Knives: Need your reccos.

by **olllllo** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:44 pm

I'm adequate in the kitchen and make due with a standard wooden handled Chicago Cutlery Chef Knife, Paring knife and a serrated tomato knife.

I'm looking to upgrade and get some in-betweeny knives. I need to know where to buy locally or on-line (prefer local).
For fun lets look at breaking this up in 3 pieces so that others might find some use. Put me in this middle tier.

Sub $200
$200 - $500
$500 plus

Or maybe my tiers are unrealistic. Let me know.

by **VTruong09** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:45 pm

I love my 8 inch global chef's knife. It was sub 200. I used a 20% coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond.

by **sinosoul** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:11 pm

Me too, me too!

Looking for a 4.5"/120mm petty knife, preferably entry level Japanese, < $70. I'm leaning towards Fujiwara, although the local Japanese Knife Imports joint has a Suisin INOX that looks freakin' beautiful.

by **azhotdish** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:22 pm

Take a look at the Misono UX-10 for about $170. I absolutely love mine.

by **M_L** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:17 pm

Also it has been said in other posts the Phoenix Knife House is the place to go locally.

http://www.phoenixknifehouse.com/

by **olllllo** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:44 pm

Great start... maybe I can knock this out this weekend!

by **olllllo** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:47 am

Chef Gwen writes:

I’ve bought a couple knives from Phoenix Knife House and I love them. And, I trust Zias more than I trust myself to keep my knives sharp.

http://penandfork.com/news-nibbles/the-knife-whisperer/

by **The Cosmic Jester** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:04 pm

I firmly believe that the best knife in the sub-$200 category is the Forschner, with the Fibrox handle. It's what I use both at home and at work. In fact, more than a few of the chefs I have worked with at other restaurants also use the Forschners. The 8" chef's knife and 10" serrated knife are each about $30, and the 4" paring knife is all of $5. they're readily available both at restaurant supply stores (my favorite is Standard) and at Phoenix Knife House.

by **Skillet Doux** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:13 pm

Uh... I completely understand getting behind the Forschner on a value/dollar basis, but when you say "the best knife in the sub-$200 category," are you suggesting that a $30 Forschner is a higher quality knife than, say, a $150 Sugimoto 8" Gyuto?

by **M_L** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:40 pm

While I cannot compare what you are talking about Dom, I do have a few Forschner's and they have performed pretty darn well for me especially considering what I paid for them. They probably do not have the life span of the particular one you are talking about but I am not sure you could do much better dollar for dollar than them. Do they cut as beautifully as my Bob Kramer Shun, no, but I could buy an assload of them for what I paid for that knife and throw them out when they get dull and probably be ahead cash wise.

My favorite part of them is probably the handle. It actually has some grip to it, and when it is wet you can still grip and not slip. With these smooth handled knives it can often be a problem, in fact particularly when butchering a huge problem. I use the two cheap Forschner ones (the flex tip and the non flex) when I have done that sort of work and they were far more effective than then slippy gripped ones people snagged from their knife rolls. (Fat is slippery mmmkay)

So I would say for me it is more about the handles than the quality of the blades (which since they are stamped is lower to be certain).

by **Skillet Doux** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:48 pm

Don't misunderstand... I'm not knocking them. It's just that awesome for the price and better than everything else available even at seven times the price are two very different things... just wondering which we're talking about here :-)

by **sinosoul** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:38 pm

non-seq: ceramic knives, NEVER AGAIN.

I've been on the hunt for these $6-8 Kiwi Thai knives. Just for shits and giggles. Also, looking for a Master Wu's bombshell steel cleaver, but don't want to pay Jende Industries for importation.

by **golbsalt** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:15 pm

Been contemplating the Sugimoto CM Wa-Guyto 210cm. Any comments? And what is the primary difference aside from metallurgic between the Sugimoto & Sugimoto CM series?

Thanks!

by **BillBuitenhuys** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 5:07 pm

Aaron, are you in lust with all the photos coming from Phoenix Knife Shop as I am?

by **golbsalt** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:01 pm

Sadly, yes! Really digging the price point on the CM but don't understand the difference an no foreseeable time in the near future to get down there for some education!

I have too many interests...getting to the point that I need a personal assistant in the kitchen...that's where you guys come in! No scheduling conflicts and all the info I can absorb!