carnivore

Wow! It's nice to see so many people who love knives!

I'm a Global fanatic, myself. I love the lightness of the blades, and they're hard as hell. It's kind of a pain to sharpen them, but they maintain the edge for about 6 months of 2-person dinners.

The handle and the blade are made of the same piece of metal, so there's nothing to fall off. The handles have little dimples in them (the black bits) that make for a really nice gripping surface, even with wet hands. The bread knife is the best I've ever used. It makes you want to cut bread for fun.

I have the 5-knife plus flat block set. I think it came from amazon. It's about US$400, but they'll never need to be replaced in a home kitchen.

Switching topic slightly:
I can verify that the Martha Stewart knives are surprisingly good. One of my friends got a set and they take a very nice edge. The handle design is a bit strange, but they're cheap.

SecretMethod70

I have the direct opposite opinion. A good knife that is designed to give good leverage to the user is going to weigh too much for use with those magnetic things. If you're serious about cutlery and get high quality Cutco, Henckels, or Wustof, I would highly discourage you from using the magnetic strips. The knives will stick, but not strong enough to be sure they won't fall, which is obviously a major safety hazard.

Of course, I don't understand why you wouldn't wash your knives after using them each time in the first place *shrug*

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

bparker805

messermeister all the way... but what do i know, i only work in a cutlery store. pm if want to know more

greytone

It seems as if it has all been said. I would say, get a few good knives and you can probably get by with three.

The most important is your chef's knife. Get a 8 or 10 inch depending on your preference. You will do 90% of your work with this.

You should also have a paring knife for more delicate work.

Don't forget to get a serrated blade for two important items that will be destroyed by other knives, no matter how sharp. Tomatos and bread have a tough exterior and a mushy interior is spared by the serrated blade.

Everything else is gravey and can wait. I bought a meat cleaver at the dollar store, and it is fine for hacking through bone. I also have a stainless steel paring knife that I can through in the dishwasher when I just need to do a quick job and I am trying to minimize cleanup...which is often. I also have a Henkles boning knife. I dropped it the other day and it landed at a funny angle at the tip of the blade. The tip broke off, but when I took it back to the store, they just handed me a new one. You have to love a lifetime warrenty.

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I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing.
Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

splck

I dunno, I have a nice selection of knives and not one of them has budged, let alone fallen off my magnetic strip. I guess you get what you pay for when it comes to the magnetic strips.
The main reason I went this route was to keep them out of reach of my kids and to keep the counter clutter free.

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nice line eh?

hotdogg

I owned a restaurant for 14 years...Almost everyone of my chefs and their assistants came out of Johnston & Wales, the CIA, or the New School in New York...I have never seen a Cutco knife used by a professional yet. I have seen chefs brag that their 25 year old knife(forged/full bolster) were so sharp that they could shave with it, and did! As far as wood handles, no self respecting chef would ever put thier knives in a dishwasher (nor thier favorite saute pans either)...At one point the board of health made restaurants stop using wood prep areas and cutting boards because of bacteria build up, but that was proved unfounded...a little clorox will kill any bacteria. Just my thoughts and observations:-)

splck

You're saying that high end knives need to be replaced after 4 years? I don't buy that at all. With proper care a knife will last many many years.

Can't think of any one I know that puts their knifes in a dishwasher. (maybe that's why yours lasts only 4 years?)
I think with proper care and cleaning a wood handle will last just as long as a plastic. I can't see it being any different than using wood cutting boards as far a cleanliness. (note: I don't own a wood handle knife)

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nice line eh?

SecretMethod70

Keep in mind I'm talking about your average home-owner. Someone who takes COMPLETE proper care of their knives (i.e. a professional cook) will definitely get more use out of their knives. There is a huge difference though between the way a cook takes care of their cutlery and the way your typical home-owner does. Henckels used by a cook will most certainly last more than 4 years before needing to be replaced, but someone who is not well-trained typically does not take as good care of their cutlery not to mention that most average home-owners either 1) flat out don't use their sharpening rod or 2) don't use it properly.

I only know what I've seen dealing with hundreds of home-owners in and around Chicago. Obviously someone who is more educated than your typical home-owner is going to get more use out of and take better care of their knives. I just believe in the less-hassle approach

hotdogg, regarding chefs and use of Cutco, I think I mentioned before that especially due to the way in which they are trained to hold a knife, most chef's find Cutco uncomfortable. I do know that there are chefs which use it however - Abbey Dodge, who is associated with Fine Cooking Magazine is the first person that comes to mind for me at the moment. Still, Cutco was designed with the average home-owner in mind, so if you're someone who is professionally trained, then things like the handle which was designed to make holding the knife easier and more comfortable for your average person are going to get in the way of how you do things.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

bukaki22

honestly ive been using a 10 us dollar butcher style knife for everything the past 3 yrs- i sharpen it like every 3 times using it and its the best -heavy, and accurate

saltfish

Wustof Trident Grand-Prix Hollow-Ground Santoku

<img src="http://store4.yimg.com/I/ultimatechefstore_1770_138338853"></img>

I've owned this knife for one month short of 3 years, and I will have to say that it is the BEST knife I have EVER owned. For the price, ($100) I have not found another knife that is comparable.

-SF

Oh, and if you frequant Williams Sonoma around the christmas season you may find this knife for a signifigant savings.. ..I did. Cough50bucksCough

chef001_2003

if money is no problem than one of the best knife company's in the world is mac from japan i belive.

mac- one of the hardest blade's in the industry if you follow company sharpening suggestions thatn a fairly easy knife to sharpen but a few specialty tools are recomended.

Global- i have used globels limitedly they are fairly easy to sharpen if you remeber that they use 2 different blade angles so sharpening requires a litttle more skill and a better understanding of angles. also they are very light and have a very thin blade which does make more accurate cuts but can be painful until you have a true chefs calus.

wustof- currently if have a partial set of wustof (10" french"chef's" wide blade, 8" french, 6.5" santoku) as daily use in the kitchen and love them easy to sharpen, and maintain. with enough weight so that the knife cuts not you.

forschner- best value for the money. great knife all around.

henckles- again .inc not international better quality similar to wustof

but finding what you are the most comfortable with is more important. and when buying don't be afraid to ask questions

a good starter set includes- a French(chef's), pairing, bread(serrated) knives they are the most versital and most widely used

again this is just my opinion

pchef33

Chef'd for 8 years. I always used run of the mill, high carbon steel commercial kitchen knives for day to day stuff. When it was time for fancy stuff, then I'd break out my knives. I like my Sabatier, high carbons best as a chef's knife. Yes they CAN rust if you leave them wet, so don't do that and you're good. Most of the brands mentioned here are made of very very hard steel. The edge lasts quite a while, but once you've thrashed it a few times, it's done. You need a full sized stone and some skill to bring it back to life. I prefer the softer steel, which gets very sharp, very fast. But in all honesty, the knife doesn't make the cook. Give me a Wal-Mart knife and I'll flute a perfect mushroom, filet a flounder, or debone a whole bird faster than you can read the consumer reports article. What you learn to do with your knife is ten times more important than what overpriced hot-rod knife you buy. Spend your money on a good cooking text book, and find a friend who has the misfortune of beeing a professional cook and get a lesson in knife skills. Once you have the skills, you will know what to look for in your knives.

rockzilla

Don't feel bad, I bought my cleaver for 6$ in Chinatown, it weighs a ton, it's ugly as hell, but I've taken good care of it and I can split a chicken with it like you wouldn't believe.

Like pchef33 said, it's not so much the knife as it is the cutting technique.