". I am hoping to get her not to use one of the pull-through sharpeners, since she does own one, but I'm a little afraid to choose a Japanese knife in case she does use it and the angle is wrong. Should I be concerned about that? Either way, any recommendations in the $100-or-less range? I know there's the Tojiro DP gyuto ($57), but I'm wondering if there's anything better to be had that's a little nicer without going over-budget. Can be maybe a little more but not much. I saw the Shun Sora 8" ($65), which seems nice maybe. But I'm still concerned about the sharpening thing. Same deal with the Mac Chef series ($95), and I don't have any experience with that line. A Wusthof Classic is a little above budget ($130), although they have some other lines in range, like the Classic 200th Anniversary thing Amazon lists ($90).
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Dec 1, 2014 04:35
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TheJeffers posted:I might be getting a nice knife as a Christmas gift, and I'm wondering if anybody has used MAC's Professional 9.5" chef's knife, as seen here. I can't find much about it online, but people seem to describe these as good workhorse knives, which appeals to me. I haven't used the 9.5" but I have the 8" and the Santoku from the same line and they're excellent.
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Dec 20, 2014 19:20
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Hone the knife before each use. Sharpening depends more on how much you use it and what you use it for, others can correct me but as a home chef I think it's very unlikely you need to sharpen more often than once a month, if that.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:52
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Koivunen posted:I understand that this is razor sharp, but I'm a careful person by nature and I've only cut myself with a knife once, and it wasn't a bad cut. If I'm cautious I'll be fine, right? This discussion has gotten kind of strange, but there are "right" ways to hold and use a kitchen knife, and you should learn them. Most home cooks don't do it properly, and the risk of injury is increased. Knives are sharp and injuries are always possible, but the reason proper technique is proper technique is because it minimizes the risk of injury. Look up some kitchen knife skills on YouTube and be careful, and you won't have much trouble. Take your time and don't rush, speed will come on its own with practice.
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Feb 24, 2015 13:18
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I have that exact Messermeister rod and it's good.
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Mar 15, 2015 01:21
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Should something like the DuoSharp also not be used on Japanese knives? (I haven't, don't worry.)
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Apr 4, 2015 14:30
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If I want to break down chickens, but don't do any other serious work, do I need a boning knife or will a chef's/petty knife be fine? Seems like a petty knife would be perfect as long as I don't accidentally hit a bone at warp speed.
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Apr 5, 2015 17:01
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I got mine when it was $60, but at $70 -- for that matter, even at the previous price -- I have to wonder: Is the Dexter-Russell vision (currently $25ish at Amazon) a better recommendation to people considering picking up a Chinese chef's knife?
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Apr 13, 2015 16:52
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AVeryLargeRadish posted:The OP has not been updated in a long time. I recommend an edge pro knockoff. It will get your knives hilariously sharp and is pretty easy to use with some practice. The stones it comes with are pretty low quality but you can always buy better ones to use with it since it will fit ones designed for the edge pro just fine, I also recommend a spring to replace the spacer on the arm because it is both very cheap and very convenient. I actually ordered one of these and it just arrived. The instructions are baffling. I'm sitting here watching Edge Pro videos trying to figure out how to use it. Also, I can't help but notice that the colored marks on the real Edge Pro are evenly spaced, and the ones on the AGPtek are... not.
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Jun 9, 2015 19:28
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I actually have one, that's a good idea. Thanks.
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Jun 9, 2015 19:49
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Is the Dexter-Russell not a good alternative?
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Jun 12, 2015 11:50
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A lot of us are not interested in doing the fiddling that comes with that. I almost bought a Tojiro and I'm glad I didn't. What's wrong with the Victorinox as an entry-level knife now? I didn't hear about problems. You can get a very good knife with good fit and finish for well under $250, that's a very high line to draw. I have a Mac Professional that came in around $150. I'm not sure how good they are, but Mac has at least two lines below Professional, so if there really is a problem with the Victorinox now, they might be worth a look. I'm looking at an 8" Chef series knife on Amazon that's $60., which IIRC is around Tojiro DP pricing. (I can't vouch for it myself.)
