Clue me in on good (and cheap) knives please?

[Haggises]

I'm in desperate need of some good knives, but I'm also cheap and need a good bang for the buck.

Number one is a bread knife. I realized I've never had a good bread knife.
Number two would be a Chef's knife.
Number three I guess a paring knife.

I don't need a set of steak knives or a big wooden block.
I have a King 1000 stone that I'm planning to practice honing all the old knives on before it gets anything better put on them.
I don't have a steel. Do I need one?

If you were to go under 100 bucks for the three what would you recommend?
What would I have to go to to get a serious and significant jump in quality?

 

[Jim]

I would look at the Ouch sampler>. The Tojiro Brand Gyuto & paring knife and the ITK bread knife.

If you can go a bit higher The Masamoto Gyuto is much harder and overall a better knife.

Wave goodbye to your budget if you go down this road.

FWIW you can get some really nice knives used on the Knife forums as guys upgrade.

 

[inspiringK]

Maybe starting out with just one good knife will give you he opportunity to see what you like and could give you the chance to be more informed before your next purchase.

I am a fan of the Ouch idea of getting a Tojiro DP Gyuto to start. I really enjoy using my 240mm.
The bread knife is easy enough to hold out on and the Petty is another knife that you can do without (at first).

If Tojiro is too far out of your budget. I recently worked with and sharpened an 8 inch Victorinox/Forchner Chef knife and enjoyed the experience. It is easy to be snobby about these knives, but they have a devout following and I can appreciate why they do.

 

[Kazeryu]

I have a decent gyuto and usuba (around $550 combined). I find I reach for the cheap CCK far more often, though. It slices/chops better (thinner profile) for normal use, sharpening it doesn't scare me, and since it didn't cost anything ($35) I even use it on mostly frozen stuff without worrying about it. Yes, it may be a mystery metal rather than white steel and/or blue #2, but for my level of cooking it stays plenty sharp between touch-ups.

Frankly I wouldn't recommend a gyuto or western chef's knife to anyone unless they are a die-hard rock-chopper.

As a footnote, IMO if you own a thin-profile knife like a butcher's knife or CCK and keep it even moderately sharp, there is no point in owning a bread knife. All a bread knife does is generate crumbs needlessly by tearing the bread instead of slicing it.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I also have a Tojiro Petty/Paring knife. It's a nice knife, but I think I would like it more if it was shorter for better tip control since I think that's the whole point of a petty. Maybe I'm just a weirdo.

 

[YetiDave]

I have a Victorinox bread knife and it is BRILLIANT. I make a ton of crusty bread and it's handled everything I've made with ease

 

[Haggises]

Why do I get the feeling that I'd be quite happy with a Victorinox, yet always wondering what a Tojiro would be like?

It's like deja vu all over again in a new subject!

 

[bilkay]

Victorinox/Forschner

 

[cody6766]

Why do I get the feeling that I'd be quite happy with a Victorinox

yes

Victorinox/Forschner

and yes again

While not pretty and not the best, they are probably the best in their class. I use a Victorinox curved boning knife over my Wustof straight boning knife for everything but the few tasks where I need a very stiff blade. It doesn't hold an edge as long as my Wustof or my Shun knives, but it is still a great knife. I've used plenty of their chef's knives and utility knives too. Every restaurant I worked in when I was younger used their knives as their kitchen knives. My father in law was a butcher and the shop he worked for used them too.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I'd get the Tojioro DP Gyuoto and Petty. They are the stainless ones. Then the Tojiro bread knife as funds progress. They will outlast you. CKTG is supposed to get some stainless Tojiro ITK knives but I don't know when. Or you get the ITK Gyuto and Petty and be happy. They will be great knives, easy to hone.

After getting a J-knife I haven't wanted to even touch a western chef knife and I'm around them all day.

 

[Luc]

You can also start one knife at the time to spread the purchase a bit. If you were to buy one, my recommendation would be to start with a chef's knife. That's the one that I use the most in the kitchen. I would also recommend going for a good knife. What I would recommend would be above your budget but it also depends how serious you are in a kitchen. If you use a kitchen knife every day or twice a week. In my case, it's almost every meal as I often cook so a good knife was required.

 

[Wid]

Victorinox/Forschner

For the money hands down the best buy in the cutlery world.

