chef knives

i'm days away from moving into a new kitchen.

figured i need a new knife. i'm running into knife space issues, so i sold off a couple of old carbon steel knives..one French, one German.

i just pulled the trigger on my first Japanese Gyuto..i am kinda excited. might need to up my knife sharpening skills tho.

what are you using in the kitchen?

i have a couple of Wustof Grand Prix blades that might get demoted to second fiddle.

 

I have all Victorinox, great knives at great price.

 

I've always used an Uncle Henry fillet knife for kitchen use. Very easy to sharpen with a steel once trued up properly with a stone. Most don't like to use a fillet knife for everything in the kitchen. It works for me.

It doesn't have the best steel for keeping an edge, but it is just right in my opinion because its so easy to make sharp again.

On a side note, its the only sharp knife in the kitchen. The wife won't let me sharpen any of the other knives. She is not allowed to use my knife, so we are good.

 

Wow, all my favorite things collide.. Talking knives on a tacoma forum. Who woulda thunk..
I've been cheffing for quite some time now and this is my go roll. The home kitchen knives are mostly the wifes, a good selection of shuns and globals. In my roll here, left to right:
Henckels steel, Forschner/Victorinox, Tojiro, Wustof, Global, Grandmas silver spoons , Zakuri, Suisin, Global, Kasumi, and Lamson&Goodnow.

I agree horstuff, vickys are great stuff. I have one that is close to 20 years old and was a daily restaurant workhorse for me for many years that's still in great shape. And it probably cost me $20.

What gyuto are you looking at OP? I've used lots of Japanese blades other than the ones here and would be glad to help if you have any questions.

 

i got a Gesshin Ginga. 210mm in Stainless. the thing might be TOOOO sharp. cutting an onion is a joke.

 

This is an old post, but @aficiandado quick question. Did you happen to get it at Japanese Knife Imports? I ask because I am currently looking to buy the knife but the 210mm size with octagon handle is out of stock. Now that you have had it form a few months. What do you think?

 

i'm not so sure i ever knew what sharp was in a kitchen knife. the weight of the knife drops it thru a cherry tomato. what worries me, is that i wont be able to sharpen it like that ever again. i did get it out of JKI..the Los Angelos place right?

i love the knife, but to be perfectly honest i dont think i will ever totally get used to how thin it is. there is some things you just cant/wont push it thru..like a lobster i feel like i bought an expensive ass veggie slicer. this winter i ate a lot of winter squash. my old super sharp Wustof was the MVP all winter long.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I think the place is in LA. I am in NY, but I will actually end up ordering the knife from them when they have it back in stock. I too have a Wustof. It's a great heavy knife. I just wanted a thin thin knife and so it actually sounds like something I want after hearing your description.

 

KnifeMerchant.com is good source for research and pricing for purchase-good place to get an education.
I use Globals for the house and daily beaters; they hold a good edge, lightweight for the wife, reasonably priced and easy to sharpen.
Glestain is my choice at work-8" Chefs and 10" slicer. For the crew, Victorinox or Messermeister will treat you well if you take care of them and both composites hold a decent edge.

 

Very pleased to find some kindred spirits! Well met! I hope it's okay to keep this thread alive.

I've got a smattering of random steel crowned with Suisun gyuto, Togiharu utility, and Gesshin Uraku kamagata usuba (veg work is so much fun with this! especially katsuramuki). Suisun has been in my quiver for almost a decade, and it's solid. The Togiharu is pure sex, though.

Korin, a shop in NYC, is the favourite of many in the industry (and not even just in the USA). They will sharpen your knife and mail it back to you. It's not the cheapest spot, but it's the best. They also have an amazing stock, just in case your Tacoma hobby has somehow left you with disposable income! ;-P They also have a lot of videos online, which is a good place to start if you're not yet well-versed in sharpening on a Japanese stone.

If you're in SF, Town Cutler and Bernal Cutlery are both really fun. If you're not bothered by hipsters, Bernal Cutlery is excellent for Japanese knives, and they are technically excellent at whetstone sharpening. Town Cutler is great as a knife shop too, but they also do custom knives- they do some really beautiful work. Town Cutler also has keeps a solid supply of lusty silver spoons in various shapes- anyone who's worked a line will know this lust ;-)

All of these places will give you an industry discount.

I didn't know about JKI. Sweet!

 

I have a mixed bag of knives. My chefs knife is a Shun, which is by far my favorite. I have dozens of hours of use on it, and still have yet to sharpen it, it just gets honed 1-2 times per week, and the blade is still in great shape, other than 1 small chip I put in it by hitting it on a fork. the only 2 other knives I use on a regular basis, are my Wusthof paring knife, and my Cold steel boning knife.

 

Currently rolling with two tojiros, mercer boning knife, cheapo paring knives and just sold a shun santoku because it was a stupid knife. I've got a king 1k/6k stone for all my sharpening needs.

 

Glestain, Messermeister, a few Japanese carbons;

 

my go to is a plain old carbon steel knife from Ontario Knife - Old Hickory

http://ontarioknife.com/cutlery/old-hickoryr/7-10-butcher-knife.html

http://ontarioknife.com/cutlery/old-hickoryr/705-5-pc-cutlery-set.html

 

Been using a coupe Wustof Grand Prix that are okay.....but my two favorite knifes are the Shun Western Cook's knife and their Sumo Santuko.









Pushed for time at the moment....I'll look for pics of the sumo santuko later on.



It is, by far, my favorite knife. Very deep blade that sets in the hand with a comfortable pinch grip and is my most used knife. I use lots of onions & peppers in my cooking. It makes slicing & dicing a breeze....and is deep enough to be useful in quickly transferring sliced stuff to the pan.


I simply use their lifetime resharpening service.....mail it in and wait two weeks and it comes back in perfect order. Ninja sharp.