Can we get a link to the store / knives you bought?

Reply

"And then came the knives. I acquired a terrific knife from a boyfriend as we were breaking up..."

Acquired from where, his sternum? Sounds like his life changed a bit, too.

Reply

And here I thought that you had to shell out serious $$ to get a decent set of knives. I'm ashamed to be using a set that I got free with the purchase of a portable grill. :/

Reply

One nice thing about stopping in at a restaurant supply house or cutlery shop is you get to have the experience of holding the knife you will be working with. No knife will be right for every one and the feel (balance, grip, etc.) can make a huge difference down the line as to how pleasurable a knife will be.

While great knives can be had for a handful of cash, very good knives can be had for not much money. The inexpensive Dexters and the like are the backbone of every restaurant kitchen and would be a treat in most American kitchens compared to what you would normally find there. There is no sadder place than my friend’s knife drawers.

Reply

... and then she was hooked. "Yes! I admit it! I'm an addict!" she cried out at her chopaholics anonymous meeting. "But don't try to stop me!"

Another one bites the dust. I know, I'm an addict, too. But it's my father's fault. He was a butcher when I was a small boy and his knives fascinated me beyond any toy he could have given me. I learned several tidbits of knife lore from Dad, such as: Never let sharp knives stand in water, always wash them, dry them and put them away. Or: Sharp knives cut food, dull knives cut the cook.

I learned the difference between a blade cut shoulder steak and an arm roast. I cut pork chops on the band saw. (glee, bliss) I sliced broad cut chili meat.

I've been hooked all my life and nobody can ever change me. :>

Reply

Just joking, Marisa. No ill thought intended.

Reply

Funny I was just looking at these knives on clearance at homegoods. Got a cleaver for $7.00!

Reply

Gotta love Grocery Guy's post earlier today about his quest for the perfect chopping machine, AKA the "Jesus Knife."

http://groceryguy.blogspot.com/2007/08/grail.html

He also posted a kickass knife-care video we did together a while back...

Reply

Yeah, cheap knives can be made sharp but they don't last long. For years I used cheap, but high quality, forschner knives and was pretty happy. I had sent them to be sharpened for a while then learned to sharpen knives myself. I noticed that within a couple of weeks my knives needed to be sharpened again. For a birthday gift I asked for a Mac chef's knife to see what the difference would be. The Mac knife stays sharp much much longer. Where I would get a couple weeks out of my sharpened forschner's I get a few months of sharpness out of my Mac knife.

It really has everything to do with the hardness of the metal in the blade. The harder the metal the longer it holds a sharp edge.

Reply

I just recently learned about how delightful it feels to wield a really good knife in the kitchen. My brother, the real cook in our family, got a new set of knives for Christmas. When I got sick of him ranting about how much better they were, he had me cut an onion--first with our knives, then with his.

Haven't looked back since.

Reply

My favorite knife is one I got from my great-aunt. Very old, but a really great, durable knife.

But the teasing you got about getting the knife when breaking up with your boyfriend reminds me of when we gave a knife set to my sister and her boyfriend, many years ago. Before we let them open the gift, we started asking if they were getting along well. Were they sure? Really sure? Really, really sure?

It was fun.

Reply

Want to keep the knives extra sharp?

I use the EdgePro Apex. It is the best knife sharpener I have ever used. It is totally worth the money, even for a $20 knife.

Reply

After you have your knives, you will need to have them sharpened frequently. I couldn't find anyone sharpening lives locally anymore (Boston), but found an internet company that's been in business for years. I sent off my knives and they did an absolutely perfect job with almost instant turnaround.

http://www.holleyknives.com/index.html

Reply

When I first moved out on my own years ago, my parents took me on a shopping spree at the restaurant supply store. One of my best buys were a handful of Dexter-Russell knives. They are very good quality and very inexpensive. I cringe when I see what people spend on knives with fancy wooden handles.

I take these knives everywhere I'm going to have to be in a kitchen because it's so frustrating having to cut with As Seen on TV crap.

Reply

My wife got me a nice Santoku for Christmas last year and it's been wonderful to have something like that in my kitchen. I don't think I'd let her use it for the first 4 months I had it. (She now has Santoku privileges...)

Reply

One thing which hasn't yet been discussed is the tremendous difference between stainless steel and carbon steel knives in terms of their being kept sharp at home.

Good quality carbon steel knives can easily be kept razor-sharp at home; stainless steel is too hard and requires special equipment to keep it sharp.

I have three French carbon steel knives which are more than ten years old; they have been machine sharpened once and steel-honed regularly -- ands their weight alone will sink them through a tomato.

Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good carbon steel blades. I understand that they have been outlawed in France for use in restaurants.

IMHO stainless steel has only one advantage: it looks pretty!

Larry

Reply

I have Shun knives. They are freakin' awesome. A wonderful investment. They cut through a lobster (shell still on) like butter, while my former Faberware bent and slipped off of the lobster.

Reply