ottawa foodies

I was wondering what knives the home cooks here prefer. We have quite a few, but nothing really special or expensive. We got a Cordon Bleu chef's knife at a deep discount at C. A. Paradis a few years ago and this remains our most expensive (and most used) knife. For those who want to improve their knife selection but are on a budget, I think the President's Choice Professional series is a good choice. They are made in Portugal and have good heft and a good edge out of the box, and for the price I think are exceptional and a good option for home cooks. And they did NOT pay me to say that, BTW! We have the whole set, including a set of steak knives.

What knives are you using?

i use Cordon Bleu's old knives made by Mundial at home, much better than the wusthof versions which i've heard from colleagues lose their edge quickly. I am going to Japan for a vacation next week and am hoping to score some sweet steel there. Japanese chef's knives aren't just a fad they have to be the best on the market right now. You can never go wrong with anything by MAC or kershaw.

My favourite knife for a long time is a Henckels cleaver that set me back a mere $30 or so about 8 years ago. It holds its edge reasonably well and is easy to sharpen (with a Wusthof easy-sharpen thing with two overlapping grit wheels, across which you drag the knife). It has a beautiful balance and hand-feel.

Unfortunately, any Henckels knife I've bought in the past 5 years was complete garbage so they must have changed how they make them.

So if one was to buy a good knife...I assume you need to buy a sharpening tool too? I also assume there is a certain talent to this. I'd be wary to take an expensive knife to just any place that offers this service.

How much should one spend on a good knife?

Til now, I've used the larger of a set of knives I received as a gift about 7 years ago - the brand is Accord - can't even find a website to see what it's worth, so I assume not very much. It's pretty heavy, and has a nice wooden handle but I'm sure it could be sharper. I use the gizmo on the back of the electric can opener to sharpen, about once a month - probably a huge faux-pas. The rest of the set includes a paring knife that I rarely use - I prefer my cheap surrated Walmart special, a meat fork - always handy, and a smaller chef's knife that I use on occasion.

I'm now wondering if I should buy a new knife, or take mine to a sharpener, and if so where?

Does anyone have any input to the Presidents Choice knives, as mentioned by flyfish, below?

I use:

A) My $1500 knife kit that was included in my tuition at school (Le Cordon Bleu). I believe they're all Wusthof? I leave these at school during the school terms though.

B) A set of 3 sushi knives that came in a silver case that I recieved as a gift from my father. The only marks they have on them are in japanese, so I have no clue what brand.

C) A wooden handled butcher knife that I got at Vallue Village 7 years ago for 50 cents of no notable make.

D) A ceramic knife of Japanese make (Kyocera?). Sharpest knife I own, never has to be sharpened, great for tomatoes. Kinda disarmingly lightweight though - I would stick to a paring knife for this material and skip the butcher knife - I prefer gravity's effect on a heavier metal knife for chopping. I also have a ceramic blade veg peeler of the same make WHICH I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.

I sharpen mine with a standard sharpening rod, which does require the correct angles to work, however you can get at home sharpeners that kinda look like a credit card swipe machine that you can just run the knife through...

"I sharpen mine with a standard sharpening rod, which does require the correct angles to work, however you can get at home sharpeners that kinda look like a credit card swipe machine that you can just run the knife through..."

I was wondering about those.. are they good? and where can one get them? I don't recall seeing them in stores before.

I have a sharpening stone, but haven't used it in a while.. i guess i wasn't too good at sharpening with that when i tried it before :p

My knives are getting dull now, which is not good (and can actually be dangerous), so recommendations on where to get a sharpener (and if they are good) is welcome.

I have no idea if the "swipe through" ones actually work. The last time I saw one in the store was at a kitchenware store on Bank Street (y'know,, the one down past Landsdown Park? - don't remember the name.) Sharpening rods should be available at just about any kitchenware store.

There is a difference between a sharpening rod and a steel. Most people only have steels and these in fact do not sharpen the blade but simply realign the edge.

The steel should be used every time you use your knife, 2-5 passes should be sufficient and this will maintain the blade.

