(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best cutlery & knife accessories

An Amazon registry (I would skip the Kohls cutlery offerings) will limit you somewhat, but there are certainly decent options available. I think your selection of two chef knives, a bread knife, and a paring knife is a good choice. For the most part I'm going to suggest fairly costly knives because, frankly, this isn't /r/culinary.

Chef knives first. Everything I have to say about 8"/210mm knives I would apply to 10"/240mm knives unless I make note.

If you want a hefty Western chef knife, I find Messermeister to be best in show. They take an edge better than other stainless German knives I've owned and they keep it longer. I find the grind and profile to be slightly more modern and workable in the Elite models opposed to the highly popular Wusthof Classic and sundry Henckels lines. The fit and finish on them is on par with Wusthof, which is to say impeccable. Messermeister makes three different handles for its Elite lines and offers the blades in a thinner Stealth version, which I like. Since Messermeister's Amazon offerings are a bit wonky I would highly suggest you look around the site for the style you like. You might even find some other kitchen gadgets you like. If you are interested in a French profile, look at K-Sabatier. A carbon K-Sab is a lot of fun. And though the stainless knives they produce aren't really as magical as their carbons, they're still fine knives.

• Messermeister Oliva Elite Stealth: Olive wood handled. My favorite. Extra classy.
  
• Messermeister San Moritz Elite Stealth: Poly handle option. I don't like it as much as the wood handles, but it's much cheaper as offered here.
  
• Messermeister Meridian Elite: Classic black pakka wood handle. It's classic and black.
  
• K-Sabatier carbon: This knife is king of the hill. Yes, it's a hill out in the middle of nowhere, but it's still a nice knife. This style is timeless, but it's also out of stock.
  
• K-Sabatier stainless: I believe this knife uses the same steel as Wusthof and Henckels with a similar heat treatment. The biggest difference is the profile.
  
  There are many good Japanese companies and makers to consider. These knives will all be lighter and somewhat thinner than almost any Western knife. If you want something functional and somewhat reasonably priced, Suisin, Mac, and Tojiro have some good options. In the next price bracket up, a Kikuichi, a Yoshihiro, a Takayuki, or a Misono fits the bill, though Misono knives have become incredibly inflated in price. If you have a rich Uncle Ed, slip a Takeda into your list. I would definitely consider other knives at these general price ranges, but they're not available on Amazon.
  
  A few budget suggestions:
  
  
• Tojiro DP gyuto: A great knife line. Tojiro's VG-10 heat treatment is on par with if not better than Shun's. If you're used to a heavy 10" knife, a Tojiro DP 270mm wouldn't be out of the question.
  
• 7.25" Mac Chef "chef" knife: This is definitely a gyuto, regardless what it's labeled. I've used it on a restaurant line during service and it is quite durable. It's reasonably priced, which makes it a popular choice in the food industry.
  
• 10" Mac Chef chef knife: Though they're from the same line, this knife has a wholly more substantial feel on the board than the above. It's still light. It's not priced as well as its shorter cousin. This is the knife that opened my eyes to what Japanese knives could be. The knife is available in the 12" length which, like the Tojiro, coming from a full weight Western knife would still be light.
  
• Suisin HC gyuto: A carbon steel knife selection. These knives have good production values and take a great edge. These knives have decent asymmetrical grinds, which is a definite plus for me. Suisin also makes a comparable Inox stainless line that is quite nice.
  
  To find out who really loves you:
  
  
• Takayuki Grand Chef gyuto: To be fair, I have not used this knife. Those who have like it, though they usually consider it a bit overpriced. It's made from AEB-L, which in kitchen knives is my favorite stainless. I would prefer the Suisin HC.
  
• Misono UX10 gyuto: This knife has been around for a few years and it's pretty popular at high end restaurants. It's nice, but it's a bit overpriced for what you get; the steel and grind on it are unremarkable. The fit and finish on it is probably the best you can buy, though.
  
• Yoshihiro gyuto: This knife is again a bit pricey for what you get, but it does at least include a saya. It offers you a crack at a wa handle, which is a slightly different experience. The steel is somewhat softer than I would like.
  
  Rich Uncle Ed special:
  
  
• Takeda 210mm Aogami Super gyuto: It's thin. It's light. It's made by a wizened old master craftsman. It's got a weird grind that does a whole lot of work while cutting something. It's made out of one of the finest carbon steels being produced today. It's... really expensive. Takeda lovers swear by them, but they're much too tall on the board for me.
  
  Unfortunately I didn't spot many knives on Amazon that I have confidence in and feature a Japanese handle. That's a shame because they're a treat.
  
  Unlike my essay on chef knives, I have only one bread knife suggestion, the Mac Superior 270mm bread knife. It's the best Amazon has to offer and one of the best bread knives you can buy. Tojiro makes a clone that sells for less elsewhere if no one gives you one.
  
  Paring knives are a little different. Edge retention and grind are much less important than geometry. I have this Henckels Pro 3" and I like it; the height of the blade is very comfortable. It has no flex, though, so don't expect to use it optimally for boning tasks. I am almost as happy with any Victorinox paring knife. I would suggest you try as many as possible in brick and mortar outlets to figure out what you like.
  
  And finally, storage. A wall mounted magnetic strip is popular. Those made of wood have less chance of scratching or damaging a knife, so they're somewhat preferable, but as long as you pop the knife off tip first you won't damage it. I've used this strip from Winco for the past year at work with no ill effect. A knife block actually is a good storage option if you can find one to fit your collection. The biggest risk is catching the tip when the knife is inserted into the block, but that's not much of a concern if the user is careful. I use a Victorinox block that was a gift at home for most of my house knives. This block is great, I've been told. A drawer insert is another good low space option. I like my Knife Dock for the stuff I want to keep safe. It lets me slip in as many knives as I have space for the handles. This insert from Wusthof is also popular.

I was actually starting to draft a little cooking ideas post like this. This is just what I found value in and will ramble because I haven't really edited it down at all. So if anyone reads it and has notes please let me know, it's fairly directionless at the moment. It is also from the perspective of and aimed towards young single people but not exclusive to. I am also well aware a lot of you folks are good cooks or at least have a functional kitchen and I in no way want it to sound like I'm more knowledgeable than anyone with an hour to watch youtube videos.

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TL:DR Make sure your skills are on point before getting convenience tools as you might not need them, a cast iron or good stainless steel skillet and a good couple of knives can do most things in a kitchen, plan meals before you shop to avoid wastefulness.

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This post is big, flawed, and broken into two main sections. One is purely skills based, stuff you can totally do for free and can start doing right this moment. That's a big part of minimalism for me, gaining skills and getting good at some things rather than owning and being okay at a ton of things. The second section is more of a buy guide, again all from my experience.

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First off is to focus less on the equipment and more on the technique. Fundamentally, knife skills, understanding of cook times, heat, and technique, creativity and planning are some terms I like. In addition I have thoughts on tools and ingredients

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First, learn your knife, do drills, practice good form constantly. When I started in a fast-food-y sandwich shop when I was 16, the manager (who was a line cook for years) suggested I practice things like chopping a carrot as thinly as possible, or celery, or breaking down onion and garlic. Then I got to work with the prep team (which was cool because they taught me Spanish) to learn basic stuff like sauces and cooking meats. The result is a few years later, I have a decent knife. Not as good as a legit cook or anything but enough that I can confidently use a sharp knife to do anything a home cook would ever need to.

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Cook times. It's way less intimidating to work on food when you know "okay my chicken will take this long, oven takes this long, rice needs this much time", and so on. From a minimalist perspective, this will help you cut down on some tools such as a plug-in type grill, rice cookers, stuff that times or cooks food for you. Learning how to use heat also really improves the versatility of something as simple as a cast iron pan. Technique will allow you to make staple dishes or at least be able to take a guess at how to prepare just about anything, and the most valuable tip for that is look up how to make individual components of dishes rather than just recipes over and over. This becomes relevant in the next portion as well.

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Creativity. As some people are mentioning, "aspirational groceries" cause clutter and waste in the form of garbage and money. Creativity helps solve this when paired with planning. When shopping, I found it valuable to plan out meals for the week. Buy what you need, make a note of what isn't used, and refine. That's planning. Creativity is ending up with some random ingredients and Macgyvering it together so you don't waste or overspend. That is made much easier by having solid cooking techniques so you have a bit of a starting off point for creativity.

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Now into the stuff. I personally think a couple things are fundamental. Babish from YouTube has a great List . First off, get a good 7" to 8" Chef knife. I use a Gyuto but that's more because I impulse bought one when I first moved out and had all the money in the world from not having any expenses and was talked into it by a very nice saleswoman at the knife shop in town. Wusthof is a great name in knives and if you can get a hold of an 8" one of those, a bread knife, and maybe a pairing knife (I don't really use mine much but some people do) you will be able to do most things. I'd avoid buying a knife set just because you're more than likely paying for an extra 3 or so knives you won't use, and they're cheap for a reason. But to each their own, it is very convenient to have the steak knives, honing rod, and scissors that most of them include. No judgement here. Plus they're really really affordable.

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Now as to everything else, I'm not as researched. I think a good cast iron skillet is fantastic from a minimalist perspective as you can do most things that you'd really ever need to do on it, from frying to saute to some baking. Kent Rollins is first off a joy to watch but more importantly uses very limited tools. He does have his specialized "bertha" stove but for the most part it's just him with either open fires or a hot stove cooking in cast iron pans and dutch ovens. If you want to know more, I'd just watch the babish video above, he talks more about why he has what he has, such as this expensive but amazing set of pots and pans. Off the top of my head: baking sheets, a large cutting board, a meat thermometer (safety), measuring cups and spoons, box grater (or one coarse grater and one microplane grater), spatulas, tongs, etc.

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Like I said this is mostly ranting, and I'm going to research and trim it down for the future, but these are my thoughts at the moment.

Got married in 2015 and we was in the same boat as you... Both of us are from large ethnic families who wanted to give physical gifts (because they're well intentioned and wanted to pay it forward - a lot of them were newly arrived in the US without a lot of money, and sometimes not a lot of family and married pretty young - so gifts they got for their marriage were actually very much needed). Both my partner and I already had functioning apartments (separately), then when we moved in while we were engaged, realized we had about 2 of everything and had to narrow that down. Thankfully, we are pretty minimal people - him by nature, me by intention. But especially after having to sort through both of our belonging to weed out duplicates, we really felt like we did not need anything else.

We ended up taking a two pronged appraoch: 1) Upgrading things we had, and used, but that were not all that nice to begin with and 2) Items that would help us achieve the goals that we had laid out for our relationship as a married couple.

A few things we asked for that have seen a lot of use:

1. Vitamix - I thought this was going to be a huge waste of money, but my partner really wanted it and my aunt really wanted to give it to us (because she loves hers). This thing has gotten used daily (and sometimes multiple times a day). We have been low-carb-ish for the last two years and the Vitamix has been awesome for this kind of cooking. Can't say enough great things about it and I have no doubt this thing is going to last decades.
   
   
2. Really great Japanese knives - my cousin is a chef recommended this pearing knife and this 8.5" knife. Not only are they super easy to handle (as opposed to German Wostoff knives - a commonly requested wedding gift, which IMHO are way too large to efficently or precisely manuver), but they are gorgeous knives that are nicely balanced and really feel great in your hand. We replaced an entire block of cheap-o knives with these two knives alone.
   
   
3. Religious & ethnic items for holidays - There are a few holidays we celebrate where specific items are part of the tradition. For example, for Christmas, our families always have nativity sets, so we registered for that. For Easter, there are special cultural items that are used - and someone made us that. You can ask your ethnic families to get you these things (which were actually some of the most touching gifts because they were either made by hand or purchased overseas).
   
   
4. Plates, silverware, glasses and servingware to host 40 people - This is NOT "minimalist" for pretty much anyone, but it made sense for us. We both have large families. The elders of the families have been strongly hinting at having us take over the "big holidays" that they have been hosting. Additionally, we live in a neighborhood that is the spot for 4th of July parties, and we host an annual blowout day-before-Thanksgiving party. When we were making our registry, we made a list of everyone who would be on the invite for these parties and were hitting the 35-40 person range. So we have 40 place settings - we keep 32 of them in a separate set of cabinets in the basement, and 5-6 times a year, bring them out so that everyone can eat together using real plates and silverware. It's not minimalist, but it's intentional in that we specifically have choosen to stay in the same city as our families so we can do these types of things.
   
   I guess my overall advice would be to make a list of goals you want to achieve for your life together, and then try to ask for items that either help you achieve those goals, or enhance those experiences.
   
   A few examples:
   
   

• If a goal for your married life together is to be environmentally sustainable, think about registering for a compost bin, a fancy SimpleHuman garbage/recyling can or a Berkey Water Filter
  
  
• If you want to pursue a healthy lifestyle together and cook homemade meals - you can upgrade your pots and pans (love my All Clad pots and my Le Creuset pan).
  
  Does anyone NEED this stuff? No, of course not. But when you're lucky enough to already have all your basic needs met in life, wedding registries provide are a nice opportunity to upgrade things that were aquired at an earlier time in your time in your life, not for their enduring quality, but rather their low cost/ ease of procurement. Good luck!

Okay, where to begin?

