Knife reviews

[MNfoodie]

I need some suggestions on knives. And who better to ask then a bunch of foodies??? ;) The more research I do the more confused I get. Should I try the Santoku? Anyone have any input on knives they have used and liked? TIA

[irishspy]

Are you looking for something the size of a chef's knife, or more of a utility knife's size?

[dgeevanson]

I have the Henckel's set and have loved them. However, last week in a cooking class , I worked with a chef's knife made by Wusthoff. Wow - what an awesome knife and a big difference. It was much lighter in weight and just easier to manipulate. My two bits worth. Darla

[Cookin4Love]

My first set of good knives (which I'm still using 20 years later) were Henckel's (5 Star, I think...too lazy to go look right now). In the past few years, I've purchased a Chroma bread knife (which I don't like--I committed the unpardonable sin of buying a knife without holding it first; however, others on the board really look Chromas). I also have a 5" and a 7" Wusthoff Santoku knife. Love, love, love both of them. In fact, I rarely use anything else except my Henckel paring knife. I think I'm gradually going to replace my Henckel with Wusthoff. You'll hear this over and over, though--go to a store that sells knives and hold them in your hand. Then look online and find the best bargain on what you've tried.

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for in knives, but there are some rare exceptions. Lately, I've been seeing knives that make me lust after them, but I don't know if I want to depart from a safe relationship to chase after a bad boy! :D ;) :D

[cangoss]

I second what others have said about needing to hold the knives to figure out what works for you. That said, I have been putting together a set of Wusthof Grand Prix II, and I love them. My most recent additions were a 5" santoku and an offset bread knife. The santoku is now my go-to knife for cutting vegetables, and the bread knife is awesome - because it's offset, your knuckles don't hit the counter when you get to the bottom of the slice.

[blazedog]

First, it's critical to go to a store and actually try out the knives to see which balance and handle are comfortable.

Based on what I've read and my own personal taste, I don't want or need a set of knives as I have found it's better to own the stuff I really use in the highest quality than mediocre stuff. I recently replaced my mediocre set of knives (Chicago) with pieces that I picked up after researching, checking out handles and bringing home one by one to see what holes I needed.

From what I've read, the critical knives are a chef's or Santuko, a paring knife and a bread knife (serrated). I use my Santuko knife ALL THE TIME and my paring knife quite a lot for smaller jobs. I havent upgraded my old bread knife as frankly I am a considering whether a left handed knife makes sense -- any lefties have any thoughts on this? My last purchase was a Wusthof utility knife which I use some.

I absolutely love the Wustof (their top of the line is it Grand Prix?) -- the balance is fantastic and the handles fit comfortably in my hands. I am considering the purchase of a classic chef's knife since the Santuko is a little delicate for some tasks. I also held onto my mediocre chef's knife since I only use it about every two weeks so upgrading isn't pressing.

That said, I would urge you to consider exactly what you cook and what you need to fill those needs and what your consumption style is.

[mrswaz]

I completely agree- hold the knives, find one that fits your cutting style and feels like a good weight in your hands. When DH and I registered for our wedding, we registered for Chicago- didn't know any better then. His parents upgraded our registry and bought us a set of knives that was very nice- although I couldn't tell you what brand it is. I was happy with these knives, they maintained a blade for a decent amount of time, I liked the chef's knife, and the tang on the knives appeared to be a part of the full handle.

Well, just this past summer I was a training session for a Cutco rep. (ducking tomatoes). I have to tell you, I bought a smaller set, and I LOVE it. One of my new knives is the full size chef's knife, and it is fabulous. I didn't realize how pathetic my old knives were until I had used my new chef's knife a few times and then went to use the old one. Wow. It was like comparing All-Clad to the Wal-Mart special. I am certain I would have had a similar experience had I gone looking at Wusthoff or another comparable brand. But you really don't know what different knives are like until you hold them and maneuver them.

[CathyT]

I have an 8-inch Henckel's 5-star and think it's just okay. I wouldn't get it again. The feel when holding it is good, but I don't think it maintains its sharpness at all. When I married dh, he came with a set of Heckel's Eversharp, which has a paring knife and a serrated knife that I use all the time(the other knives aren't worth any money).

Cathy
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[SheRa]

i just moved into my own place and got a set of "Tools of the Trade" knives from Macy's. i've used Henckles before and really liked them, but we didn't have money to get a really expensive set yet. so far, they're AMAZING! they cut through things like butter, without smushing them. and i've actually used every single knife in the set multiple times, and we've only been living there for 2 weeks. i'm not CRAZY about the longest knife, because it feels too big for me. my favorite is the second longest, more squared knife (kind of like what Rachel Ray uses). that kind is the most comfortable for me personally.

