My wife showed me what a real knife could do

[lovenhim]

My wife and I were getting ready to make a food dish which required cutting up chicken, potatoes, carrots, squash, etc. I thought to myself "lets see how well two of my knives do at this task". I got my Buck 110 which was sharpened on my Lansky kit and then stropped, and my Buck Vantage Pro. I tried boneless chicken breast both frozen and thawed with both knives and a potato. They both did cut the stuff, then my wife got a plain edge knife from the block and did the same. I tried it as well. The kitchen knife did a much better job while both my Buck knives were nowhere near as smooth. Whats the deal here? Our kitchen knives are a $15 Mainstays set from Walmart. The Buck Vantage was the factory edge and that cheap kitchen knife did a much better job.

[Steinar]

Edge geometry and designed specifically for the job does make a difference.

(Knife tests where they check how good a kukri is at peeling potatoes is sort of a waste of time in my opinion.)

[Steinar]

(In your case the big difference is probably the kitchen knives having a very much thinner blade and almost a full flat grind, with my having checked what kind of knives those kitchen knives are.)

[Grant Lamontagne]

(In your case the big difference is probably the kitchen knives having a very much thinner blade and almost a full flat grind, with my having checked what kind of knives those kitchen knives are.)

Took the words out of my mouth. Thinner, purpose built blades are going to outperform pocket knives any day when used for their purpose.  However, try sticking a kitchen knife in your pocket and carrying it around all day and see what happens. 

Def

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[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh yeah, one more thing, try using a SAK blade on cutting food- except for the difficulty in cleaning the ergonomics I think you'll find that it functions quite well.

Def

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[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

(In your case the big difference is probably the kitchen knives having a very much thinner blade and almost a full flat grind, with my having checked what kind of knives those kitchen knives are.)

Took the words out of my mouth. Thinner, purpose built blades are going to outperform pocket knives any day when used for their purpose.  However, try sticking a kitchen knife in your pocket and carrying it around all day and see what happens. 

Def

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Yep.     I worked in restaurants as a prep cook and line cook for several years before I started college.  There's a reason a Chef's knife or a Santoku is designed the way it is; it's the best design for cutting, slicing, and chopping that you can get.  I learned how to do those types of knife-use tasks in that industry, and still do them to this day.  My son is always incredulous that I can thin-slice a mushroom in barely more than a second without cutting my fingertips off.  But, it's the years of practice I have, combined with the design of the Santokus that I prefer, that lets me do that. 

Like anything else, it's a matter of selecting the right tool for the job.  Like with an MT instead of a well equipped toolbox, a dedicated folder in the kitchen is always going to be a compromise compared to a block with a good selection of purpose-designed knives.

As an FYI, a good minimum selection of knives for kitchen work are a chef's knife (or Santoku), a slicer, and a paring knife.  My knife block holds large (8") and small (5") Santokus, a clip point and drop point parer, a large (10") and small (6") slicer, a medium size boning knife (not really a necessity anymore, given the level of preprepping available in grocery store bought foods these days), and a large serrated bread knife.  I also have a regular steel, but it's about 15 years old now, and has lost much of its surface, so I'll soon be replacing it with a diamond surfaced one.  Also, IMHO, the best kitchen knives available these days are the Wustof Tridents; very pricey, but they will literally last a lifetime.  I've yet to use a kitchen knife that has both the performance and durability of a Wustof.

[lovenhim]

Who makes a decent set of quality kitchen knives that do not cost $500? My wife had a set of Cutco but they were misused (incorrect knife for the job) and they fell apart so to speak. There has got to be a better knife set than out $15 Walmart set but not cost $500 either.

[Sazabi]

What about Victorinox or Opinel knives?  To be fair, Opinel doesn't make anything larger than pairing knives, I think.

[Sparky415]

Try sharpening your Buck with the red Lansky (coarse) stone and don’t strop, It won’t outcut the kitchen knife but I think it should cut food better than before 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Who makes a decent set of quality kitchen knives that do not cost $500? My wife had a set of Cutco but they were misused (incorrect knife for the job) and they fell apart so to speak. There has got to be a better knife set than out $15 Walmart set but not cost $500 either.

Chicago Cutlery makes the best value kitchen knives that I'm aware of.  You can check on knifecenter too... they have a whole kitchen section there, and I've seen some very nice looking sets at very reasonable prices.  Can't say much about the quality, but they seemed to have some decent choices.

Here's a few that caught my eye when I was looking before...

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/KSABS0900/KAI-Pure-Komachi-2-Series-9-Piece-Kitchen-Knife-Block-Set-ABS0900

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/WU1577/Wusthof-Silverpoint-II-14-Piece-Knife-Block-Set

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/MER20000/Mercer-Cutlery-Genesis-6-Piece-Knife-Block-Set-with-Tempered-Glass-Knife-Block

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/C01308/chicago-cutlery-landmark-forged-14-piece-block-set

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/C01046/chicago-cutlery-onyx-forged-10-piece-block-set

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/WU1515/Wusthof-Silverpoint-II-10-Piece-Knife-Block-Set

[dks]

Icel, Global, Victorinox, Kitchen Devils. They all make good knives that last for ever.

[theonew]

Oh yeah, one more thing, try using a SAK blade on cutting food- except for the difficulty in cleaning the ergonomics I think you'll find that it functions quite well.

Def

Well that's a new one to me, I never knew you had to clean the ergonomics

[Styerman]

IMVHO , you don't need a full set . A Santoku , and a good paring knife will cover ya . The Victorinox knives with the cast plastic handles will work well and are a snap to sharpen . Another addition you might want to consider , is a bread knife and a slicer . All the above , plus a generic block is well within your $500.00 cap .

Chris