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Sharpening a knife is actually a very simple process. The overall goal is for you to maintain an angle throughout the sharpening process while sharpening from course to fine grits (Course = smaller #s and Fine = Higher #s). Often people use cheap knives and sharpeners and learn good habits (maintaining angles) before upgrading to higher tier stones. The issue you have is the you are dealing with a premium steel knife which is much harder, holds an edge longer( needs sharpen less often) and takes more time to sharpen with a majority of sharpening materials. If you are dealing with Elmax steel I would recommend that what ever sharpener you get it should have diamond and ceramic stones as these are harder than the knife material and can cut it efficiently unless you are using some belt or grinder system. Since you are a beginner I would recommend that you use a knife sharpening system as you could have more accidents sharpening the knife free hand. Believe me it sucks when you screw up a knife edge while sharpening and you have to spend way too much time fixing your mistakes so the knife can actually cut. In short I would use a test knife in any sharpener to see how it works properly and after you are more confident use the system you choose. Also some of these might be excessive especially if you only have a few knives. Some of the higher end sharpener are what professionals use in their shop (who knows if you get good enough you can make some money).

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1. The Lansky Diamond system ($67) is a great place to start as it has 70/120/280/600 grits but you also have to purchase the C clamp stand ($15 and you do need it as you will get tired holding the thing) and higher grit (1000) ceramic stone ($13) and 2000 grit stone ($12). Leather strops with compound if you want an absolute finish. The only complaint I would have about this system is that the stones are not of the highest quality and stop working as the diamonds fall off. The sharpening guides also are fixed and you have to use a angle measure (your iphone can use its compass app) or some math (trig) to find the position to get an accurate angle throughout the blade. There is a work around stone holder ($60 )That can use Edgepro stones and is longer (better strokes). So with everything but the strop and the 3rd party holder you are looking around $120. $200 with the upgraded stone holder.
   
2. The KME sharpener is very similar concept except that the angle guide is moveable but I must still stress that the angle needs to verified again. Shabazz also explains this in his review. It also has a nicer case. I think you still need to buy the base for this one as well. Like you said it runs around $300 with every thing.
   
3. at $350-575 there is the wicked edge . Hear great things and it will get the job done faster but it is expensive! You can get a Tormek at that price now.
   
4. If you do not want to spend a ton of time sharpening and don't mind belt grinding the Ken Onion Sharpener ($126) is great. Note: it will create a convex edge and if that is something you want great! Video
   
5. Going off the deeper end we have the Tormek T4 ($400-550 or $700 for the full size) which is essentially a wheel grinder made for edge knives and tools. Considered by many to be the best you can get
   
6. There is also the TSprof ($700) which is essentially a bigger top tier KME sharpener. Video
   
7. If you want a simple top tier diamond system DMT Course Set and Fine Set =$200 total. Note that although expensive. These can be used pretty much for decades provided that you take care of them (use diamond abrasive fluid). You can also use water stones but there are so many out there I do not know which brands and how much you could expect to spend with those.
   
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   Note that I only mentioned the higher end sharpening systems under the assumption that money is no objection and you wanted it to sharpen you knife efficiently but I wanted for you to see what types of systems are available are certain price ranges. If not mentioned above you might need a strop and fine compound to get a mirror edge.
   
   Okay now here are some cheaper systems that are similar to some of those above but cheaper.
   
   
8. 5 gen Sharpener (ebay) ($40). This is like the KME Sharpener but cheaper and you can get 3rd party Diamond Plates set (140/400/1000) cheap ($25)
   
9. Edge Pro clone - cheaper end copy of the Edge pro. I think you can also use the diamond plates as it is around the same size.
   
10. Lulu sharpener ($90) if you can find one... it is a copy of the Wicked Edge. Looks like it also uses the Diamond plates mentioned earlier.
    
    ALSO: get a ceramic honing rod ($20). Often times knives just need honing to get back that razor sharp edge and maintaining it with a rod will prolong your edge and mean you sharpen less.
    
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    Hopefully this has helped you somewhat and sorry it took so long to respond, it just takes time to type all of this out(2hrs! where does the time go?) and cite the products. Personally for me, knives for me a fun hobby and it tends to have a meditative effect on me when I sharpen them. I also hope that you come to enjoy sharpening your knives just as much.
    
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    And welcome to sharpening!

I have several knives.

My most used knife, and the one I like the most is a 8 inch Wüsthof classic. I really like the balance and the grip of this one.

I also have a Mac Chef's Knife, 7-1/4-Inch. This is stamped, not forged, but for just a few dollars more than the Victorinox you get a knife that actually sits and balances well in your hand and it's made of much better steel. I actually bought it in a brick and mortar store for about $20.

It's not as well balanced as the Wüsthof, but I like the fact that it doesn't have a full bolster. It's much easier to sharpen. If I would start anew I would get half-bolster designs for my expensive knives, but it's really no big deal at all.

I also have Tojiro DP Gyutou. The price varies, now it's a few dollars more expensive than the Victorinox, but I bought it cheaper. This is an excellent knife with better steel than the above knives. The grip is fantastic. The balance is good, but not quite as good as the Wüsthof, nothing really gets there for me, but it's good. Again the lack of a full bolster is a great feature of this knife.

Personally now I think that the Wüsthof Ikon lines are better than the classic series, because of the half-bolster design, but I didn't know this years back when I bought my classic.

Also, I keep saying that these knives feel so good in the hand compared to the Victorinox but this is a very subjective thing and people should try for themselves. I know some people love the Victorinox, if that's the case, go for it; personally, I can't stand it. PinchGrip4Lyfe.

I also have a J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL Forged Synergy 8-inch Chef's Knife. This is cheaper than the Victorinox. The balance is pretty good, but the grip is not as good as the knives posted above. It's still light-years better than the Victorinox grip though.

If I had to buy a cheap knife I would get Kai 6720C Wasabi Black Chef's Knife, 8-Inch. This is way cheaper than the Victorinox. That being said, I haven't tested it.

My goal here is not to convince anyone that the Victorinox is awful. I know some people really like the grip, but to make clear that at around the same price point there are many knives, and you should get which one feels best in your hand. Victorinox is not the only option for cheap knives, unlike what the reddit gospel says!

Which is better really comes down to what you prefer and what you will be using a knife for. Classic European cooking, for example, really benefits from being able to rock chop as Jacques Pépin does in this video. Of course you don't have to do any of that to process garlic but rather its just one set of techniques and styles. In this realm, Wusthof and knives like it do very well. There's also Messermeister, Zwilling, and more. The caveat is while they all offer good quality knives, they also offer some very poor quality ones. Make sure you do the research and go for top tier products if you're going to get one.

On the other end of the spectrum we have French and Japanese style knives like a Sabatier and a gyuto which can rock chop but you're not going to be able to come close to what Jacques did to that garlic. Of course there are santokus which you mention. These don't rock chop at all but are great for slicing, dicing, and mincing. I find a classic Wusthof nothing but a pain to mince with. Even santokus come in different styles. On one hand you have this Tojiro DP santoku with a big of a curve compared to this Kohetsu which has very little.

Somewhere in the middle we get things like this Victoronix 8" which is one the best values available. The profile is not quite European and not quite Japanese.

So, back to your original question: which is better, the Shun or Wusthof santoku? If I had to choose one I would go with the Shun simply because it is a Japanese manufacturer making a Japanese knife with Japanese steel. The steel used its harder than the Wusthof which pairs very well with how a santoku is meant to be used. You get all the benefits of a harder steel (ie. edge retention) while not having to worry about its toughness which can be an issue while rock chopping since it can cause twisting. However, I would also recommend you look beyond the Shun if you have other options available to you. Not including any import tax, the Fujiwara Santoku on japanesechefsknife costs about the same and has a much better steel (though it is reactive). Its fit an finish might not be as good as the name brand's but other than that I personally think is a better knife in every way.

I don't recognize the brand, I'm sure I've used something of similar quality tough. I'm going to assume it's similar to the set made by Henckles International (the Chinese ripoff of the German Henckles... notice the slight difference in the logo and the price difference). The Chinese Henckles are decent knives. They sharpen alright, but take a lot more frequent maintenance than my German Henckles. They're the set that wife is allowed to use (she knows not to mess with my good knives without permission).

Your difficulty with sharpening might be due to the metal used in those knives. High quality knives typically have a higher carbon content plus other metals besides iron that help with various things. The higher carbon makes the blades harder, and easier to put a sharp edge on. Or possibly your boss was better at sharpening. The main thing is to keep your knife at a consistent angle. Once you get good, you can feel if it's at the right spot and adjust almost without thinking about it while sharpening.

Also, the more quality knives sometimes use a more effective edge shape. I know Global knives (and lots of other Japanese companies) use the convex edge shape, which is very strong and dulls slowly, but is very difficult to maintain. Most people recommend a tri-stone for sharpening, but I don't actually. Your coarse and med stones are only needed if you let your knife get extremely dull (and a kitchen knife should never actually get dull). Those stones also eat off a lot of metal, so with frequent use, your knife shape can change noticably. For an amateur that wants a decently sharp knife, but doesn't care enough to learn to sharpen one correctly this Sharpener is the only pull sharpener I've used that I like (I actually got one for my grandmother, since her knives were always dull).

But, if you want to learn to sharpen a knife, get a fine stone (type is more preference than anything else) and a honing rod (something with a diamond grit finish or ceramic, the steel rods are basically useless for anything but light honing, this is the one I use). I don't actually have a stone in my kitchen because I don't let my knives don't dull to the point I need anything besides the ceramic rod to re-sharpen/hone the knife. For the stone though, there's tons of youtube videos out there on how to sharpen a knife (plus some nifty kits that have bits that clip onto your blade to hold the angle constant). I found this video that explains things pretty well. Sticking the point of the rod on the cutting board like he does is a good, stable way to learn to use it.

So I’ve been looking at different options. Whetstone, yes, but it’s a skill that takes time to perfect. It is a useful skill, but don’t expect super sharp knives overnight (unless you are literally spending all night on it, haha).

Professional knife sharpening: honestly, I’d recommend this for getting an initial sharp. It’s easier to maintain an edge than creat an edge

Another sort of midway option that is not highly recommended here, but I think I’m headed that way is a knife sharpening system. And I don’t mean the draw through POS that you get from the department store. I have those and don’t think they work. I’m thinking of getting an Edge Pro clone and chosera stones. I don’t have a lot of knives and don’t plan on spending a lot of time honing my sharpening skills. And I think that’s the best option for me right now. There are others out there like Lansky that are good. I just like the variable angle on the Edge Pro and similar products.

I’m thinking something like this knowing that I’ll need to mod it to make it more sturdy as well as pick up some chosera stones for it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CGVJ4YO/

Rather than getting him a new set of knives, take a good look at the ones he's got and the ones he uses the most, and pay attention to the shape of the handles. Shun knives are amazing, but a lot of them have perfectly round, smooth handles that work in my hand at all. Try to get something that has a handle of similar shape to what he already has. Then, find something that's different from everything else he has. Does he like to make sushi? He'd probably love a Japanese santoku. Does he fish, or prefer to buy fish whole? A high end fillet knife would probably be great.

When I was shopping for my knives, I only bought a set in a block because it turned out that was cheaper than just buying the three knives I wanted out of the set (yay for holiday sales!). I'm glad now that I did, because I never would have bought the bird's beak paring knife for myself, and it's now one of my favorites. I think most cooks tend to stick with the same 3-ish knives for everything, so get him something pretty and functional that he'd be unlikely to buy for himself. Maybe something like this.

I don't think it's right to describe the differences in kitchen knives as ergonomic and how well-sharpened the blades are. There are two distinct tiers: stamped blades (stamped out of sheet metal and sharpened) and forged blades.

Cutco knives are stamped steel. I've never seen a stamped blade that isn't flimsy and cheap feeling. It has to be thin enough metal to be stamped out of a sheet. You can sharpen them like he said but forged blades are just head and shoulders above stamped, imo.

Forged blades are much heavier and can be made out of way nicer steel that holds an edge longer. They're harder to sharpen but let professionals do that. Just keep yours honed with a steel. Watch a youtube on how to do that, and take the 10 seconds to do it after every time you use your knife. You will only need to sharpen very rarely.

In addition to agreeing with that commenter about using professional sharpening, I think a professional supply place is a fine idea. Just aim for forged for at least your chef's knife. That's the one that really matters since you can use it for the vast majority of cooking tasks.

My roommate's stamped knife set full of special knives is fine for those special things: cheese, sandwich, paring (mostly), bread (mostly). But I use my wusthof ikon chef's knife for basically all my cooking needs. It can still cut thin transparent tomato slices with almost gravity alone. It just effortlessly and precisely divides whatever food material I'm working with.

I bet any decent forged blade would do similar, but since I only needed one nice knife, I was fine spending like $150 ($138 now it looks like) on it to be sure it cut nice and felt good in my hand. The ikon series has nicely contoured handles: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YMURSE/

Please post if you find a professional product you end up buying and let us know how it goes!

If you have some really dull edges that havent been sharpened in a long time, pretty much any coarse stone will do, harbor freight has some well priced diamond stones that work well. As far as maintaining edges go, you're gonna want something finer, the bottom of a cermic mug can work well with practice.


As far as stuff you can buy goes, here's some links

worksharp field sharpener: for if you just want to buy one simple tool that can do everything

knock off Spyderco sharp maker: for maintaining undamaged edges, very easy to use, great compliment to a coarse stone for edge repair

Diamond bench stone: these are wonderful for repairing edges, but they remove a ton of metal so they're really useful for reprofiling and repairing, not so much for keeping a kinda sharp edge sharp

Sharpening can be a lot of fun, and there's a million ways to do it. Find some YouTube tutorials (virtuovice is someone I definitely recommend, sweet old Japanese deer Hunter with an enormous wealth of knowledge on water stones). Knowing what you're doing with sandpaper is way better than buying a $80 knife sharpener you don't know how to use well, or don't feel like setting up and putting together.

