Hi all,
A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a few
weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for a
simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.

--
God Bless America

Josh The Bad Bear

On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 21:08:58 -0600, "Josh" >
wrote:

>Hi all,
> A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
>wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a few
>weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
>Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for a
>simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.

I like both Henckels and Wusthoff. They consistently have just the
right temper so the edge can be maintained with a steel for a long
time, and the shapes are convenient.




Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

Entering your freshman dorm for the first time, and seeing
an axe head come through the door on your right.

> A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
>wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a few
>weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
>Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for a
>simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.

Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see which
fits your hand best, that's the important part.

One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.

Best,

Marc

"MrAoD" > wrote in message
...
> > A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
> >wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a
few
> >weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
> >Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for
for a
> >simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
>
> Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
> traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see
which
> fits your hand best, that's the important part.
>
> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
>
> Best,
>
> Marc

A boning knife is a good idea, except for a few people like me who have had
a Wusthof boning kninfe for 25 years and NEVER used it. Some people nowdays
don't do this type of work, so "know" your friends' cooking habits. Even
consider a round-sharpening steel; this will last a lifetime and they'll
always remember you when they take out their knives to sharpen.

Not a wedding present, but I once gave a 4 set knife set to a relative as a
gift as I stayed at her home overnight (instead of a motel) and I know she
was sincere when she said they were the best knives she ever had. I saw
what she was using and just upped the anti in quality -- but they were not
the best.

Dee

Dee Randall" writes:

>"MrAoD" > wrote in message
...
>> > A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
>> >wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a
>few
>> >weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
>> >Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for
>for a
>> >simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
>>
>> Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
>> traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see
>which
>> fits your hand best, that's the important part.
>>
>> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Marc
>
>A boning knife is a good idea, except for a few people like me who have had
>a Wusthof boning kninfe for 25 years and NEVER used it. Some people nowdays
>don't do this type of work, so "know" your friends' cooking habits.

Eh, I think the OP was referring to himself in the third person, he's the one
getting fitted for a ball and chain.

Still, good point. If you don't bone your own meats then a boning knife is
beside the point. Basic load would be a paring knife and a chef's knife then.
Maybe a fish fileting knife if you buy a lot of whole fish.

BTW if you make your own sushi lee valley sells a decent inexpensive sushi
knife set.

YMMV

Marc

I know this is for a wedding but I wonder why folks seem set on buying the
$150 knives when you can go to a Resto Supply store and pick up a solid 8
inch chef's knife for $40.

I owned a 10'' Henkel and a Wusthoff clever but lost them in a fire. While
waiting for my insurance mullah I went to a restaurant supply store and
picked up a rubber handled 8'' chef's knife (Giesser - Profinox) and I have
never bothered to replace my Henkel. It is a quality knife that I personally
prefer.

Having said that, I am also getting married this summer and I wonder if I
really want to ask for a $100+ blade? I could really use a Le Creuset
casserole instead ...!

Just my 2 Canadian cents worth ($0.075 USD).

"Josh" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
> A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
> wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a
few
> weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
> Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for
a
> simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
>
> --
> God Bless America
>
> Josh The Bad Bear
>
>

On 01/27/2004 12:35 AM, in article
, "MrAoD" >
opined:

>> A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
>> wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a few
>> weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
>> Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for a
>> simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
>
> Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
> traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see which
> fits your hand best, that's the important part.
>
> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.


Go for the 10" chef.
>
> Best,
>
> Marc
>
>

--
================================================== ========================
"When a broad table is to be made, and the edges of planks do not fit, the
artist takes a little from both, and makes a good joint. In like manner
here, both sides must part with some of their demands," Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)
================================================== ========================

(MrAoD) wrote in message >...
> Dee Randall" writes:
>
> >"MrAoD" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> > A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
> >> >wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a
> few
> >> >weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
> >> >Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for
> for a
> >> >simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
> >>
> >> Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
> >> traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see
> which
> >> fits your hand best, that's the important part.
> >>
> >> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> Marc
> >
> >A boning knife is a good idea, except for a few people like me who have had
> >a Wusthof boning kninfe for 25 years and NEVER used it. Some people nowdays
> >don't do this type of work, so "know" your friends' cooking habits.
>
> Eh, I think the OP was referring to himself in the third person, he's the one
> getting fitted for a ball and chain.
>
> Still, good point. If you don't bone your own meats then a boning knife is
> beside the point. Basic load would be a paring knife and a chef's knife then.
> Maybe a fish fileting knife if you buy a lot of whole fish.
>
> BTW if you make your own sushi lee valley sells a decent inexpensive sushi
> knife set.
>
> YMMV
>
> Marc

Don't wasste your time with a set. I have a set but almost
exclusively us an 8 inch chefs knife, a paring knife, boning knife and
a chinese cleaver and I use the cleaver much more than any of the
others combined

MrAoD wrote:
>
> > A real novice here. Old bear is gonna get married in summer and
> >wondering about a nice knife set for our home. Went to Bloomingdale's a few
> >weeks ago and saw so many different kinds and prices it just confused me.
> >Was wondering what brand and what price range we should be looking for for a
> >simple kitchen. Not sure what even to look for. Any help appreciated.
>
> Skip the set, buy knives individually.

