Best knives?!
Answers: i don't really want to buy a set of knives which have items i'll never really use.what 3 or 4 knives do you think are essential?names,brands,sizes,links......... info will be useful.thanks.
Calphalon makes a surprisingly well made and quite affordable knife. I have two of their santukos and they are 1/3 the cost of my Henckles and just as good. No matter what the brand...make sure you are buying a high carbon stainless steel knife...and a steel. No need to go high-end with the steel they are basically all the same...calphalon makes a good steel...nicely priced.
In terms of types of knives w/o a set.
I would go with:
1. 8 inch chef's knife or santuko knife (buy best knife you can afford...this will be your "go to" knife
2. 4 inch paring knife...small, versatile...go forged here...a good paring knife should last you a lifetime
3. Bread (serated) knife...ok to go cheapy here...a "eversharp" version is what is used in most pro kitchens...when it's dull throw it away...you can't really sharped serated knives without a lot of effort
4. boning knife, 6 inch...I prefer a "punched" boning knife with a lot of flexibility (sabatier)...others like forged knives...go with a cheap version until you figure out what you want.
In terms of storage...you can't just chuck them in a drawer...both dangerous to you and they will get damaged and damage other things in there...look for a low-end block or a magnetic strip that you can screw into the wall.
Good luck!
Henckel is a good brand
i like sabatier i would go for wusthoff but they are so expensive i mean a hundred quid for 1 knife
I'm assuming you mean knives used in the kitchen to prepare food, not table.
In which case a good Chef's Knife, Carving Knife and a Paring Knife will cover most things. You may also consider a Cleaver, I use 200mm chinese type. It will do most things other knives will do, if you learn to hold it correctly. Buy a good Sharpening Steel and a Honing Stone, learn to use them.
Try Zwillig or Mondial, as brands, you can also sometimes find quality blades in 2nd hand and Pawn Shops for low prices. In reality you need something with quality steel, that will sharpen and hold an edge and have solid handles with metal rivets.
Don't bother with silly 'stay sharp for ever' sets. Most are too thin and flexible and low quality.
If you want to see some good knives at work, as your local butcher what they use, most will be happy to show you.
Totally agree with Kirraina he obviously knows what he is about. The only thing I would add is try for a German made brand, Wusthoff is a good one. They just feel right and the steel is great for holding an edge. They cost a heap but they are a lifetime piece.
J
These are the essential knives for the kitchen
4" Paring/Utility Knife
6" Sandwich Knife
10" Chef's Knife
Also good to have is a serrated edge 8" bread knife.
There are lots of brands to choose from, how much do you want to spend? You could spend $100 for a set, or $100 per knife. I have Henckels knives but other quality brands include
Victorinox
Kasumi
Wusthof
Search the web for kitchen knives and you you'll see some of your alternatives.
For keeping your knives sharp, the best sharpener I've ever used is the Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker.
all of the above answers are excellant, an addition to them is that you can also check with your butcher/local restaurant and talk to those in preparation as to where they buy the knives that they use. alot of times these guys have a knive sharpener guy that always has a surplus of knives available for sale as well.
Sabatier.
http://www.shop.sabatier.com/
Make sure you get the original ones. There are a lot of rip-offs.