Had a recent birthday and was asked what I wanted. I am tired of having extra stuff and have slowly been replacing 2-3 of things for 1 solid tool.

I'm interested in putting together some knives for kitchen uses. I do lots of vegetable prep work for my wife's home pickle business, so I want to start with a Santoku or chef knife and slowly put together a set.

Anyone have a knife maker that comes to mind or a higher end brand? Want something to hold on too for a long time and not get frustrated when it starts to fall apart.

Not sure on budget, but I saw CM Forge makes some in the mid $200s and many people rave about their quality.

I can tell you that the CM Forge knives are great!

One made in Niigata prefecture, Japan. Got my mother one for her birthday for about $100. Damascus steel, ox horn and oak handle.

Shun would be my first choice.

I've had a set of Wusthof classic knives for 9 yrs now, and they have been awesome! We switched up our set so that we have 2 santuko knives (a 5in and a 7in, I think). The 5 inch is my goto for almost everything. Very thin blades, that slice very well, but also hold an edge well too. I would buy the sharpening rod as well... 5-6 swipes once a week or so and you are good to go.

I would recommend the classics if you aren't going to buy the whole set at one time, because that way they will match when you go to get the rest of the set.

I will likely get made fun of, but I love my Cutco knives. Solid as a rock, great warranty, all kinds of choices, American made. Hard to beat.

The best knives I have ever used is Moritaka. They are one of a small handful of Japanese knife makers that use Aogami Super Steel. On the positive side, ASS can be honed to an unbelievably sharp edge that holds the edge for much longer than other steels. I promise you they will make a Shun Classic seem like a butter knife. On the negative side, it is a carbon steel than can rust if not properly cared for.

Here is who I have ordered them from:

www.chefknivestogo.com/moritaka-knives.html

Here is an article that discusses Aogami Super Steel and reviews 4 knives, including Moritaka.

www.sharpeningstonereviews.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/aogami-super-steel

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I will likely get made fun of, but I love my Cutco knives. Solid as a rock, great warranty, all kinds of choices, American made. Hard to beat.

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Yep

There are a few threads on the food board.

Most recent:
http://texags.com/forums/67/topics/2419103/1#discussion

Cutco.

Thanks for the ideas. Gonna start researching a little. Now that I know some names to start with.

There is no real good reason to buy a set unless its like a 2 piece set for 2 knives you know you will use. I've had a Wusthoff set that I got rid of and then bought a Global chef knife. The Wusthoffs were OK but the Global is much better. I like the feel -- and that's the key. If you find a Wusthoff (or Shun, or whatever) that feels good, that is the knife you want. All brands have had their detractors at one point or another. Shuns have had some chipping problems well documented, but others have said Globals do the same thing. The Japanese style knives (Shun, Global) GENERALLY have more rounded handles while the European knives (Wustoff, Henkels I think) have more edged handles. There's no better style -- just one YOU like better.

While I recommend a forged knife for the Chef's knife, I have several other high quality stamped knives -- Dexter Russell ones for bread and another one for pairing. These are sold online and at Restaurant supply places. Forschner also makes a good quality stamped knife.

I have an 8" shun chef's knife. I love it.

I would never buy a knife sight unseen. You need to see how it fits in your hand. If it doesn't fit you well you will hate it. Then get a good stone and learn to keep it sharp. A good sharp knife is way more useful than an expensive dull one.

I have an older (25 years?) Henkels set and a Shun paring and santoku.

Seriously call Cutco. They'll come out, bring every knife they make and let you try them, and when you get bored and try to fix something with a knife and break the tip off they'll replace it for free (also free life time shapening).

I did a good bit of research before buying my Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro knives. I got the 7" santoku, 5.5" santoku, and 4" paring knives. I haven't run into anything that I can't get done with one of these knives. They take an excellent edge and hold it very well and are thin enough to make cutting extremely easy. I highly recommend them.

Chicago Cutlery

No contest

Dexter russell

Then use the money you saved and buy a better smoker

Plus one on the Henckels

After having owned a couple Japanese knives, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest one. I have a Misono UX-10 240mm Gyuto (Chef's knife) and a smaller petty knife. Great knives - way better than most anything Gustof or Henckels have ever made.

There are many great Japanese brands...Misono, Hattori, Masamoto, JCK original, etc.

http://japanesechefsknife.com/

Oh yeah, regardless of what knife/knives you get...do yourself and your knives a favor and get yourself a Idahone ceramic honing rod to keep it sharp between sharpenings.

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Oh yeah, regardless of what knife/knives you get...do yourself and your knives a favor and get yourself a Idahone ceramic honing rod to keep it sharp between sharpenings.

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I use a run of the mill Smith's ceramic rod sharpener, and it works great. I finally broke down not too long ago and got a Worx sharpening system and put a new edge on the straight edged knives I have in the kitchen - made a monster difference. It had been a while, and even with the ceramic honer between most uses the blades needed some rework.

Few things are better in the kitchen than a very sharp knife to work with.