Sharpening rods come in diamond coated steel (usually oval in shape) or in ceramic. These actually remove minute amounts of the metal and in effect sharpen the blade. They are nowhere near as efficient as a sharpening stone or a professional sharpening job but they work for most home users. The biggest benefit is that you use them in much the same way as a steel and therefore only need to master one technique. They range in price but on average are $80-150 for a brand name (I did see a no name diamond rod at CA Paradis for 49.95)

As far as the slide through style, i have used a henckels one in the past and it is okay to maintain but if the knife is too dull you're best to get it done professionally and start a good maintenance cycle.

My current regime... Steel all the time, ceramic rod when needed, pro sharpening (home hardware in the Glebe has a pickup service for the Sharpening Shoppe) every 1-2 months. This is at home, at work we have a knife service so we get razor sharp knives every 2 weeks.

Two words: Water stone. The place to check out: Lee Valley (www.leevalley.com/).
I have their 8" stainless-steel knife (manufactured by Thiers-Issard in France for Lee Valley). It has nice little stars and an elephant on it but that's where the cute-sy ends. It's a great weight, versatile+, SOLID, and I'm sure it'll last forever (forged, double tapered, epoxy-impregnated wood). I've been using a water stone to sharpen it with zero troubles. For those unfamiliar with water stones, be not afraid, they're very simple to use and you get amazing results. I've experimented...example: on a crummy paring knife and I easily sharpened it to surgery-worthy status (not that I'd try that). I highly recommend both.
This from Lee Valley's website:
Sharpening a good knife is easy. A water stone has many merits, as it can be used with ordinary tap water, is readily stored in the kitchen, is very fast cutting and easy to use, and it leaves the perfect edge on knives – keen, but with just enough tooth to be effective on meats and soft vegetables.
For small knives, the stone can be held in one hand (or placed on a counter top) while the knife is stroked first toward you, then away, giving each side of the blade an equal number of passes against the stone. The action is exactly the same as if you were intending to peel the stone. For larger blades, it is usually easier to bring the stone to the blade. Rest the knife on a cutting board and stroke the stone across it, keeping your fingers clear of the edge.
Happy slicing & dicing.

My knives are a joke. Chopping chocolate ruins good knives, so I have some knives bought from Capital Cutlery's surplus, for about $10 each. They work just fine for what I need them for. At work, I think most of the useful knives are Wusthof.

My personal collection includes:

1 10" Shun Classic Chef's Knife
1 9" Chun Classic Bread Knife
1 MAC Professional Series Santoku w/ Granton Edge
1 Mac Superior Series Boning/Filet Knife
1 Sanelli 9" Chef's Knife (This is the kife I use for opening bags, slpitting lobsters, opening cans, etc)
1 Mac Superior Series Paring Knife
2 or 3 Profinox Paring knives
1 Chinese Cleaver (got it from my uncle's friend in Ningbo, who is a professional knife maker)
1 Oxford Forge (Barnes and Castle) Meat Cleaver

As you can see, I like knives, because after all, it's the only thing you can really rely on in a kitchen. Personally, I think forged knives are for the birds. And p4est, you can NEVER go wrong with a MAC or a Kershaw, in this case, SHun. I higly reccomend it! Also, in response to: "Does anyone have any input to the Presidents Choice knives, as mentioned by flyfish, below?". I checked one out (my grandmother got it as a gift, the 8" chef's), and to my surprise, it's not that bad. However, they dont include a steel make up sheet, so I can't really tell how it will hold an edge... For the home chef, it's perfect. The only drawback, however, is that it is forged :(

My husband has every sharpening device known to man, owing to his Lee Valley addiction :D however, we recently invested in a Chef's Choice electric sharpener and have not been disappointed. They are a bit pricey ($90 - $150 at C.A. Paradis; we bought ours in the US for somewhat less) but you will always have sharp knives. We took it over to our neighbours' and sharpened all their knives once we were done with ours!

We ended up with the whole set of President's Choice knives. The main problem seems to be finding stock in various stores. We went to about four stores (including one in Calgary for the steak knives) before we managed to find them all. The chef's knife is shorter than our Cordon Bleu one but is a good basic starter knife. We happen to like German-style knives so their being forged is fine for us.