I have an 8" Shun Ken Onion right now and I love it. It's my first real quality knife so I don't have a ton of other cutlery with which to judge it by, but the balance is awesome on it and it holds an edge really well. I usually hone it with the shun steel ever 2 or 3 times I use it and it's back to it's razor sharp self right after. I would agree with one of the reviews on Amazon that said "I didn't know what sharp was until I got this knife". I think they're set at a 16 degree angle, which is a bit steeper than most knives I believe. Though I think Wusthof does 14 on some of theirs.

I've had a couple of stamped kitchen aid style santoku knives and I've used my sister's Wustof set, but I think my Shun outshines those quite a bit.

If I had a choice I would've gotten a 10" blade. The 8" is great for most every day home cooking, but it would be nice if it was a bit longer for things like breaking down melons and larger items.

I was able to get a crazy good deal on it last year right after new years it was around $90 for the 8" with the bamboo rack. So I would shop around a bit, and if you can wait for holiday sales you can probably get a good deal on whatever knife you decide on.

• Chef's knife 1 [2] (http://www.amazon.com/Henckels-International-Classic-8-Inch-Stainless-Steel/dp/B00004RFMT/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1335026275&sr=1-3) me gusta
  
• Paring knife (victorinox is good if you get a few. If you want just one, get something with solid construction. You can find them for pretty cheap)
  
• Cutting boards (ikea is a good place for these. 2/$1)
  
• French Press (Mmmm, coffee)
  
• Spices (oregano, basil, salt, pepper, yellow curry powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder)
  
• A few nice microwave safe bowls
  
• A mixing bowl
  
• 1 nice, heavy saute pan (8" coated works well for 1 person, though you may want to get something a bit bigger if you'll be cooking for 2. Also, use plastic a wood utensils. NEVER use a fork because it's easier. You will ruin your pan if you do not heed my warning.)
  
• 1 nice, heavy pot (1 or two quarts should do. Try Goodwill or somewhere similar for this)
  
• Spatulas, wood spoons, tongs, etc.
  
  A well fit kitchen is really important. I like to go with a minimalist style and just wash as I go. It keeps the clutter down and makes cooking pretty damn easy. Good luck!

I have a $5 pairing knife that takes an edge well but looses it fast. I have a $25 stamped wusthof that takes an edge well and keeps it pretty good. I just bought my little brothers (2 of them) Misen chefs knives (a kickstarter thing) and they are pretty dang nice.

 

I can sharpen an axe to where I can shave with it by hand. Showing off is all that is good for. I have used water stones, diamond, the top of a car window, and even a plain ole rock. But once a month or so, I sharpen them with on this.

 

But every day, I hone them with one of these I bought at goodwill.

 

My advice to anyone is learn to use and sharpen the tool before geeking out on expensive stuff. Knowledge and practice will bring you a lot more satisfaction. I would rather hear a great guitarist on a crap guitar than a crap guitarist on a great guitar.

If you're a beginner, then I recommend you get something like this or like his if you want the propane kind. DO NOT GET ELECTRIC.

After that, it's just all about meat temp, so make sure you get yourself a good portable meat thermometer. I recommend this guy. It'll give you the most bang for your buck.

After that, it's all about temperature, getting that brisket up to the right temp can take anywhere from 8-12 hours, depending on the cut. You can good recipes for rub and methods, but IMO, they'll always come out great, provided you get it to the right temp and slice it properly.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, smoking meat is something that looks incredibly complicated, but is in fact pretty damn easy. And it's an easy way to impress friends and family.

Other things you'll likely eventually want, but can get away without are some pit gloves a good long knife and a huge cutting board, if you don't have one.

Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife (8 inch)

The Fibrox series is the classic chef knife series. Known for good quality and able to keep a good edge for a while. Can't go wrong here. Like other comments have said they also have paring knives and bread knives, all at reasonable prices.

Mercer Culinary M22608 Millennia 8-Inch Chef's Knife

The Mercer Millennia series is great if you're really on a budget. I own one of these but I will say that after about a good 6 months of use it is losing its edge quite a bit (also possibly due to roommates chopping stuff on the hard metal table. I'm a little bitter about it.) Came sharp and will stay sharp with some care.

Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged Short Bolster Forged Chef's Knife, 8 Inch

Same company, forged blade. Little nicer, will most likely keep an edge a little longer.

As far as chef knives go, these are some budget picks and probably what most people would recommend unless you want something much nicer! :)

Edit: Also if you are looking for something much nicer, jump down the rabbit hole that is /r/chefknives

It's a steep slope lol

The steel in the victorinox is definitely softer. Here's my current suggestions for people thinking about buying cheaper knives.

(Copy and pasted from something I've posted before, but with some updates)


TL;DR: In the category of budget knives. For longer lasting edges, Tojiro DP Santoku or Gyuto for $43 and $52 (now $62) respectively, or the Augymer for $30. For easier maintenance, Kai 6720C or Henckels Forged Synergy for $32 and $35, respectively.



As a caveat, budget knives of all sorts are not going to have the fit and finish of higher priced knives. For Knives that are easy to obtain lump you into two categories that have pros and cons, German hardness and Japanese hardness. Which is mainly a trade off between sharpness/edge holding vs durability/ease of maintenance. Although you can sharpen really soft metals to be stupid sharp and a really acute angle, it will not last long at all. But when the edge gets rolled over from a cutting session, it can be easily honed back into place. Harder knives can still be honed back into place, but techniques and tools are slightly different--I would never touch my harder knives with a grooved steel.

German hardness is usually around 56-58 hrc. Hard enough to hold an edge for a bit, but soft enough to not chip and easily steel/hone back into place.

The Victorinox Fibrox at about 55 hrc used to be suggested all the time when it was $20 and even when it was about $35. But now that it is $40-45, that's just too much for what is a very cheap knife.

A couple knives still in this range, which are better quality than the fibrox anyway are:

Kai 6720C Wasabi Black Chef's Knife, 8-Inch at 57-58 hrc for $32

https://www.amazon.com/Kai-6720C-Wasabi-Black-8-Inch/dp/B000YL4NY4


So this one is actually made with Japanese steel by the same company that makes Shun. But, because it's hardened to only 57-58 hrc, I'm lumping it in with the german steel category.

and The Henckels International Forged Synergy 8-inch Chef's Knife at about 57-58 hrc for $32

http://www.amazon.com/HENCKELS-INTERNATIONAL-Forged-Synergy-8-inch/dp/B000FMVS4A

Henckels International (not regular Henckels) used to be really bad because they made their knives to 53-55 hrc, which is way too soft to hold an edge to get through a cooking session without nearly constant honing. I've heard their international classics are still being made w/ the crappy steel.


So your choice between these two are having that big bolster (which I'm not a fan of) and general aesthetic.

Japanese hardness is usually at least 59 hrc, with a good chunk in the 60-62 range. This means potentially better, longer lasting cutting performance between honing/sharpening. The tradeoff is that it becomes more difficult to get to this stage without specialty tools or sending it to a professional sharpener. At this point I personally don't even consider knives under 59 hrc, unless it's something that really takes a beating.

For the cheapest price point, while still having quality. I would really only recommend the Tojiro DP at 60-61 hrc. It used to be about double the prices, but the grinds also used to be more even. Either way, it's still a great buy.

The chef/gyuto is $52 (now $62 hopefully it'll come back down soon)

http://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Gyutou-8-2-21cm/dp/B000UAPQGS/

And the Santoku is $43

http://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Santoku-6-7-17cm/dp/B000UAPQEA/

So the main difference here is whatever knife shape you prefer (and the price). I've gotten some cheaper harder steel knives, but I've had to do way too much touching up to be recommended.

There's also the Augymer 8" "Damascus" for $30 allegedly hardened to 62 hrc:

https://www.amazon.com/Augymer-Japanese-Professional-Stainless-Sharp-Damascus/dp/B01H6KWUWC/

I'd be really afraid of fit and finish problems, and generally lower tolerances throughout the process of making this knife. You can even see the uneven grind on the Amazon page. I'd also assume that the hardness is a tad lower than specified (maybe 60 hrc), but it should still be a pretty good knife if you want to pinch your pennies. This could be a great knife with some TLC, especially if you send it to someone who knows what they're doing.

It depends entirely on what you expect to do with the knife.

Food prep is a common task, which is best done with a small, slender fixed blade knife (folding knives are harder to keep clean - very important with food prep! - and slender blades cut food better than thick blades do). If the food prep knife is carried with the cooking gear, it does not require a belt sheath. A $9 victorinox paring knife is light and strong and would work fine for all but the largest jobs.

A saw or hatchet is far superior to a knife for preparing firewood, if that's going to be necessary.

General woodworking tasks - such as forming tent stakes, or notching wood to build a shelter or something like that - is best done with a thicker, stronger knife. A $20 stainless mora is very hard to beat for these sorts of tasks. If the hatchet/saw are lost, they can help with firewood prep, too.

See /r/Bushcraft for lots of helpful advice and knowledge.

You can't go wrong with the Spyderco Tenacious. Only $35 but it performs like a $100 knife. When I got mine I was very impressed by the quality. The handle has good ergonomics and the blade is a decent steel. It is a great slicer and workhorse!

A good entry-level sharpening kit is the Lansky TurnBox. It was my first sharpening system and it will keep your knife razor sharp. It only has medium and fine grit ceramic rods, but as long as you don't let your knife get too dull you can easily maintain it. There is a slightly more expensive turnbox that has coarse diamond rods that would be better for bringing very dull knives back to life.

A perfect chef's knife is the first place to start (that's my preference, the Wusthof Ikon Classic 8", $160). Go to a kitchen supply store, or even Bed Bath & Beyond, and test drive some steel - see how comfortable it is in your hand, how balanced it feels. If you want to save money for other things, you can't go wrong with the Victorionx Fibrox 8" chef's knife, at an extremely reasonable $40. The chef's knife is an impossibly versatile tool all on its own, but if you want a smaller knife for detailed work, grab a paring knife from whatever manufacturer you choose for your chef's.

A huge, heavy cutting board ($88). For most of my life, I went with the $20 3-packs of plastic OXO or other cutting boards, ranging from small to extremely small - nothing will slow down your cooking more than an inadequately sized cutting board. Things roll off, you pile up your chopped veg and run out of space, you feel constantly crowded, and you can never carve a whole chicken or roast. Buy a piece of non-slip material (usually used for carpets) ($9), place it under the cutting board when you use it, and it will never slip or slide around - more convenient and safe.

A Thermapen. Expensive - it's $100, but it's the fastest and most accurate kitchen thermometer money can buy. A less expensive alternative would be the Lavatools Javelin at $24 - not quite as good, but a damn sight better than any other digital food thermometer you'll get your hands on. This is essential for cooking any meat, deep frying, baking - it will change your game.

An All-Clad Sauté Pan ($129). Also expensive, but an absolute essential tool for everything from sautéing to braising to deep frying. Do not go cheap with your stainless - you can do cheaper than All-Clad, but even heating, comfort, and build quality are absolutely essential.

An inexpensive but awesome nonstick set($164 for 11 pcs). Alternately, you could get a very versatile 12" TFal Professional Total Nonstick, an impossibly stickless, oven safe, dishwasher safe wunderkind.

A 12" Cast Iron Skillet ($34). These are kind of a pain to take care of, but are invaluable for searing, baking, even serving. It'll last you a lifetime if you take care of it.

The trouble with Shun knives is how thin and brittle the edge is. Honestly there are some fantastic Wusthoff and Henckels knives that will withstand accidents much better. I know this isn't a direct answer to the question but might be the best overall solution. Alternately, you could go for this grinder to completely reshape the edge, but it'll take forever and cost as much as a new knife. That CAN be a good BIFL solution, because it will help you keep ANY knife with a 15 degree edge working for life, but only if you're into the maintenance efforts as an enthusiast. If your kitchen is prone to accidents or clumsy roommates (like mine), a sturdier knife with slightly softer steel (German style) might be ideal. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018RSEMU/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687682&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000FKV96Y&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=11PWAJAJ45EKQHMM9C6P)

cRc standards? Star-K? There are a few, most of it is minor but you should know them and know what applies for you. Also, your community minhag may also dictate some of these things.

For example, some allow using the same dishwasher for meat/dairy since the water isn't yad soledes bo and there is an agent like lye (mentioned in S"A) in use.

>What basics do I need?

Depends on how often you eat various items, I very, very rarely eat meat so I have very few meat items for example.

But I have a large variety of parve items.

Overall you will want separate kli rishonim for meat/dairy/parve but not like 1:1:1, since you will cook different things in them. Also sponges and scrapers and serving utensils.

I would walk through a typical menu for you and see what works, like do you only have a dairy pot for vegetables or other sides and will that come to be a problem when you are making a meat meal?

Since I mainly eat parve I can duplicate a lot of my dairy since it isn't usually an issue. I have an instapot and I have 3 interior pots/liners/steam catchers for Shabbat meals.

You will also want knives for cutting that are parve/dairy/meat this is a fantastic meat knife and is really cheap and all the chef's I know recommend it. It's great for chopping/cutting.

You might also want to check out the books Kosher Kitchen which talks a lot about the details, but your community might be more lenient than that book in some places here and there.

But overall I'd go through and start with thinking about how you want to use your kitchen then apply the rules of kashrut and see if it is an issue.

Also, get some heat resistant color tape, so you can correctly label your items.

At some point, you might also look at if your stove/other items can be kashered for Pesach and if you need like a sperate burner just for Pesach (I have to do this since my place has a glass stove top)

Hi. I was going to pick up a Wusthof Ikon when a buddy of mine told me that the Victorinox Fibrox was gonna be almost as good for 1/4th the price. After doing some more research, I saw a lot of people preaching the superiority of Japanese knives in that price range. Rather than settle for the Fibrox, I decided to keep my original budget but look for a better knife. After reading the wiki, I settled on the Masakage Yuki Gyuto 240mm, which the guide said was $180.

