Slight high jack. Being a kitchen knife person, what’s your kitchen blade of choice? I’ve got a full set of Shun Pro Classics and the Mrs just bought me a nice set of Coolinas for Christmas. Beautiful blades. I wasn’t familiar with them but seem really solid.
OT: Pocket Knife
- Thread starter Lucifer Morningstar
- Start date
I’ve tried them. Didn’t like them because the cutting edge chips too easily. They cut great but you can’t sharpen them.
I'm still pretty much a Benchmade fan, currently have 4 of them. I was toying with the idea of an Infidel but I'm leaning towards a Microtech if I get an OTF.
Wife got me the Henckels BBQ set for Christmas. Seems like like pretty good quality. I will have to try out the "bear claws" on my next shoulder. Never even considered them before.
I am a bit of an amateur cook, but I love miyabi. They are expensive I get the knock there. But I have a kitchen set of those. I also bought for my bbq smoking a set of global. Global is cheaper, and not rated as high, but I have loved them.
I'll jump in. I have a little bit of a professional and amateur kitchen knife view being a long time BBQ nerd at home and a restaurant owner. When talking kitchen knives, there are a few things to consider.
#1 Are you looking for a show knife (beautiful, finesse cuts, occasionally used etc) or a workhorse that you can power through a BBQ weekend with several briskets, a dozen slabs of ribs etc?
#2. German vs Japanese. For simplicity I think of the German steel is more durable and the Japanese as sharper and more delicate.
#3. High carbon vs stainless steel. I'm stainless all the way. Too many foods react to high carbon steel and get a metallic taste (produce and fruits) and in a professional kitchen, stainless is just way easier to clean and maintain. NSF certified and stainless are musts for me.
#4. Western vs traditional geometry or double vs single bevel. Again, the western style is more durable and suitable for heavy work. The single bevel is for precision and delicate work. It's different types of cutting too.
So with all that said, Shun Pros (single bevel) are crazy good knives for home use. When I am cooking at home though, I don't really do delicate work. It's big cuts of beef and taters and such. I have a nice set of Chinese made Cangshans that I got my wife 10 years ago that are wonderful for this.
At work, in a restaurant, I am team Mercer. The Renaissance line is as high end as you well ever need in a restaurant. They are $45 or so for an 8" chef's knife. My salad/produce prep lady will ask me to sharpen it once every 6 months and she's slicing and dicing veggies 25+ hours a week. They can hit the floor and not chip. If they do who cares. I really love my Mercer boning knife over anything else for trimming ribs and brisket too. Holds an edge and has great weight.
For all the high end knives for sale, walk into your favorite high end restaurant and you will see three brands. Mercer, Victorinox, and Dexter. A few folks may have their personal "show knives", but the work is getting done with $30-50 dollar knives from those 3 brands.
When I cook BBQ for guests or customers, all the work gets done with a Mercer or Victorinox except for brisket slicing. I do that with some fancy looking, $70 or so shìtty 12" carving knife my wife got me. It's really just for the show at that point.
They keep lettuce from wilting, but the first time you see a little white chip from the blade in your food you will throw that knife away.
I have this exact model and have owned if for 50 years. Skinned a deer with it yesterday.
My experience, ....they are very sharp, will break, especially the tip. I put mine in the dishwasher, but not such that they can bang against anything. Fortunately, they can be bought at a decent price...generally. disposable.