Help me to find the proper set of knifes for me.

New member seeking for advice, cutlery knifes

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Hello all,

I just joined this great forum hoping to learn a lot about knifes and the proper method of sharpening them.

Apologies upfront since my first post is very likely similar to most of the other first posts....I need some advice on how to spend my money wisely on a very nice set of cutlery knifes which I can pass on to my kids once the day comes (I'm 39 so it won't be anytime soon).

I owned until recently a set of Zwilling knifes, I bought it about five years ago for around $500. It has 11 knifes included in the set.

Initially I liked them a lot, they had a very good balance, the grip was imho super comfortable, the fit and finish very nice....the only crux was the blade.
It seemed like I permanently needed to sharpen them, pretty much after a handful of days....
I only do hobby cooking, so no commercial stuff and I expected that the blade will stay much longer in sharp condition considering the light use.
I have to admit, I did not use a stone to sharpen them, I used one of those table top combination sharpeners with a carbide station and for the finer finish a ceramic station.
Well, about two weeks ago I gave the set away adding pressure to source a new set.

I'm looking for a set with 10-15 knifes, if there are steak knifes included would be a plus but it's not needed.

Since I'm sometimes a bit sloppy with cleaning the knifes right after I used them, I guess I'll be better of with a stainless steel blade than a straight carbon blade even though I'm intrigued by the better performance the straight carbon blade is supposed to have.

I also LOVE the look of damascus steel blades, so my focus is towards them.
I guess a good stainless steel Damascus blade will give me the best out of each world, looks, maintenance, edge holding performance...correct?

My new set should be of utmost quality in terms of fit and finish, I'm pretty detail oriented and little flaws or short-cuts drive me nuts.

My new set should be made to ensure a super sharp edge for as long as possible before re sharpening is needed.

My new set should be perfectly balanced in hand (I understand that not everyone has the same opinion on grip shapes, however, I hope that there is a general grip shape which is commonly seen as comfortable etc.).

My new set should come in a block, however, if it's better to purchase the knifes/block separately it would not be an issue as well.

The set should cover the proper knifes to do fine cutting on fruits, heavy cutting on junks of meat and a proper blade to cut a crunchy piece of bread.

My budget is around $3000 but I have some wiggle room if needed to get THE perfect set for me.

I was looking at some Shun sets which I like a lot, however, I don't know if they give me the best bang for the buck...

I also would appreciate any advise of which sharpening product I should buy in order to maintain my new blades. I assume those electric sharpeners are not the real deal for the true knife enthusiast?

Well, I would appreciate any advice, direction, help you can give me in my journey to find my next and hopefully last knife set.

Thanks a bunch in advance.

 

3000 dollars could buy you a lot of really cool knives or two insane ones that would last a lifetime too. Definitely go with a mac or tojiro bread knife. A michael rader or shigefusa kateaji gyuto would be an awesome all around blade and a sujihiki to match either of those would probably finish you up.

 

Thanks Brad, your input is much appreciated.
I googled all of the mentioned brands and it seems like that with a budget of 3000USD I can put together a nice sortiment.
I came up with the budget by looking at Shun sets which run in this neighborhood but I doubt I will get the best bang for the buck with Shun knifes.

The problem I'm having with mixing and matching knifes is that they will look different once they are stored in the knife block....this would drive me nuts

So ideally I would find a brand which gives me all knifes I need.
I'm thinking about 2-3 smaller knifes (80-120mm), 2-3 larger knifes (120mm-180mm) and 2-3 large ones (180-240mm).
Well, on top of that, a bread knife which will be kind of hard to find all those with matching handle.
So it would be ok if all but the bread knife would match.

After a quick search I found those ones, they could be bought in all length, from very small to very large, so this line would cover all knifes I want, minus the bread knife.
I looked some youtube cideos of the MAC bread knife and it seems like that this knife is awesome.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kielgowakn.html

Well, what do you guys think about Kikuitchi knifes? are they considered good knifes?
As said before, ideally I would like to spend some extra cash on my new set but be done with it for a looong time.

 

I like the Shigefusa knifes, but at chefknifestogo they only have like two different sizes :-(

 

I would steer you to one of our member vendors here Jon at Japanese knife Imports he is by all accounts great to deal with in helping you select the right knife or knives. Look at some of his Gesshin lines.

