Advice on knives needed

"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have several very tired knives which need to be replaced after

honorable

Quoted message said:

service. I would really appreciate advice on the best knives available for chopping and for thin-
slicing meat. Thanks!

Dora [email hidden]

limey at toad dot net

I can see another can of worms opened up yet again here.

The best way to answer your question is to go to a store. Try out the feel of several good knives,
Wurstoff, Henkels, Global etc. What feels good in your hand? As to quality? Everyone has their
preference; forged, stamped, solid one piece, etc. Just remember, you get what you pay for. The $5
knives won't hold an edge very long and you will be forever sharpening and/or replacing them. One
other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to as that.
It is a honing steel-it's designed to file off the small burrs that occur when using the knife. A
good knife should NEVER be placed into a diswasher-it will bounce off other utensils during the
cycle that will create those burrs that will need to be 'honed' off.

I would recommend the following: A good chef's knife-10 or 12 inch(with a wide blade)-I use 10. A
boning knife-for fish and especially good for slicing off the silver skin from a roast. A slicing
knife-again 10 or 12 inches for cooked meats. A paring knife-usually 3 or 4 inches. A decent bread
knife-for bread and for soft veggies like tomatoes. Finally a cleaver-if you will be choping things
like ribs, whole chickens and such.

And keep them sharp! Makes a BIG difference.

Quoted message said:

"limey"

We have several very tired knives which need to be replaced after honorable service. I would really
appreciate advice on the best knives available for chopping

No knife is suitable for chopping, knives are for slicing, for chopping use an axe.

Quoted message said:

and for thin-slicing meat.

For thin slicing anything use a sharp knife... high price has very little to do with sharpness...
High price has mostly to do with prettiness (like in brothels). A plain-jane $20 carbon steel
knife is poifect for slicing meat thin... will do the best job... same like that homely goil
sitting down the end.

Of course if you feel like spending lotsa bucks on a trophy goil, I mean knife, there's oodles of
high end fancy schmancy, essentially carbon copy cutlery out there to pick, choose, refuse.

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

limey said:

We have several very tired knives which need to be replaced after honorable service. I would
really appreciate advice on the best knives available for chopping and for thin-slicing
meat. Thanks!

The best knife is the one that feels good in your hand. If it doesn't feel good, you won't use it.
On the bright side, it will keep an edge for a very long time....

I like Henckels. They are made from very hard steel, which means they keep an edge for a long time,
though they are harder to sharpen when the edge is gone. Since I take my knives to a pro for
sharpening, that's not an issue. Henckels are a little heavier and have slightly larger handles than
other brands, which works for me since I have big hands.

Wusthofs are excellent as well, and are a little lighter with slightly smaller handles. They don't
feel right to me, but they are perfect for some people.

Another type of knife I've grown very fond of is known as a Santoku. (Both Henckel and Wusthof carry
them.) I use it for most jobs I used to use a chef's knife for. Essentially, it has small dimples
near the edge
- almost like on a slicer. These dimples keep the slices from sticking to the blade, which makes
it easier to slice very thinly without the slices riding up the blade.

--
Adam Fineman

(Reverse domain name to reply.)

"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have several very tired knives which need to be replaced after

honorable

Quoted message said:

service. I would really appreciate advice on the best knives available for chopping and for thin-
slicing meat. Thanks!

Dora [email hidden]

I have two sets of knives. One set is an inexpensive Chicago Cutlery block set. The other is an
expensive Sabatier set. While I would prefer to use the much better Sabatier set everyday, my
housemates forced me to buy the less expensive set because they could not be made to learn that
knives do not go in the dishwasher nor are to be left lying around with various food acids etching
the blades. I sent both sets to a professional bladesmith (Kramer Knives
bladesmiths.comknife sharpening.htmOpen ↗ ) for sharpening, and what a huge difference it
makes to both sets. The Sabatier knives cut like a dream and the CC set cuts just fine.

So, get whatever set you can decently afford, but send them to a professional for sharpening. (NOTE:
the guy at the key shop or the supermarket is not a professional. Sharpening knives requires large
equipment which they probably don't have, unless they're sharpening your knives with sharpening
stones (doubtful).)

-Matt

"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.

Many thanks, everyone, for your suggestions.

Quoted message said:

Dora [email hidden]

limey at toad dot net

In rec.food.cooking said:

One other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to
as that. It is a honing steel-it's designed to file off the small burrs that occur when using
the knife.

Wrong.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

On 02/11/2004 5:10 PM, in article [email hidden],
"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> opined:

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

One other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to
as that. It is a honing steel-it's designed to file off the small burrs that occur when using
the knife.

Wrong.

Wrong dickbreath, go lookup what a sharpening steel does...............
--
================================================
"Is it chicken or is it tuna," Jessica Simpson.
================================================

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

One other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to
as that. It is a honing steel-it's designed to file off the small burrs that occur when using
the knife.

Wrong.

Actually, a steel "buffs" a blade and realigns the "teeth" (look at the edge through a microscope).
It also removes burrs.

Pastorio

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

One other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to as
that. It is a honing steel-it's designed to

file

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

off the small burrs that occur when using the knife.

Wrong.

Actually, a steel "buffs" a blade and realigns the "teeth" (look at the edge through a
microscope). It also removes burrs.

Pastorio

Which is what I said.

Kswck said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking, Kswck <[email hidden]> wrote:

>One other thing: a 'sharpening steel' does not sharpen a knife. It is incorrectly referred to as
>that. It is a honing steel-it's designed to

file off the small burrs that occur when using the knife.

Quoted message said:

Wrong.

Actually, a steel "buffs" a blade and realigns the "teeth" (look at the edge through a
microscope). It also removes burrs.

Pastorio

Which is what I said.

Not exactly. You omitted the alignment part which is the largest function of a steel. It *also*
removes burrs.

Bob