Looking at a new block for my new house looking at all sorts but mainly Global, wustof, Henckels, Zvilling etc. (Henckels seem to have a tonne of brands which is confusing as hell). anyone got any suggestions/pointers (no pun intended). Thanks all,
How deep are your pockets. I collected Damascus steel knives made in Japan over several years, ended up spending nearly £2k but have a set of knives that retain razor sharpness, are a delight to use and cover fine slicing to hard vegetable (swede) chopping. I also discovered I can slice Iberico Jamon wafer thin . Knives lose their edge at a rate driven by what you chop on. Glass and modern nylon/plastic are the worst and SS does not hold an edge for very long. If you can afford it and find them, a good quality steel alloy with an iron core. A cut from a sharp knife heals more easily and with less evidence. A clean sever is also easier to reattach, believe me, I know. Andy
The global knives are certainly up there with the very best of them. One being there meant to be one of the very best when it comes to being super hygienic when cleaned properly which is obviously important with food prep. The reason being there’re a one piece item with no joins or anything else just a single piece of stainless steel and I think they always state how balanced they are in the knife world.
Mid range quality, https://www.procook.co.uk/shop/knives-scissors/procook-damascus-x100, better quality, https://uk.zwilling-shop.com/By-Man...s/MIYABI-6000MCT/?filterseries=MIYABI 6000MCT expensive but not an arm and a leg and probably for an individual knife for a particular job, my choice. Andy
So called “Damascus” steel found on knives is nothing of the sort, its a marketing ploy that bears no relation to the folded sort of blades that samurai are famous for using. What it actually is, is closer to pattern welded steel, where two types of alloy are pressed together then etched in acid to reveal a different colour. A decent quality mono steel will cut just as well, as long as they’re sharpened equally well. Unless you’re going for carbon steel and are prepared to go balls deep on the increased maintenance over stainless, it’s probably not worth spending hundreds on a stainless knife. More important is the handle and blade shape, pretty much any knife can be sharpened to a razor edge
Also, sabatier are usually decent but be aware that it’s not a brand, it’s a region where several different manufacturers are based and stamp their knives as such, so quality can vary
Are the self sharpening blocks any good. Doesn’t look like global do such a thing but both Henckels and zvilling do ..
For example https://uk.zwilling-shop.com/Kitche...g-Knife-Block-Black-ZWILLING-35145-007-0.html https://uk.zwilling-shop.com/Kitche...-Self-Sharpening-Knife-Block-13553-020-0.html
You don’t need scissors and you don’t need a bread knife and IMO, you don’t need a self sharpening knife block. This, https://uk.zwilling-shop.com/Kitche...es/18cm-Santoku-Knife-MIYABI-34074-181-0.html is probably the type of knife I use most. I have a 12” chef’s knife and 2 utility knives, 6” and 3”. These do about 90% of work, everything else I have are specific to a single task. Andy
These also look decent https://www.hartsofstur.com/wusthof-classic-ikon-6-piece-knife-block-set-black-wt1090370601.html
I have a couple of kitchen devil knives 30 years old and they are my go to as they are still as sharp and comfortable to use They were expensive in the day
Here you go.... https://www.coltellerieberti.it/en/ Bought mine in August whilst @ Mugello, unbelievably sharp and amazing quality.
Absolutely, just warning not to get sucked into the cool looking Kasumi or whatever knives because they won’t be better. A well made pattern welded blade is a thing of beauty though, and there are still excellent smiths in Japan as well as big shed type stuff. I did a bit of forging with a guy in Kent who makes historical pattern welded blades, seaxes, axes etc it’s really fascinating stuff
Just bought some of these - a lot better than what we had (but that wasn't saying much ) We used them on a cookery evening at John Lewis (when you could things like that) and were impressed. https://www.robertwelch.com/collections/knife-sets
It’s a doddle really, just about setting the correct angle. You can get clip on guides to help but after a while it’s just muscle memory, use a diamond stone or a whetstone and it’s just a case of a minute or two maintenance every once in a while.