Kitchen Cutlery

[deez nuts]

Spending money on high end kitchen knives is an awesome investment. It also saves you money from dining out. I invested in a set of Wusthof Ikon Blackwood Knives and added to my set a Wusthof Santoku knife for finesse work and a Wusthof cleaver to go through bones. Orignally I was gonna go for a set of Shun Japanese knives but my gripe with the Shun was that it felt dangerous for dicing because the blade's top was thin and it didn't feel as balanced as the Wusthofs so I went German. All a man needs in the kitchen is a decent pot, pan and cast iron skillet and a killer set of knives.

It's also great way to weed out women. A woman that recognizes and appreciates the quality of the appliances in my kitchen and my knife set means she knows her way around the kitchen and is therefore a potential keeper.

[kimpossible]

I'm not big on Shun. Never have been, don't see that I ever will be. Though Wusthof has probably overtaken Henckels in the last... dunno, few years, I'm still big on Henckels. I just about passed out when I got to Henckels store in Germany.


My take on grips and blades, it's worth the money to get one chef knife forged and not stamped steel or ceramic (sorry Ming!). If you can handle a 10-inch by all means go for it but 8-inch will work better than 6-inch even if you have small hands. You really want to feel the knife before you buy, I would say more so if you're a woman because the knives are rarely cut and balanced for a smaller hand.

Now about weight and balance, I no likey the hollow blades. Lighter, sure, but also weaker. You do want a bit of a curve rather than absolute flat so you can get an acceptable bit of rocking motion with wrist maneuvering. Reasonably so, nothing like a scimitar. Handle materials are more personal but let's face it - metal is sexiest. Wood's probably the most comfortable. Concentrate on the bolster and tang, especially if you have small hands because you'll be gripping that part quite a bit.

Serrated is bullshit and belongs on a bread knife not a chef's knife. Don't bother unless it's your cheapo knife you use for other stuff.

Anyhow, that's my take.

[SunWuKong]

i still haven't abandoned the Chinese way of using your cleaver for everything.

[kimpossible]

I think there's justification for both, all depends on the job at hand. It's harder for me to go through bone for something like sanbeiji with a chef's knife but if I was doing something that a longer blade is good for, I prefer a well balanced chef's knife.

[deez nuts]

I'm not big on Shun. Never have been, don't see that I ever will be. Though Wusthof has probably overtaken Henckels in the last... dunno, few years, I'm still big on Henckels. I just about passed out when I got to Henckels store in Germany.


Definitely. But, it's hard to find German made Henckels nowadays since the lower end Henckels is made in China with the mid line Henckels made in Spain. It's just hard to find pieces of German made Henckels to add to your set. I'm about dead even between Wusthof and Henckels. I chose Wusthof just for the sake of ease of adding pieces to my existing set.



i still haven't abandoned the Chinese way of using your cleaver for everything.

I haven't abandoned it either. But, for finesse work, a high end - high quality chef and/or santoku knife is the way to go. It performs with surgical precision. But, nothing beats the raw power of the Chinese cleaver. And a set of high quality knives is just awesome and you'd actually look foward to prepping and cooking as opposed to eating out or ordering in.

[snailpoo]

Definitely. But, it's hard to find German made Henckels nowadays since the lower end Henckels is made in China with the mid line Henckels made in Spain. It's just hard to find pieces of German made Henckels to add to your set. I'm about dead even between Wusthof and Henckels. I chose Wusthof just for the sake of ease of adding pieces to my existing set.
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=155122&CategoryID=31658

Henckels, German.

[AngryABCGirl]

i still haven't abandoned the Chinese way of using your cleaver for everything.

LOL, I have one cleaver from a Chinese market I use to do everything, including open packets of cheese.

Then again, it's not as if I cook that much.

[Arex]

Don't know much about cutlery, but my wife and I got a set of J.A. Henckels Twin Cuisine as a wedding present. They feel pretty nice in the hand. Much better than the $5 3 piece set we got from Ikea, or the crappy "Miracle" blade I picked up at an auto show circa 1996.

[deez nuts]

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=155122&CategoryID=31658

Henckels, German.

Don't like the feel of the Henckels Twin Cuisine series. I only like the Twin Select line from Henckels. The Macys near me only carry the lower end line of Henckels made in China and Spain along with some lower end made in Germany line. I wouldn't purchase pieces without getting a feel for them first even if I can return them to my nearest Macys. I'm real picky about the feel and the cut of my knives after doing surgery for close to ten years.

The Williams Sonoma I go to down here only carry the professional line of Wusthofs and Shun. They unfortunately stopped carrying the professional line of Henckels.

[Sunflare]

i still haven't abandoned the Chinese way of using your cleaver for everything.

LOL. I remember when my dad was repairing linoleum tiles on the floor one day using a meat cleaver. I'm like "Dad, here's a utility knife". He took the knife, tossed it across the kitchen and continued using the meat cleaver. My mom got pissed because she just bought it like a couple of days ago.

That struck me as really weird at the time but now that you mentioned it. . .

[SunWuKong]

well, i do admit it's much better to cut fish with a long and pointed blade.

[deez nuts]

well, i do admit it's much better to cut fish with a long and pointed blade.

Just think of it as the Dyson of kitchen knives. You can invest in a really nice set for the price of a Dyson. And if you take good care of it such as only washing it by hand and sharpening it twice a year, it'll last you a lifetime. Just don't forget to buy a sharpening block since the sharpening tool that's usually included in the block sets only sets the blade. Also if you do buy a block set, pay close attention to where the steak knives are made. There are some sets where the steak knives are of lower quality and not made say in Germany. Just check that each piece came from the same country.