 

[Haggises]

I took inventory of what I have - a 5 inch and 7 inch chef's knife from Marks and Spencer (18 year old wedding present). Looked at edge - yikes, I need to do a better job of storage.
Found an 8" Calphalon Slicing knife (less fat blade than a chef's i'm guessing). Edge a bit better. Forgot I had this - this was given by SWMBO to me as "the good knife" a few years back.
A big pink monstosity of a Kai Pure Komachi. I looked it up. Don't ask.
Then the usual mish-mash of assorted peelers, parers and cheap serrated knives.

So I had to ask myself, what would I do with a better knife? The ones I have do a fairly crappy job of cutting much of anything.
I really need to discipline myself to put better edges on them and keep them there with better storage. Once I do that then I can justify the "good knife/knives".
Right now I'm thinking I use the Calphalon for meats, get a Victorinox for chopping and when I've grown up a bit in knife handling move into the Tojiro Gyuto.
And a whole bunch more reading here and the Kitchen Knives Forum.
And get an end-cut board.
And some finer stones than 1000.

Appreciate the input folks!
And proably some more stuff that is going to cost me $$$$$.

 

[Haggises]

And I forgot the bread knife. D'oh.
I don't think I cut bread enough to justify the Tojiro ITK, though the video was highly impressive. Victorinox here I come.

Baby steps......

 

[thebikingengineer]

Get the Victorinox/Forschener 8" or 10" Chef's Knife, and while you're at it pick up the Bread Knife as well. You can get those two at any restaurant supply store for under $70 combined. The Tojiro is a nice knife, but you should have a beater first. I've got quite a selection of knives to choose from in my kitchen, but I still mostly reach for my 10" Victorinox. I know it will do the job.

 

[inspiringK]

I took inventory of what I have - a 5 inch and 7 inch chef's knife from Marks and Spencer (18 year old wedding present). Looked at edge - yikes, I need to do a better job of storage.
Found an 8" Calphalon Slicing knife (less fat blade than a chef's i'm guessing). Edge a bit better. Forgot I had this - this was given by SWMBO to me as "the good knife" a few years back.
A big pink monstosity of a Kai Pure Komachi. I looked it up. Don't ask.
Then the usual mish-mash of assorted peelers, parers and cheap serrated knives.

So I had to ask myself, what would I do with a better knife? The ones I have do a fairly crappy job of cutting much of anything.
I really need to discipline myself to put better edges on them and keep them there with better storage. Once I do that then I can justify the "good knife/knives".
Right now I'm thinking I use the Calphalon for meats, get a Victorinox for chopping and when I've grown up a bit in knife handling move into the Tojiro Gyuto.
And a whole bunch more reading here and the Kitchen Knives Forum.
And get an end-cut board.
And some finer stones than 1000.

Appreciate the input folks!
And proably some more stuff that is going to cost me $$$$$.

Sounds sensible enough. The Victorinox is a heck of a fun knife to work with, enjoy.

Getting a knife magnet is a good start to saving your edges from being clanged around (not mine in the picture).

 

[Haggises]

do any of the drawer storage options work? I've seen wooden trays online and weird looking flexible corky/rubbery things that supposedly slot your knife in every time at BB&B.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

not sure ont he drawer ones. For magnets, make sure you but the spine of the knife down first then the rest of the knife. Blocks work great... I have my home knives in a drawer with scabbards on them but I'm a bachelor without kids and visitors.

 

[cody6766]

Getting a knife magnet is a good start to saving your edges from being clanged around (not mine in the picture).

This is how I store mine, however, it loses it's aesthetic value when your knives are all different colors/brands.

I used to store them in a drawer, but I was very careful with them. They went in the long part of a silverware divider and always went blade first and blade down (it had a rubber mat inside). They were packed tight enough so the knives didn't slide around. They held each other still when the drawer opened and closed. You can also buy scabbards for the knives to keep them from banging around. Or, get a chef's knife bag. Many roll up for easy/small storage. It would probably have to live in a cabinet though.

 

[thebikingengineer]

I just put a blade guard on each knife after I've cleaned it. That lets you put it wherever you need. I used to have a knife block, but the individual guards work much better.

 

[Haggises]

Blade guards might work. These will have to be drawer knife storage - don't have room for wall mount magnets.
The more I read on the Tojiro DP the more I want one. I'll see if I can raise and maintain an edge on the cheapies first.