Unfortunately, the Masakage Yuki Gyuto has gone up in price quite considerably since that guide was written. At $260, it's no longer in my budget, and I'm wondering if it's even worth that much (compared to other knives in that range). So I thought I'd post here and look for further input.

1. I'm not experienced in either style, but I like the Japanese aesthetic. I'm definitely more used to Western handles though.
   
2. Any
   
3. D-Shaped or Round preferred
   
4. Either
   
5. 180mm to 240mm max
   
6. All-purpose, entry level (or slightly above entry level) knife. Gyutos seem to fit that bill, much like the Western "Cook's" or "Chef" knife.
   
7. Honing
   
8. $120 - $200
   
   Since reconsidering the Masakage, I've been looking at these options:
   
   Tojiro DP (https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Gyutou-8-2-21cm/dp/B000UANWIC)
   
   Gesshin Stainless (https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-240mm-stainless-gyuto)
   
   Something by Yoshihiro, I like this Santoku but it doesn't seem as "all-purpose" as a Gyuto (https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Aogami-Carbon-Kurouchi-Santoku/dp/B006DNK93Q)
   
   Another by Yoshihiro, in my price range (https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Layer-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese/dp/B00D6DVTM6)
   
   ​
   
   I also have no idea where to start with purchasing a honing rod. Building a computer was actually easier than this, haha.
   
   Thanks! Your input is really appreciated!

Thought I should add that Lansky also makes a turn-box style kit (the type a Sharpmaker is) for like less than $25 that you can use for a quick touch up, so with a Lansky guided system and turn-box you would still be under $100.

If you tried I'd imagine you could get both for less than a Sharpmaker (I have seen the basic Lansky guided set for under $35 USD and the Lansky turn box for about $12 or so).

I'm not endorsing the Lansky guided system (just because I have not used one, not because I think it is bad) but the Turn-box I do own and it is quite handy for pocket knives, I wouldn't recommend it for kitchen knives since it is pretty small.

For larger knives, I have used other guided systems, including ones similar to the Lansky, but the one I currently use is an Edge Pro knock-off (it was like $40 I think with 5 stock meh stones) that I have upgraded with better stones.

It is great for larger knives but was pretty tough to use for smaller pocket knives (which I prefer). So I glued a couple of Neodymium magnets underneath the deck and it's quite a bit easier to sharp-up the little guys now.

Yeah, the Wicked Edge is a really nice system but that $300 price tag just will not be obtainable for me anytime in the near future. I'd imagine the Sharpmaker probably takes around the same amount of time as freehand. Perks to freehanding is that you can really keep the costs low. I know there's a Wicked Edge clone made in China...I may look into that.

edit: Looked into that. You can get a Edge Pro clone for like $30 and simply use the Edge Pro stones on that. Gonna look into that some more! As long as the QC is good, I'm happy. I love my $20 Byrd FFG Cara Cara 2 made in China. That sucker takes a razor edge (and came outta the box with close to one) with no effort at all. That plus good jimping AND a finger choil for $20?!?!?! Sorry...that knife tends to get me a little carried away. I love my po' man's Endura. :)

Said clone if anyone is interested. Seems to have good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/AGPtek%C2%AE-Professional-Kitchen-Sharpener-Fix-angle/dp/B00ABVS5VY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421141893&sr=8-1&keywords=Professional+Kitchen+Knife+Sharpener+System+Fix-angle+Sharpening

I personally love my Macs, ive got an 8 year old 8 inch thats been my daily workhorse for the past 4 years, and a 7 1/4in that i picked up for $60 to replace it. I prefer the smaller knife for precision work, and the handling on it is spectacular in my opinion. Well worth the money, i think. I have a Shun elite 8in, and i find that the weight of it can get fairly annoying after a while, which is why i love the light weight of my Macs.
As for the filet knife, ive had both the victorinox and the henkels equivalent (yellow handled one), and found that after a few butchery jobs, the blades really went out quickly. I ended getting a global after using a co workers for a while, and have been really impressed with how well it handles, as well as how long it holds an edge for. I picked up the 6 1/4 inch flexible for about $70, and its been great.
For sharpening stones, id start out with a Messermeister 400/1000 double sided stone. At $20, it fits the budget for a first stone, and its what i teach a lot of my cooks on.
As for a knife roll, Messermeister is definitely a good brand to go with, but id reccomend getting more than 5 pockets. When i was starting out, i grabbed a 8 pocket shun bag because it was the only one the shop had at the time, and i was amazed at how fast i was able to fill it up. I keep more than knives in the pockets; microplane, peeler, thermopen, steel, oyster knife, etc. Just something to consider.
Here are the links to my reccomendations, if you feel like checking them out:
Mac 7 1/4in
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-Knife-Series-Chefs-4-Inch/dp/B000N5BUWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405661045&sr=8-1&keywords=mac+knife
Global Filet 6 1/4in
http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-21-Flexible-Boning-Knife/dp/B00005OL41/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XMAX8VN0AQVN18NZWYB
Messermeister Stone:
http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-Two-Sided-Sharpening-Stone-1000/dp/B003JV3TEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1405660753&sr=1-1&keywords=messermeister+sharpening+stone
No name 13 pocket bag:
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Hard-Tri-Fold-Knife-Bag/dp/B004BN1C5E/ref=lp_13840871_1_20?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1405660955&sr=1-20

All in, thatll set you back about $190, which isnt too bad for what i think are the beginnings of a good kit.

Great steak, love the knife! My best guess is a Yoshihiro from the hand pounding and damascus steel. Would love more details.

Edit: Snooped through your comments found out it is the "Yoshihiro 16 layer Damascus Gyuto chef knife". For those interested.

If you live near an Asian market or grocery store, you can get a Kiwi brand knife for like $5 that will be razor sharp out of the box. It's a super cheap, very thin blade that's not going to last forever, but if you want something sharp in a pinch, it'll definitely get the job done.

Something like this - https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Brand-Stainless-Steel-21/dp/B001FEJ0WO/

Just to make sure you understand, these knives are super cheap for a reason haha, but they are generally very sharp.

Wusthof 8"
This is the one that I have - Take a look around at some local stores and you're almost certain to find it cheaper than this listing

Another wusthof
This one os from their Ikon line. I don't own this one but I've used it and it's really nice as well. The bolster on the Ikon is a little different and the grip is a little more ergonomic supposedly. I didn't really notice too much of a difference.

Another one to check out is Zwilling. I don't know too much about them apart from word of mouth, which has only been positive.

Whichever you go with make sure that if he doesn't have one already to get him a good steel to go with it

If [this] (https://www.house.com.au/baccarat-id3-3-step-knife-sharpener) is the one your talking about then I would not recommend it. Those kind of sharpener are in general very poor at sharpening your knife and wear out the blade much faster than a regular sharpening system. They function by pinching off chunks of metal and leaving a wavy stressed edge that will dull quickly and require sharpening again.

Instead for a similar price, at least here in the US its a similar price. I would recommend the


[spyderco sharpmaker] (https://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-Tri-Angle-Sharpmaker-Sharpener-204MF/dp/B000Q9C4AE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519110224&sr=8-1&keywords=sharpmaker)

It holds the ceramic rods at pre set angles but doesnt have only a single angle to it and you can even take out the rods and use them individually or tilt the sharpener to make up for some smaller variations in the factory grind angle.
Also very importantly you can clean the ceramic rods in the sharpmaker awhile in that device you really cant.
The one draw back that the sharpmaker has is that the brown ceramic "Medium" grit rods are very fine and do not do good at sharpening a knife that is very dull (its very slow at it)

Alternatively I would also recommend this


[Lansky diamond ceramic turnbox] (https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-2D2C-Diamond-Ceramic-Four/dp/B008EKY5OA/ref=pd_sbs_200_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B008EKY5OA&pd_rd_r=VYC7T7S4Q80MZ56KR8NA&pd_rd_w=4CqcY&pd_rd_wg=wFmqi&psc=1&refRID=VYC7T7S4Q80MZ56KR8NA)

Its similar to the sharpmaker but cheaper, has shorter ceramic rods which can make it a little less ideal for longer knives like kitchen knives. But it also comes with some diamond rods that are much courser than the rods on the sharpmaker.
The sharpmaker does come with diamond or CBN rods but they cost almost as much as the whole sharpener, though a great addition if you do a lot of dull knives.

> Are Wüsthof and J.A. Henckels much better than the Victorinox knives?

They mostly (if not always) use the same steel. Wüsthof and Henckels take it to a slightly higher hardness, but the main gains are, if you prefer them, a thicker forged blade, a full-length bolster all the way to the heel (at least for many models), and a full-tang handle with riveted grip slabs.

> Are there any obscure Japanese knifemakers I should know of that make exceptional Santoku knives?

There are many, but they tend to have exceptional price tags to match. One very nice santoku: https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Hayate-ZDP-189-Stainless-Santoku/dp/B00BCOXWDK/

Well-known Japanese makers make quite good santoku knives at a reasonable price. For example:

If you want a Western-style handle: https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Santoku-6-7-17cm/dp/B000UAPQEA

If you want a Japanese-style handle: https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-Finished-Shiro-ko-Kasumi-Santoku/dp/B000UAQORS/

A little bit more expensive, but better steel: https://www.amazon.com/Santoku-All-Purpose-Kitchen-Aogami-Kurouchi/dp/B014H28508/

A little bit bigger: https://www.amazon.com/Santoku-Kitchen-Aogami-Kurouchi-Double/dp/B019ESUG34/

Just posted this to another comment.
https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Millennia-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000PS2XI4/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1503530333&sr=1-4&keywords=8-inch+chef+knife

Its about as cheap as they come, but a work horse, and will never let you down.

If you do choose to go a step up, I would recommend knifemerchant.com

Any stainless steel (as opposed to Japanese blue or white steel) will require minimal care. Just make sure you keep the knife clean and dry. Don't put it in the dishwasher, and try to store it with a blade cover. With light home usage, it should keep its edge for a long time. Also get a honer : https://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=8884

It will help your knife retain an edge so you wont have to worry about sharpening it very often.

• VG-10 16: This is the steel the knife is made out of. Its quite good for a kitchen knife, or so they tell me. I actually haven't used it before.
  
• Layer Hammered Damascus Stainless Steel: This is what VG-10 is. Its made of layers. Those layers are hammered together to make a solid chuck of metal. You can see the pattern in the knife. It looks like wood grain. It appears they also left deep hammer marks around the spine for aesthetic reasons.
  
• Damascus - kind of a misnomer, but that's what we call layered steel like this.
  
• Stainless steel - it won't rust easily (but it will rust if you leave it with salt, water, or acid on it). Clean after use, and you should have no problems.
  
• HRC 60 : Hardness on the Rockwell C scale. Its the standard measure of the hardness of knives. Most production knives clock in between 55-60, but you can get higher. Harder knives (generally) will take a finer edge and will hold it longer than a softer knife.
  
• 1000/6000 stone - Sharpening stones have ratings that tell you how much 'grit' they have per square... inch (maybe cm?). The higher the number, the finer the grit. The finer the grit, the smaller the teeth that will cut into your knife when you sharpen it. With a knife like this, /u/albino-rhino is correct that 1000 grit will be the right stone to keep this knife sharp. A 6000 will put a very fine, very sharp edge on that won't last as long but will be a pleasure to cut with. You can likely find a combination stone with 1000 on one side and 4000 to 6000 on the other side. Youtube will show you how to use it.
  
  Is this it? It looks like a very nice knife at this price point. Based on what I see on the amazon webpage, this knife should last a lifetime with proper maintenance.

I think it really comes down to how you grip a knife (do you hold it like a lot of people who actually grab the handle like they're holding a torch, or do you pinch the bolster where it's thicker and balanced). I've had all kinds of expensive knives, but when I bought the Shun Ken Onion chef's knife, I couldn't imagine using anything else. Here's a picture of the knife. Compare that with the Victorinox Fibrox, Henckels, Masamoto, Wusthof, etc. The knife's bolster is what I love about my Shun (thumb and index finger fit perfectly on it).

Get a quality chef knife if you don’t have one yet and are cooking a lot. I would say if you want a western knife, a BILF one would be the Wustof Classic Ikon. It is a good price and built like a tank but has the balance of a ballerina. Great great value at the price of $170. They also have it packaged with a Wustof Classic Ikon pairing knife for $190 if you need one of those.

Wusthof Classic IKON Cook’s Knife,4596-7/20 8 Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YMURSE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JAYxCbMNSEENH

Wusthof Classic Ikon two piece starter set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005MEHP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TCYxCbZEWS00F

You can never go wrong with a thermometer, but if you're looking for some other suggestions.

Aaron Franklin's Meat Smoking Manifesto it's a great read for experienced and amateur smokers.

A nice slicing knife like this, it's nice to have and they don't typically come with knife sets.

An injector to take his meats to the next level.

ken onion work sharp, i have the regular version and i highly recommend it, BUT the real beauty of the ken onion version is the adjustable angles of it.

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-KO-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00EJ9CQKA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494954442&sr=8-3&keywords=ken+onion+sharpener

goes up to 6000 grit and can put an excellent finish on any knife. The one caveat is that you need to make sure and not heat the blade up too much, i.e. short, quick passes, you can even dip the blade into cold water in between passes to be sure it is always cool and wont mess with the temper. I haven't had any real issues with that though

If you have any stores that sell high end knives (Wustof, Global, Shun, etc) go there and hold them in your hand. Not all handles are the same and you really want to have the knife fit comfortably in your hand.

