What are your favorite kitchen knives?

[Drac]

Hello all,

As many of you know, one of my hobbies is knife making and I got into it due to kitchen knives. So I was curious on what are your guys favorite knives? Style, handle, maker, materials, etc.

Right now I have been taking advantage of the popularity of Japanese knives and got a couple yanagi ba and santoku bōchō. Even made a usuba bōchō for a trade with another maker. I also have a nice 16" fillet knife I used with slicing the bacon up that I did recently. Most of mine are kit knives that I've done for practice over the years since, like most makers, I never have enough time to make one for me.

Jim

[davidlpope]

My wife and I received a set of Henckel Pro-S knives fro our wedding ten years ago. We use them everyday.

[Frank McGrath]

I like the sharp ones. Although, the doctors have said I can not have sharp things yet.

[Jack Daw]

Nothing cuts the cake like my Bowie knife, Jim. It was made by Wick Ellerbe, and may still be featured on his webby. I had it fashioned after the Musso Bowie, using the same dimensions, but with my initials.

[artificer]

All but one of my main knives are Wustof Trident Classics. I also keep one santoku and a Chinese chef's knife in carbon steel.

I'm pretty obsessive about the sharpness of knives in my kitchen, and I cook quite a bit, so I've got several high-grit stones (up to 12,000) a steel and a very wide strop that see frequent use.

Now if i could just keep my wife from cutting on the stainless counter top and leaving nicks in the blade of one particular knife...

[piperdbh]

The one I use most often is a Rada 10" chef that I bought from the church ladies' group. All my knives need sharpening, by the way.

[CMcG]

I have a basic set of Wiltshire stainless knives with wooden handles. In decreasing order of size they are: chef's, slicer, utility, and paring. These are augmented by a Chinese cleaver (full stainless construction) for heavy chopping and an Ikea serrated knife for bread. The one that sees the most use is definitely the chef's knife, probably because one of my first jobs after high school was working in a kitchen that only had those types of knives

I have tried a santoku and my mom has a set of Shun kitchen knives but I have not yet acquired the technique to benefit from the way they are constructed.

Back when I had access to more tools, I made a chef's knife out of a higher carbon steel. It was a great cutting tool but the blade got very stained and I had to coat it with oil between use to prevent it from rusting.

Even though my knives are basic, they do the job because I keep them sharp. I touch them up with the steel after each washing to keep the edge straight and sharpen as necessary with a Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker. The latter is particularly useful because it sets a consistent angle and removes a minimum of stock.

[azwildcat96]

I have quite a few, but seem to gravitate towards a low cost carbon steel cleaver that was purchased years ago from an oriental market. It holds a nice edge, and is my go-to all-around choice in the kitchen.

[Joshua]

I have a handful of Henkel (Chinese Cleaver, Santuko), 4-5 different Wustof Trident (8" chef, filet, scalloped slicer), one Tramontina butcher's scimitar, and the rest are Forschners ranging from an old high carbon 14" chef knife, high carbon traditional cleaver, to modern high carbon stainless stiff boning, flexible boning, 10" chef, serrated slicer, and non-scallopped slicer.

These were *mostly* procured during culinary school.

I still want the Santuko-style knives that Kershaw makes, but a bit too rich for this retired has-been-who-never-was chef.

[carlb]

All of my serious knives are Shun Classic; a 10" French Chef's knife, a serrated knife (for tomatoes), and a paring knife. We have a second home, where I've got a Shun santoku and a carving knife. I've got miscellaneous others around; the bread knife is a Wuestoff, and I also have a Kyocera ceramic knife I use for some fruits.

For me, it was all about the fit in my hand. I tried Wuestoff, Henckels, Global, and Shun, and the Shuns were the only ones that fit, and felt like I would enjoy wielding them. I (fortunately) live on the same bus line as Northwestern Cutlery, so a few times a year I take them there for sharpening; they do a far beter job than I ever could on my own.

I bought the santoku first, but I think I have to admit that I prefer the classic French chef's knife; it's just a tad more versatile. Give me that and a paring knife, and I can handle 97% of what I need to do in the kitchen. A serrated knife will take care of the other 3%.