Agreed. Nice and set are opposites. I've gotten sets of knives/pans/etc
and at some point it looks dumb because there's that new one that I've
never ever used except once just to prove I could and there's the couple
that are well worn and used all the time.

First glance, get pretty much any set. Price an object just anything
better than the TV special. A year later look at the set and see the
*one* piece that is used the most. Go out and spend over a hundred
bucks on the best one like that available. Great first anniversary
gift for the house. Over course also get her some jewlery for her and
some lingerie. Next year, same deal. After about 4-5 years you'll
have a few random looking knives that are obviously going to last you
the rest of your lives. And you'll also run out of knives in the
original set that you ever use. But you won;t run out of need of either
jewelry or lingerie.

Christmas is the same pattern using pans instead. Start with an okay
set just to discover what you do and don't use. Then replace them with
something like All Clad or Lustercraft stainless. And in a few years
you'll have an assortment of top-notch stuff that is actually used.

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:40:37 GMT, The Wolf >
wrote:

>> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
>
>
>Go for the 10" chef.

Not unless you have big hands or clearly prefer the 10-inch. Bigger is
not necessarily better, especially when it's going to be the workhorse
of all trades (to mix some metaphors).

-- Larry

>pltrgyst writes:
>
>Wolf wrote:
>>
>>Go for the 10".
>
>Not unless you have big hands or clearly prefer the 10-inch. Bigger is
>not necessarily better.

Wolfboy just likes to exagerate the size his widdle parer... I've never met a
woman yet that didn't desire an eight incher but who'd run for her life from a
ten incher.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

On 27 Jan 2004 08:35:22 GMT, (MrAoD) arranged random
neurons, so they looked like this:

>Skip the set, buy knives individually. I tend towards Henckels, the
>traditional non-serrated edge. But heft a few different brands and see which
>fits your hand best, that's the important part.
>
>One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
>
Having read the rest of the thread, I second this, but also like
Wustof - depends on the knife and how it feels in my hand, as you
said. Most of my knives are Henckels (the twins, mind), but my two
Wustofs are a cleaver and a Santoku knife, the weight and balance of
which I prefer to the Henckels.

And a boning knife doesn't necessarily have to be used just to bone. I
use mine any time I need a longer blade and am cutting something that
clings to steel - less steel, less cling (such as cheese, hard salami
and such).

As to the original poster, I'd also suggest a Santoku knife, a good
bread knife and, although not a knife, it serves a knifelike purpose:
a good poultry shears. And maybe a good 5" or 6" serrated utility
knife for tomatoes and the like.

And a good steel!

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret
had been as old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had
been as full as the waitress', it would have been a very
good dinner." Anonymous.

To reply, remove replace "shcox" with "cox"

pltrgyst writes:
>
>On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:40:37 GMT, The Wolf >
>wrote:

>>> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.

Actually I wrote that.
>>
>>
>>Go for the 10" chef.
>
>Not unless you have big hands or clearly prefer the 10-inch. Bigger is
>not necessarily better, especially when it's going to be the workhorse
>of all trades (to mix some metaphors).

Also if someone else presumably smaller than than the OP (i.e., da putative
missus) will be using the knife, you'll get more work out of her if she isn't
flailing around with an oversize-for-her knife.

Best,

Marc

On 01/27/2004 3:56 PM, in article
, "pltrgyst" >
opined:

> On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:40:37 GMT, The Wolf >
> wrote:
>
>>> One 3.5" paring knife, one 8" chef's, boning knife and a slicer.
>>
>>
>> Go for the 10" chef.
>
> Not unless you have big hands or clearly prefer the 10-inch. Bigger is
> not necessarily better, especially when it's going to be the workhorse
> of all trades (to mix some metaphors).
>
> -- Larry
>

I made the mistake of buying a set of Henckels it came with the 8".

Bought the 10" and the 8" is collecting dust, might but it on eBay.

Don't have big hands and neither does Sara Moulton, check out what she uses.

10" does more work faster and cleaner, it's not rocket science.

--
================================================== =======
"If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect
a rain of ruin from the air the like of which has never
been seen on this earth," President Harry S. Truman.
================================================== =======

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
> As to the original poster, I'd also suggest a Santoku knife, a good
> bread knife and, although not a knife, it serves a knifelike purpose:
> a good poultry shears. And maybe a good 5" or 6" serrated utility
> knife for tomatoes and the like.
>
> And a good steel!

Santoku's rule. Since I bought mine it has replaced both the chefs
knives (both sizes) and the Chinese cleaver. Since I got it I almost
always reach for it or a pairing knife or the long bread slicer. So
I also suggest those types of blades.