I posted in another thread similar to this that a knife is like a gun, and you should not take someone's word for what they prefer as a brand. For example the Wustof may be preferable for one but you may get callouses using it.

My first knife was a Global 8 inch and it was awesome. It's under $100 and its very sharp and cool looking. However, using it for hours on end everyday at work I developed a horrible callous (chef's callous) on the inside of my index finger. It hurt like a bitch.

So after some comparison shopping and research I purchased the Ken Onion Series Shun. The way the handle is designed allows you to comfortably hold the knife while also wrapping your thumb and index finger on the blade for more control. I haven't had a callous since I got this knife and I love it.

Of course, if you buy a knife don't forget to buy a honing steel. Make sure to either store the knife in a knife block or wrap it in a towel when you store it. After a bit you'll want to buy a whet stone or if you don't want to sharpen it yourself you can get it done by a pro. How often you need to sharpen depends on how often you use the knife and how well you take care of it. The knife will be scary sharp when you first get it but make sure to learn how to properly use the honing steel otherwise you'll just end up with a very expensive letter opener.

For $120 and two knives, there is the omnipresent starter option - the Tojiro DP line.

I'd start with the gyuto or the santoku. They overlap for the larger tasks and its really more preference on the shape. They both are too thin and the steel is too brittle to cut bones or hard vegetables (pumpkin/squash) with (which your Wusthof can take care of) but will go through veg and protein pretty easily.

Then you have budget left over for the petty, which is kind of like a long thin paring knife. Good for smaller tasks or things that need delicate tip work.

you might even have some budget left over to pick up a stone. This is a popular beginner option.

Edit: The other option is MAC knives. Same shapes apply

Came here to say this. The knives are great, while they're sharp. But that doesn't last very long (and I'm gentle with my knives... hand wash, never put in the sink, run them across a steel fairly regularly).

If you're looking for good cheap knives, I love my Forschners

Okay here's the score from someone who does a lot of knife work for a living and have used a lot of different knives over the years.

It's how you care for your knife. Not the knife itself, generally.

Not trying to shit on OP at all here, because he likes cool knives and ain't nothing wrong with that, but 99.9% of home cooks will never need a knife like the ones he's got there.

Get a well-reviewed, cheap, high carbon stainless steel chef's knife on Amazon, I'll drop some links here at the end. Carbon steel is strong and tensile and sharpens easily. The only issue, if you could call it that, is that it won't hold an edge as long as higher end knives. But the tradeoff is you get a knife that won't chip or break as easily.

What often happens with amateur cooks is, they buy a solid carbon steel blade, it loses it's edge after a few uses, and the buyer assumes it was another cheap dud.

Learn that honing a blade and sharpening a blade are different. A quick honing takes that "dull" knife back to razer sharp in moments when you know how to do it. Basically honing "resets" the edges, while sharpening grinds down a new edge entirely. Sharpening won't really need to happen more than once a year for home cooks. But I hone my knife before and after every job, if I can.

Here's Gordon Ramsay on how to hone your knife
https://youtu.be/SBn1i9YqN1k

Always dry your knives off and never put them in the dishwasher or sink to get dinged up. I see people just chuck their knives about or toss them in drawers or ugh knife blocks. Splurge on the blade guard for your particular knife, or make a makeshift one out of duct tape and cardboard (my favorite as it doesn't scratch the knife as some knife holders do).

Here are some links

my personal knife, a whopping $14
https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Millennia-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000PS2XI4/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=mercer+knives&qid=1562486505&s=gateway&sprefix=mercer&sr=8-9

a little pricier at $45, but a lifetime piece if cared for well
https://www.amazon.com/J-HENCKELS-INTERNATIONAL-31161-201-Classic/dp/B00004RFMT/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=j.a.+henckels+chef+knife&qid=1562486690&s=gateway&sprefix=j.a.+henckles+chef&sr=8-3


honing steel
https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Kitchen-Steel-Knife-Sharpening/dp/B071FC4GYN/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=honing+steel&qid=1562486000&s=gateway&sprefix=honing&sr=8-3

I like the America's Test Kitchen shows and picked up the chef's knife because of their glowing review of it and inexpensive price:

Victorinox Fibrox Chef's Knife is great.

I liked it so much that I purchased the santoku and a few paring knives.

small paring knives
The paring knives seem to go dull more quickly than I would like though, but I might have really high expectations for my knives.

I also personally like the santoku knife a lot and it might be my favorite.

To keep all of them extremely sharp I use this whetstone in fine/course.

If I only got to pick one of them it would be the whetstone; hands down the best thing to have in your kitchen and will last a long time.

Cheers.

A good electric knife sharpener is better than not knowing how to effectively use a whetstone. Furthermore, I see no reason to ever learn how to use a whetstone once you have a good electric sharpener. I understand that whetstones can get your knives sharper than an electric sharpener, but for daily kitchen use, that razor edge is going to wear very quickly; honing will only go so far. Some of the top-tier whetstones can be pretty expensive as well.

Edit: this is the sharpener I use

Chef’sChoice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Professional Electric Knife Sharpener for Straight and Serrated Knives Diamond Abrasives Patented Sharpening System Made in USA, 3-Stage, Gray https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018RSEMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zdiZCb1XB37BJ

Messermeister has a couple of lines that might fit the bill, although maybe a bit more refined than rustic, like:

Royale Elite

Oliva Elite

A more rustic western knife:

Warther 9". A tad longer than you want.

From your other comments, I can't tell if you're open to Yo handled gyutos or not, but here are a couple options. Keep in mind, these knives should only be sharpened on whetstones as the steel is much harder:

Yoshihiro VG10. I have this knife and love it.

Kanehide PS60. More of a performer. Supposed to be a great knife.

Takamura Chromax. Also considered quite the performer.

Yoshihiro Daisu Ko 9.5". Longer than you want and out of stock at this website, but more "rustic".

How to wash a knife safely.

Don't get a set. Sets are designed to get you paying for knives you'll never use. I recommend starting with a chef's knife and a paring knife. The chef knife is your workhorse, you'll use it for almost everything. The paring knife is traditionally used for peeling and detail work, but just think of it as what you reach for when the job is too small for the chef knife. If you bake bread or buy unsliced loaves of it, you'll probably also want a bread knife.

Victorinox Fibrox knives are great knives for a new cook and an excellent value for the money. Here's their chef's knife, their paring knife, and their bread knife. That leaves you with enough money to buy a block and stay under $100. I like the wall mounted magnetic ones with a wooden face like this one myself, but there are plenty of other options if that's not what you want.

Yes thank you. Someone else also suggested a bread knife which seems like a good idea because he often likes to make us garlic bread from scratch. I'm thinking this one would be good and match what we already have. Does that look good to you?

And I'll definitely check out some wet stones. How difficult are they to learn to use? And what is the difference between a wet stone and one of these?

And is there anything else I can buy him to maintain his knives? Like I know he oils our cast iron skillet and stuff, but other than hand washing the knives I never really see him do anything else with them.

https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Brand-Stainless-Steel-21/dp/B001FEJ0WO
Lol I know Ill probably get downvotes for that link... but the fastest vegetable cutter I have ever worked with uses this knife. He has $150 knives and everything between... but he loves his kiwi lol. I think we can get them locally for $5 from an asian market.

That being said, I recently dropped $150 on a bunka because I was happy to have that sort of knife in my roll.

Stainless steel tri-ply pans, well reviewed by Cook's Illustrated and many bloggers:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-10-Piece-18-10-Stainless-Steel-TriPly-Clad-Cookware-Set/11072505 $229

Victorinox Chef's knife. Cheap, and again very well reviewed by Cook's Illustrated and many bloggers:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000638D3220 $27

Victorinox serrated knife:
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47547-4-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B00093090Y/ref=pd_sim_k_7 $25

Victorinox paring knife:
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47508-4-Inch-Paring-Knife/dp/B0001V3UYG/ref=pd_sim_k_2 $8

Cheap and well reviewed knife sharpener:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004VWKQ/

To round that out: a cheap non-stick pan (they wear out, don't sink money into this), some silicone spatulas, Pyrex bakeware, and maybe a cast iron or mineral steel skillet.

You can see a theme with my recommendations. You can have very high quality kitchen stuff, without breaking the bank.

Best of luck :)

I know you said you don't have money for a sharpener, but a sharpening rod is pretty cheap, and will help it stay sharp for a while. He might want to pick one up in a month or two if he notices the sharpness lessening. I've used that knife for years and I wouldn't worry about it rusting or breaking or anything. It's a great knife and can take a decent beating. I'd just make sure to tell him to only use it on wood or plastic cutting boards or the blade will dull pretty quickly.

I'd suggest getting either a Lansky https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-Standard-Coarse-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8L6LI/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=lansky+guided+sharpener&qid=1571188328&sr=8-5

or one of the EP clones off Amazon like this one https://www.amazon.com/AGPTEKProfessional-Kitchen-Sharpener-System-Fix-angle/dp/B00ABVS5VY/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ruixin+sharpener&qid=1571188143&sr=8-3

The actual 1x6" Edge Pro stones will also fit the cheap Edge Pro Chinese clones if you ever want to upgrade them. The EP stones are like $12/piece and better than the ones that come with the kits. Plus they come on nice aluminum blanks vs. plastic so if you ever want to replace them you can get them on the cheap from Congress Tools.

The problem with the lifesharp program is that if you send your knife in - you are left without an EDC knife for a couple of weeks at least.

So you either buy a backup blade or what I think is a better solution - a sharpening system to maintain and touch up your blade.

Spyderco Sharpmaker is an excellent choice, I personally use the diamond Lansky Turn Box and it works well for me (especially the ceramic rods, love these) along with a good quality strop with a compound.

I have a Victorinox Cutlery 9-Inch Wavy Edge Bread Knife and a Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef's and absolutely love them both. My brother, who is a chef, was impressed with both. He typically uses Global knives, which start at around $150 and go much higher.

With the chef's knife, I make sure to use a sharpener like this one every other time I pull it out (just rub it together 3 or 4 times each side) to keep the edge nice and straight. It actually can cut through tomatoes with minimal effort. Almost as good as the bread knife!

I don't really ever do precise work because I'm lazy so I've not found the need for a pairing knife. But I can see it being essential.

I recommend buying a single quality chef's knife and a pairing knife for finer work.

Inexpensive pick:
http://www.amazon.com/R-H-Forschner-Victorinox-8-Inch-Fibrox/dp/B000638D32/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_s9_rk?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&s9r=8a5850a4189e98760118ecb694da07af&itemPosition=1&qid=1229892744&sr=8-1

Expensive pick (the one I use):
http://www.amazon.com/Global-8-Inch-20cm-Cooks-Knife/dp/B00005OL44/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1229892885&sr=8-1

Also consider ceramic if you don't want to sharpen:
http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-Revolution-5-Inch-Slicing-Knife/dp/B000ESJGZS/ref=pd_sim_hg_5

Pairing Knife:
http://www.amazon.com/Forschner-Victorinox-4-Inch-Paring-Handle/dp/B0001V3UYG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1229893245&sr=1-2

You will want a serrated bread knife as well.

whatever you do, don't buy ridged knives that saw through foods (ginzu, etc). the knife should simply glide through most food effortlessly without sawing.

Don't buy a full set, as you should be able to get by with just two. These are tools and the more you keep your use to just the knives you have, the more adept you will become with them.

Go into a fine cooking store and put a few knives in your hand to see what feels natural.

Enjoy!

Not off of Ali per se, but I bought this bad boy and have used it to sharpen a few kitchen knives with great success. It can accept other stones, but so far the ones that came with it have been good enough for my purposes.

My wife does a lot of "straight up and down" cutting and appreciates small and light knives. In fact, she mostly uses this (Kiwi knife)[https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Brand-Stainless-Steel-21/dp/B001FEJ0WO] and my paring knives. It's a cheap and fun experimental knife. Would a nakiri-type blade work for her as well? Maybe I'd pick up one from (here)[https://www.amazon.com/Utility-Knives-Cutlery-Kitchen-Stainless/dp/B01D8FN4CY] to see if she likes the style. Thanks!

my experience with sharpening shops is hit & miss. A few really know what they're doing with kitchen knives, but others treat them like cheap chisels or hedge shears and put on wavy uneven bevels. Be careful with those workshops that use slack belts or even grinders which can take off way too much metal. If you have the time & inclination, pick up one of those [guided jig sharpening systems] (http://www.amazon.com/AGPtek®-Professional-Kitchen-Sharpener-Fix-angle/dp/B00ABVS5VY/ref=pd_sim_hi_5). They're easy to use & work well with Western-style knives. For my Japanese blades I send the out to a shop that hand-sharpens them on stones.

I've been sharpening knives with a whetstone for about 30 years. It does a good job and is fun in a retro way. Definitely old-school but can take a while to learn to hold the knife at the right angle.

A few weeks ago I got an Image Professional Sharpening System based on this thread. It's a knock-off of the Edge Pro.

I love it! It's basically a set of stones, along with a jig that holds your knife at exactly the right angle. Here's a video from Edge Pro showing how it's used. This was before thanksgiving & we've used them a lot since then, and they are still very sharp & don't need sharpening.

I'd highly recommend either this system, or one of the other very similar systems in the linked thread.

In the past I've tried a variety of other sharpening systems based on rods of different material & haven't liked them at all.

I recommend starting with the Ken Onion Work Sharp with the Blade Grinding Attachement

It has a variable speed motor that you can turn down super slow, which makes it impossible to burn your blades. This setup can handle all but the most extreme repairs and can even do some basic knifemaking. It’s very small and fits on any countertop. You don’t need some huge workshop or anything like that.

