dgaddis1
Full Fledged Farker
Last year we bought a set of Wusthof Classic knives during a Black Friday sale. They were a revelation - so much better than the Pampered Chef knives we were using before.
In the last few weeks I've added to my collection and tossed out the last of our old knives.
As much as I like the Wusthofs, I wasn't willing to pay full price for them. So here's what I've picked up ::
Wusthof Mini-Asian 2 piece set - on sale at Williams & Sonoma, comes with a 5" Santoku and a sheep's foot paring knife. The little santoku is great for smaller veggies when you don't need a big knife. I suspect my wife will use it a lot because it is smaller and lighter and less imtimidating. I didn't even want the paring knife, and having used it a few times, I don't see myself using it often. But at $100 for the set it was cheaper than buying just the 5" santoku by itself, since the set was sale. And, as much as I like the knife, it's not what I would call a good bargain.
Victorinox 6" flexible boning knife - love the Fibrox handle - uber grippy, and fits the palm really well. I don't think I'd like it much for a chef's knife tho, as I think using the 'pincher' grip wouldn't work well for me. But for a boning knife (that I mostly use more as a fillet knife for trimming fat on butts and other larger pieces of meat) it works great.
Victorinox paring knife set - actually ran across this set at my local Publix, two 3" paring knifes for only $10. Love these knives! Super light, the blade is thin and razor sharp. Being so inexpensive, I don't hesitate to use them for non-food tasks like opening packages and whatnot. Only complaint is the bright orange handles.
Mercer Millennia slicing knife - By far (I think) the best bang for the buck, $22 for an 11" long slicing knife with a granton blade. SUPER sharp, Handle is a rubber/plastic mix, plastic along the sides, grippier rubber on the top and bottom. Used it once so far was was super pleased.
Mercer Renaissance 7" Santoku & 7" Nakiri. Mercer's Renaissance line is really similar to the Wusthof Classic - both use the same type of steel, both have forged blades, full-tange handles, and a classic western style handle. In the knife block, with the handles sticking out, the only way you can spot the difference is the little red sticker on the Wusthof knives. The one thing the Wusthof's have over the Mercers is the taper along the spine of the blade - the Wusthof's taper almost the entire length of the blade, from the handle to the tip. The spine on the Mercer maintain the same thickness most of the length of the blade and taper only as they approach the tip. Both do taper from the spine down to the cutting edge however. AND, the Mercer's are about 1/3rd (or less) than the cost of the Wusthofs. I wish they offered the nakiri w/a granton edge in their Renaissance line - they do offer one in their Genesis line, but I like the handle on the Renaissance better. So, I highly recommend them!
PICS.
Victorinox Boning Knife
Mercer Millennia slicing knife
The handle on the Mercer Millennia knives
Mercer Renaissance Santoku (top) and Nakiri (bottom) and Wusthof Classic Chef's knife (middle)
In the last few weeks I've added to my collection and tossed out the last of our old knives.
As much as I like the Wusthofs, I wasn't willing to pay full price for them. So here's what I've picked up ::
Wusthof Mini-Asian 2 piece set - on sale at Williams & Sonoma, comes with a 5" Santoku and a sheep's foot paring knife. The little santoku is great for smaller veggies when you don't need a big knife. I suspect my wife will use it a lot because it is smaller and lighter and less imtimidating. I didn't even want the paring knife, and having used it a few times, I don't see myself using it often. But at $100 for the set it was cheaper than buying just the 5" santoku by itself, since the set was sale. And, as much as I like the knife, it's not what I would call a good bargain.
Victorinox 6" flexible boning knife - love the Fibrox handle - uber grippy, and fits the palm really well. I don't think I'd like it much for a chef's knife tho, as I think using the 'pincher' grip wouldn't work well for me. But for a boning knife (that I mostly use more as a fillet knife for trimming fat on butts and other larger pieces of meat) it works great.
Victorinox paring knife set - actually ran across this set at my local Publix, two 3" paring knifes for only $10. Love these knives! Super light, the blade is thin and razor sharp. Being so inexpensive, I don't hesitate to use them for non-food tasks like opening packages and whatnot. Only complaint is the bright orange handles.
Mercer Millennia slicing knife - By far (I think) the best bang for the buck, $22 for an 11" long slicing knife with a granton blade. SUPER sharp, Handle is a rubber/plastic mix, plastic along the sides, grippier rubber on the top and bottom. Used it once so far was was super pleased.
Mercer Renaissance 7" Santoku & 7" Nakiri. Mercer's Renaissance line is really similar to the Wusthof Classic - both use the same type of steel, both have forged blades, full-tange handles, and a classic western style handle. In the knife block, with the handles sticking out, the only way you can spot the difference is the little red sticker on the Wusthof knives. The one thing the Wusthof's have over the Mercers is the taper along the spine of the blade - the Wusthof's taper almost the entire length of the blade, from the handle to the tip. The spine on the Mercer maintain the same thickness most of the length of the blade and taper only as they approach the tip. Both do taper from the spine down to the cutting edge however. AND, the Mercer's are about 1/3rd (or less) than the cost of the Wusthofs. I wish they offered the nakiri w/a granton edge in their Renaissance line - they do offer one in their Genesis line, but I like the handle on the Renaissance better. So, I highly recommend them!
PICS.
Victorinox Boning Knife
Mercer Millennia slicing knife
The handle on the Mercer Millennia knives
Mercer Renaissance Santoku (top) and Nakiri (bottom) and Wusthof Classic Chef's knife (middle)
Those are basically the only 3 knives I use, in addition to, my Dexter and Victorinox 10" Granton Edge.
