Kitchen Knives

[TeeDee]

I do enjoy cooking - more the experience of learning , researching and trial and error as anything else.


I also look in my kitchen drawer looks at the weird lost property box of culinary gym kit I seem to have accumulated , knives from here and there and nothing to unite them as a single defined set.

So I'm wondering if there are any makers here that have made Kitchen knife sets ? or offer kits? something with a unified handle would be nice.
As I anticipate this could be quite a pricy endeavour and investment - albeit worthwhile over the long term I would what others experiences maybe whom have looked into this sort of thing.

There are a lot of knives one could justify comprise a set of 'kitchen knives' but there are also some unnecessary overlap. - The key knives I think would probably be 5 or less.

 

[Pattree]

Does a “unified handle” mean that it’s made of the same material as the blade and integral with it?

My one-kitchen-knife-cuts-everything is a cheapo but I don’t like using a kitchen knife with scales or plastic handles even though we also have the usual knife block. I don’t like handles other than the utensil metal in any tableware. I think that your term “unified handle” might describe my preference.

Didn’t mean to hijack the thread but it’s useful information.

 

[TeeDee]

I meant more for clarity that the handles are all the same , coming from a set.
So a nice set of small , larger, chopper , Ulu , holding fork all with the same handle design - the same amount of love we use for bushcrafty blades ( burled walnut etc ) extended to a set of every day Kitchen knives.

 

[Nice65]

It’s inevitable you’re going to get steered towards Japanese knives, so I’ll start. These are Katto knives, made in Sheffield in a Japanese style. I bought a pair of their scissors, as have a couple of other people I know and the quality is exceptional.

Knives

Chef Knives with Japanese steel blades and hand carved wooden handles. Made in the UK with guaranteed next day delivery. Perfect for chefs, home cooks and gifts.

katto.shop

5 or less is sensible advice to yourself, I reckon 3 is ideal, add more if need be. I don't own any of them, I had a drawer like yours full of assorted and mostly blunt stuff and now use cheapo self sharpeners which work just fine and are always sharp from the ceramic rods inside the sheath. They’ll wear out the rods in the end but I’m not too bothered.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07M7NQXY8/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item?th=1

 

[TeeDee]

I guess I was wondering if any of the normal bushcraft knife makers from HERE (The forum) have dabbled or made kitchen knife sets as opposed to sylvanian cutlery.

 

[Nice65]

I guess I was wondering if any of the normal bushcraft knife makers from HERE (The forum) have dabbled or made kitchen knife sets as opposed to sylvanian cutlery.

When can we mention…scandi grinds…?

 

[hughtrimble]

I'd have a look at Robert Herder Windmill knives. The pairers are absolutely fantastic things, ground brilliantly thin. They're quite 'rustic' in finish, but cut beautifully. The handle matching is just in the wood type, not shape (because that wouldn't make sense).

I'm eventually going to get one of the Chef knives, but find the Victorinox Fibrox range rather too resilient to justify splashing out just yet.

 

[HillBill]

I've made plenty. But not taking work on atm. That will change at some point though.

Done everything from Paring knives, boning/filleting, chefs, those daft things with really deep blades, Chinese cleavers/chefs knives etc.

Not a fan of making them with my current set up, makes it harder than it 'should be' High grinds with deep thin blades is a real PITA atm.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Ben Orford does a nice chef knife, don’t know about a set. Expensive. I had a look at one at a show last May. Nicely made. Thin enough.

These look good. A shop local to my parents stock some.

Kitchen Knives Archives | Savernake Knives

A collection of customisable classic cook's and chef's blades. Crafted from British Steel and made to order for despatch in 5-7 working days.

www.savernakeknives.co.uk

If I was buying from a maker known for bushcraft knives I would want to be very sure that they understood that kitchen knives need thinner blade geometry.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

I mainly do Chef knives. I have done the odd set as a custom order.
Here’s a set that went to Wynne Evans.

 

[Moondog55]

Over the decades I have collected a lot of knives.
What the handles are made from is the last thing I look at; although all professional knives are supposed to be dishwasher safe.
Balance and the ability to take a scalpel sharp edge have been my only real priorities for over 50 years.
There are some very good cheap knives and some awful expensive ones and the only way to tell the difference sometimes is by using them.
A simple way to start is by buying an Apprentice set/ Starter set because they almost always come with a decent valise to keep them in. I have a few knife blocks on the bench but what I mainly use are the cheap magnetic knife bars from IKEA and a very strong lockable steel and plastic tool box with double padlocks because while I'd trust my life to other cooks and chefs most cooks are thieves and pirates and can't be trusted not to steal your favourite boning knife if you turn your back.

 

[Moondog55]

The key knives I think would probably be 5 or less.

Maybe for a total beginner but my own minimum [ not including duplicate] would be at least a dozen.
My 11yo Grandson has 5 already and he is almost ready for boning knives so that will add at least two new ones and if he wants to bone fish make that 4 more as fish filleting knives need to be thinner and more flexible.
This is before you start on carving knives and decorating knives for turning vegetables

 

[TeeDee]

Maybe for a total beginner but my own minimum [ not including duplicate] would be at least a dozen.
My 11yo Grandson has 5 already and he is almost ready for boning knives so that will add at least two new ones and if he wants to bone fish make that 4 more as fish filleting knives need to be thinner and more flexible.
This is before you start on carving knives and decorating knives for turning vegetables

You may well be right and I'm happy to be schooled.
So what would be those dozen knife types??