Hubby and I have been complaining about the dullness of our knives for the past few months but of course we keep forgetting about it when we are going somewhere.
Last week we were at St.Laurent and were passing by the House of Knives (I think that's the name - it's a little kiosk in the middle of the main aisle?). Anyways, we asked how much they charged to sharpen knives - the guy said $5.99 per knife!!!
We have 6 that need sharpening. I think not!!!

So I went through the phone book and found this Italian guy on Norman Street (off of Preston). He charges between $1 and $1.75 depending on the knife and he has been in business for over 30 years so I assume he will know what he is doing.

I haven't been yet but we will be bringing our knives in there soon. He said his hours are 7-5 Mon - Thurs and 7-4 on Friday, closed Sat and Sun.

Capital Cutlery Sharpening Limited East
Address : 72 Norman Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 3K4
Telephone : 613-237-4725
Category : Restaurant Equipment & Supplies, Sharpening Service

Capital cutlery is a good place to go they do our knives at work along with a large percentage of restaurants in the city.

I sharpen my knives at home with a stone block but think I will purchase a sharpening rod.

As for the store "Food is hot" was suggesting. Is it possible that it's "The Great Glebe Emporium", if I rememebr correctly its on the corner of Bank and First.

Nanny used to tell us about the knife sharpening man that came around door to door, to sharpen knives, scissors, tools etc..

Gone are those days...Wouldn't that be nice though?

At least once a year, some guy in a van comes along my street blowing his horn and sharpening knives, scissors and lawn mowers. I haven't tried his services since I never seem to catch him in time. The past aint dead yet! ;-)

Wow!! I had no idea that was still common! You should dig out some old knives or something that doesn't matter, and give him a try. Or ask him if the serves anyone in your area, then you can get some advice from them.

That's so nice.

Ah, memories. The 70's. The Sharpening Man's dirty cube truck would appear at least once a week (summers only) doing a slow crawl around the neighbourhood, bell clanging. I think anyone from around these parts 30+ would recognize that distinctive sound. I haven't seen one in YEARS. But it's a horn now? I'd think car alarm. Fresh Foodie, how would you EVER catch the guy? Unless you keep all your knives ready by the front door AND listen expectantly, what the...? When you're done trying to slice through that tomato, please return the knife to the box beside front door. Any day now, he may be out there! We must be ready! Shhh. Did you hear that?

Now that you mention it, it *was* a clanging bell not a horn. I didn't grow up in Ottawa so when I first heard it I ran to the window to see what was happening. I think he came by last Spring; if he returns this year, I'll take note of the name written on the side of his truck.

All I want to know is... if I were to come running out of my front door wielding a huge cleaver and running after a guy in a van would my neighbours be surprised? ;-)

Oh yes. I did run after that van holding 3 knives one time. Now that you mention it, I find it funny. Don't understand why he drove away so fast, or at least come back one more time. He has to expect people need to try to find the knives, put on the shoes before getting out to get him to sharpen the knives.

Lately, I bought a knife ($28) from Toronto and like it very much. The price is very good. If you are going to Toronto one day, you may want to try explore this place. The staff showed me how sharp the knife is by cutting a piece of paper easily. My husband used the knife to slice flank steak and told me not to use the knife since it is very sharp. He is afraid that I will cut my fingers easily (he knows that I am not a careful person.)

Anyway, here is the address:

Chan Chi Kee Cutlery (North America) Co. Ltd
Pacific Mall
4300 Steeles Ave. E, Unit D76
Markham, Ont. L3R 0Y5

This store sells knives from a Hong Kong based manufacturer of knives and other kitchen utensils. They are famous for their high-grade stainless steel cleavers and knives. The store staff told me that many "white guys" come to his store to buy knives.

Capital Cutlery did a great job with a one day turnaround. It's not for the faint of heart though - the place is full of... knives and heavy duty restaurant stuff. I was quite intimidated, clutching my little knife block and asking "Uh, do you do retail?". But they do - no job too small and my tomatoes are now sliced not smooshed.

So... I have a silly question for TJ. I am unsure of the source of his distaste for forged knives. I don't know too much, but aside from ceramic knives, my understanding was there was two main ways to make blades, forging and stamping, and that forging was supposed to be the superior method. All fine western style (softer carbon or stainless steel) seem to be forged, as well as some (all?) Japanese style such as MAC. Do you mean to draw a distinction between machine drop forging, and hand forging?

