What are some good brands within the $100-250 price range that one could buy in a box store? Which ones should I avoid at all cost?

Henckels... Look at a Henckels set. Make sure they're forged, not just a stamped metal blade too. For that kind of money you can get a REALLY nice set. Spend the money on quality. Even if you don't get 20 knives, the 8 that you do get will be fantastic.

http://budk.com/Knives/Henckels-Twin-Four-Star-II-8-Piece-Block-Set

This is a really nice set... look for the chunk of metal where the blade meets the grip. The blade and that chunk of metal should all be one piece. That's the sign of a forged blade. You CANNOT go wrong.

Avoid Cutco knives. They may be nice looking but they're not made well. Tramontina is another set that looks great, but that micro serration they have is not a clean cutting edge. A serrated edge will tear your food, not cut it. They're not good for fine knife work like slicing carrots and other vegetables. I had a set back in the day and they steak knives were great, but the kitchen knives were no good. I actually bought a Kitchen-Aid brand set from Target that is a forged blade for about $100 that are pretty darn good, but Henckels are the real deal. Professional grade.

Also, remember the sharpening steel that comes with the set is NOT a sharpening steel. It's a HONE. It will polish your blade for you. You hand wash your knives, never put them in the dish washer, then dry them, then run the blade over the steel a couple of times and then stick it back in the block. This will give your blade edge some longevity, but they WILL eventually dull. Do yourself another favor and have them professionally sharpened. There are plenty of places that will do that for about $3 a knife. WELL worth the money and it'll keep your knives razor sharp and in REALLY good shape for years.

[This message has been edited by phideaux_2003 (edited 8/19/2010 4:16p).]

[This message has been edited by phideaux_2003 (edited 8/19/2010 4:18p).]

Tramontina

I have this set and love love them. My set is actually branded Member's Mark (from Sam's Club) but they were made by Tramontina and have a lifetime warranty + lifetime free sharpening service.

[This message has been edited by Artemis (edited 8/19/2010 4:20p).]

wustofs are legit....maybe a little more than the 250 range. the set i have was about 450...but it is 13 pieces

You can find some really good ones in Williams-Sonoma like Henkels among others..

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=MER20000

That's a nice little set too. Never heard of the brand name but they're quality knives. Neat display too.

i can sell you some CutCo if you would like

damn good cutlery, my parents have had a set for 20 years and still work great



"You win some, you lose some, and you wreck some"-Dale Earnhardt

I use Forschner from restaurant supply. I can guarantee you

a) My knives are as sharp as anything out there
b) Knowing how to sharpen/keep knive sharp is more important than brand
c) Knowing how to cook will impress people far more than the knives you use in prep. (I've never heard "fido, your knives are so nice....you should be a chef and open a restaurant"

now put the money I just saved you towards a new gun

[This message has been edited by fido98 (edited 8/19/2010 4:29p).]

First you need to decide what knives you want/need.

I used to cook professionally and I use 3-4 knives on a regular basis.

I have this 10 inch chef knife by Wusthof. It is my main knife, my workhorse if you will. Most folks don't want/need a ten inch. An eight inch is plenty most of the time. I think I wanted the ten inch for cutting down watermelons at one of my jobs.

I have this seven inch santoku by Henckles. Which I use every so often. I could do with out this knife because anything I need/can do with it I can do with the chef knife.

My other knives came from my kit from culinary school.
A cheap bread knife... this means serrated. Whenever I have disposable funds, I'll buy one similar to this one.

A cheap flexible boning knife. I primarily use this one for carving chickens.

And I have a slicer from that set as well. I don't cook many roasts and such so this one doesn't get used all that often.

Very, very, VERY rarely do I have any need for a paring knife. Some chefs love their paring knife... not me.

Chances are, you don't need that mini-chef knife looking thing they call a veggie knife. Nor a cleaver. And you'd probably rather buy steak knives you like than the ones that came with your big pretty set.

Many people feel that they have to get the best steel on the market... which is very hard to sharpen unless you really know what you're doing. Anthony Bourdain, a professional chef whom I admire greatly, recommends Global Knives for the average home cook.

[This message has been edited by IsleAg11 (edited 8/19/2010 4:33p).]

Thanks for the replies. We're going to start registering soon and William Sonoma is one of the places we'll be registering at. We both already own houses, so we have mostly everything we need, but neither of us has a good knife set.

Here's another brand that a chef I know recommended to me.

Tojiro

Seriously, don't buy knives at William's Sonoma you are just wasting money (even if it is other people's). Of course, that's pretty much true for everything they sell there. In fact, I hate William's Sonoma. I got a WS gift certificate and gave it to my sister because I hate the people that shop there so much /rant over

/\/\/\

My feelings as well. I got a gift card and spent it on this. I don't like knife blocks... waste of counter space.

