Best kitchen knives?

[slabbin@thecabin]

cutco

[bogwalker]

Are Wusthof knives made in China now?

[Tom Linderholm]

Are Wusthof knives made in China now?

To my knowledge, no they are not, on the HSOforum they still boast made in Germany.......

Here is where I go for knive purchases, huge selection.

www.jbprince.com

[bogwalker]

There was a Wusthof chef knife on _bay for $60.00 and in the description it said " Made in PRC".

[CJH]

Probably a knock off????

[hoggs222]

If you're around NE Mpls, there's a place called Masters Edge, right off of E. Hennipen. They sell new and "returns". I was asking him if the returns were used and he told me that mostly they are actual returns to Macy's, etc and have never been used.

I got my 7pc Classic set with the block for $150 a few years ago. You get the 8" chef knife, scissors, bread knife, paring knife, sandwich knife, sharpening steel and the block in that set. It's usually $300+.

I was there a couple of weeks ago to get my knives sharpened and they still have a bunch of blocks for sale.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I was there a couple of weeks ago to get my knives sharpened...

How much does sharpening run? I have a few of my Classics that coudl use toucching up!

[LaXCarp]

What are peoples opinions on ceramic knives?

[Swimbait2009]

Ceramic knives are VERY sharp, but also VERY delicate. I have two that I use only for fine vegetable chopping and slicing. They are very easy to chip and damage, so unless you really want to take special care of your knives I don't recommend them. They should be hand washed, since even moving around in the dishwasher can chip them. They're also spendy. Unless you're a gadget/knife nut, there are plenty of metal knives out there that do a fine job. I'd bet that you'll never see a ceramic knife in a professional kitchen either.

[hunt4food]

I just got free warranty replacements for the Wustoff knife handles that cracked after 13 years of use. I was very pleased with the warranty. I sent in 6 knives from my set and got brand new ones back. The handles probably cracked because I could never talk my wife (now ex-wife) into hand washing them. I always found them in the dishwasher and it really ticked me off!! Oh well, now she has the dishwasher but I got the knives

[DonBo]

And my wife thinks I'm nuts for not lettering her put my Chicago Cutlery knives in the dishwasher.

[picksbigwagon]

I agree about not putting them in the dishwasher, my wife has never done that since I told her 10 years ago NOT to do it. My mother in law on the other hand tries every single time to do that when they are at our house. She doesn't think there is a problem until this year at Christmas, I noticed she had another set of cheapy knives, I asked where the old set was, she said she threw them out because the handles were cracked and they weren't sharp anymore. I then asked her how many sets she has gone through in the last ten years, her response was 4, my father in law fell out of his chair laughing because he knew what I was getting at......

10 years of wustoff trident usage, never been professionally sharpened, but I am leaning towards getting it done......

That and my wife still will not chop vegetables with the chef knife, she likes to use the carving knife.....I think she does that out of spite now..........

[Steve Foss]

I don't have top of the line knives like some here, but I regularly touch them up with the all-in-one sharpeners with the ceramic inserts that are at a fixed angle. Like the ones you find all over the place for fillet knives.

Mostly our knives are Chicago Cutlery, and this keeps them VERY sharp.

Any comments on doing it that way vs the steel?

[DonBo]

I don't have top of the line knives like some here, but I regularly touch them up with the all-in-one sharpeners with the ceramic inserts that are at a fixed angle. Like the ones you find all over the place for fillet knives.

Mostly our knives are Chicago Cutlery, and this keeps them VERY sharp.

Any comments on doing it that way vs the steel?

If the ceramic works for you, there's no need to do anything else. I have a diamond steel that I use, then finish them with ceramic sticks. Again, whatever works for you is fine by me.

[Steve Foss]

Well, it definitely has been working. I touch up every single kitchen knife this way after every single use. Only takes a few strokes, and once you're in the habit it's second nature. Same drill with my fillet/hunting knives.

[hoggs222]

Ralph, $3 each, if you have 4 or more $2 each.

[delcecchi]

Kitchen supply store or online places that carry Forschner Victornox. They are excellent knives at a very affordable price. They are stamped not forged which saves money.

[ripstick]

My self I guess I will have to wait till I go to the cities.

[Swimbait2009]

I don't have top of the line knives like some here, but I regularly touch them up with the all-in-one sharpeners with the ceramic inserts that are at a fixed angle. Like the ones you find all over the place for fillet knives.

Mostly our knives are Chicago Cutlery, and this keeps them VERY sharp.

Any comments on doing it that way vs the steel?

The steel you're referring to, I'm assuming, is the round grooved piece of metal on a wooden handle right? This is a honing steel. Honing is very different than actually sharpening. With use, a knife's edge will begin to curl over one way or another. It's nothing you can see with the naked eye, but a knife will seem to lose its edge. The honing steel, if used often enough, will straighten this tiny curl out and maintain the sharpened edge for a longer period of time. Eventually, you wear the edge down to where you're getting into the thicker part of the knife, and the honing steel will not give you a new edge. This must be done with a sharpener.

If you use the sharpener too often, you will actually shorten the overall life of the knife. Most knives have such a long life, if properly cared for, that you may not realize that in 10 yrs you shortened the life of your knife by 6 months or a year, so don't worry about using the sharpener over the steel. If you're trying to get every last minute out of your knives, however, then only use the sharpener when the honing steel just doesn't seem to touch up the blade like it used to. Sharpen it well, and use the steel each time the knife comes out of the block, and you will only need to use the sharpener every few months.

[Ralph Wiggum]

That and my wife still will not chop vegetables with the chef knife, she likes to use the carving knife.....I think she does that out of spite now..........

LOL, same here! We have a chefs knife and a santuko, and she grabs a parer to chop veggies

And my M-I-L also has the world's worst knives. Can't stand cutting anything when we're at her house!!!

[Jim Almquist]

And my M-I-L also has the world's worst knives. Can't stand cutting anything when we're at her house!!!

I know just what you mean and I am always asked to carve the turkey at Thanksgiving and just get P.O. at how dull they are from the dishwasher. I guess I could bring my own but I know they would try to throw it in the dishwasher and sand blast it.

[DonBo]

I bring a sharpener to my folks house when I know I'm gonna get stuck carving dinner. Nice jesture sharpening up their knives ...untill Mom yells at me cause she cut herself .

[Jim Almquist]

Don I don't think that the knife gets used but just that one day a year if you know what I mean

[Steve Foss]

I bring a sharpener to my folks house when I know I'm gonna get stuck carving dinner. Nice jesture sharpening up their knives ...untill Mom yells at me cause she cut herself .

Doncha hate it the way some people's knives are so dull they actually are effective meat tenderizers?

[Swimbait2009]

I have a roll-up knife carrier that I got for Christmas this year. It's fantastic! I could transport 8 or 10 knives if I wanted to, and it has individual slots for each. I bring my own knives with me if I know the knives are going to stink where I'm going.