Ahh, I love when I get to talk about the fine art of knife making :) You see, MAC knives are stamped, they only have two knives that are forged : the 6" Superior boning knife and the 8" superior boning knife. The rest is stamped. Why? Because you can't forge steel as hard as that on MAC knives (hardened to 61 on the Rockwell scale).

Futher more, I stamped knives are lighter, easier to hold. SOme people like the heft of a big bad Wusthof, Mundial or Henckel, but I find it annoying.

First off, the bolster on the knife. Sure, it protects your fingers, but personally, I find it gets in the way. I know my way around a knife, my knives imparticular, so I dont need a little finger guard.

And to confirm what I said earlier, MAC is stamped, and not forged. Speaking of MAC, did you know they only sharpen it on 1 side? With a 10 degree angle! Now you know what makes them so sharp! (German knives are at a staggering 25-27 degrees, each side.)

Now, here is the fun part. There are actually three methods of making knives: forging, stamping and folding, my favorite :) What folding is essentially, is wrapping a corrosion resistant, yet softer stel around a corrosion prone inner much harder blade. It's the way they made Samurai swords, so you know it's sharp.

What's also cool about folding blades is the awesome Damascus (coming from the city of Damascus Syria) look on the blade. Not only does it look pretty :) but it also helps redure sticking the the blade. Neat, huh? Some brands of folded steel are Shun, Kasumi and a whackload of small Japanese custom made blades (with shark skin grips an a detatchable handle!)

And Pete, even though I don't like forged knives doent mean they are bad. Far from it. I have seen some forged blades almost as sharp as my Shun, but I just don't like them all that much. See, a knife is kind of like a shoe: if it fits, feels good and looks right, then it's the perfect knife.

Next time yo go to buy a knife, ask if they have a cutting board you can try it out one (when I bought my MAC, the slaes person even let my use it on his banana (the one is his lunchbox, everyone)). So it's all up to you :)

Ah.. my bad. I was confusing welding with forging. As for the preferred sharpening angle, that is related to the softness of the metal, and the durability of some form of cutting edge. A sharp angle on a soft metal will nick and dull more quiclky than a larger angle.

As for your mysterious 3rd method of of knifemaking, most forms of 'folding' do in fact involve forging (such as Samurai swords), although in modern times the layers of different metals can now be welded without forging (such as MAC). As for Damascus steel, there is in fact nobody today who makes it, as the art was lost. Damascus steel is actually NOT folded as has been popularly thought since it has the same look as a folded blade, and was most likely forged from a single piece of steel. I agree however, the the pattern is quite beautiful.

I will definitely check out the Shun and MAC knives next time I get a chance. Thanks for the info.

Just curious....I thought the Finns (Kellam) were still creating Damascus steel blades...maybe it's all marketing, but I know that knives have been an integral part of their culture & history.

According to this wikipedia article(en.wikipedia.org) they do not. They basically say that forms of pattern welding can be manipulated by skilled blacksmiths to produce the same pattern as was evident on Damascus steel (re: Wootz steel), but that it is still not the original.

Very cool...I certainly got my "learn on" today. I am a big fan of Finnish knives and I guess tagging them with the Damascus steel just reinforces their cred. Thanks for all of the info!

No worries :)

Cool info about the Damascus art. I am going to talk to my knife sharpener and see what's up with that :)

There's an excellent tutorial on knives and sharpening available here on eGullet. Pretty much everything that you'll ever need to know, plus a whole lot more.

Oops, apparently HTML tags don't work in here, this is the link: forums.egullet.org

Side note: Yes, I squash anything that looks like an HTML tag for security reasons. We don't want ingenious evildoers to be able to carry out their malicious deeds, so it's safest just to prevent all HTML. Sorry for the inconvenience! :-)

I use forged commercial quality stainless steel knives... I found a couple of Miu Professional commercial grade chef knives for $14 - best knife purchase I've ever made! They keep their edge, the handle is ergo moulded plastic (think Solingen, but with a white handle, NSF cert.) I love it for butchering/trimming/fileting/butterflying meats, and it's just so easy to control when doing a speedy chop. Most professional kitchens (beckta being the exception in Ottawa) do not use stamped steel blades - simply not cost effective. Personally, I find the forged blades to be a bit of a status symbol, but that's my opinion. On the other hand I can't deny their look, and craftmanship.

