Decent knives

[zetec]

I am fed up of watching Masterchef and other cookery shows where the chef has a knife that simply glides through everything. Then I go to my kitchen and have to hack through and ruin the look of just about everything!
I am no professional chef but enjoy cooking, just want something that makes the experience just a little bit easier.
I also am not rich but will have a little bit of money gifted to me for Christmas, budget circa £150-200.

[21TonyK]

You'll find an answer here... (somewhere)

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk03jIbGUp6...


It gets asked a lot and you always get the same answers. Its very much personal preference and sharpness really is nothing to do with cost or make. It's about quality of metal and maintenance. Bit like cars.

[sherman]

Victorinox or Wustoff

[Shaw Tarse]

21TonyK said:

You'll find an answer here... (somewhere)

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk03jIbGUp6...


It gets asked a lot and you always get the same answers. Its very much personal preference and sharpness really is nothing to do with cost or make. It's about quality of metal and maintenance. Bit like cars.

As Tony said ^^^
Though you may be more confused than before you asked

[LeadFarmer]

Victorinox with black plastic handles. Cheap as chips and RAZOR sharp.
Or add £100 to the price and get one with a fancy brand name that doesn't do anything any better.

[wong]

LeadFarmer said:

Victorinox with black plastic handles. Cheap as chips and RAZOR sharp.
Or add £100 to the price and get one with a fancy brand name that doesn't do anything any better.

This....
See what butchers and real chefs actually use - usually plastic handled with a decent blade ~ £20. Easy to sterilise, you're not paying for the fancy riveted exotic wood handle.

What are you using now? Even expensive knives get blunt. Basically you need to learn how to sharpen knives. Start with what you 've got.

[DoubleD]

Spending lots on a knife won't improve anything. But improving your knife skills will.

[ChevronB19]

A reasonable knife such as a ProCook one plus a decent sharpener. This one works for me https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001DXVL6K/ref...

[Harfi88]

I got the basic Wusthof block for about £100 a few months ago. The knives are great but I still can’t cut anything well apart from my hands

[UTH]

I love my Global knives. Pricey and probably unnecessary, but oh well.

[NordicCrankShaft]

Chef here, a serrated Victorinox with cheap plastic black handle gets used for pretty much everything.

You'd be better off learning how to sharpen a knife properly first before investing money in one.

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Thursday 14th January 17:33

[abucd4]

Wusthof Classic chefs knife is the best bang for buck imo (not the “pro” ones which are worse). About £70 if I remember rightly?

Learn how to sharpen a cheap knife first before investing in a good knife though.

Best thing I ever bought was the pro cook diamond sharpening rod. Steels are typically for honing, whetstones for sharpening (let’s avoid opening that can of worms...) and these are a nice in between that I can use regularly to maintain a sharp edge.

[DoubleD]

NordicCrankShaft said:

Chef here, a serrated Victorinox with chela plastic bkac handle gets used for pretty much everything.

You'd be better off leaning how to sharpen a n ife properly first before investing money in one.

Yes, chefs tend to use mid priced knives as they do as good a job as the more expensive stuff. Celebrity chefs use more expensive knives, but these are probably given to them to use on TV.

[uncinqsix]

LeadFarmer said:

Victorinox with black plastic handles. Cheap as chips and RAZOR sharp.
Or add £100 to the price and get one with a fancy brand name that doesn't do anything any better.

Victorinox are very good, and a solid choice. However, they will only be razor sharp if you can keep it that way! Although there are plenty of much more expensive brand-name knives that fail to improve on what Victorinox offers, there are options that will be nicer to use and will hold their edge longer.

One such option is the Misono 440, which can be bought from Japan directly: https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/misono-...

Depends a lot on how you want do your sharpening regime: with a steel and frequently = Victorinox (you can also get them with a nice rosewood handle if you don't like plastic). Sharpening with a stone and much less frequently = something Japanese like that Misono.