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Jun 15, 2015 17:59
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revdrkevind posted:Page back to the bit about the Victorinox costing 2x as much as when it was the thread endorsement? At that price it's kind of hard to recommend. Not a bad knife, but there are other options at that price point. Huh. I definitely wouldn't pay $50-60 for the Victorinox, or suggest that anyone else do so. But I see it between $35-40 on Amazon, same as it's been for a long time now. I do see the rosewood-handled version (versus Fibrox) at $55; I wonder if that's where the confusion is coming from. I don't think I've seen the Victorinox at $25 except as a temporary markdown. There's a 10" version even cheaper at $31 right now.
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Jun 15, 2015 19:19
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CrazyLittle posted:Does that mean they just take the knife and put a stamp on the side of it and drop it in the mailbox? No, it's just cardboard packaging, so you don't have to mess with the space plastic.
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Jun 16, 2015 02:51
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This is strangely mesmerizing to watch.
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Jun 26, 2015 13:17
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deimos posted:I have this and it's amazeballs, hands down the best utility/bread I've used. I was taught that bread knives aren't worth spending money on and that an expensive one won't give noticeably better performance than a $10 Oxo one. Not so?
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Aug 1, 2015 01:20
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ThirstyBuck posted:Hey Knife Thread- What's your budget?
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Sep 6, 2015 16:55
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I would also suggest a santoku, I love my petty knife but I don't think petty/utility knives are usually hefty enough to be all-rounders. Although my fiancée also loves that knife and uses it exclusively. I've been trying to convince her to use my santoku instead. I don't know what you were looking to spend, but the Mac Professional santoku is 6 1/2" and is fantastic. Amazon has it for $104 right now. (The listing is for "Mac brand," but it looks to be the Professional.) You can go cheaper, the Superior series is $75, but I really prefer the Professional. Obviously price-wise the Tojiro DP is much cheaper than either of those at $47.
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Sep 15, 2015 19:41
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keykey posted:I'm looking to purchase a new knife chef's (or gyuto) knife in the 6"-8" range, my preference is 8" knives, my wife's is 6". I guess ideally a 7" would be a happy medium. In any case, we've only really had entry knives that turn to crap after a couple years and I want to buy something that we can use for a long time that won't turn to garbage quickly after sharpening. I've been reading this thread for the past few hours and there is a ton of information to digest. From what I gather, something VG-10 is what I want to get and probably Japanese because of the sharpening angle. I would be willing to spend up to $250, what would you suggest? I don't think I'd drop $250 in your shoes. Not that there aren't good knives that merit the price tag but at that point you're well into extremely high-end, often handmade knives. You should be able to find truly excellent knives at $150 or less, and even that is fairly high-end. You don't necessarily need Japanese, it depends on what you want in a knife. If you want a Western style knife, a Wusthof Classic would be less than half your budget. Hell, you could buy a 6" and an 8" and still be under $250. (They do make a 7".) If you do want a Japanese-style gyuto, note that 180mm is a standard size that's about 7". The 210mm ones are closer to 8" (actually a hair longer) and 240mm is way longer than you want. Here's CKTG's 180mm gyutos. Only one is over $200 and that's a handmade one they only make a few of per year. If I'm reading your post correctly, and you're willing to either have your knife sharpened or do it yourself, I would actually suggest looking at the Tojiro DP gyuto. It's a common recommendation in this thread. It's not as high-end as some of the stuff in the range you're looking at, but it should last a long time given proper care and it can be had for $50-60 in the lengths you're looking for. If you actually meant honing (on a rod), you want to do that every time regardless of the knife. What exactly is happening to your knives that you're dissatisfied with, and what knives are you using? Even a $35 Victorinox chef's knife should last years and years with proper care.
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Oct 13, 2015 22:04
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:If she's in the industry, she probably has an idea of the type of knife she wants. Browse chefknivestogo.com with her, and find something she'll like. Can I ask why some people hate bolsters so much? Some of my knives have them, and I like them, because on some knives that don't have them it becomes harder to hone and sharpen near the heel. What's the downside?
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Nov 6, 2015 14:03
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Scott808 posted:The bolsters people talk about disliking are the ones that run all the way down to the edge, not the collar type. They get in the way when sharpening near the heel, and eventually you'll end up with a recurved blade of sorts. Unless you grind it down, the bolster will be lower than the cutting edge. Ah, that makes more sense. I sometimes find a large handle (e.g., on the commonly-recommended Victorinox) gets in the way near the heel of the blade because it physically prevents the blade from contacting the hone. If that's not a common problem maybe my angle is too aggressive. The bolster on other knives -- I'm thinking of my Mac, for example -- prevents that problem.
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Nov 6, 2015 15:19
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