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About 10 years ago i bought some Richardsons of Sheffield Fusion knives that stay sharp, think they have a tungsten edge, there as good today as they were when i bought them, but looking a bit old now. So im looking for a good knife set.
Obvious choice was Global but i also contacted Richardsons and they pointed me to these
Love them or hate them but I've got a set of Globals and I've always found them to be able to cope with everything I've needed to do. I sharpen them with a MinoSharp, few strokes through on each sharpening wheel and they're soon back to being dangerous
Got mine in Costco for way less than you'll see on the high street but it was along time ago so no idea if they still do them.
My bro in law is a chef, and still insists on Sabbatier knives.
He sharpens ONLY with a steel, laughs at those sharpeners with wheels, or grinding components and his knives are sharp enough to split hairs.
I can shave arm hair off (it's a random test Spyderco suggested!) once mine are done; all the Sharpmaker is is a set of sharpening stones (you need something harder than steel to sharpen steel) set at the right angle; very simple but very effective. About £60 but well worth it.
My bro in law is a chef, and still insists on Sabbatier knives.
He sharpens ONLY with a steel, laughs at those sharpeners with wheels, or grinding components and his knives are sharp enough to split hairs.
He can't be hard on them, i had a sabatier boning knife, snapped it before the day was through, wouldn't hold an edge for a decent length of time, i'm guessing they use cheap carbon steel.
Also a steel does sharpen yes, but it's taking the edge away to make it finer, sooner or later it'll have to go on a stone.
Shapton ceramic glass stones are quality, they bring an edge up real fast and are smooth and consistent.
A naniwa combination stone is a good compromise, something like 1000/5000 grit should be fine for most things along with a steel.
If you can't be doing with learning how to hone, than something like matt suggested would be good, as at least you'll keep a consistent angle which is the point of them.
Carbon steel SHOULD keep an edge better than stainless. It's about four times as hard.
My youngest works for the biggest stainless manufacturer in the UK at Tinsley, east of Sheffield, it overlooks Tinsley viaduct on the M1.
See it's not that clear cut heh, i have an old thiers issard straight using sheffield silver steel, which is a high grade carbon, and like you say it's harder but once that edge is on it's amazing.
And yet that sabatier i had was a total pos, i guess what i'm trying to say it's the quality of the steel rather than what it's made from, a good stainless will easily trump a cheap carbon blade.
Plus us trade folk have to use stainless, cos carbon has the potential to taint the food.
Apparently when sheffield silver steel first came out, they had to change the composition as many complained it was far too hard.
There are very hard grades of steel out there, but many aren't suitable for knives. there's not much harder than cast manganese steel, used for the common crossings on high speed railway points.
I've had my Sabbatiers for years and they are still going strong. I even have my knife roll and most of my knives from catering college and they are still doing ok for all of the hammer they got.
I use a combination of Henkels/Wuhstof/Sabattier/Victorinox in my kit. I've got one old Global (most Chefs do) but they are an utter bar steward to keep sharp.
Steels maintain an edge, they do not sharpen knives and are never intended for that purpose. You need to whetstone a knife in order to do that.
If you don't want to spend a fortune, Victorinox are ultra reliable and will do for most. I've got a Pastry Knife (aka Wonderbat) which is probably the best all-rounder you can get. Slice super-fine slices of bread? No drama. 20 boxes of tomatoes? Easy peasy. All for £35! Their tomato knives are good and handy for small salad items. The plastic handles make them a bit "industrial" but I can guarantee they won't let you down. With the pastry knives, once the serrated edge begins to wear, bin it. You can't get them back once they begin to blunt up. Given mine get used on every shift and it lasts a year, a home version should see you right for a fair bit.
If you want bling but reliable knives go German. Mine stay sharp with maintenance using a diamond steel (Vogue ones are £15 Global are 6x that for the same thing).
Some Jap blades are high maintenance but are on a different level for sharpness but leave them to posers or professionals. After all, we get thrm deducted on our tax bills.......otherwise you need your f'ing head reading spending £150 on a "shank"!!
Anything endorsed by a Celebrity is for one purpose only.....to bolster up their failing restaurant empire! Avoid at all costs.
As a pro, I use a Pastry knife/Cooks knife (10"), a paring knife, a serrated tomato knife (good for fruit), a pallet knife, an oyster chuck and a filleting knife for fish. It's very rare (outside of Michelin Star premises) that I'd need anything else so really there is no need for a ten knife collection in any domestic kitchens.
There really isn't much between Henkels and Wuhstof. I literally buy whichever is on offer with Nisbets. You won't go wrong with either.
Fresh from the packet, offender of above wound last August! Drawback of being tired and in control of dangerous tools........Victorinox Pastry knife...AKA Wonderbat. Can do most jobs you throw at it.
Let me put it to you another way, what do you do for a living.........
Let me put it this way, I use a Mac every day but I still can't programme one.
I ride a surfboard to a very high standard but I still can't make one.
I drive a quick car fairly competently but I still couldn't fix most issues in it.
And I used to cook for a living. And know more about steel than 99.9% of people including you. You cut a lot of meat but prepping salads? Slicing hundreds of potatoes? Peeling sack loads of carrots?
Last edited by Matteeboy; 21 June 2015 at 10:01 AM.
I have one knife that I use for most things except cutting bread, it's high grade carbon steel (japanese I believe) I bought it in a posh shop near stone henge when visiting friends many years ago, cost me about £60 which was a lot at the time for a knife, sharp as **** and cuts anything from tommys to onions as tin as you like, I keep the edge with a diamond steel and it sees a wet stone about twice a year.
If how it looks is important to you then don't buy pure carbon steel as it dis-colours and needs to be dried immediately or it will rust and show water marks, you'll also see blueing and pitting in the surface, but you won't find anything as sharp once sharpened properly.
19 June 2015 | 12:05 PM
Which Cooks Knives