I am making an assumption you are a chef or in the culinary field. ?

 

[Moondog55]

I was until I got wise but 32 years in kitchens.
There are three types of small paring knives.
Then a couple of sizes of general purpose cooks blades 4" and 6" or similar
Then the French cooks type, 7" to 15" in intervals
A couple of Santuko in 6" or 8" and 10" plus a couple of Chinese style chopper blades say 6" and 8"
Fish filleting blades, one short and one long [ I don't like fish much but others do and I have no idea where mine went to] if you buy whole fish ] and if you do add in a couple of de-scalers.
Narrow boning knife and wide blade boner, 5" to 7"
A messer or two for cutting steaks, either bolo style or scimitar style or both maybe [ mine went west when I was in Nuigini and maybe I should replace them]
Long and short toothed bread knives
Then maybe a few carving knives for serving roasts, mine are a 12" blade and I have 4 of them because I used to do that work at the buffet table
I don't own any specialty knives like Mezzalunas or double blade mincing knives, I use machines for such work

 

[TeeDee]

I was until I got wise but 32 years in kitchens.
There are three types of small paring knives.
Then a couple of sizes of general purpose cooks blades 4" and 6" or similar
Then the French cooks type, 7" to 15" in intervals
A couple of Santuko in 6" or 8" and 10" plus a couple of Chinese style chopper blades say 6" and 8"
Fish filleting blades, one short and one long [ I don't like fish much but others do and I have no idea where mine went to] if you buy whole fish ] and if you do add in a couple of de-scalers.
Narrow boning knife and wide blade boner, 5" to 7"
A messer or two for cutting steaks, either bolo style or scimitar style or both maybe [ mine went west when I was in Nuigini and maybe I should replace them]
Long and short toothed bread knives
Then maybe a few carving knives for serving roasts, mine are a 12" blade and I have 4 of them because I used to do that work at the buffet table
I don't own any specialty knives like Mezzalunas or double blade mincing knives, I use machines for such work

And you would anticipate using all of those equally in your home kitchen for most meal prep??

I don't doubt that there are a broad range of knives available if one wanted a FULL set but I think for me thats unwarranted and not practically required.

 

[Moondog55]

I use most of them at least once a month, some of them I use daily.
Yes I use most of them all the time although my Santukos live under lock and key.
I buy in bulk and prep in bulk so I do need that range. If only cooking for two or three you don't need all sizes of each style; but you would need to use them to find out which style and size suits your needs. I buy my small paring knives by the dozen as it's cheaper that way and they wear out very quickly.
Victorinox small sets although the linked set doesn't have the tiny birds beak knife which I use a lot

https://www.amazon.com.au/Victorinox-Classic-Pieces-Paring-Multicolored/dp/B01GHU4XWM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=AABVX14JGU3OV&gQT=1&th=1

Swiss Classic Shaping Knife 6cm

A rock solid heritage, exacting commitment to Swiss precision and a consistent focus on quality and innovation are the absolute cornerstones of our business. Founded on integrity and family values, today we operate in over ten countries worldwide.

victorinox.com.au

Every home should have a set of carving knives tho, even if you don't always do a Sunday roast I think having dedicated carving knives is important.

Personally a dozen kitchen knives is about a minimum for good work at a high standard. You may be happy with five but boning small birds is damned hard with a cooks knife so some specialty blades are needed. When tunnel boning quail for instant I had a tiny little Gerber trout knife that cost me a small fortune back in the 70s but that is a specialty knife unless of course you are a trout fisherman in which case you might have several

Apprentices start with a very very basic for the first year of school but need to add extras after that.
Maybe a small apprentice set was what you may have been thinking about.

Apprentice Kit

A rock solid heritage, exacting commitment to Swiss precision and a consistent focus on quality and innovation are the absolute cornerstones of our business. Founded on integrity and family values, today we operate in over ten countries worldwide.

victorinox.com.au

 

[Pattree]

Is a ham knife and frame/cradle more of a front of house thing than than a chefs knife?
It looks spectacular and it’s not hard but then I’ve only done it once.

 

[Moondog55]

I'd say my FOH carving knives were also ham knives.
Front of house there is often a bit of showmanship going on. Some chefs are better at it than others, I was probably mediocre at it

 

[stonepark]

My main kitchen knifes are all Victorinox, with plastic moulded handles, with 2 exceptions which is a teak 14 inch bread knife which isnt made anymore (but have a plastic 12 inch as well) and a sheffield boning knife.

Easy to sharpen and touch up and pretty much wife proof (sorry bomb proof).

 

[Laurentius]

A while ago I discovered Tod Cutler who makes replica medieval knives and swords. I now use his "peasant" knives as everyday kitchen knives. As for the large knife I have a 19th century pattern butcher knife from J. Adams limited, a great company I have had a few blades from now and never disappointed. They do make a set of standard Kitchen knives too if that is your fancy.