Status symbol, you say? So are you saying that forged is better than stamped?

To quote you, "See, a knife is kind of like a shoe: if it fits, feels good and looks right, then it's the perfect knife." would be the philosophy I use when buying a knife, with careful attention to my pocketbook. I say forged is better bang for the buck if you can sharpen a blade properly. Long live my Sabatier!

That's very true, and I respect you choice, because, after all, it's the food that counts. But you can get a harder steel and a finer edge with a stamped knife. Long live my Shun and MAC!

Ok I'll throw anothe dimension into the mix. I would wager that if you're cutting sushi, or chopping green onions, or slicing tomatos, that the properties of the stamped blades such as MAC and Shun would make them shine (i.e. lighter, thinner, more pointy grind angle on the edge). However, get out some parsnips, or squash, or cabbage, or rutabaga (heavier/harder veggies) and I would think the properties of a forged blade would serve well (weight, stiffer blade etc). Thoughts TJ? Isn't it at least partly a 'choose the best tool for the job?' sort of thing?

You have essentially got the basics, however, the beauty of the Shun knives is that they are hard (58 rockwell), but flexible, thanks to the silicium and the vandium in the blade's steel. This allows it to be hard but not brittle, so you can use it for pumpkins, squash and other hard vegetables.

But again, it's how it feels in your hand. I highly reccommend the Shun or Mac, but it's your choice.

OK, I just discovered the forums and first comment : it's really confusing having the newest posts at top.

Anyway, on the topic of knives, beware the German Knife Scam! Here is an email I sent out to a bunch of friends just before xmas. I tried to inform the media but they were not interested.

---snip---

Last week I picked up a set of knives that I thought were made by
Hoffman in Solingen, Germany. The price was really good - $45. A
guy at work was given them a few years ago by a friend who bought them
for him as a gift while in Germany. They'd never been used.

Well, some googling after-the-fact tells me there is no Hoffman in
Solingen, and that there is a huge problem in Europe right now with
this knife scam. And it seems that problem is spreading very quickly
to Canada because these things seem to be everywhere here, too. On
this page you can see the brand names that are part of the scam :
www.billigmesser.ro/

"GI Solingen, Maybach by Imhoff, Berghaus, Rosenbaum, Palas Solingen,
Meister Koch Bergner, Schulzhof, Solingen Professionel, Devonport,
Ginsu, Gladbach, "Classic Exclusive" Solingen, Müller
Kochtopfhaus,Müllerhaus, Mayer Classics, SBS, S.G. Metallwaren AG,
Hoffmann, BERMAN & BENZ, B&B Solingen, Kronenberg S.G., Breitenbach
Solingen, Mühle, Prima Solingen, SBS Bestecke Solingen, Profiline,
Bergmann International Solingen, Titanium 2, P.O.K. Typ Exklusiv Line,
Golden King 18/10, Schäfer S.G., Fischer, Gourmet Royal Kochmesser,
SOL knife (knives), Carl Weill Solingen, Schulzmann Sohlingen, W.S.M.
München, Pearl of Kitchen, Prima knives Germany, HoffBerg,
Hoffman/Solingen, Offenbach, BTS Bischofs Solingen, Bachmayr, GI
Design, Fischer, Röslein, Profiline Solingen, K.B. S.G. International,
Genuine Bravo, Henckelbach Knives, Rozenberg, Solinger Metallwaren AG"

... "and many more" they say.

None of those brand names are real!!!

After I got my knives home and had a good look at them, I can see the
steel is far too thick. One of my friends who got scammed said his
rust-up in the dishwasher so they are not even real stainless steel.

I just wanted to spread the word because after reading about this and
telling a few people, I found out that a couple of my friends have
been had by these scammers, too. And some stores and auction houses
are even carrying this trash - someone told me there is a store in the
Glebe selling them. They are nothing but really cheap knock-offs from
scammers in China. So buyer beware!

Apparantly a tell-tale sign of the fakes is that they come in a really
nice briefcase. None of the real manufacturers package them that
way.

