What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

On 14 Nov 2003 06:39:47 -0800, in a clarity of expression resembling
Cicero, (keen) wrote:

>What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
>spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
>i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
>i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
>back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

I am VERY fond of the balance on my global knives.

Frank Lynch
The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page is at:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/

Frank Lynch wrote:

> On 14 Nov 2003 06:39:47 -0800, in a clarity of expression resembling
> Cicero, (keen) wrote:
>
>
>>What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
>>spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
>>i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
>>i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
>>back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

Any quality knife such as henckels, wust. etc will do you just fine. The
*key* is to see which one "feels" good to you in your hand from a
balance and weight viewpoint.

"keen" > wrote in message
om...
> What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

You've got to try them out - hold them at least. Henckels and Global make
great knives - so do several other companies. At that price level you can
expect to get a high quality blade, so your choice will be based on the feel
of the knife in your hand. I will say that I have Henkles chef's knives in
6, 8, and 10 inch sizes and have been very happy with them. I use the 8" the
most, it is over 15 years old and still as good as new.

Peter G. Aitken

Todays Amazon sale has a 3 piece Global set for $129, and you get the $30
Global shapener for free with it. Free shipping too. They also had a pretty
large set of the Sabatier Grand Chef knives and block for $129 not too long ago
with free carving set. Those are French made knives that are supposed to be
about equal to the high end German ones. Both are great deals in your price
range! They repeat their offers from time to time.

<< What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives, >>

"Steve Calvin" > wrote in message
...
> Frank Lynch wrote:
>
> > On 14 Nov 2003 06:39:47 -0800, in a clarity of expression resembling
> > Cicero, (keen) wrote:
> >
> >
> >>What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> >>spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> >>i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> >>i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> >>back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas
>
> Any quality knife such as henckels, wust. etc will do you just fine. The
> *key* is to see which one "feels" good to you in your hand from a
> balance and weight viewpoint.
>
I weigh in with Steve on this issue. As someone who makes a living selling
knives, I agree that, as long as you choose comparable quality, the issue is
feel. All good quality knives will cut and all of them will perform well.
Some will feel better to you than others and that's the important feature.
It doesn't make one knife better than another - just better for you than
another.

I had a customer who came into my store today to buy a chef's knife. He had
picked a Global vegetable knife from the display because he liked the way it
felt. After talking for a while and feeling a number of knives I got him to
understand that the Global G4 would feel about the same while looking
different than the one he wanted but would work better for chopping, dicing
and mincing than a vegetable knife. I even let him chop a carrot in our
demo kitchen with our G4. He did a pretty nice brunois. We ended up
selling him a 3 piece Global set and substituting the G4 for the G2 that is
normally packed in the set. I'm sure he'll be happy with it because he
spent a lot of time "test driving" various high quality knives. The G4 was
just the ticket for him. You may prefer a forged, bolstered European knife,
however. You should find out before you buy.

If you can go to a store to check them out, do so. It's the best way and
always better than spending a few bucks less on an internet site to buy
something you haven't encountered personally. I should know, I make my
living selling knives both on the internet as well as in a gourmet store.

Fred
http://www.knifeoutlet.com
http://www.thegoodgourmet.com

keen wrote:
>
> What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas


I love my Henckels Pro-S knives because they fit my hand well (I've used
others in other people's homes without the same feel); one of my sisters
complains about my knives if she ever has to use them (how a knife fits
you will be the test). If you have a Linens N Things or Bed, Bath, and
Beyond, or very rarely a Value City nearby you may be able to find the
ones you want as open stock for about the upper end of your range. I
find that I use my 8-inch Chef's, 4-inch Paring/Utility, and 8-inch
Serrated Bread knives most often (in that order). Good Luck!

PAX!
Greg

I would recommend that you go to a good price comparison service (such
as NexTag), and look for "knife sets" and see what comes up. MY
preferences (with no shame) are an 8" chef's knife, a paring knife of
your choice, and an 8" utility knife, all Wusthof, all fully forged, all
with Classic handles. I use them daily, and they will be passed on to my
grandson. That said, you should be able to find a set under your $200
upper limit, from a quality manufacturer. If you can try the different
handles before buying (try your local cutlery store, and be sure to BUY
SOMETHING!), you will not regret the effort. You may want to consider a
good steel, as well, and you should, if you haven't already, learn to
use it correctly and often. Here I recommend the ones from DICK. I
would be interested in your final choices, and remember that there are
EXCELLENT stamped blades made, too, at a much lower price. Happy shopping!
Mike Acord

keen wrote:
> What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

One thing I forgot to mention in a prior post, is to consider that there
are two european blade styles, the narrower and thinner French, and the
heavier, wider, German blades. The French style is used in more a
slicing motion, whereas the German blades are designed to "rock," both
for cutting, and for mincing.
Mike Acord

keen wrote:
> What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

"Mike Acord" > wrote in message
...
> One thing I forgot to mention in a prior post, is to consider that
there
> are two european blade styles, the narrower and thinner French, and
the
> heavier, wider, German blades. The French style is used in more a
> slicing motion, whereas the German blades are designed to "rock," both
> for cutting, and for mincing.
> Mike Acord
>
> keen wrote:
> > What would you recommend for someone starting off cooking, want to
> > spend between $100-$200 on a knife set of maybe 3 knives,
> > i've been looking at a 5star henckels set and one from global also,
> > i'm not interested in ceramic blades as i don't fancy sending them
> > back to a manufacturer when they need sharpening, any ideas

I would take a close look at several of the Forstner Victornox stamped
knives with the fibrox handles. I have the 10 inch chef's knife, and a
couple others and really like them. And the price is right. Cook's
Illustrated likes them too.

del
>