Once your become proficient on junk knives, move onto nicer ones!

And once you’ve outgrown the Work Sharp, move into real belt grinders!

I really love Shun knives. They are very nimble and sharp, and fit comfortably in your hand. In particular I recommend the Ken Onion chef knife, which looks strange but is a excellently designed knife. The only drawback to Shun's knives is that they are fairly delicate, I wouldn't use them to hack apart bones or that sort of thing.

If you don't mind spending the extra 10 bucks, the Wustof Tri-stone (250-100-3000) is a great all-round kit and value for money. I recommend this over the cheaper Smith's Arkansas Tri-hone kit because the Wusthof kit uses water stones and I don't have to futz around with oil. But if you don't mind using an oil stone, nothing wrong with the Smith's.

I use a 250-1000 combo King Kotobuki waterstone for sharpening , and a 6000 King Kotobuki waterstone for honing/polishing. But this kit is a little pricey in the total.

PS: Here's a great video for technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFhMGJYhYpU

1. learn the differance between a hone and a sharpener
   
   A hone is a stick usualy made of out harden stainless steel or Ceramic which is used to restraighten the edge, it does not sharpen or polish, just gets the edge straight, all it does is realign the edge, it does NOTHING for sharpness. Also besare of diamond dust hones which do sharpen to some extent.
   
   
2. decide if you want to sharpen them yourself or have someone else do it for you, if you do it yourself theres a learning curve and you have to know if you have french or japanese style knifes for the angle. some good king japanese stones do the trick nicly, if you want to let a pro do it, he will probobly do it for half the price of the stones more or less.
   
   
3. you can use tools which will make it a lot easier, this tool makes it quite a easy job, theres a video on youtube showing you how to do it and keep your knives in good shape.
   
   
4. time between sharpening depends, for a guy whos on his feet in a kitchen knife in hand 14-18 hours a day... monthly, the avarage home cook, 6 to 12 months depending on how much you abuse them.

Get a good knife. Never look back.

I have no interest in promoting a brand but this is my good knife. It has made me very happy.

Wusthof Classic Ikon 8-Inch Cook's Knife, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YMURSE?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

We are still putting together a set but I recently bought this Wusthof Ikon 8" chef's knife for my GF and it is phenomenal. We are both very happy with it. Also picked up a honing steel and the combo is literally unstoppable. As far as the rest of your set goes I can't make any real recommendations but we are researching regularly. Good luck!

To go with this, here is a good value knife sharpener. It's good for about 40 knife sharpenings, which is plenty for me for its cost. It allows me to sharpen all of my knives twice a year (which means a single set of blades is good for about 2 years), and it has cheap replacement blades too.

Would also recommend a honing steel like this to use each time you use your knives to extend time between sharpenings.

Looks like me may be using a custom knife but that style of knife is generally classified as a meat cleaver. here's one by wuhstoff who is an incredibly reliable brand

https://www.amazon.com/Wsthof-4685-19-B0000DJYX3B0000DJYX3B0000DJYX3-B0000DJYX3/dp/B0000DJYX3/ref=mp_s_a_1_26?keywords=meat+cleaver&qid=1555555291&s=gateway&sr=8-26


If you are planning to use it as he does though you are going to want to invest in an electric knife sharpener that will give you a 15° cutting edge on the blade. Meat cleavers typically come with blades around 25° which is great for getting through tough ligaments and bones but not good at all for things like cutting delicate foods such as tomatoes.

I use this knife sharpener and it is beyond fantastic
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018RSEMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Kv-TCbFSX4HAV

Some reason I can't see your reply on the post.

Anyway, its up to you if you want to upgrade, it'll be mostly aesthetic, the fibrox does have a big handle, so if you have small hands you might want to change knives, but I don't know anything about the Ikkaku you linked.

For paring, any of the cheaper options on amazon should be fine, ideally you want one without a huge bolster, but its not a huge deal. Just avoid anything with a huge bolster that gets in the way of the knife being able to cut flat on a cutting board or easily manueverable in your hand(like this monstrosity https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Millennia-Paring-Knife/dp/B001EN2L1I)


Any of these should be fine. The ones with the smaller/no bolster are ideal but not dealbreakers(I chose random sizes, get whatever you find fits you best)

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Renaissance-Forged-Paring/dp/B0034612OK

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Paring/dp/B000IBVD0W

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-4-Inch-Classic-Paring-Straight/dp/B005LRYE36

https://www.amazon.com/ZWILLING-J-Henckels-Signature-Paring/dp/B00030EE0O

I own the MAC chef's knife. It has held its edge really well. I honestly don't even maintain it that well and it still hasn't shown any rust or stains.

The Victorinox fibrox chef's is such a great basic knife. I just picked it up and it's holding it's edge very well. I also highly suggest their boning knife and paring knives which I've had for a couple of years now.

If you think these are really nice knives, you need to get some real really nice knives. You can buy way better for way less money.

I have this set that I think is outstanding and costs a fraction of a similar Cutco set:

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-8-Piece-Knife-Block-Set/dp/B0000CF9AG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344917332&sr=8-1&keywords=victorinox+knife+set

I think this one is the best way to go. It is super durable and very suitable for all different uses. Victorinox Swiss Army 8-Inch Fibrox Straight Edge Chef's Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M5U1C2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_OPnzwbWRBYQ2R

Edit: They also have a good paring knife Victorinox Swiss Classic 4-Inch Paring Knife, Spear Tip https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LRYE36/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_sWnzwbJ3ZWKF3 In my opinion a chefs knife and paring knife are all you really need.

Yeah. AMWAY's not telling them to go back to the kitchen in every restaurant they eat at and try to shill their steel. They know the kitchens already know what's up.
But someone who never paid attention to their knives? Bought a cheap set a decade ago and throws them in the dishwasher and never sharpens/hones them? Cutco would be a completely revolutionary experience for them. Which is exactly their target demo. Someone who has just enough money to afford the knives, but they've never tried any of the competition or used a decent blade.
I absolutely love my Victorinox 8" chef's knife (thanks Cooks Illustrated), but after I got it, I got a decent 15^o sharpener (also thanks CI) and took it to my old shitty set (similar to this), and now that I've learned how to take care of an edge, they're passable. Better than they were out of the box, I think, but that was a lot of years ago. I mean, it ain't Wüsthof or Shun, but I'm no professional, so I don't want to shell out that kind of cash... I mean... I DO... But I can't.
It's like someone who never used a food thermometer discovering ThermoWorks. Changes your whole outlook.

I've always wanted a dog for Christmas, and every other holiday/occasion. I've wanted a dog for over two decades. As a child, I was obsessed with dogs (I would only wear clothing that had dogs on them) but my dad never allowed it (now that I'm older, I suspect it was because of his dog growing up, which he was heart broken over when it passed away). Every year, I would ask for a dog and would get a different pet. At one point I had 3 guinea pigs (each for a different occasion), a cockatiel, a cat, and an oscar (fish). I still ask for a dog as a joke even though I know it won't happen. Once I move out of my apartment, in a year or two, I'll finally get my dog :)

Something I'd like for Christmas this year is this paring knife. All my knives are so dull that they can't even cut a bell pepper properly! The prep time for cooking will be cut in half with a nice knife (hehe no pun intended!).


All I want for Christmas is a dog!

I don't know knives well, so take this with that in mind, but....I think I know what you are describing and I had a similar experience. I always preferred my German heavy chef's knives mostly due to the profile of the, uh, steel on the top of the blade. I mean, the heaviness and place to grab it, since I go in front of the handle and pinch it.

So, I had a couple nice Santoku, a wusthoff and a japanese light veggie type, and they were too light. I bought the Tojiro DP 6.5" to try another one, since I love the overall blade shape and prefer it to the German chef's I have.

As it turns out, the Tojiro DP are heavy, with that thick back and solid blade. I recently got rid of all of the others. So, maybe give it a try, and upgrade if that fits the bill. It's relatively inexpensive and a really nice tool in my opinion.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UAPQEA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have very limited experience, but I own this:
Yoshihiro VG10

And its gorgeous. It seems similar to the Dalistrong, but it's a little cheaper and uses a more modern steel. I baby mine, though, so I can't speak to its toughness. I have a $30 Svord santoku that I use as my beater. In fact the Yoshihiro hardly ever comes out of the drawer because I love the Svord so much.

Edit: It is -> its

Well, Victorinox is nice but you should try something from Germany, like a "Zwilling" or a "Wüsthof", https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YMURSE/ref=psdc_289857_t1_B000XKFNGI
This might be the best if you don't want to go with japanese steel.

You don't need a knife set, you can get the vast majority of kitchen tasks done with just a chefs knife and paring/utility knife. The rest of the set knives will usually just sit in the block gathering dust.

The Victorinox Fibrox chefs knife is a very popular recommendation because it is a pretty good knife for a pretty good price.

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B008M5U1C2/

You can also consider a pairing knife from the same manufacturer.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LRYE36/

I swear, this knife that my sous gave me is giving me carpal tunnel.

It's pretty, but so damn uncomfortable.

Hopefully you're enjoying yours.

I feel like no one around here believes me but this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EJ9CQKA/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1500342586&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=work+sharp+ken+onion&dpPl=1&dpID=41LvBs0PCZL&ref=plSrch
Will accomplish that pretty easily.

https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese-Mahogany/dp/B00D6DVTM6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536105796&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=yoshihiro%2Bgyuto&th=1

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mivgda21gy.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yavgdawegy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yavggy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kovgdagy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/todpda18gy.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mavggy18.html

Some sub-200 things I found. I personally enjoy Yoshihiro's VG-10 and find that their VG-10 pretty consistently well heat treated. You don't get the chippiness issues you often hear about that I think contributes to VG-10's lessened popularity as a knife steel. It's a good steel, IMO. I have experience with Kohetsu as well, and think this model is a good knife. I've used Masutani VG-1 before but not VG-10, and I sadly don't see 210 or 240mm offerings, they just have this 180mm which is too short for me.

The others are just things I've seen recommended but have not experienced.

You'll laugh and I am FULLY AWARE this is not professional, but on the off chance you just meant really sharp knives this has been almost irreplaceable for me for the last few years Work Sharp WSKTS-KO Knife and Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EJ9CQKA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_PkoyzbPZV48QA can do teeny knives all the way up to shovels! Really great buy in my opinion.

I'll chime in and offer that IME, a sharpening stick is a great thing to have to maintain an edge. After each use just clean the blade and run it over the stick two of three times per side at a constant angle of about 20 degrees in a motion as if you were trying to shear a thin layer of wax off the stick.

I fully understand OP's inclination to send the knives out. Get a cheap knife from the dollar store and practice with a sharpening stone or diamond hone. Youtube has good videos on this.

I don't know where the one I use is from, I've had it so long the branding has washed away. However, the one linked below has great reviews and looks like it's a great choice.

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Millennia-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000PS2XI4/ref=sr_1_13?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1483386129&sr=1-13&keywords=chefs+knife

I have a Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife and a Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife and I own a good sharpener...and I absolutely adore them. They're perfect.

Mercer is a better deal if you're OK with a partial tang plastic handle like the Fibrox has. It's very popular with people who cook for a living and it's only $14.

Can't agree with you more. People buy really expensive knives thinking that they will stay sharp forever. Then after a couple months, the knife is as dull as every other knife in the drawer. The key is learning how to sharpen your own knives.

Get one of these to start

http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-King-1000-K-80-Combo/dp/B00200L90I/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368758882&sr=1-2&keywords=king+sharpening+stone

Maybe a 3000k/6000k stone and a leather strop with green compound stone if you want scary sharp knives.

Then go to thrift stores until you find a knife with decent steel. Basically, anything that is not made in china, taiwan, or mexico will be OK. USA, Germany, or Japan are generally make excellent quality steel. The knives you buy will be as dull as your intro to physics professor. GOOD, watch some youtube (Virtuovice's early videos are good) and learn how to sharpen a knife using a water-stone. You know your good at sharpening once you can shave with your kitchen knives.

Years from now, the thrift store knives will be ready for the trash can. You'll be able to afford real BIFL knives and know how to care for them.

At $200 you are getting to the point where you could commission a black smith to make you a knife. I have no knowledge of his pricing but OP commissioned /u/t1978_sach to make his knife in the gif, it might be worth sending him a PM if you're interested.

If you don't want to wait for someone to make you a knife, I think this is your best option https://www.amazon.com/Shun-Premier-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B003B66YKA

Sorry, not sure how to hyperlink on mobile

A knife is only as good as its edge, without sharpening supplies, you are powerless to keep even the finest knife in working order. I recommend you buy this Victorinox, and use the leftover money for this double sided sharpening/honing stone.

here's a pretty good tutorial for using your new stone, and a little more info about sharpening. Disregard butcher's steel, acquire mirror polish.

This will be a good start, use the coarse side to take out major blemishes, hone with the fine side after each use (like when you're through cutting, not after every slice)

A couple of things help. First, don’t slice it right after smoking. Throw it in the fridge overnight. It firms up and is much easier to slice thinly.

Second, buy a good slicing knife. Something like this: Mercer Culinary Millennia 14-Inch Granton-Edge Slicer Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005P0OIBM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_P2cJAbZJT3HZD

Chef's knives I only got mine about 15 years ago. so I get what you are looking for Not sure if your idea is the same as mine but...

My favorites are Wusthof and Shun these are the ones that I have and love. I have had both of them for about 15 years now.

The Shun was about $190.

https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Onion-10-Inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B000NLUPNS/

and this one was about the same price here about $175.

https://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-4596-7-20-4596-7-20-Knife/dp/B000YMURSE/

​

another item I would suggest would be a Le Creuset piece or two. I have a couple baking dishes. Nothing seems to stick so badly that has to be scrubbed off. it comes right off.

and a good enamel coated cast iron dutch oven.