A question based on my religious preferences. With pans I've decided
that I live in the wrong century to tolerate pans that can't be tossed
in the dishwasher. Over a period of years I've gradually switched
from an assortment of hard anodized to stainless lined stuff. I have
yet to start the process with knives, but my religious preference in
it is the same. I live in the wrong century to tolerate knives that
can't be tossed in the dishwasher. There's no hurry but around one
per year or so I'd like to replace my blades with dishwasher safe ones.

I know all the stories that good and dishwasher safe are opposites
just like good and sets are opposites. Whatever. If it takes a few
blades that are good enough not the best to get ones that are dishwasher
safe, then that's my thing to do in this century.

So what dishwasher safe blades do the best? For wavey edge blades I
already have a dishwasher safe serrated cheese slice with the cutouts
in the surface of the blade to prevent sticking and a few ginzu-style
ones for tomatoes and such. I'll get around to replacing the ginzu
ones with a single Cutco at some point. That leaves the straight
edged blades to consider. I already get a new paring knive annually
and trash the oldest. Years ago I tried a ceramic paring knife but
its blade was so brittle it eventually got tattered from trips through
the dishwasher so I've done back to stainless paring knives. That
leaves the larger ones.

What brands should I look for for dishwasher safe santoku/chef/cleaver
and so on?

Doug Freyburger wrote:
> That leaves the straight edged blades to consider. I already get a new
> paring knive annually and trash the oldest. Years ago I tried a ceramic
> paring knife but its blade was so brittle it eventually got tattered
> from trips through the dishwasher so I've done back to stainless paring
> knives. That leaves the larger ones.
>
> What brands should I look for for dishwasher safe santoku/chef/cleaver
> and so on?

R.H.Forschner with plastic handles, or Dexter Russell "Sani-Safe". The
Forschners are better, but the SaniSafe are contenders and they are
relatively inexpensive. Available at restaurant supply stores, or have
your full-service butcher order some for you next time he places an order.

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
> Doug Freyburger wrote:
>
> > What brands should I look for for dishwasher safe santoku/chef/cleaver
> > and so on?
>
> R.H.Forschner with plastic handles, or Dexter Russell "Sani-Safe". The
> Forschners are better, but the SaniSafe are contenders and they are
> relatively inexpensive. Available at restaurant supply stores, or have
> your full-service butcher order some for you next time he places an order.

Thanks. Filed for my next shopping trip that includes kitchen hardware.
I recall seeing SaniSafe at one of those warehouse places.

(Doug Freyburger) wrote in
om:

> zxcvbob wrote:
>> Doug Freyburger wrote:
>>
>> > What brands should I look for for dishwasher safe
>> > santoku/chef/cleaver and so on?
>>
>> R.H.Forschner with plastic handles, or Dexter Russell "Sani-Safe".
>> The Forschners are better, but the SaniSafe are contenders and they
>> are relatively inexpensive. Available at restaurant supply stores,
>> or have your full-service butcher order some for you next time he
>> places an order.
>
> Thanks. Filed for my next shopping trip that includes kitchen
> hardware. I recall seeing SaniSafe at one of those warehouse places.
>

There really isn't a dishwasher safe knife. The machine washing of the
knives can cause the knives to move about bashing into things (like other
knives beside them or the wire rack it is near) dulling their edge. And the
detergent used in dishwashers has lye in it and will remove/etch minute
parts of the edge. Plus the danger of loading and unloading the machine
with the knife exposed blade to cut you. Sure the handle is dishwasher safe
but you didn't pay big bucks for the plastic handle, you paid big bucks for
quality steel that will hold a reasonable edge. So why abuse the knife
blade by putting it in a dishwasher?

Use a knife and directly after use, wipe it and store it(properly). Doesn't
take long ...isn't hard to do and can add months between sharpenings.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

hahabogus wrote:
>
> There really isn't a dishwasher safe knife. The machine washing of the
> knives can cause the knives to move about bashing into things (like other
> knives beside them or the wire rack it is near) dulling their edge. And the
> detergent used in dishwashers has lye in it and will remove/etch minute
> parts of the edge. Plus the danger of loading and unloading the machine
> with the knife exposed blade to cut you.

All qualify dishwashers as not knife safe more than the other way around.

> Sure the handle is dishwasher safe
> but you didn't pay big bucks for the plastic handle, you paid big bucks for
> quality steel that will hold a reasonable edge. So why abuse the knife
> blade by putting it in a dishwasher?

Because of a preference I readily acknowledge counts as a religious
preference: I live in the wrong century to tolerate anything that does
not go int he dishwasher. In the case of dishes dishwasher safe has
no effect on quality in all but the most extreme cases. In the case
of pans it potentially improves the quality since stainless in and
out with a more conductive lining are good. In the case of knives if
this leads me to buy other than the very best, that's the way it goes.