Best all round kitchen knife/knives/
Discussion
We have a couple of Sabatier general knives (paring and a general knife) but they are fairly unimpressive IMHO. The sabatiers knives were the ones my wife and I were told to buy when we met at catering college in the early 70's - yikes- but really fancy something super sharp as a treat. Bored with trying to hack through a chicken, and recently slicing ox cheeks which although super tender after a slow cook are seriously hard work straight from the butchers!
Whats the best for around £50 and gettable for Christmas?
Whats the best for around £50 and gettable for Christmas?
If you are happy with the knives ergonomically you could just resharpen properly?
If you want something new then https://www.procook.co.uk always seem to have deals going.
If you want something new then https://www.procook.co.uk always seem to have deals going.
Are you looking for a recommendation on brand or style of knife?
I recently bought a Santuko style knife and find myself using it for most jobs. Mines the house brand of a local decent kitchen shop, in a sabatier style. You can pay anything from £20 to several hundred depending on manufacturer though. The shop I got it from had one for €1300, it was beautiful but I didn't think I could really justify that
I recently bought a Santuko style knife and find myself using it for most jobs. Mines the house brand of a local decent kitchen shop, in a sabatier style. You can pay anything from £20 to several hundred depending on manufacturer though. The shop I got it from had one for €1300, it was beautiful but I didn't think I could really justify that
triggerhappy21 said:
As above - Victorinox Fibrox range. Chefs knife / pastry knife + sharpener.
I've got a few high end knives, and the Victorinox perform 90% as well as them, without the cost concern when hacking a bit of bone.
The only thing with them is that the plastic handles are a little utilitarian in appearance and feel, so not quite as "gifty." However, you can get them with rosewood handles, which are a bit nicer. I've got a few high end knives, and the Victorinox perform 90% as well as them, without the cost concern when hacking a bit of bone.
I'd also suggest not giving up on the old knives. Sabatiers from the 70s should be pretty good, especially if they are carbon steel, so they'll respond well to a good sharpen. At that age, they've probably lost a bit of width with sharpening over the years, so the steel just behind the edge may need to be thinned to get it cutting as well as when it was new. There's a good explanation at https://www.knifeplanet.net/lesson-3-knife-thinnin...
I have posh set of chefs knives. Keep them sharp with a diamond steel and a whetstone, all that jazz.
They are great but the knife I use most day to day is a 20 quid ceramic job from John Lewis. Had it 4 yrs and it is still razor sharp and unbroken. For slicing and chopping it is unmatched and needs zero maintenance.
One word of caution - if you are the kind of cook who likes to open tins etc with your knife blade, stick with steel. Ditto boning meat and so on. Ceramic blades snap v easily.
They are great but the knife I use most day to day is a 20 quid ceramic job from John Lewis. Had it 4 yrs and it is still razor sharp and unbroken. For slicing and chopping it is unmatched and needs zero maintenance.
One word of caution - if you are the kind of cook who likes to open tins etc with your knife blade, stick with steel. Ditto boning meat and so on. Ceramic blades snap v easily.
A left field suggestion is Kiwi and Kom-Kom knives. I'm just a keen amateur, used various German and Japanese makes even made a few knives using O1 steel, built my own furnace, (but that is another story), but just for a laugh I tried the Kiwi brand knives, particularly this one.
https://www.chopchopchop.co.uk/173.html.
I now find that I use this more than any of the other knives. It is very thin, very easy to sharpen and slices really well rather than chops. It probably wouldn't work in a commercial kitchen because you would have to resharpen them a lot but here is an old review.
https://www.tactical-life.com/tactical-knives/cred...
https://www.chopchopchop.co.uk/173.html.
I now find that I use this more than any of the other knives. It is very thin, very easy to sharpen and slices really well rather than chops. It probably wouldn't work in a commercial kitchen because you would have to resharpen them a lot but here is an old review.
https://www.tactical-life.com/tactical-knives/cred...
Victorinox is all you need. If you want a functional knife, that's sharp, easy to maintain, cheap enough to replace without crying and proven in professional kitchens.
They are the most common knives I see in pro kitchens, and there's a reason for that.
My recommendation would be:
Broad blade Chefs knife (get the broad one)
Pastry Knife - does everything - carves meat, veg, bread, cake - fantastic thing.
Tomato knife - great for cutting anything soft without crushing it by having to saw at it.
Pairing knife - cheap, sharp, disposable.
They are the most common knives I see in pro kitchens, and there's a reason for that.
My recommendation would be:
Broad blade Chefs knife (get the broad one)
Pastry Knife - does everything - carves meat, veg, bread, cake - fantastic thing.
Tomato knife - great for cutting anything soft without crushing it by having to saw at it.
Pairing knife - cheap, sharp, disposable.
Some Guy said:
Fill yer boots.Some Guy is 100% correct. I've used JCK quite a few times and I have always been extremely impressed with their products and great service too.
Some Guy said:
Not exactly lots of choice for under £50.This is more like stuff to impress dinner guests with. A nice damascus casually left out on display....
zygalski said:
Not exactly lots of choice for under £50.
This is more like stuff to impress dinner guests with. A nice damascus casually left out on display....
A 210mm Fujiwara Chef's knife can be had for around £60, and it's very good. But £50 is pushing it a bit with the way the exchange rates are at the moment. This is more like stuff to impress dinner guests with. A nice damascus casually left out on display....
Although there are a few blingy damascus knives on there, most are generally very plain looking (like the one i linked to above), so highly unlikely to impress dinner guests. They're made to be used.
I wouldn't class a true japanese knife as an all round kitchen knife (as per the thread request). The edge angles are too fine, the maintenance required to keep them sharp is unreasonable and hit and miss, and the cost is generally prohibitive.
Great lookers, and very sharp initially, good to leave out on the chopping board and admire.
Great lookers, and very sharp initially, good to leave out on the chopping board and admire.
Japanese knives can very expensive or reasonable. The most used knife used, out of my stable of knives, is the Nakiri, followed by the chinese / thai cleaver. Don't use standard Japanese knives for deboning, get a knife specifically for that purpose [JP or otherwise; fixing a chipped edge is a nightmare
As said the Japanese knives require more maintenance, ie sharpening but using the correct board is essential for all knife work. Plastic and the wrong wood blunt / damage more knives than I remember. People forget that the board is the sacrificial part, the knife is not. The board issue is applicable to any knife.
I will post my collection up later.
All my Japanese collection came from Koki @ Japanese Chef Knives.
ETA: Procook knives are good, the best ones are their top of the range
As said the Japanese knives require more maintenance, ie sharpening but using the correct board is essential for all knife work. Plastic and the wrong wood blunt / damage more knives than I remember. People forget that the board is the sacrificial part, the knife is not. The board issue is applicable to any knife.
I will post my collection up later.
All my Japanese collection came from Koki @ Japanese Chef Knives.
ETA: Procook knives are good, the best ones are their top of the range
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