Knives....

[SmokinBuddha]

Japanese cutlery are the best in my opinion.

 

[Jeff H]

JA Henkles are what we have in my kitchen. Mostly their Pro pieces, but several I've had before the pro version was available.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cutlery/zwilling-henckels-knives/

 

[ichbin73]

Yes, I like the Old Hickory knives as well. They go very well with cast iron cookware as they take similar care to keep them nice. Take an edge very nicely too...

 

[Bill-Chicago]

JA Henkles are what we have in my kitchen. Mostly their Pro pieces, but several I've had before the pro version was available.

Agreed.

I have a Henkles Pro set for over 12 years of near daily use, they look like knew as I hand wash, and still have a great edge as I hone about every other use.

Good luck with your search!

 

[M.Nolan]

http://www.gpknives.com/kershawbreakerknifegrantonedge.html

i use one of these Kershaw breaking knives for large jobs and i love it. for my BBQ knives i dont spend a lot on them and i mix and match the few pieces i really need. if they hit the rocks or concrete i wouldnt feel to bad about it, if i had a $200 chefs knife out there i would be paranoid.

food service knives are a good option, they dont cost much and they will take a beating.

 

[fxdlryan]

I have mostly Wusthof and Shun knives but I bought a Victorinox 8" chef's knife because they got such great reviews. It's a super nice knife, especially for the the money and holds an edge very well. It's now my outside chef knife along with one of their boning knives and 12' graton for carving. They are excellent value knives and they hold an edge maybe better than my Wusthofs. They aren't so expensive that I cringe if I drop one on the concrete outside. I'm pretty sure you could get those and a roll for under $200 and I'm not sure there would be a better set available for less money anywhere else.

 

[lantern]

http://www.gpknives.com/kershawbreakerknifegrantonedge.html

i use one of these Kershaw breaking knives for large jobs and i love it. for my BBQ knives i dont spend a lot on them and i mix and match the few pieces i really need. if they hit the rocks or concrete i wouldnt feel to bad about it, if i had a $200 chefs knife out there i would be paranoid.

food service knives are a good option, they dont cost much and they will take a beating.

I've fallen in love with the cimeter/breaking knife style when working with brisket and other large primal cuts. The belly makes a bigger difference than I had originally thought.

I bought a super cheap update international forged 11 inch cimeter just to see if I liked the style while actually using it. I'll be danged if it isn't one of my most used knives. Definitely worth the 15 bucks lol!

 

[The Wookiee]

i have a full set of nice wusthoff's with sankatu and big chef and medium slider and steak knives and paring etc etc... but pain in the ass to wash by hand. nice for inside stuff but don't love them for BBQ. eventually realized that cheaper can also be better for what i was looking for.

for BBQ& meat processing i use victorinox line (slicer, butcher, cimeter all with granton edge & love them... and can wash them in dishwasher). those + rapala (rubber handle) are my meat/BBQ arsenal... these plus a long steel = awesome set up.

 

[LYU370]

I ordered a set of cheapo Kiwi knives a few days ago after stumbling across a thread about them.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75581

 

[MattGoose]

I firmly believe that knives shouldn't be bought as part of a set....

I would also ask yourself which ones you really need.

I have a full set of Wusthof Classics that I got for our wedding. You want to know which one of those I use the most? The paring knife.

Other than that I use an 8" Wustof santou I got as a gift a whole lot.

The knife I use more than any other? A 6" Cuinsart santoku I got at Marshall's for $12. Why? I love the size, it is super easy to sharpen on a simple pull sharpener and gets way sharper way faster than any of the other knives. It goes dull pretty quick too but sharpens so easily.

Find the knives that work for your hands and go from there.

 

[Histrix]

I tend to stay out of knife discussions generally but I will say one thing - no matter what knives you buy, high end or low end or somewhere in between - do yourself a favor and learn how to sharpen your knives properly.

I think that is more important than trying to determine which brand happens to be "the best".

 

[IFlyEm]

Great info guys! Thanks a lot!