This sharpening steel from Sheffield is much better than others that I have used for kitchen knives.

Sheffield Steel (UK) Steels & Knife Sharpeners

Also, +1 for HENCKELS knives.

My wife yells at me when someone gets a cut. She says that I keep the knives too sharp.

I have a set of Wustoff kitchen knives that are made in Germany. Most of the makers source their steel out of China now. I researched this a bunch and settled on the Wusthoff set made with German steel. They are expensive at $600 a set but I have dumped all my other kitchen knives.

We have Henckles. Bought them about 10 years ago and have been great. My wife broke one of the steak knives cleaning wax out of a candle about a year ago. I sent it back and they replaced it for free

Gonna read this thread. Im ready to upgrade the MIracle Blade III. Chicago Cutlery looks pretty good. Were you guys being facetious or are they really decent? Im not a knife nerd...need it sharp. Need it reliable. Need to be able to throw in dishwasher, not interested in dicking around with cleaning by hand.

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I have an 8" shun chef's knife. I love it.

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I have a set of Shun knives. I rarely use the 10" chef knife. I use the 8". I really like it.

I actually put my 10" Chicago cutlery knife in the block and use it if a larger knife is needed.
The Shun paring knife is a little large for me in peeling apples etc. I again put my old Chicago Cutlery knife in the block and use it.

To me the Shuns are scary sharp, but maybe a little thin. I've broken the tip off the paring knife twice.

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My wife yells at me when someone gets a cut. She says that I keep the knives too sharp.

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You can tell your wife that a sharp knife is much safer than a dull one. A sharp knife will glide smoothly through your work and behave as expected while a dull knife will require more effort and struggle which can put fingers in harm's way.

I have a mix bag but the knives I have in my kitchen are Wusthof Classics. I have an 8" Chef, a 5" and a 7" Santoku, a pairing knife, and my new favorite is an 7" Nakiri. I use the Chef and Nakiri knives the most and my wife likes the 5" Santoku. We also have a few of the Wustof Gourmet knives left in the block that were from a set we got several years ago. These are decent for a lower grade and seem to sharpen easily but don't have the weight and feel of the Classics. I would say Wusthof Classic and Henckels Pro are pretty much equivalent in quality and performance.

In my knife roll that goes with me when traveling to cook BBQ, I keep Dexter, Victorinox, and a carbon Chicago knife. I do this because these really are just tools and I'm not going to freak out if one hits the pavement or if (when I'm not looking) some drunk grabs my knife and slices a lime on a tailgate. I keep a good steel in my bag and keep most of these knives stay razor sharp.

Here's a couple of videos that are relevant to the conversation:

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My wife yells at me when someone gets a cut. She says that I keep the knives too sharp.

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You can tell your wife that a sharp knife is much safer than a dull one. A sharp knife will glide smoothly through your work and behave as expected while a dull knife will require more effort and struggle which can put fingers in harm's way.

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It is usually house guests that have an issue. They are used to dull kitchen knifes and use too much force.

Now my wife warns them if they pick up a knife out of the block.

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Gonna read this thread. Im ready to upgrade the MIracle Blade III. Chicago Cutlery looks pretty good. Were you guys being facetious or are they really decent? Im not a knife nerd...need it sharp. Need it reliable. Need to be able to throw in dishwasher, not interested in dicking around with cleaning by hand.

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Any straight blade knife will dull in the dishwasher, doesn't matter which brand it is. Cleaning a good knife by hand is pretty trivial, to me anyway - takes a few seconds at most.

I was never all that impressed with Chicago Cutlery, Wustoff or Henkel's brand knives. All seemed to be a lot more hype and name stamped on the steel than anything else. Granted, they were probably all their lower tier brands not aimed at people that really use knives for a living in the kitchen, but still....never was impressed.

There are several good options listed here, but I personally use Wusthof. I've had mine about 5 years and they are still fantastic.

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Gonna read this thread. Im ready to upgrade the MIracle Blade III. Chicago Cutlery looks pretty good. Were you guys being facetious or are they really decent? Im not a knife nerd...need it sharp. Need it reliable. Need to be able to throw in dishwasher, not interested in dicking around with cleaning by hand.

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Any straight blade knife will dull in the dishwasher, doesn't matter which brand it is. Cleaning a good knife by hand is pretty trivial, to me anyway - takes a few seconds at most.

I was never all that impressed with Chicago Cutlery, Wustoff or Henkel's brand knives. All seemed to be a lot more hype and name stamped on the steel than anything else. Granted, they were probably all their lower tier brands not aimed at people that really use knives for a living in the kitchen, but still....never was impressed.

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Why does it dull in the dishwasher? Just because its banging against all the other utensils? Or is it more complicated than that?

Been very happy with Cutco for almost 20 years now! We have to try to remember to warn guests when they use them. Many a sliced finger over the years in our kitchen!

Victorinox/Forschner.

Commercial grade with the black handles. Don't care if others cost more.... these are what my butcher uses so I do as well.