Which knife?

[Henry Hawthorne]

pacman1 said:

Apologies if said before, but it's equally important to source a steel suitable to sharpen the knives. The harder the blade, the harder the steel will need to be, and I suspect it won't be cheap.
For a mid quality set of knives, I'd imagine an equivalent steel will be north of thenty odd quid at least.

What'sso important about a steel? I never use one, only a whetstone every few weeks.

[21TonyK]

ArtVandelay said:

21TonyK said:

I've got a set of Globals and with hind sight I would have bought something else. They just don't fit my hand properly and in a working kitchen with wet hands etc they slip too easily. Also because there is no guard my hand often moves forward on them and I keep knicking my index finger.

Fine if you hold when with a "Japanese" grip but I tend to use big catering knives at work and save the Globals for home.

One of the best knives I tried was a mates Porsche 301's or Gustav

My kid has the Porsche design knives and I didn't find them particularly sharp out of the box. They look great but IMO have a similar design flaw to the Global knives (not that I've used them) in that they have a steel handle and the smallest of guards meaning wet hands will find grip hard to come by.

I found the handles much easier to grip to less slip but they're certainly not perfect. For me I'd like the comfort of a molded plastic grip with a decent blade. Not many around.

[pacman1]

Henry Hawthorne said:

pacman1 said:

Apologies if said before, but it's equally important to source a steel suitable to sharpen the knives. The harder the blade, the harder the steel will need to be, and I suspect it won't be cheap.
For a mid quality set of knives, I'd imagine an equivalent steel will be north of thenty odd quid at least.

What'sso important about a steel? I never use one, only a whetstone every few weeks.

Ah, now that would make a bit of sense. But I always thought a steel would give a keener edge.

Edited by pacman1 on Tuesday 1st June 21:13

[uncinqsix]

pacman1 said:

Ah, now that would make a bit of sense. But I always thought a steel would give a keener edge.

Not when the stone is a 6000 grit Japanese jobbie...

[Henry Hawthorne]

pacman1 said:

Henry Hawthorne said:

pacman1 said:

Apologies if said before, but it's equally important to source a steel suitable to sharpen the knives. The harder the blade, the harder the steel will need to be, and I suspect it won't be cheap.
For a mid quality set of knives, I'd imagine an equivalent steel will be north of thenty odd quid at least.

What'sso important about a steel? I never use one, only a whetstone every few weeks.

Ah, now that would make a bit of sense. But I always thought a steel would give a keener edge.

Edited by pacman1 on Tuesday 1st June 21:13

Sorry it was a genuine question, not an "actually steels are crap" post. I always hear people rattling on about how it's important to have a steel and to "hone" the blade every time you use it, but I don't even really know what it means.

I have a King 6000/1000 double-sided stone, FWIW.

[ArtVandelay]

21TonyK said:

ArtVandelay said:

21TonyK said:

I've got a set of Globals and with hind sight I would have bought something else. They just don't fit my hand properly and in a working kitchen with wet hands etc they slip too easily. Also because there is no guard my hand often moves forward on them and I keep knicking my index finger.

Fine if you hold when with a "Japanese" grip but I tend to use big catering knives at work and save the Globals for home.

One of the best knives I tried was a mates Porsche 301's or Gustav

My kid has the Porsche design knives and I didn't find them particularly sharp out of the box. They look great but IMO have a similar design flaw to the Global knives (not that I've used them) in that they have a steel handle and the smallest of guards meaning wet hands will find grip hard to come by.

I found the handles much easier to grip to less slip but they're certainly not perfect. For me I'd like the comfort of a molded plastic grip with a decent blade. Not many around.

Have you tried the Victorinox blades? I've only heard good things about them and they're relatively inexpensive so could be worth a shot. They do rosewood, plastic and Fibrox handled knives as well as more expensive forged steel blades too. Mine will probably arrive tomorrow so I'll find out if they're much cop.

[ArtVandelay]

Liking the look of these:
http://gizmodo.com/5553271/are-these-not-the-class...

[AzharNawaz]

I went for a set of Victorinox knives from http://www.3663cateringequipment.co.uk/ and they came with a cloth wallet to store them in. But I would recommened getting a knives block if you use them often. The knives seem to stay very sharp even though I use them everyday. I havent experienced many brands but I am happy with these.

[21TonyK]

ArtVandelay said:

21TonyK said:

ArtVandelay said:

21TonyK said:

I've got a set of Globals and with hind sight I would have bought something else. They just don't fit my hand properly and in a working kitchen with wet hands etc they slip too easily. Also because there is no guard my hand often moves forward on them and I keep knicking my index finger.

Fine if you hold when with a "Japanese" grip but I tend to use big catering knives at work and save the Globals for home.

One of the best knives I tried was a mates Porsche 301's or Gustav

My kid has the Porsche design knives and I didn't find them particularly sharp out of the box. They look great but IMO have a similar design flaw to the Global knives (not that I've used them) in that they have a steel handle and the smallest of guards meaning wet hands will find grip hard to come by.

I found the handles much easier to grip to less slip but they're certainly not perfect. For me I'd like the comfort of a molded plastic grip with a decent blade. Not many around.

Have you tried the Victorinox blades? I've only heard good things about them and they're relatively inexpensive so could be worth a shot. They do rosewood, plastic and Fibrox handled knives as well as more expensive forged steel blades too. Mine will probably arrive tomorrow so I'll find out if they're much cop.

I've got several Victorinox knives but nothing specific and had pretty much forgotten about them sitting at the bottom of my kitchen box. Might invest in a decent boning knife but don't like the Victorinox ones, the blades are too short. might treat myself to something nice.

/despite having two globals thrown away by KPs this weekend