Comments on: The intern reveals his knife collection. What about yours?

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:59:14 +0000

I recently picked up a F Dick 8 inch chef’s knife(the pro plus series). It’s good Soligen steel from Germany and I was able to buy the knife for around $40 which I think is an incredible value. I have a sharpening stone and sharpen all of my knives religiously. You could buy the best knife in the world, but if you don’t keep it sharp it will be worthless. I’d like to be able to one day afford a bigger (and nicer) collection like yours.

By: Cheftian

Cheftian — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:56:12 +0000

That isn’t the Kramer designed paring knife. That is the Classic, which comes in 3 1/2 and 4 inch flavors.

By: elise chan

elise chan — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:50:50 +0000

stuart,
i was at hida today and am seriously considering the chef’s knife. my old santoku is often dull. thanks so much for the review! it’s quite helpful to know about the 4 essentials, uses and price point. and the source. great job!

By: Joe Fish

Joe Fish — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:48:40 +0000

oh, and if you’re interested, I have one or two myself:

http://omnivorousfish.com/node/168

By: Joe Fish

Joe Fish — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:46:54 +0000

I’m surprised nobody steered you toward Forschener as an apprentice. You dropped a lot of dough on those knives, nice as they are. Forged knives are not necessarily better than stamped, however, certainly for repetetive work.

Your knives all have cylindrical bolsters (the part of the knife between the blade and the handle). Although some people are not into the cylindrical bolster, try to use it to your advantage. There are many ways to hold a knife of that style, and mixing it up can save your wrists when chopping say 50lbs of onions.

And not to be too contrarian, but there are many respectable kitchens out there that operate using communal knives without melee on the line.

By: Chef Apprentice

Chef Apprentice — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:42:37 +0000

Thanks Beth for the catch on “Hood.” I’ve been to Hood River, so I don’t know why I let that one slip by me. That has since been corrected.

Linda, I have tried the MAC knives. They are excellent. Several chefs at Oliveto own them. I may one day add one to my collection.

Brian offers good advice above on the need to try out several different kinds of knives — with different handles, different weights, different forging techniques — before making a big investment.

You don’t need to spend vast sums for knives. East Bay Restaurant Supply sells Mercer Cutlery. Mercer makes an excellent 7″ santoku that goes for about $35. It is my main tool in our home kitchen.

So shop around. And watch your fingers.

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:42:25 +0000

What about MAC knives? Have you tried any of those out? Thanks for the links to find the knives.

By: bethh

bethh — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:01:36 +0000

That’s Hood River, Oregon, not just Hood. That’s as funny as calling a town Walnut or Palo around here :) Hood River is about a half-hour or so outside of Portland and has no sales tax!

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:19:59 +0000

Try as many different knives as you can get your hands on, because one person’s favorite knife is unlikely to be yours. I love the bird’s beak paring knife, I probably use it more than my 7″ Japanese utility knife, which I use much more than my full-on chef’s knife.

By: TikiPundit

TikiPundit — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:55:20 +0000

Great post with good advice. It’s fantastic that you got to handle so many knives. Thanks for linking to sources for your selections. A couple of those web sites are especially good for other things, too. I studied Japanese joinery and did not know there is such a store in Berkeley.