Knives Set
What’s the difference between a $70 set of kitchen knives and a $120 set?
Assuming the bulleted list of features, list of knives included, etc, seems the same?
Other than the price tag?
Well, when considering kitchen knives, there are some things to look at:
* Hard vs soft steel (Chicago Cutlery is soft – don’t buy it , you’ll be sharpening it all the time)
* Full-length tang (That’s the metal part of the knife that goes into the handle. A lot of cheaper knives have tangs that only go a couple of inches into the handle. This makes them less sturdy, and also sometimes means that the knife separates)
* Rivets – they should be smooth and absolutely flush with the surface of the handle
* Comfort and grip (how well the handle fits in your hand, how high you fingers will be above the cutting surface when you use it, how slippery the handle may get if it’s wet or greasy)
* Balance – If the knife is too heavy toward the tip, you’ll fight it whenever you are slicing; and it will tire you faster than a well-balanced knife)
I don’t recommend hollow-ground knives. They may be very sharp, but the will not wear well and usually the balance is not good.
I, personally, never buy “sets” of knives. I buy knives for what I typically do in the kitchen, and I don’t care that they don’t match. A minimum set, imo, is this:
A 10″-12″ French knife (the workhorse of the kitchen) – MAYBE an 8″ if your hands are very small
A carving knife
A bird’s-beak (curved peeling knife)
A short serrated knife for tomatoes, etc.
A longer serrated knife for hard squashes, etc. Also can double as a bread knife
A straight-bladed utility knife
A cleaver
The other purchase you should make (which will pay for itself very quickly in time NOT spent sharpening your blades) is a magnetic knife strip that you can hang your knives on. This will prevent them from becoming dulled by contact with drawer surfaces or plastic utensils, or getting “dings” from jostling against other knives or other metal utensils in the drawer.
Set The Sun-No Knives For Nathan