[marshcl]

I LOVE Wustof... We have a very old chef's knife (6"?) that I use all the time. Just sharpen that baby and go...

I also just got a Wustof Santoku knife (Wüsthof Classic Hollow-Ground Santoku, 5" - $80 at Williams Sonoma) for a wedding present and it's absolutely fabulous. I love that it's not too big.

We also got a Wüsthof Classic Tomato Knife, 5", which is wonderful but probably not a 'necessity'.

[rburganmckinley]

I started with a set of Farberware all serrated knives. You know, the kind that cost about $20 for the entire set including the block? :D They sucked, but I got by. Then I bought a pampered chef knife. Big difference. I could actually cut stuff. So I added a few PC knives. But in the meantime they changed the knives. Newer ones sucked almost as bad as the farberware ones. I've since "upgraded" to the Tupperware Chef Series knives. We also have one Cutco knife. I like both very well. HUGE difference in how well they cut from the others I've used. I really like the balanceand fit of the Tupperware knives (better than the Cutco). But the Cutco hold an edge longer than the tupperware ones. By owning good knives I've become a knife snob. I'm almost to the point of packing up my chef's knife and carrying it with me to cooking club, since no one else has good knives. :eek:

Of course, I've read about those santoku knives so many times here I may have to add one of those to my collection of knives. And who knows, maybe I be a convert to an even different brand? :)

[mrswaz]

I do keep eyeing up those Santoku knives. Question for those who use them- How do they "rock"? When I'm chopping herbs, garlic, veggies, etc. I am a rocker. I rock my knife back and forth to do the chopping. It seems to me that with the Santoku knives they won't rock, so you have to actually lift the knife over and over. It seems like more work to me, but so many people seem to like them...

[MNfoodie]

WOW, what a fantastic response! I really appreciate it and all the great advise! There are so many new things on the market since I bought knives last time. Next time I'm at a good housewares store I'll handle all of them and go from there. Thanks again, all of you have a great day! :D

Kim

[blazedog]

They don't rock which is one of the criticisms of them for stuff like mincing herbs.

They are really designed for slicing veggies very thinly with a minimum of resistance -- They are also great for slicing through chicken breasts and meat for my stir fries. I tend to cook a lot of veggies and I do a LOT of chicken stir fries so the Santuko works for about 95% of my needs.

It's also fine for me for mincing small amounts of herbs/parsley but I tend to use my little mini Cuisie for anything more than one tablespoon. I also bought the new model XO garlic press which I use a lot when I need fresh garlic.

I am thinking of upgrading my current mediocre Chef's knife but I use it so infrequently that it's not a priority.

FWIW, the Rachel model of Santuko sold at Sur La Table has a curved bottom -- a cross between a Santuko and a chef's knife. I have no idea how well it works.

[jimjimmerjim]

I bought some basic Wustoff Trident knives on a business trip to Germany around 1985. At that time I couldn't afford to go out and buy a set here, but they were half the price in Germany, and the company was paying for the trip anyway.

Over the years I have added a few more to the collection. I haven't tried any other brands, but the Wustoffs have lasted 20 years and I am still happy with them.

Here is what America's Test Kitchen has to say about the Santokus knives:


While testers liked most of the santokus, only two—the MAC and the Kershaw Shun—were consistently preferred over the Forschner chef’s knife in the tests. But given how much we like the Forschner (and the fact that many chef’s knives are inferior to this brand), the santokus certainly held their own. But you could argue that our tests were rigged in favor of the santokus. In preliminary testing, we tried to halve acorn squashes, and only a couple of the santokus could manage this basic task. The blades were simply too thin and too short. We also avoided cutting up a whole chicken because manufacturers warned that santoku blades were too thin to cut through bone. A chef’s knife can handle both of these chores easily.

Is the era of the chef’s knife at an end? No. The chef’s knife is more versatile than the santoku. If you are going to have only one type of knife in your kitchen, it should be a chef’s knife. That said, our testers felt that the santoku is indeed better at precision slicing: The blade is shorter, thinner, and easier to manage. Stick with the chef’s knife for more substantial tasks.

We heartily recommend the MAC Superior Santoku knife—it performed well and was one of the cheapest models tested. But use this santoku to complement—not to replace—your chef’s knife.

[heavy hedonist]

Just have to say, I love my Wusthof Classic trident Chef's knife. I find it easy for either hand, I know it will never break, and at 6", it does almost every straight-edge knife job I need. I don't use my Cuisinart for slicing because I have this knife in my life. It really elevated my cooking. --mari

[Kingwell]

Jim,

Thanks for that great info. I do not get CI, nor do I assume their word is gospel, but they certainly test things more thoroughly than I do!

Do you have access to their choice in chef's knives, since that seemed to answer my personal sankuto vs. chef's knife question?

Now that I know I need (and want) a new chef's, which one?