If you already have something like this I'm sorry to be the one to
tell you that you've been had. You're in good company at least.

OK, now that that's out of the way - as for knives and sharpening.

We've got a bunch of knives of all makes. My favorite is the "French Peasant's Knife" from Lee Valley. It's carbon steel (not stainless) so the blade does get discoloured. But it's SHARP!!! And stays that way for a long time. After 2 years ours is finally due for a sharpening. Best 23 bucks you'll ever spend on a knife IMO.

tinyurl.com/238q3u

Ikea is a good spot to get a gem from time to time, and really cheap. But if you see it today buy it because it may not be there tomorrow or ever again. We got a really nice 8" for 14 bucks.

For sharpening, I used a stone for years and it did a great job. But as others have commented there is a trick to it, and it's not necessarily easy. I recently got a Lansky sharpening system for xmas. It's sold at MEC. It's basically a stone with a special jig to hold it stone at the right angle. Makes sharpening idiot-proof. I highly recommend it.

tinyurl.com/yv6xzg

First off, thx for all the info folks (new user here!!). I'm in the process of shopping for some new knives, did a search a couple of weeks ago and found "Ottawa Foodies" & this forum. Your discussion has helped me in my search. 'Course being in Winnipeg & not Ottawa throws things a bit, but I get there a fair amount w/ work. I love the Glebe & Byward so will be using the forums & rest. reviews alot.

Your discussion on Mac knives was insiteful. I've had my heart set on a couple of Shun blades, but may cross to the dark side & get one Mac.

A local place here has started carrying Victorinox (Swiss Army) knives. Nice, but I find them chunky. IMHO.

Keep your eyes open for free Henckel sharpening in the coming weeks. The same local place here, has saturday demo's & this time last year, and coming up on the 24th of March, someone from Henckels is there for the day for free sharpening of their blades. Maybe they do it in Ottawa also??

Thx again for the help,

I find the best knives to be Kyocera Ceramic. I've never had better knives. I got a really good deal at www.metrokitchen.com too. I love...

I'd love a ceramic knife, but I'd be paranoid to chip it... plus, I use a magnetic bar on my wall to display all my knives... it wouldn't stick!!! ;)

If you 'really' wanted one Chimi, you could make a small magnetic 'holder' for the knife that allowed you to hang it on the rack. As for foodguru.. what is a guy/gal from Georgia doing on the OttawaFoodies site? ;-)

I can't believe that I hadn't commented on this yet! I'm so negligent.

Most of my knives are Shun Classics (bread, slicing, paring, 8" chef's), and I swear by them. They're desperately in need of a sharpening, since it's been a couple of years, but they feel right to me. No small task, considering I'm a lefty and I'm using knives that are supposed to have a right-hand fit.

And if you want a lovely hunk of steel but don't want to pay the cost of a small island nation for the privilege, just do what I did and buy it all off of eBay. All but one of my knives came new-in-box, and at a hefty discount off of what I would have paid if I had gone to, say, Cutter's or the Glebe Emporium.

I also enjoy Sanelli knives, but the rubberized hand grip isn't as comfortable for me, since I choke up on my knives when I use them. Fingers pinched on the balance point.

Anyone using the Hampton Forge ones from Costo and can comment?
They are cheap as heck and certainly look good.

I do have to say that having a 10" Dick in the kitchen is indispensable. Really! lmao I swear by Dick knives and love using them.

www.fdick.com/

There's nothing like a 10 inch dick alright!

Sorry, just had to say that out loud.

Micaylah. How much does a 10" Dick cost? (And where would you find one?

I'm not gonna read this whole thread but my go-to knife is an 8" Henckel.

I also have a Wusthof bread knife and Wusthof "tomato knife" (don't ask..impulse buy)

I will also attempt to get this thread back out of the gutter... ;-)

We have a number (not a full set) of Swibo knives from Wenger that we got as wedding presents. Also a 10 inch chef's knife by Sabatier that we got on sale at JD Adams a while back (v. heavy), and assorted Henckels knives of various sizes. Wouldn't mind maybe one more chef's knife that is a bit smaller and lighter.

I won't ask what a 'tomato knife' is, but I do intend on Googling it ( talk about specialised).