 

For the money Shun sucks. I know you don't need as many knives as you think you do either. Call Jon at Japanese Knife Imports and he'll set you up.

If you insist on a block set however, take a look at some Miyabi.

http://www.surlatable.com/product/P...an+SG2+Collection+Seven-Piece+Knife+Block+Set
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-191994/Miyabi+Kaizen+7+Piece+Block+Set
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-191993/Miyabi+Kaizen+10+Piece+Block+Set



You can fill out this questionnaire in the meantime. This can help you narrow it down some more.


LOCATION
What country are you in?



KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?

Are you right or left handed?

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?



KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)

What knife, if any, are you replacing?

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)

Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)



SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS

 

Extremely good advice. I can't imagine spending $3k on a set you haven't tested yet. And I guarantee you could spend much less than that on 4 knives plus stones and be very happy. If I were you, I'd call Jon, buy a $200 - 300 or so knife, learn what you like and don't like about it, and then make a much more informed decision.

 

OK - I royally messed up the quote function. Sorry Rick. My words start with 'Extremely good advice.'.....which is true of most everything Rick posts.

 

Thanks Guys, it seems like Jon is the go to guy if it comes to getting good recommendations.
I will get in touch with him and see what he would out together for me.

 

I know you think the aesthetics of a matched set is the way to go, but after you're in to this for a while, you'll appreciate the magnificent diversity of styles and makers available. I have a block full of different knives. A drawer full of different knives , and a magnetic block that rotates some knives on display that get the most use. Jon has great stuff. There are also some awesome makers and excellent vendors here. Unless you're counting steak knives, I can't imagine any home situation that would require that many knives. Once you get a feel for what you really like , add more. It will also give you a chance to try different styles of the same type of knife .

 

Welcome to the KKFora! if you wish to go down the rabbit hole a little further, you could have all your knives re-handled with matching custom handles!

 

Hello all, I wrote Jon an email but he hasn't replied yet. I've seen on his webpage that he has a huge backlog on emails, so he probably needs some time to work thru them.

I did some looking around since yesterday and I found a knife which I love, I'm just not quite sure if the metal is the right choice, I've read it is very hard to sharpen.
It is a Sukenari ZDP-189 . What do you guys think about this blade?

I'll post more of the requested Infos in my next post.

 

LOCATION
What country are you in?
USA


KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
Chef, utility, paring, bread knife

Are you right or left handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Western preferred, however I'd be open to try a Japanese as well

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Chef around 20cm
Utility around 18cm
Paring around 12
Bread ?

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
I'd like to have the edge retention of carbon and the practicality and beauty of stainless...

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
3000USD for 4 knifes incl. sharpening supply


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home cook

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
Slicing meet, veggies and fruits. No bone breaking required

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Zwilling knife block... I don't know which model.

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
Wurstof or similar would be nice but not truly required.

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)
Rocking and push/pull slice

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)


Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
I love the look of Damascus, so if possible, it should be a Damascus blade.
The wood handle should be on the darker side and show nice wood graining.


Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Better all around

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Push cutting, smoother rock, better food release.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
As long as possible. This is the main goal for my new knifes.
Super sharp edge and super long edge retention.


KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Yes

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
No

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes very much

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes

 

One last thing. I'd like to purchase those knifes as soon as possible, so your recommendations should be available and in stock in the common online stores.

Thanks a bunch

 

I don't know that I'd recommend a set vs individual knives, but one that might meet your needs is the Zwilling Kramer Stainless Damascus. It's SG2 stainless, which can really hold an edge well. It's available in a set or open stock, and there are also steak knives available. The micarta handle will be low maintenance. If you're anywhere near a Sur la Table you can go handle one in person and see if you like them--the profile of the chef's knife is not to some people's taste. The Zwilling Kramers seem to be well received by those who buy them (I've got some in carbon steel and like them very much. Haven't tried the stainless.)

 

So what was the verdict??

 

I second the SG2 or powder steel, especially if you don't want to sharpen often. They stay pretty close to scary sharp for quite a while and requires touch up once every so often.