I will admit, I went overboard and probably overpaid on some pieces and ended up spending close to or a little over $2000 and counting. I've become such a kitchen cutlery whore.

[kimpossible]

In the spirit of NWN2 newly released for iMac I will demonstrate the chef knife/cleaver usage in character building terms.

SWK as a dwarven wizard/bard has a racial access and bonus to battle axes but no class feats for simple and martial weapons. As he prefers a battle axe he invests further feats to double specialize, never bothering with martial weapons.

Deez Nuts is, of course, a cleric, and though chaotic neutral can still deal out shitloads of healing. He also has the racial weapon access to battle axes but as a cleric also has the martial and simple weapon proficiencies, including chef knives and +5 scalpels.

I as a half-elven fighter thief had the class feats of simple and martial weapons, and as I have no race affinity for dwarven battle axes, had to use one of my feats to purchase usage as an exotic weapon proficiency.

[SunWuKong]

Just don't forget to buy a sharpening block

oh yeah we have one and i sharpen the ol' cleaver everytime before i use it.

In the spirit of NWN2 newly released for iMac I will demonstrate the chef knife/cleaver usage in character building terms.

my old-ass laptop can't run NWN2. but that'll be the first thing i buy when i get a new laptop.

[kimpossible]

I'm hijacking Nutsy's thread because I don't think I'm going to have enough time post-lunch pre-nap wakeup to take care of EverChores or kill pixelated bad guys.

Yeah, the iMac we have will run it but we're also in the market for a cheapo PC that can run the game as well. You guys could have a game night and trade war stories about getting roped in to setting up routers for parents' friends.

I think this official campaign is a bit better for actually playing evil without having every person in town turn on you. And unlike the first NWN you aren't a 1st level whatever saving a city where all the heroes have been taken out by .5 level orcs. Or goblins, whatever they were. But shit is definitely on fire in town like that last one.

[SunWuKong]

getting roped in to setting up routers for parents' friends.

holy shit i've really had that happen to me.

and my father would call every once in a while to tell me that all his desktop icons are gone and ask me how to fix it.

I think this official campaign is a bit better for actually playing evil without having every person in town turn on you.

yeah that sucked.

[deez nuts]

In the spirit of NWN2 newly released for iMac I will demonstrate the chef knife/cleaver usage in character building terms.

SWK as a dwarven wizard/bard has a racial access and bonus to battle axes but no class feats for simple and martial weapons. As he prefers a battle axe he invests further feats to double specialize, never bothering with martial weapons.

Deez Nuts is, of course, a cleric, and though chaotic neutral can still deal out shitloads of healing. He also has the racial weapon access to battle axes but as a cleric also has the martial and simple weapon proficiencies, including chef knives and +5 scalpels.

I as a half-elven fighter thief had the class feats of simple and martial weapons, and as I have no race affinity for dwarven battle axes, had to use one of my feats to purchase usage as an exotic weapon proficiency.

I am so lost. But, you + knives = the hot

[kimpossible]

This is the Wusthof line that has had me cheating on Henckels.

Behold, Culinar!

http://www.wusthof.com/data/products/4589026.jpg
http://www.wusthof.com/data/WUSTHOF_CULINAR.jpg

[deez nuts]

This is the Wusthof line that has had me cheating on Henckels.

Behold, Culinar!

http://www.wusthof.com/data/products/4589026.jpg
http://www.wusthof.com/data/WUSTHOF_CULINAR.jpg

YES!

[SunWuKong]

YES!

did your pants just get tighter?

[deez nuts]

did your pants just get tighter?

They are awesome knives and are sexy as hell. My decision was narrowed down between the Wusthof Ikon vs the Wusthof Culinar. The Ikon just felt more balanced to me. Though the Culinar definitely has way more I.P.R. potential. I would definitely buy the 8 piece Culinar Chef's Attache set just for the sex appeal.

[kimpossible]

Culinar so shiny. Make me want to put on Rising Sun hachimaki and flip out in the kitchen.

<stage whisper> the balance is off. i stroked one lovingly years ago and couldn't quite convince myself that i could overlook it.</stage whisper>

[deez nuts]

Culinar so shiny. Make me want to put on Rising Sun hachimaki and flip out in the kitchen.

<stage whisper> the balance is off. i stroked one lovingly years ago and couldn't quite convince myself that i could overlook it.</stage whisper>

I have a slight tingle in my loins after reading that.

[raacluse]

Nice thread. Keep it going.

I'm learning a few things from ya'll, like the need for a sharpening block.

I have an old Henckel 8" chef that I use. (Has a plastic handle)

One time I visited the Klingenmuseum (http://www.solingen.de/klingenmuseum) in Solingen.

Lotta historical stuff on exhibit: early cutlery, rapiers, bayonets, pocket knives, etc. It's funny that I can't remember much about kitchen knives.

[mndeg]

i have an 8" MAC Santoku knife and a 6" one as well.

I chose it because of this guy's greviews
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/129/Chefs-Knives-Rated
The Wusthuf scored less than stellar.

[ism]

I use an 8" Global primarily. Tojiro DP is replacing the piece of shit KitchenAid which is now used primarily for smashing garlic cloves. Getting a Hiromoto AS when I'm ready for it.