Knife recommendation

My son has asked me for a recommendation on kitchen knives.

We're talking here about someone who might use a big knife once or twice a week to chop an onion or something. He's in his 30s, not much of a cook and lives alone. But, it's important him that the knife stay sharp as long as possible.

Any brand recommendations? Preferably something available at Amazon or elsewhere on-line.

Thanks.

Lois

Pampered chef has some good knifes. Top restaurant quality with a lifetime guarantee. Please send me a private message and I will get you a catalog.
Thanks,
Corey
Pampered Chef Consulant

[Robin Garr]

Preferably something available at Amazon or elsewhere on-line.

I love to shop online too, Lois, but I'd be derelict if I didn't suggest a trip to Cooking at the Cottage, where the forum's own Linda can give you excellent personalized advice.

And while you're there, you can have lunch at Coals!

Got mine at Dine.... dishwasher safe handle High carbon steel, holds a good edge for a long time

http://shop.dinecompany.com/categories/ ... knives?p=5

Get him a Wustoff knife sharpener from Amazon for $20 and he'll be good to go forever

My son lives in Austin, Texas. I just spent a good deal on his Christmas and his birthday, which is just two days after Christmas. So this is not something I'm going to spring for right now. I can suggest he find a restaurant supply store down there but he's much more likely to do the on-line thing instead.

Thanks, guys.

Amazon has them too
http://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-S1 ... B002NQAHNO
Knife

http://www.amazon.com/W%C3%BCsthof-2904 ... B0009NMVRI
Sharpener

I just recently went through searching for a new knife and how to sharpen the ones I have.

After speaking with local chefs everyone advised to find a carbon steel knife that feels good in your hand. Fanciness doesn't matter. Price doesn't correlate with absolutely better. He uses Dexter and others commercially at the restaurant and has a stratospherically expensive Damascus steel knife for cooking at home.

All knives will get dull to the point they won't easily slice a tomato.

The key is to learn how to sharpen it with a stone (electric or by hand) and then finish it with a steel hone. I was surprised how easy it was to do.

You can buy a good 8" chefs knife for $35 or $500.

[Robin Garr]

The key is to learn how to sharpen it with a stone (electric or by hand) and then finish it with a steel hone. I was surprised how easy it was to do.

Right on target. I've been using my Chicago Cutlery 9-inch chef's knife since 1974 (back when Chicago Cutlery was under original ownership and made quality knives). With a $30 diamond stone (possibly overkill, but hey) and a $12 steel from Dine Co., with minimimal effort I can keep it sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm, if I was silly enough to want to do that.

It's easy to learn how to use the stone and steel - plenty of articles and videos online, or a cook friend can show you. Just use the steel often and the stone only occasionally, and any good carbon steel knife will probably last as long as you do.

I highly recommend this folding Filet knife from Normark. It's just about the only knife I use. I've "broken down" (we used to call it "butchering" back in the day) 4 or 5 deer not to mention a few 40-50 pound King Salmon. I've used it to slice a butt load of BBQ and the Lord only knows how many mater, taters and onions I've diced up with it. It'll run ya about 15 bucks at the Bass Pro Shops.

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Knife 5.jpg

I use something like this, ceramic rods set at the right angle for sharpening. Just draw the blade down the rod on both sides--takes very little time to keep a sharp edge on a blade:

[Robin Garr]

I use something like this, ceramic rods set at the right angle for sharpening. Just draw the blade down the rod on both sides--takes very little time to keep a sharp edge on a blade:

That will definitely hone a knife, probably as well as a steel, and I like the idea of having them preset at the standard 20% angle (I assume that's what I'm seeing there - eyeballing it, it looks about right.)

Unless I'm really offbase, though - and please correct me if I am - this is for honing, which should be done frequently in order to keep the sharpened edge straight. But I'm pretty sure ceramic won't do for sharpening, which actually removes a little metal and should only be done occasionally. If I'm not mistaken, you need a stone (or a session with a professional sharpener) for that.

I use it pretty regularly on all my knives. Works well for me.

Ceramic will actually sharpen as well as hone. It would take forever to actually sharpen a dull knife with ceramic, but you can keep a knife sharp almost indefinitely with ceramic. I use a ceramic "steel" which is shaped like a regular steel but is made of ceramic. I haven't had to sharpen a knife for years.

Cooks Illustrated rates the Victorinox/Forschner knives a best buy. An 8" (blade length) chefs knife should run about 30.00.

I have an OXO 8" Chef's Knife and it's pretty good for the price. Granted it can't hold up to my Shun (not much can!) but it does a better job than my Chicago Cutlery and is on par with the Forschner and Wusthof knives in my collection.

This is a link to the 6" which is $15, the 8" is $20. I prefer a 6" for most of my jobs, I get better utilization out of the full blade. But if he has large hands he may prefer something a little larger so he doesn't feel like he's using a paring knife.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Profess ... 326&sr=8-2
And the 8" :
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Profess ... y_k_text_c

Cooks Illustrated rates the Victorinox/Forschner knives a best buy. An 8" (blade length) chefs knife should run about 30.00.

Normark filet knives aside (which I really DO use...a lot) I've got 4 or 5 of these Victornox/Forschner knives laying around the house and LOVE every one of 'em. They are without a doubt the best "bang for the buck" that I've found.