Kitchen

[anniebethsmom]

My son is a professional chef and loves Shun and Global. He turned me on to Global over ten years ago and I use a chef's, paring and a santoku on a daily basis. I also have a good bread knife handy. I'm lucky that he keeps them well sharpened for me. Such a good son!

[debic]

For me this would be an ideal starter set. Henkels had many grades of quality. This is one of their highest.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005K8P8/ref=psdc_409670_t3_B0009RUZ86

Edited to remove huge picture.

[Sooner]

On 3/5/2015 LoopyLoo said:

On 3/5/2015 Dilemma Meringue said:

On 3/4/2015 LoopyLoo said:

On 3/4/2015 KYToby said:

It depends upon budget, how they will be used, and how often they will be used.

Cutco is good for people who are unable or unwilling to maintain knives. They are not very good for serious knife work, but for most home cooking, they probably will be just fine. A plus is that Cutco will sharpen then for you and little maintenance is required.

For more serious cooks, something like Wustoff. The Wustoff has the largest open stock selection on the market, and they are good knives, but they must be maintained which requires regular use of a steel and professional sharpening once a year or so. Wustoff is great for those desiring a German blade profile. Sabatier-K and Elephant Sabatier are both great for those preferring a French profile (my preference).

Finally, Japanese knives are great. I like Shun which are the sharpest out of the box. Shun will also resharpen then for fee, but they must be sent in.

A wee bit presumptuous, are we?

I don't get this, really - what is "presumptuous" about this post? KYToby gave a nice summary of different knife types. Anyway, I know knife sets look nice on the countertop but experience has shown me that I like different knives from different brands for different tasks. I now have a Wusthof block and I have Cutco, Messermeister, Henkel, and Wusthof knives. My favorite little knife is an inexpensive "tomato knife" from Messermeister. Less than $10. It is a mini serrated knife and I use it for so many different foods.

And I appreciate the summary of different knives. The presumption that certain tools are for non-'serious' cooks who are incapable or unwilling to maintain knives--not so much. I would beg to differ. I have no vested interest in Cutco, but I've been a 'serious cook' for 48 years.

There are lots of people (cooks or not) who are incapable or unwilling to maintain knives. I personally know and love many of them. If someone isn't interested in a good knife and maintaining it properly, it is a waste of money to buy them and probably a danger to them as well.

[NickNack]

I love my Cutco knives. I collected them piece by piece over the years. Their table knives are great. I think that's what they're called. I use them almost daily.

[PamelaSue72]

I have a collection of Shun and Rada. Love my Shuns, although they do have to be sent away to be sharpened when needed. My Rada knives are years old and still going strong.