[This message has been edited by IsleAg11 (edited 8/19/2010 4:48p).]

mobile.texags.com/Forums/34/Topics/1535198

I have a Shun 7" Santoku. It is my "workhorse". It stays razor sharp forever when properly sharpened. I like the little bit of resistance the scallops on the blade provide.

I also have an old school 10" Cutco that was passed down to me from my grandma. I wouldn't have paid for it but it's nice to have the longer blade and I sharpened it myself so it's plenty sharp for the limited use it gets.

I have a Victotinox bonning knife I use for breaking down, trimming, and slicing meat. It has a long curved blade , which I like but singer might not.

I need to get a decent serrated/bread knife and paring knife.

My main rec is too get a nice quality knife that will hold an edge well and invest in a good sharping set and honing steel.

Maintenance is arguably as important as the actual knife, IMO.

Inlaws got is a set of Henkels 4 star for a wedding gift. Nice knives. They get REALLY sharp, but keeping that edge is kinda hard.

williams sonoma is ridiculously overpriced. that is all.

Shun....wait until woot.com has a sale on the Shun Ken Onion knives....These are great, but expensive.

I have this set of Shun and love them. A bit pricier though.

My vote is for Global. I wanted to like Shun, but I just did not like the feel of the knife in my hand. Both are great performance wise. Find one that you feel comfortable with in your hand.

"You win some, you lose some, and you wreck some"-Dale Earnhardt

I have a set of Wusthof's (forged) and I use several knives from the set, but not all. I also have several stamped knives made by Dexter Russell (along with several other DR products like a pizza cutter and spreaders). If I did it again, I would get the knives individually or get a smaller set and supplement as needed.

I like the DR butcher and utility/sandwich knives better than whats in my Wust. set, but for a chef's knife, forged is the only way to go. Will probably get a matching cleaver.

I got this set of MAC knives for my step son who was working as a sous chef at the time. He loved/loves them.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/mac-superior/starter-knife-set-p110130

All those brands and fancy ass metals can't replace a nice sharper. Get a name brand and you will be fine.

You will not beat the price and performance of Forschner. Their Chef's knife (and every other knife they make) routinely beat the competition in the testing done by Cooks Illustrated and Americas Test Kitchen. The Chef's knife ia under $30.

+1 for Global here. That's mainly what I use. I would stay away from the Shuns though. I've seen the blades on Shuns chip so many times that it's not worth it. While they look completely awesome, it's not worth the hassle every time the blade chips. I know you can't get a full set of Globals for the price range you are looking in but seriously, save up some money and get some Globals. Hands down the most comfortable and reliable knives I've ever used.

Also, like others have mentioned, don't go out and buy a whole set of knives. You will rarely ever use all of them. By doing this, you can select what kind of knives you want and get a better quality knife since you won't be forking over the cash for a whole set.

If you are looking for a more affordable knife then I would suggest Wusthof.

Shun is made by Kershaw. I bought several of them for our place at the beach and as the previous poster said, "They will chip."

I've had two chip for no apparent reason.

I agree with most everything that has been said. In my opinion this is whats really important
1. don't buy a whole set, piece together as you go.
2. keep them sharp, learn how to sharpen.
3. a great knife will not make bad cooking good

That being said I have owned & used every good/great knife there is and as much as it kills me to say this the cheep commercial 3 packs from Sam's with white handle's are really good and I don't have a heart attack when my wife bangs on a chicken bone or chips ice with them.

Sponsor Message:

Kelly - Aggie RV'er

Started building a set of Cutco years ago. Love 'em!

quote:

---

Most folks don't want/need a ten inch. An eight inch is plenty most of the time. I think I wanted the ten inch for cutting down watermelons at one of my jobs.

---

Most people don't even want or need an eight inch! It's just the damn porn industry that makes them think they do!!


...wait, what are we talking about? Knives?


Oh. Nevermind.

+1 for Henkels. Got a few for a wedding present and they're almost the only ones I use period.

Also, props to Cutco. My sister sold cutco while she was in CS and kinda on the side after graduation. She still uses them in her kitchen and sends them in when they need to get worked on. I think we got cutco pocket knives while she was a salesman just as a bonus type deal. My brother keeps his in the truck, but I was too young when I got mine so I think I left it somewhere in the 1990's.

i got a global 6" for christmas and it is fantastic. what may rival its fantasicness is the sharpener i also go. apparently, any knife can get stupid-sharp.

but ive observed what youre paying for is balance and durability. the global holds the edge way-way-way better than the farberware crap it replaced. or maybe i just treat it a little better...

got me the strangest woman
believe me this trick's no cinch
but I really get her going
when I whip out my big 10 inch

Ok. Let's switch the topic a little...

What are some sharpeners/sharpener kits yall recommend?

ShockEm,

Suggest you start a new thread on sharpeners; will likely get more responses.

Wusthof

I love mine, I have the classics