Whats your favorite cooking knives?
I probably have close to a hundred of them floating around the place.
The ones I use most often are made by Chicago Cutlery with walnut handles on them.
Pretty good stainless steel blades I can get and keep razor sharp.
The one I use most often is the boning knife with a thin 5 inch blade that is flexible.
I use it for all kinds of stuff from vegetables to meat.
The next one made by the same people is a small chefs knife with a 6 inch blade.
Last but not least same brand and make is a small paring knife with a skinny 3 inch blade.

I have some nice carbon steel knives I use for my meat processing that are razor sharp.
Those knives are around 40 years old.
But for everyday use I can rinse off and put in the drainer these are it.
I personally dont think the average cook needs to be spending a small fortune on very expensive knives.
Many chefs have no clue as how to sharpen a knife they have someone do it.
I sharpen my own with an India stone by hand no fancy gadgets.
The carbon steel knives get the Arkansas honing stone finished with a leather belt.

I too love my Chicago Cutlery. They were a housewarming gift from my mother when I was 24 years old. They do keep a nice edge and get the job done. Three years ago I gave myself a Christmas gift and bought a set of J. A. Henkels International German forged stainless steel. I just love them. They are a nice step up from the Chicago Cutlery. I still use both sets every day but I must say that I am so happy that I made this investment.

I do have my own wet stone and keep the knives very sharp at all times.

I have a set of Henkel knives as well. I don't know about a fortune. I started buying them one at a time when they were on sale when I was younger, then bought a set about 5 years ago but the set is not as sharp as the old ones I used to buy individually, but they are still good after a good sharpening. I have a Chefs Choice electric sharpener. I use the Chef Knives probably 80% of the time for almost all tasks. I could use a good flexable boning knife, but honestly, when I want boneless, I buy boneless meat. I could use a good set of super sharp steak knives that can be sharpened. Don't want to invest in serrated ones that I can't sharpen down the road when they start to get a bit dull.

I have a wonderful husband who buys me things like copper cookware and Henkel knives for my birthday. I even have an official Henkel tomato knife. I do a lot of the cooking (and therefore the chopping and slicing) so I appreciate them very much.

I use my chef knife for most jobs. I have the full set of Henkel knives including a santoku, it gets used a fair amount as well. A couple years ago I ordered my daughter a Mercer chef's knife, I didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a knife that I wasn't sure she would care for properly, lol. Yes, I take my knives very seriously. I was really surprised at the quality and after using it many times at her house I even ordered myself one and actually prefer it to my Henkels. I also have the Henkel tomato knife but most times I use the chefs knife. A good paring knife is also a must have!

The knife I have had the longest, from the late 70s, is a 10" Henckels chef's knife, one of their early 4-star knives, which will still cut through tomato skins just pulling the weight of the knife through them, with no honing necessary! Best in my collection for parsley, cilantro, scallions - any of those things that often have pieces of fiber holding the cut pieces together. I bought an 8" one, several years later, to put in Mom's kitchen (I needed something sharp there, for when I cooked there! lol), but they changed the metal formulation, as it would not keep an edge, like the original! I ended up returning it...hopefully they've returned to the original.

I have a number of other knives I use, depending on what I'm doing. A flexible boning knife, and a "utility" knife (like a small chef's knife) - by Messermeister. A 7" Santoku - by Shun. A bread knife, by Forschner. A couple of cleavers - one for chopping through bones. And a bunch of paring knives - the only ones I put in my DW!

I don't think they returned to the earlier 4 star knives. That is what my original knives were, and the full set I bought was the more recent 4 star set. I have 2 10 inch Chefs knives now, as well as an older 4 star slicing knife, 4" paring knife and Henkels gourmet serrated bread knife. I don't pay top prices for serrated knives. They all work fine but the older 4 star knives are the best.

Y'all can get up a collection and buy me this knife.
https://www.zwilling.com/us/miyabi-birc ... nds_miyabi

worth1 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2020 9:39 pm Y'all can get up a collection and buy me this knife.
https://www.zwilling.com/us/miyabi-birc ... nds_miyabi

How about you give us each one for Mother's Day...

Zwilling makes some seriously good knives but you will pay a hefty price.

had a Chicago cutlery folding fillet knife called the traveler, years ago I gave it to a guy up north that just had to have it, lol thought i'd just go home and order another one! wrong! discontinued! looked on ebay they want a fortune for them lol,, lesson learned!---tom

We use a set of Victorinox knives. They hold an edge well and come in a variety of useful sizes.

One of my other favorite knives is a big cold steel folding knife.
I carry it with me everywhere I go.
To me it is a work tool and heaven forbid self defense.
It stays concealed with a clip.
I can't count how many pounds of prime rib I have cut up with it to make chili on Sunday night for the guys and gals.
Probably close to a thousand pounds in the years I was there.
People got seriously mad if I didn't make it.
I bought it in Alaska and it stayed in Alaska for almost ten years till I brought it home for the last time.

I also have a Rada knife set that I use mostly at work. I have to cut a lot of food very quickly and these knives are great for that. They are quite thin and flexible and hold their edge amazingly well. They are sharpened with the Japanese angle which is about 17 degrees as opposed to the standard 20 which the German knives have. Their tomato knife is an awesome thing that I truly do love. These knives are very affordable and easy to work with. They slice with ease which is why I used them at work so often.

[mention]MissS[/mention]
Some of the Japanese slicing knives are sharpened at a 7 to 10 degree angle.
One type is 0 degrees on one side and around 8 to 10 degrees or so in the other.
They are all right handed knives unless you specify left handed.
As soon as I get a knife I spend quite some time taking that factory edge off and putting less of an angle on the edge.
A lot less.
Don't ask me what it is because I do it by hand probably around 12 or so.
I normally let the intended use of the knife and hardness of the steel tell me what angle to use.

I have a really nice cheap 10 dollar Santoku knife I bought at the store.
Forged and everything made by Farberware.
Then I lost it for months.
Couldn't figure out for the life of me where it went.
I loved that cheap knife.
Then some time ago I found it under a stack of bamboo BBQ skewers in a drawer.
I honestly dont know how on earth they can make such a fine knife with fit and finish and sell it for ten dollars.
No it doesn't compare to the way expensive knives they sell but by hoot it is a good knife for the average person that can sharpen one.
Mine stays right at the shave stage most of the time.
I'm not for sure they make this particular knife anymore.

Just discovered I had a heavy meat cleaver I forgot I had.
The steel is almost 1/8 thick and very heavy.
Here's the most common knives I use.
All I need and don't have is a good fillet knife.

I use that thick cleaver for chopping up spareribs, to make Chinese dishes with, though I often make similar dishes, with the bite-sized spareribs, but Mexican, Indian, and other flavors. I have a large, thick, plastic chopping board, with one banged up side I use for chopping things with the cleaver. Now I'm getting hungry for some 1,2,3,4,5 spareribs!

Worth get a Rada fillet knife for cleaning your fish. They are thin and flexible. You can get right against the skin and have no waste at all. They are affordable and efficient for that chore.