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Post by klsm54 on May 8, 2009 13:18:10 GMT -5
What do you all use for kitchen knives? Do you have high quality forged knives, decent quality stamped knives, or whatever you got on sale or handed down? I've always had some fairly decent knives, but no real quality brands. I've recently begun a campaign to change that. I've been picking up some high quality knives on Ebay. My first was a very slightly used Messermeister 6" Chef's Knife. I am very impressed... Really a nice knife. Great quality, nice balance, and took a nice edge. I'll have to see how well it holds that edge. I now have 4 Wüsthof knives on the way, all of them are brand new. Hopefully they will be as nice as the Messermeister. The Wüsthof and J.A. Henkels knives seem to be much more common than the Messermeister brand, but all three seem to be highly thought of in the culinary knife world.
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Post by jimiowa on May 8, 2009 13:31:49 GMT -5
I normally do the right thing with my cooking skills and stay out of the kitchen. When I'm home by myself on Saturday I'll make an omlet or burger or something simple like that but I'm no cook. My wife on the otherhand is an outstanding cook! There is no high dollar cutlery in our kitchen at this time. But for off the shelf cutlery, my wife really likes Chicago Cutlery. She came home Monday night and said she had spluged, and picked up a complete set of Chicago Cutlery knives because they were marked down 20%. She says she likes them because the handles fit her hand better than anything she has found and this set is seamless transition between handle and blade(so no food can get stuck in the cracks).
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Post by jimh on May 8, 2009 13:36:47 GMT -5
Scott, i've been wanting some real good kitchen cutlery for some time but other expense keep getting into my way. on the Henkels, i see more and more differant models, affordable models that they offer now. use to be if yu bought a henkel you got a good knife, now i hear depending on which series/line you buy it might not be any better than the cheap crap out there. Gerber was makeing some damn fine kitchen knives back in the mid and late 80's. but i don't know where they are now quality wise. right now i have two old (older than i) carbon steel knives i got from my grandparents. one a green river boning knife, the other a old, "Old Hickory" hammer forged butcher knife that is over 70 yrs old. they get me by but i need/want a nice set one day as i do love to cook.
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Post by klsm54 on May 8, 2009 13:46:22 GMT -5
I've had 4 or 5 Chicago Cutlery knives over the years, still have a couple. They seem to be pretty decent for a stamped knife. I always thought they were a little soft, didn't hold their edge as long as I'd like. Of course, on the other hand, they are easy to sharpen. I see they have introduced a forged line, but I haven't seen them, or the pricing yet. Some knives that I liked are "Old Hickory" knives. But since they aren't stainless, it is too much to ask of the wife to take care of them. That 1095 carbon steel takes a fine edge rather easily, but doesn't do well when you put it in the dishwasher, or leave it soak in dishwater overnight.....
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Post by jimh on May 8, 2009 13:58:14 GMT -5
let me tell you what scott, we have had some knock down arguments about putting knives in the dishwasher. besides what it does to the edge of a good 1095 knife, it will ruin the wood handles in very very very short time! shit, now my B P is back up!
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Post by jimiowa on May 8, 2009 14:10:08 GMT -5
Yes Scott I think Chicago Cutlery is a little soft, but I think that is by design. I think about 90% of their production goes to packing plants and butchers/meat cutters(though that's becoming a lost profession)(if your near a packing plant, employees can get you some worn but useable knives cheap-their throwing them away) where they are steeled and sharpened down to nothing in short order. In production I'm sure time spent sharpening is tme not cutting? I like Carbon steel and don't mind a natural patina on the steel. And agree that a dishwasher is the death of a wood handle.
There are a couple guys in the custom forum of the knife network who specialize in kitchen cutlery. One has been making knives for 8yrs(I think) who's hobby is Gormet cooking and got into knife making to make his own knives. But has yet to make any for himself? ;D
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Post by klsm54 on May 8, 2009 16:53:26 GMT -5
Well, in our house it is like everything else. Things I used to do with simple and cheap tools, before I was disabled, now are done by my wife with top of the line, work reducing tools... ;D I gave up long ago on any thought of her going out of her way to take care of those tools, hence the end of carbon steel or wood handles on our kitchen knives.
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Post by jimh on May 8, 2009 17:27:41 GMT -5
oh Scott, that picture looks like the one i have to a "T" mine is stamped 1843 - 1934
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on May 8, 2009 18:49:41 GMT -5
They do use the softer type blade in butcher shops and a good steel shapner is right their as well and if you watch a cutter just a few min they will use the steel on the knife every little bit.
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Post by klsm54 on May 8, 2009 19:13:12 GMT -5
Scott, i've been wanting some real good kitchen cutlery for some time but other expense keep getting into my way. on the Henkels, i see more and more differant models, affordable models that they offer now. use to be if yu bought a henkel you got a good knife, now i hear depending on which series/line you buy it might not be any better than the cheap crap out there. Gerber was makeing some damn fine kitchen knives back in the mid and late 80's. but i don't know where they are now quality wise. right now i have two old (older than i) carbon steel knives i got from my grandparents. one a green river boning knife, the other a old, "Old Hickory" hammer forged butcher knife that is over 70 yrs old. they get me by but i need/want a nice set one day as i do love to cook. Ah yes. As with most things today, it is "Buyer Beware". ... In the Henkles line there is "Zwilling" J.A. Henkels, the high quality forged knives, and J.A. Henkels International, much cheaper stamped knives. But there are those unsavory types that are trying to rip you off and sell the cheaper "International" knives, passing them off as the "Zwilling". To complicate matters further, the Zwilling line has 8 different forged lines, and even with the Zwilling brand there are 2 stamped lines, the "Twin Gourmet" and "Twin Signature" The logo is different. Zwilling means "twin" in German, thus the "twin" logo.... The stamped "International" lines uses a very similar logo, tricky to those who might not pay attention.... In the Wusthof line, it is the "Emeril" line that is the cheaper stamped versions. Messermeister has two forged lines of German made knives, the "Meridian Elite" and the "San Moritz Elite". Their cheaper stamped line is "Park Plaza". It definitely pays to do a little homework before you jump in with both feet. I got my first Wüsthof this afternoon. I'm impressed again. First impressions are good. This one is new and definitely will not need sharpened....
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Post by jimh on May 8, 2009 19:32:20 GMT -5
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Post by klsm54 on May 8, 2009 22:59:01 GMT -5
My Old Hickory knives were the more modern version. They were made by the Ontario Knife company in Franklinville New York, up Jack's way. I think I paid like $14.95 for a set of 3, doubt they would ever be worth $16.50, let alone $165.00... ;D ;D
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Post by dovehunter on May 9, 2009 7:16:01 GMT -5
For my part, I am about like jimiowa and try to stay the heck out of the kitchen except for eating. As long as I can find some implement capable of spreading mayo, peanut butter, etc., that would be all I would need. I just checked and my wife has a couple of sets of what appears to me to be fairly good quality kitchen cutlery: a Westminister set and a Farberware set. At any rate the steak knives seem to do a pretty good job of sawing through the sirloin.
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