Hiya Pete. They cost around $100, but I got mine on sale and quite some time ago. I believe I paid $50-60(?).

Check this site out:
alfi.com

A tomato knife looks like a grapefruit knife and often has a forked end. Sort of like the cheese knife that came with the board that everyones parents owned.

Yeah the tomato knife is just a thin bladed serrated knife with a fork tip. I've never actually used the fork tip, but I must say it's a great knife to have. I use it for much more than tomatoes and find that it handles small root vegetables VERY well.

Yeah, the knife I use most is a Lee Valley 8" Chefs knife (made by Sabatier). I am almost embarrassed to admit it desperately needs sharpening... I'm always keeping my eyes open to get more. What I need more than a knife right now is a way to store my knives out of reach of my 2 year old. Without a ton of counter room, I've been thinking of making some sort of cabinet door mounted holder.... (for upper cabinet door of course)

Lee Valley has some wall mounted magnetic strips that are very attractive and not too expensive: www.leevalley.com Of course the challenge is going in that store and not buying everything...

Yeah, I know about those strips, but I would NEVER us just them on the inside of a cupboard door. There is too much chance you swing the door open, and the knives lose magnetic lock and fly down to the counter (a la Wiley Coyote..) I would want something else (not sure what) to also hold them in place. If I come up with a solution I'll post it here.

I still don't have a proper knife set, all I really use is my Kitchenaid Santoku knife in pink of course. ;)

I have a set of GLOBAL knives which I bought at Tap Phong Trading in Toronto. It's a great little kitchen/housewares store in Chinatown.

Definitely a lot cheaper than buying them at CA Paradis :)

www.frommers.com

I use a Misono 440 Santoku-style chef's knife, bought at Korin (www.korin.com)in Manhattan. Japanese-made from Swedish steel, it keeps a razor-sharp edge with a little regular maintenance and can be used for hours without fatigue.

Hey this carl weill set is unbelivable the product for the money is unbeatable I mean I pay $200 canadian for this set of 12 Pcs. of pots and for that much you cant beat it I mean you could go spend that much for 1 pot and the knifes I picked up for $70 canadian in a briefcase is unbeatable also I mean like what do you want and my wife is a chef at the Royal York hotel said the product for the price is one hell of a deal...I hope you people take this in consideration and stop hmmmm and hummming about it STOP and think about the quality your getting for the price.

and... breathe in! ;-)

But Jerry IS the man! ( and exhale... ;-))

I'm not sure if these are the best knife deals in town, but I'm extremely tempted by the prices that can be found at www.cutleryandmore.com

They're based in the US, and actually ship to Canada. Hooray!

According to FatWallet, you can use coupon code SJ10 and get 10% off. Hooray!

A 10" Shun chef's knife for $124 (before tax and coupon and shipping) seems really *really* good to me.

By what means do they ship to Canuckistan? Be careful of UPS!

Oh, check these guys out for good prices on whatever he carries (knives and batteries, last I checked a few years ago)

www.paulsfinest.ca

Lucky for us, they ship it USPS Express Mail. I try to avoid couriering if at all possible, too. I'm never at home to pick up my stuff!

I personally don't believe in having too many knives. Tomato knives, 20" slicers, utility, cleavers: mostly for show, hobby, or collective purposes. Invest in a good chef's knife, 8-10", a peeler, and something you can pry, burn, bend, bust, smash with-- and a boning knife if you get into that. To hell with bread knives. If you've got a super sharp main knife, you won't need one. IM(definitely not)HO, that is.

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I've given or traded most of what I had away, but this is what remains:

-my first, the ol' yellow-handled 8" Henckel. Oldie but a goodie, never let me down. Heavy, ugly, and worth every penny. Now retired.

-the cheaper, snub-nosed 8.5" MAC for precise work, veg, meat slicing. It's very thin, very sharp. Don't chop big hard items with a soft Japanese knife--e.g., squash, turnip, et al.

-8" Santoku Victorinox. It was $10. Hard to sharpen now 'cause its into the granton edge Vickie was used and abused in a kitchen day in and out for a couple years, often in ways that would make some cry.

-Victorinox swooped boning. The swooped ones just look cooler...