First off, everyone should read this before spending a good bit on a knife:

Honestly, at that price you should consider the aesthetics you liket, because diminishing return to quality sets in pretty quick at around $70 then again around $120-$130.

This is a really solid value Knife, though I'm kinda meh on the handle:

If you pair it regularly with this guy: if will outperform a way more expensive knife with poor upkeep.

if he is getting into his own cooking - no better gift than a quality knife. Tojiro makes a great one for the money ($47)

Working out - 35-45 lb Kettlebells are a versatile place to start a home gym

ahh shit. just saw filler gift. dont know if either fit the bill

Knives are great. Sharp knives are better. It's not camping gear that you take with you, but it's gear that's essential for a camper (unless you want to be buying new knives all the time).

I know you said <$5, I promise if you gift a GC I'll put it toward this.

i don't use honing steels so I might not be the best to suggest...maybe a Messermeister Ceramic Rod. the fibrox have fairly soft steel so what you have might be okay already.

For stones, a King 1k/6k water stone is probably the first one that most people will pick up. It's good for value and fairly easy on the pocket.

As for videos, I learned a lot of mine from ryky tran/burrfection (two channels same guy) on youtube. There are plenty of good/intensive playlists on sharpening but I find myself relating more to him. He blunts his knife on a brick and sharpens on the spot while explaining what he's doing. He's quite easy to understand and more targetted at non professionals/home cooks.

I also watch Richard Blaine, but he's much more technical (he just released a video on honing). They are fairly lengthy which is why i don't watch very often and he makes awkward dad jokes.

I haven't tried those but I've been through a bunch over the years. I highly highly recommend the Mac chef's knife.

It is a real workhorse and stays sharp for a long time. I have this one, and the hollow edge 8 1/2" and the santoku knife. I didn't like the santoku at all (previously I only used a Victorinox santoku knife) and gave it away. Both chef's knives are very impressive for a home chef.

I would spend a little more on the knives. cheap knives, imo, are a waste.

Going with something like Forschner would be good, inexpensive, and last.

Chef's

Bread

Paring

Optional - mid size Utility Knife

That's $60 - 80 for all the knives you'll need to last you a long, long time. I would add a honing "steel" for sure, and perhaps a whetshone later on to keep them in excellent shape.

I just bought myself this knife and it literally makes me happy every time I use it. I'm no chef, and this is definitely overkill, but I treat it really nicely so I know it will last years.

I also recommend the Victorinox Fibrox. I just got this set about 6 months ago and they are the best knives I've ever used, even compared to the more expensive forged blade knives my parents own. The handles are very comfortable and secure and they are scary sharp as the tip of my finger can attest. The chefs knife also has a nice weight to it. If you're still unsure because of the plastic handle though, don't buy a whole set right away, just buy one and see how you like it then get a set. And if you get the set I linked, that knife block comes with two empty slots for extra knives.

My personal one was purchased because I was fed up with my current dull shitty knives, so it's a bargain no-name... I forget the brand, but it does the trick.

One that I can definitely vouch to death for is the Kiwi Chef Knife. It doesn't have the typical shape, but they are phenomenal and really easy to keep razor-sharp.

There was another Thai knife company that I can not remember the name of (fuck me, I wish I did because I want to buy it), but they make the best knife I have ever used.

That looks really well done, nice job on it.

Let me ask you, I bought one of these knives a while back from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FEJ0WO?

Its awful metal, but I really like the shape. Do you think it would be viable to put a similar curve or smile on the edge of a Torijo ITK?

I've found for all the things that sit on your counter Amazon is a good resource. For each thing you could want there is typically a fairly decently priced set that is very highly reviewed. Such as these knives and this slow cooker.

I can't help you much with "healthy" food choices, I like meat :)

I personally don't feel the need to spend $300 on a single knife. I'd go with Wusthof and also get him something for sharpening. I'd recommend getting him the 3 only knives that every cook needs:

• The Chef's Knife (I was going to include the paring knife separately but I found this set instead)
  
  
• The Serrated knife
  
  In terms of sharpening, a lot of people recommend stones but I don't really have the time or much patience to do something like that. Instead, you could get him a professional electric knife sharpener:
  
  
• Test Kitchen Review here
  
  
• Amazon link
  
  Total is $339.85

I have the puck, works great on axes and knives alike. I knew multiple fishing guides who even used it on their filet knives daily for years.

This also works great for my knives:
http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-King-1000-K-80-Combo/dp/B00200L90I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I bought the exact same knife about 6 months ago, and use it almost every day. I use this Messermeister sharpener about once a week and the knife is as sharp as the first day I used it. Great knife, great sharpener.

You only need a few knives. Save your money and get victorinox knives. Every restaurant uses them. They're great and inexpensive.

Get a chefs knife, a boning knife, and a pairing knife.

Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife in Clamshell Packaging https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000638D32/

Victorinox 4-Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knife with Straight Blade, Spear Point, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LRYE36/

Victorinox Cutlery 6-Inch Semi-Stiff Boning Knife, Black Fibrox Handle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000CF94L/

I like this one. Classic German design & construction, excellent blade shape & good steel. I have this one in my kitchen and I use it often.

For a bit less, try this one.

I can't speak to the boning knife, but I picked up a brisket knife not long ago and have used it quite a bit. For brisket, and for other large roasts. When friends of mine have cooked some large stuff like that they've requested I bring it over!

A couple ideas in your price range which are highly reviewed:

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Millennia-14-Inch-Granton-Edge/dp/B005P0OIBM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495125024&sr=8-1&keywords=brisket+knife

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Fibrox-Slicing-Granton/dp/B0000CFDB9/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495125024&sr=8-2&keywords=brisket+knife

O! I just switched to an "edge pro" from a lansky. It's a knockoff but it works extremely well (the real one was out of my price range). You just have to do a few little tweaks and it's a really good option. Link if you want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ABVS5VY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

http://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Ponit-21-Chef-Knife/dp/B001FEJ0WO. I have knives which cost me literally 50x the price of this, but I always find myself reaching for it. Love this little guy, he's my onion dicing machine.

Try this then. If you think about how long you'll own your stones, the price is a few cents a year or less if you properly maintain it.
http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-King-1000-K-80-Combo/dp/B00200L90I/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1421365781&sr=8-10&keywords=whetstone

This one doesn't come with a case/stand. I'd recommend getting one to increase the lifespan and ease of use. If you're completely new to whetstones, look at getting sharpening guides to help you get a feel for the proper 15 degree angle.

I have a couple of stones myself, but after seeing this thing in action I've been tempted. Not sure if goes through the metal too fast, but after seeing it in action looks extremely easy and good:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EJ9CQKA

The two main knives I use in the kitchen are these:

https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Ponit-21-Chef-Knife/dp/B001FEJ0WO

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000CF8YO


The first one is the one in the rib album. It's cheap, but lightweight and not full tang. Still versatile and a good purchase. I just try not to hack anything tough with it. If you don't have a honing steel, get one and learn how to use it. Basically any knife is usable with one. Any honing steel is probably fine, and I really like this knife sharpener. You shouldn't have to sharpen much if you use a honing steel, and your knives will last longer without frequent sharpening.

I use silicone oil on my carbon steel blades, but I suspect that is because I am weird. The mineral oil you linked will work fine. Vegetable oil will technically work, but don't use it. Over time it goes all rancid and funky.

I find that carrying a sharpener is almost always overkill. If you simply must carry a sharpener with you, avoid fixed V angle "zip" sharpeners like these, these, these, or anything like them.

I am partial to the Work Sharp Field Sharpener. It's probably your best bet if you simply must carry a sharpener with you. It is versatile, works quickly, and is capable of making a knife extremely sharp even in the hands of a newbie. I don't carry mine on my person, but I do keep one in my laptop bag since knuckleheads keep bringing me their blunt-ass knives to fix. Once you get good at maintaining an angle you can just carry a flat diamond stone like the various DMT Diafold models, which will take up less room and be considerably lighter.

I am also a strong proponent of the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker (accept no imitations that do not have that anachronistic hyphen in the name) which, if used contrary to the instructions at the 15 degree angle, can make just about anything made out of metal stupidly sharp. Do not carry it with you unless you are a lunatic; leave it at home on your workbench. It has mounting holes in the base for this purpose, in fact. However, its stones are very fine and it will take a month of Sundays to repair a chipped edge or re-bevel an edge to one of its two sharpening angles. I use mine for touch ups on high quality knives that I actually care about; Everything else gets a quick lashing on diamond stones on the Work Sharp.

For re-beveling and extreme repair of damaged edges I prefer this knockoff of the Edge Pro, which is very much Made In China but does the same job at, like, a tenth of the cost. The stones that come with the Chinese model are a little crude and uneven but functional, and the device itself is compatible with the higher quality Edge Pro stones including the diamond ones. It does not work on very small knives, though. I use it exclusively to re-bevel edges to one of the fixed angles of my other sharpeners or grind out chips and notches on the more fucked up examples of knives people bring me to fix.

yearly? you don't cook much. Knives need to be sharpened way more than that. Buy a good knife sharpening kit, and sharpen them once a month.

something like this:

​

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGVJ4YO/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00CGVJ4YO&pd_rd_w=3RLpc&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=B0gom&pf_rd_r=08Q8KNMGCCFRKGHJ5KDP&pd_rd_r=a74c98ad-869a-4743-8431-0b00e760cbf7&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSkZOT1ZIR1laMEFLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjg3MTg5U044OTlVRFpESDNVJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4NTg1MDkxWElXTE9IVzBNMDVCJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

​

that will give you a professionial edge, that's what they are using anyways. The expensive one is $300, i forget the brand. These cheap ones, are the same thing. I'm not vouching for this $30 one. I have one I paid about $80 for. It's phenomenal.

edit:

u/spiceywoff named the expensive one. edge pro professional.

​

Point is, GET A GOOD SHARPENER. Use it once a month.

That's a lot of great info, thanks a lot! I was looking at this any thoughts? Is the difference between 1000 and 250 grit too much?

I have a limited edition Ken Onion Shun Rocker that I fucking love. At home I like to prep and cook slowly, and the glide of that thing on the cutting board is pretty relaxing.

My raw vegan sister tried to crack into a frozen durian with it and broke the tip off. She offered me "20 bucks or something" for it. I managed not to punch her in the nose and retipped it with a wet stone, but clearly it's never been the same.

I have to say that I avoided getting a wetstone for a while. I just bout this stone recently and found it was pretty easy to sharpen using it. To be fair, my knives were pretty beat up and dull before I sharpened them. So, I bought a pretty low grit stone. The only thing I'd recommend is getting something at least a little higher. Now that I've sharpened with both the 250 and 1000 sides once, it doesn't seem like the 250 side will be of much use anymore unless I want to change the edge angle entirely which is not likely.

It took about 10 minutes for my 8" chef knife and some other 5" knife that I found under my kitchen stove when I bought my house. :)

I've heard that the Lansky sharpening system is pretty easy to use, but the one common complaint is that it gets a bit tough for larger kitchen knives. There is a stone in it for serrated knives as well.

America's Test Kitchen tested some chef's knives, and highly recommends the Victorinox Chef's Knife. An 8 piece set on Amazon comes to just under $150.

I'm not sure if you are looking outside of prepackaged knife sets, but ATC also put together an ideal knife set which includes:

• Victorinox Fibrox Paring Knife: $4.95
• Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch Chef's Knife: $29.95
• Victorinox 10 1/4-Inch Curved Blade Bread Knife, Black Fibrox Handle: $24.95
• Victorinox Fibrox 12-Inch Granton Edge Slicing Knife: $49.95
• Victorinox Fibrox 6-inch Straight Boning Knife: Flexible: $19.95
• J. A. Henckels International Kitchen Shears—Take Apart: $14.95
• Bodum Bistro Universal Knife Block: $44.95

This comes to just under $190.

An even cheaper option is the OXO 14 piece knife set, for which ATC recommends the chef's knife. This costs $99.99 on Amazon.

This. Honestly, just get it fixed. If you can't, in my opinion, that pampered chef knife looks overpriced to me.
Also for a similar price here are some options I like better. The Tojiro is one of my favourite intro Japanese knives.
https://knifewear.com/collections/tojiro-dp/products/tojiro-dp-gyuto-210mm-f-808
https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/sora-chefs-knife
https://www.amazon.ca/Kiwi-Ponit-21-Chef-Knife/dp/B001FEJ0WO

Not a cooking appliance per se, but a GOOD knife sharpening system and taking the time to learn about how to sharpen a knife and what it entails. What got me started was this book for the knowledge, and I ended up using an Edge Pro Apex, but a more economical alternative to that is the AGPtek on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Kitchen-Ultimate-Guide-Knives/dp/0061188484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527779143&sr=8-1&keywords=an+edge+in+the+kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/AGPtek-Professional-Kitchen-Sharpener-Fix-angle/dp/B00ABVS5VY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1527779055&sr=8-7&keywords=edge+pro+apex&dpID=41kOlJo6D4L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Knife sharpening is incredibly easy, there is no reason to pay someone to do it unless you've got a damaged blade. Plus it's going to get dull again with use, so why not do it yourself?

A few options:

Inexpensive, great reviews($5): KitchenIQ

Mid grade, I love this one ($37): Chef's Choice Diamond

Not cheap, does serrated as well ($150): Chef's Choice Trizor

You can go the manual route and get wet stones, but that's a bit more time consuming and not really needed unless you've got some nice blades.

Over 10 years with this knife and I still love it.

