Good kitchen knives

[Arzosah]

My slow cooker today is cooking a stew rather than beans to be used with pasta etc. Turnips! Sweet potatoes! Good heavens, they're really hard to cut with my current complement of knives - I couldn't do it regularly, my shoulder's aching even now. All I have is a few veg knives - 2 little kitchen devils, and a tiny ceramic knife. They do me very well for the odd onion, but regular chopping like this is beyond them. I used my bread knife in the end, which was long enough but didn't have the flat back to push on.

I've been watching Jamie Oliver's new series, Keep Calm etc, and I like it. And he uses *socking* great knives, that have a flat back so you can push down on them with your other hand. I don't want to buy it right now, because nothing is coming into this house except food and completely emergency items - but I'll buy it as soon as I safely can. Oh, and in looking at John Lewis, I've realised you *can't* buy kitchen knives online any more, so thats moot anyway.

Big knife like Jamie Oliver uses, flat back, etc. Anyone know a brand or have a linkie I can store for the future?

[Jamesey1981]

Don't recall which brand he uses, however here's a list of the ones I like.

Victorinox, good quality and reasonably priced, a lot of pros have used these their entire career, including me.

Wusthof Trident
Wusthof Dreizack
Gustav
Henckels

All pretty pricey but really high quality knives that professionals use.

If you want to spend a load, look at Global, they're expensive and you'll see a lot of tv chefs using them because they look pretty, but they are very hard steel, they're hard to sharpen but they stay sharp a long time, you really need a set of Japanese water stones to sharpen these though, and you can get a full set of victorinox for the price of one big global knife.

You can get most of them from the nisbets shop in Brighton, I know you're not a million miles away from your blog, also the shop in Brighton that used to be steamer trading has a good selection.

While you're there buy a victorinox tomato knife, or a couple of them, one of the most useful knives you'll ever own and they're only a couple of quid, careful with it though, they don't look much but they're lethal if you're not paying attention.

I have a mixture of global and virctorinox, the mrs has wusthof Trident, and I have good friends that use either gustav or henckels. I'd be happy to recommend any of them, but if you just want a good quality functional knife then go for a 12 inch victorinox chef's knife with the black plastic handle. I would suggest getting a twelve inch chef's knife and a six or eight inch one as well if you can afford to buy both, but just get the big one if you can't.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/kitchenware-a ... es/_/a33-4

Steer clear of the modified cleaver looking knives that you see a lot of tv chefs using these days with the very wide short blade, there's a knack to these, just get a traditional chefs knife, and get one that is longer than what you will want to cut so you have the other end to push it through if you're cutting a cabbage or something hefty.

[korolev]

I would steer clear of Taylors Eye Witness. I bought a set and the edge retention is terrible. They look nice though

[Arzosah]

korolev - thanks! Just as important to know what not to buy, commiserations.

Jamesey thats brilliant, thank you! Perfectly happy to go with Victorinox, a name I know and I know its trusted. And yes, I can get to the Brighton shop perfectly easily when the lockdown's over (I remember seeing the Lewes Steamer Trading closing down, didn't know something had reopened in Brighton, thats good).

Is this what you meant by a 12"? https://www.nisbets.co.uk/victorinox-fi ... 305mm/c658 Its on the page you linked to. The blade is 12", not the total knife, that sounds like what I need. I like that its dishwasher safe but I also want to see the back of it, to check it has that flat back you can press down on. I understand about the "longer than you need", it definitely helps.

Not sure I need another thats 6 - 8" long, but the lockdown is going on for a while, I'll keep an eye out.

Will definitely steer clear of cleavers! I like the chef knife action where they keep the point on the board and move the handle, looks a lot safer, and now that I'm not just using frozen veg, this stuff matters. And I'll pick up the tomato knives, as you say, I'm all for "two is one" etc.

[Jamesey1981]

That's the one. The back of the blade is slightly rounded so it's more comfortable.

I have the 13.5 inch one, but that's a bit unwieldy until you get used to handling big knives.

I would steer clear of dishwashering it, the abrasives in the detergent will blunt it, and the handles go a bit weird and milky looking, I always handwash good knives.

You can get the same knife with the rosewood handle if you prefer the feel of wood, but the plastic ones are just fine and more hygienic.

[ukpreppergrrl]

Just my 2p...personally I find 12 inch knives just too big. Dunno if it's because I am small. My main knife is an 8 inch Sabatier - not great but not bad either. Just gotta keep it sharp. I could probably do 10 inches, but so far the 8 inch has been sufficient. It's broad enough to be able to push down on the back.

+1 on the never put your knives in the dishwasher! Wash, dry put back in the knife block. Sharpen before every use.

[Jamesey1981]

Just my 2p...personally I find 12 inch knives just too big. Dunno if it's because I am small. My main knife is an 8 inch Sabatier - not great but not bad either. Just gotta keep it sharp. I could probably do 10 inches, but so far the 8 inch has been sufficient. It's broad enough to be able to push down on the back.

+1 on the never put your knives in the dishwasher! Wash, dry put back in the knife block. Sharpen before every use.

Do you hold the handle or the blade? Some people do find them too big, but the handle isn't really for holding when the knife is in use on a chefs knife and a lot of people don't know that, your thumb should be fully on the flat of the blade and your index finger curled over the top so you're choked right up on it, all the pressure is applied by the pad on the first joint of your index finger on the spine of the knife, much more control and then the big knives are easier to handle.

If I want to do mega fast slicing to show off then I generally use an 8 inch global though, it's so nice to handle that I can get it to blur, you're slicing with the tip of the blade rather than the heel so shorter and lighter is more controlled. All about personal preference, they all have their place in my knife case.

[ukpreppergrrl]

Ah possibly that's where I'm going wrong! I hold the handle! Time to buy me a big ol' knife and practice!

[Jamesey1981]

Some of the global knives have a kind of vestigial handle, you can see from looking at them how you would need to hold it for it to be safe and controlled, then translate that into a different knife, should be easier to visualise that way.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/global-gs-5-v ... 140mm/c069

See what I mean about expensive? I bought most of my knives many years ago and I've still spent over two grand, no different to a mechanic with their tools though, if it's in your hand all day you want it to be the best you can get your hands on.

[jansman]

The knives in our kitchen are, naturally , butchers knives! . 10” steak knife,( sabre blade),and a 6” straight boning knife. And a steel , or one of the many devices available to sharpen a piece of steel. Because in the end, any knife is a piece of sharp steel. I don’t pay more than a score for a steak knife and a tenner for a boning knife ( although VAT can bump that a little). My knives see REAL work, and there’s no need to pay shedloads for a design that’s been around for ever. I will find a link to the firm I use.