sharp edged tools...

[Zazzy]

What is your favorite knife?  My old knives need to be replaced and I got an inexpensive santoku last year to see whether I would like it before I even considered buying a good one.  I like it pretty well for many things but I'm not sure it'd ever replace a good chef's knife for me completely.  I'm fantasizing about Furi knives.  They are pretty expensive but they look so cool and a chef friend has used and liked them well.  Plus, they will never become separated from their tang!

What about you?  Do you go for the inexpensive knife and replace them more often? Buy the way expensive one that lasts a long time? Have a few really good ones?  Many so-so ones?

[DragonLady]

I buy cheap ones.  No matter how nice the knife, it doesn't last long if it's used to dig in the sandbox, sharpen pencils, pry off lids or unclog the sink. 

[Zazzy]

So, what you're saying is....another good reason not to have children?

I was thinking yesterday as I chopped vegetables about knife skills.  I am never going to be Martin Yan.  Ever see him debone a chicken?  Or Morimoto.  Choppity chop!  My knife skills leave a lot to be desired.  Yet I lust after these way expensive knives.  The knives aren't going to make me better.  Serious practice would make me better but most of the time I just chop stuff up and try not to take off a limb.

[DragonLady]

I was thinking yesterday as I chopped vegetables about knife skills.  I am never going to be Martin Yan.  Ever see him debone a chicken?  Or Morimoto.  Choppity chop!  My knife skills leave a lot to be desired.  Yet I lust after these way expensive knives.  The knives aren't going to make me better.  Serious practice would make me better but most of the time I just chop stuff up and try not to take off a limb.

That's fun to watch...for awhile.  Honestly, I'm not so sure I'd want to spend much time with a person who can reduce a raw carrot to birdseed in 15 seconds.  It's kinda scary. 

[mamafitz]

i have wustof-trident knives -- dh bought them for me for christmas one year (the guys at work gave him such a hard  time.  "you're getting your wife KNIVES for christmas?  are you crazy?").  they are at LEAST 10-12 years old, and have been sharpened professionally once or twice.  otherwise I just use the steel.  the bread knife was replaced once (for free), when my middle boy (6 yo) knocked it off the counter and it broke in half. 

everyone knows to not mess with my knives, and woe to him who puts one in the dishwasher.   

anyway, I have 3 kids (boys, almost 10, 6, 1.5), and they don't mess with them.  sharp knives make things so much easier, it can be dangerous trying to do stuff with dull knives.  I think it's definitely worth paying good $ for good knives.

Linda

[DragonLady]

and woe to him who puts one in the dishwasher.

In my house, it's "woe to him who buys anything that can't be put in the dishwasher". 

[fzxdoc]

Oh, I'm such a plebian in the kitchen.  I like Cutco knives.  They're always sharp.  I HATE reaching for a knife, finding it dull, having to put my veggie, meat, bread, or whatever aside, and sharpen the doggone thing.  My DH bought me Wusthof knives one Xmas, too.  I gave them away*.  I like my Cutco knives (did I say that already ) because, unlike me, they're always ready to go with no complaining.

*I gave them away mostly because they wouldn't stay sharp to my liking, but a teensy part of the reason was because my DH was still "in training" back then, and needed to know that his DW doesn't appreciate appliances or kitchen utensils on gift-giving occasions 

[DragonLady]

I like Cutco knives.

I had a job selling those once.  Or, at least I took the job...never actually sold a knife.  I just wasn't cut out for the home demonstration business. 

They did seem like nice knives, though, and I really wanted to try them out for myself -in the kitchen, where it counts.  But I never got the chance. 

[Phatzeau]

I have both... A few real good ones and a buncha cheapo specials.  I use the cheapos for prying those lids like DL... my large chef and boning blades are english Sheffielld's I inheireted from my grandmother... I keep em sharp sharp.  I have a few cleavers too that I like better now for most chopping jobs... one from Japan that isn't near as nice as the one from "Kamapart" for a fraction of the $$.  

E.

[Betsyv]

#1 Buy a few good knives.
#2 Learn how to sharpen them properly on a stone - I use a wet grinding wheel now, 2 or 3 times a year. Forget using a steel except in immediate emergencies. A diamond stone is also okay, but you must learn how to use it properly.
#3 Make it very clear to the other members of your household (young, male, female, your age, a parent) that your kitchen knives are every bit as precious and one-task limited as your sewing shears. They are not used outside of the kitchen or on anything but food and they NEVER NEVER go in the dishwasher.

I have had 2 Trident/Wusthof knives for over 20 years. I saved my money and bought them for myself - an 8" slicer and a 10" chef's knife. I would not trade those 2 knives for any number of any kind of knives.
My other favorite knife is a 7" Dexter slicer with a carbon steel blade my brother gave me after he finished at Johnson & Wales about 25 years ago. This one sharpens nicely using a steel, but lasts a lot longer sharpened on the grinding wheel.
I also have a bunch of other forgettable knives, but I would never give up those 3.

#4 Always remember: a dull knife is a dangerous knife.

Betsy V
Belmont, MA

[Huh...What?]

I own a number of Chicago Cutlery knives (the professional grade, not the Wal-Mart grade). Until recently I lived near a Chicago Cutlery factory outlet. I recently aquired some Anolon Santoku knives at a yard sale (person bought them, then hated them, I got them cheap). They are great for some tasks, but there are still things I do with my french chef's knives that I would never attempt with a santoku. On the other hand, my 7" santoku is great for dicing onions, herbs, ginger, things like that. I have one JA Henckels that, frankly, I don't like any better than my Chicago Cutlery stuff.