Recently added a Trizor XV Sharpener to give it a 15 degree edge, and now it's better than ever.

So are we not talking about Kiwi's? Cuz honestly I goddamn love these little Thai knives. Just take a gander at the prices. I know at first glance they are super cheap but when you buy them and feel them in your hands, they have a great weight as well as balance and they stay wicked sharp with minimal daily maintenance. I could not recommend them more.

In that range go for the wustof 8" ikon. Just bought one as a gift for a fellow line cook. Great knife by a notable maker.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000YMURSE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456912234&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=wusthof+ikon&dpPl=1&dpID=21HPgwBr1yL&ref=plSrch

Would this be the one you're referring to? It has two medium diamond rods and two fine ceramic rods: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008EKY5OA

What's the advantage of the diamond rods over the set with two different ceramic rods?

Mercer Culinary M13914 Millennia 14-Inch Granton Edge Slicer, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005P0OIBM/

Something like that will make the brisket slicing SOOOO much better. Watermelon too lol

I'd pay attention to knife edge guard and get one if it's not included.

A deli slicer is nice, but I've seen people use one of these to process a whole proscuitto. Also useful for other things (but then again so is a deli slicer):


https://www.kitchenessentials.ca/wusthof-classic-10-ham-slicer/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4-XlBRDuARIsAK96p3CuuAbJ-n9Uwva1iDWWRH2Z4KdZ7haZdsTjl4qQUyIJc0uvxDioz5saAnBmEALw_wcB

​

or: https://www.amazon.ca/Mercer-Culinary-14-Inch-Slicer-Granton/dp/B005P0OIBM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&psc=1

Whoa, thank you for your well thought out reply!! What do you think about something like this?

Nice work! What cure and wood do you use?

I make one belly a month as well. I use Ruhlmans bacon cure but half the salt, apple and hickory.

I also use this knife slicing knife it’s way better than any cheap slicer. Unless you’re getting a Hobart commercial slicer it’s just gonna be a nightmare.

You're better off not buying a set. Buy 2-3 better quality knives. Victorinox makes good quality knives for fairly cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-Straight-Chefs-8-Inch/dp/B008M5U1C2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468263881&sr=8-1&keywords=victorinox+knife

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Classic-4-Inch-Paring/dp/B005LRYE36/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468263881&sr=8-3&keywords=victorinox+knife

You will also want a knife sharpener. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. Most people don't sharpen their knives at all. A honing steel is not a knife sharpener.

Use the rest to get some steak knives if you wish. Also, you have some left over for if you decide you want a bread knife or a slicer.

You should hone every time you use your knife. Always use a proper cutting board (don't cut something on the granite countertop like I've seen many do). Store your knife in a knife block or on a magnetic strip. And yes, definitely stay away from automatic sharpeners. Learn to use a waterstone. You can even get a kit that can help you fix the sharpening angle (disclaimer: I'm not necessarily recommending the one in the link, it's just an example.).

At this point that Victorinox is ridiculously expensive. 45 dollars is getting into actual good quality knife territory. Everyone suggesting it has inflated the price over the years. I believe it used to be suggested as a $25 dollar knife. At that price it really was good. Now its just a very expensive stamped knife. I like the rest though.

Figured I should edit and give a suggestion at least. If you want something japanese you can pay 5 more dollars and get something MUCH higher in quality. [Santoku] (https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Santoku-6-7-17cm/dp/B000UAPQEA/ref=pd_sim_79_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XYK8APTJRV3GXQJ8FF0R) or for 15 dollars more than the Victorinox you can get a [chef] (https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Gyutou-8-2-21cm/dp/B000UAPQGS/ref=pd_bxgy_79_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TA5DHYJ86S2HA6SQP8VX) Style Japanese Knife. For something European I would go with Ramsey's suggestion to look at Heckles or Wosthof and just prowl Ebay. They will probably be around 45 dollars for a Heckles 8in chef knife.

I use a Kotobuki King 250+1000 and lay the bevel flat on the wet stone. I use water to keep it wet. I sharpen on the coarse until I have made and removed a burr on the whole edge. Then switch to fine. It does not come out quite as sharp as the factory edge, but is more than satisfactory. I typically make my very last pass on the fine side with more of an angle to make sure I have removed any bits of burr.

I would avoid something with an angle guard on this style of blade. The bevel is so significant that it guides for you.

edit: assuming only sharpening a mora

Those are some serious knives you're looking at. Don't go messing them up with some rinky-dink, as-seen-on-TV gadget. Get a good japanese waterstone. It's what the pros use. They are not all that expensive, nor should you be daunted by the prospect of learning how to use one.

The King k-80 has served me well. It gives you a coarser grit (250) on one side for serious sharpening jobs (e.g., sharpening out a nick in the blade, or putting a new edge on a very dull knife), and a finer grit (1000) for maintenance.

As for technique, this video shows a pretty foolproof basic technique. You may want to experiment with some other techniques, but once you find one that works for you you'll want to be consistent about it. Chances are you've got a friend who can show you how, or, failing that, offer to buy your preferred sushi chef a case of beer in return for a lesson.

Nope even more simple!! Haha

Lansky Diamond Ceramic Turn Box TB-2D2C https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EKY5OA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Uj5EDbS1MD0C9

I bought this once for a friend. She still talks about it. You should also buy some sharpening stones if you don't want to pay for it to be sharpened. Be careful though. If you don't practice proper technique, this thing will easily slice your finger off.

You don't need to spend a ton of money on a set of high end knives. Victorinox is the gold standard for kick ass knives in my opinion. Restaurants and butchers swear by them because they are of very high quality and inexpensive. I have the 8-piece set [(seen here)] (http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-8-Piece-Knife-Block-Set/dp/B0000CF9AG) and absolutely love them.

Here is a video of Americas Test Kitchen comparing the Victorinox 8 inch chef knife against a bunch of really expensive carbon steel blades.


Edit: I also wanted to mention that I find a use for every blade in the set. Although, I find that the 8 inch chef knife can be a little too big and unwieldy for some tasks like chopping garlic. I would recommend getting a smaller 6 or 7 inch chef or santoku knife to handle more delicate chopping tasks.

This guy might be a good option in addition to a decent chef knife. It goes on sale every now and then. I'm thinking about getting one for my mom next time it's on sale. She also wrecks the edge on her kitchen knives.

Chef’sChoice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Professional Electric Knife Sharpener for Straight and Serrated Knives Diamond Abrasives Patented Sharpening System Made in USA, 3-Stage, Gray https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018RSEMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZviLBbB9HCDSB

Miyabi Kaizen 9.5" is one I've had my eye on.

10 inch Shun kiritsuke, though arguably overpriced for what it is. I have an 8 inch shun that I love, but I got it on considerable sale so it was more in line with its actual value.

Yoshihiro 8 inch, which I know nothing about really, but it just popped up while poking around.

[Another Yoshihiro, 9.5 inches] (http://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Steel-Suminagashi-Damascus-Japanese/dp/B00NI54VNQ/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&qid=1426449037&sr=8-36&keywords=japanese+chef+knife)

Wusthof set, Victorinox set.

I'm going to set you a "dream set" if you were filthy rich or a professional chef, too. The Shun Classic Mega set which sells for a whopping $1800.

Now, I have not personally used this one, but I have heard from folks I know that this thing is excellent: https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-Knife-Sharpener-Onion/dp/B00EJ9CQKA

I will be buying one myself in the near future.

I don’t remember paying this much for it, but im happy with the sharpener

1. Buy a whole top round
   
2. Cover pan in aluminum foil
   
3. Rub top round with Worcester sauce
   
4. Rub top round with Montreal Steak seasoning
   
5. Place in pan and cook it in an oven until the internal temperature reaches 130F. Remove and cool immediately for 6+ hours.
   
6. Take the leftover liquid in the pan and strain it, cover and cool as well
   
   The most difficult part is slicing it. Most people don't have access to an industrial meat slicer, so your best bet is a carving knife like this:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-M13914-Millennia-14-Inch/dp/B005P0OIBM/ref=asc_df_B005P0OIBM/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167144588125&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17239281696344466330&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011562&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-309684795580&psc=1
   
   I typically cut my top rounds into quarters (so 4 equal parts) and then use the knife to shave the beef as thin as you can. You want to cut against the "grain" of the meat always.
   
   Take the liquid leftover from the pain and heat until it starts to emit steam. Then keep heat very low just to maintain temperature.
   
   Dip the sliced meet in the liquid (aka Au Juis) for 5-10 seconds to heat and serve.
   
   I used to work for my dad's catering company and we sold about 200 pounds a week worth of sliced top round. I was the only person allowed to slice it on our meat slicer. Because it was fucking hard work actually getting it to look like something from an Arby's commercial. I'll probably have to have surgery on my shoulder after doing that for 5+ years. But it's so worth it.

If you're not interested in the price, Lansky makes a very similar setup for about $15-20

It's a great looking sharpener I haven't picked up yet myself, but everything I've heard about it is good.

Here's another one that says it's the same thing in the description, but is labelled 'Crock Stik'. Not sure of the differences but it looks very similar and is $10 less.

I got more comfortable with the pinch grip by using a taller knife. this one specifically, which is also one of the best knife values ever.

Anyway, the taller blade helped me feel less likely to chop off my fingertip. Index finger along the spine is super unsafe, because slipping is a concern.

Comfort could also play into it. My husband has these Tramontina chef's knives that he really likes, but something about them just does not work with my hands, so I cannot comfortably pinch grip wuth them. Whereas he has trouble with mine. The only knife that really works all that well for both of us is a Chinese cleaver, but a lot of people are intimidated by them.

ok i will offer you two BIFL versions. the first one being BIFL on a budget and the second being a much higher dollar BIFL cost.

quality on a budget- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF8YO/ref=cm_ciu_pl_B0000CF8YO_mo1ZWCPZP5I7S3B

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-EC6D43-Enameled-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857337&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+dutch+oven

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-4-Inch-Fibrox-Straight-Paring/dp/B008M5U1UE/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857377&sr=1-1&keywords=victorinox+paring

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Wooden-Spoon-3-Piece/dp/B008H2JLP8/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857407&sr=1-2&keywords=wooden+spoon

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857459&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+cast+iron

higher dollar items include-

http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-2-inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B00005OL44/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857561&sr=1-1&keywords=global+knives

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-Premier-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B003B66YKA/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857613&sr=1-2&keywords=shun+knives

http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-2-Inch-Paring-Knife/dp/B00005MEGH/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857640&sr=1-3&keywords=paring+knife

http://www.amazon.com/Le-Creuset-Signature-Enameled-Cast-Iron/dp/B0076NOGPY/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857680&sr=1-2&keywords=le+creuset+dutch+oven

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857717&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+cast+iron


I own the cheaper BIFL items i listed and they have been AMAZING so far. you really cant beat the quality/ price ratio for the cheaper things i listed. if you want a better chef knife all the options i gave you would be excellent but just know that you could go crazy looking at all the different brands.

Santoku is fine. I have a 5.5" Hammer Stahl . It was a gift I use at home now. For work, most of my prep and ice work is done with this or something like it. Indented handle, straight blade. God I love this trident too.

Garnishes gotta have a good paring knife. This Victorinox might be top of the line, but I don't buy those any more. They dull quickly. Buy these and you will never go back.

Get a good set of knives and a large cutting board. They will make chopping lots of ingredients go from a long chore to quick and enjoyable. Stir-frys are a lot less work with good knives. You can pick your own favorite brand, but here is someplace to start: http://www.amazon.com/R-H-Forschner-Victorinox-8-Piece-Knife/dp/B0000CF9AG

Ok ok, just take the wind out of my sails and shit all over the hilarity.

A chef (or any kitchen) only really needs a few good knives. The most important of which is your standard cook's knife.

I mean really...who needs a dozen steak knives?

I have a carbon steel knife which is harder than VG10 on the Rockwell scale and the knife maker recommended a ceramic honing rod rather than a steel one.

Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-12-Inch-Ceramic-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B002YK1RAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406208943&sr=8-1&keywords=ceramic+honing+rod

As others have mentioned, a honing rod isn't for sharpening it is for, well, honing. You use it on a daily basis (or semi-daily) to keep the teeth aligned on the blade.

Nice Kit. How do you like the G2 Chef's knife? I use a 8" Shun Premier.

wrong. we got one of these http://www.amazon.com/Onion-Shun-DM0500-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0007IR2MO/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1346611396&sr=1-1&keywords=shun+ken for my mom for mother's day a year ago. she uses it almost every day and it's still sharp enough to cut through vegetables effortlessly. shun recommends one sharpening every year. there's a reason why good knives cost more than $20, and not just because of brand name. you can sharpen any knife to the same sharpness but the materials and design, and therefore cost, determine how long it will hold an edge and how comfortable it is to hold

If it's not too late! This: Mac Knife Chef Series Chef's Knife, 7-1/4-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N5BUWY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Qe-.zb2DW1WSV

Love Mac - and this price for the knife (IMO) is hard to beat. Their pro line is also great - but busts the budget a bit ($145ish).

This one is the best one I've used. It's cheap so when it's on it's last legs you just buy a new one. Every kitchen I've been in has had these.

Americas Test Kitchen does equipment reviews. A year or so ago the tested a bunch of electric sharpners and decide the Chef's Choice Trizor was one of the best:

https://www.amazon.com/Choice-Trizor-EdgeSelect-Electric-Sharpener/dp/B0018RSEMU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1505343998&sr=8-4&keywords=chefs+choice+knife+sharpener

http://www.amazon.com/KIWI-21-Kiwi-Chef-Knife/dp/B001FEJ0WO
best bang for the buck.