-ceramic rod. Note: Do not trust friends or relatives with your ceramic rod; sharpening without the handle is dangerous.

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I notice you can buy MACs all over the place now. That wasn't the case a couple years ago; I think only one company had distribution rights. Am I right?

Sorry...coming to the conversation very late. I got nostalgic for the cube truck with the bell ringing through the neighbourhood to announce the presence of a professional sharpener on my doorstep. How convenient and brought back all sorts of childhood memories. Unfortunatlely, and if you'll pardon the pun, my knives got butchered...ground down within an inch of their life. My suggestion...don't get too sucked down the path of the good old days. Try one knife first and preferably one you aren't too attached to.

As a non-professional, I don't have much of a knife collection. Just basically two Henckels that I inherited, a paring knife and a chef knife, I also have a bread knife and a set of kitchen shears. I've always been afraid of knives, I am also one of those "clumsy" people who would be lucky enough to cut myself badly. Infact, it is only following a recent cooking lesson that I've become fairly confident to use the chef knife.

At "The Man's" House he has an even more sad collection of knives, don't laugh... he actually has a couple of Ginsu Knives (anyone remember these, they used to be sold at the Ottawa Home Show and local fairs). However, I have to say I do like the Ginsu Tomatoe Knife, I'd never used one before, and it does an amazing job slicing not squishing tomatoes.

As for sharpening, I've only ever used the do-hickey on my electric can opener, but I do know that the travelling Knife Man also goes around my boyfriend's neighbourhood in the summer. And yes the clanging bell on his truck is clearly heard (it was something new to me also). I know he is very popular with the people in the burbs when it comes to lawn mower blades and shears. Don't know if I'd trust him with a kitchen knife though.

In a stupendous leap of faith, I've dropped off all of my knives—from the tiniest boning knife to the largest cleaver—for sharpening at Capital Cutlery (as mentioned by KSW above).

They're supposed to be ready Thursday morning.

I'm so nervous right now. I've never entrusted my knives to anyone for sharpening before.

But, then again, it's not like I sharpen them often anyway, so there's no way that they could neglect them any more than I already do.

Naturally, the first thing I did when I went home is pick up a bulb of fennel and some mushrooms so I could cook myself some dinner tonight.

Forgetting that I now have zero knives in the house.

FAIL.

I have a nice set of Henckel knives that I received as a wedding present, and other than that we use the set of Ikea knives my wife bought over 10 years ago. I would like to get a set of knives and I always thought Henckels were really nice, however now that I have owned two and realize that they dull quickly and also stain (rust?) I am not impressed. I will keep looking but my pocket book won't send me knife shopping anytime soon. Unless it's to Ikea for another set.

The PC knives at Loblaw/Superstore are pretty good, Picky

I was a bit worried when I got my knives back, since it looked like so much had been ground off of them, but holy crap. They cut a treat. I had forgotten what it was like to cut an onion with a truly sharp knife.

And they ground the nick out of my paring knife, too! I guess this means that I don't have to kill my roommate of five years ago in his sleep after all. What a relief.

Nine pieces set me back $17. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

OK I'm sold. Last time I got them sharpened I was a bit disappointed - sounds like this is a winner.

Momomoto

the only problem with capital is that the sharpen knives on a 50/50 bevel. I assume it was your Shun knives you had sharpened which were originally 70/30 or 80/20 beveled for a right-handed person. Being left-handed(i am as well) you probably are noticing they are now sharper than when new. Capital also grinds quite a bit of the blade down so you may find keeping an edge more challenging in the future as the steel thickens as you move to up the blade.

In conversation with the MAC rep i have learned that their knives are at a 60/40 bevel and therefore easier to turn over to a left-handed bevel than other Japanese knives and much cheaper than paying the extra charge to have Japanese knives made lefty. May be useful in future purchases...

Mike

I have a Nenox that is by far the best knife I have ever owned, but it's almost in need of sharpening. I'd like to get a couple more of these, but a quick online search came up with very high prices. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced place for Nenox? Or Mac? Thanks!

I'm trying to learn how to sharpen knives at home.

I suspect Capital uses a belt sharpener which would put a
convex edge on the knives (I',m assuming this)
Couple neat videos

Getting your knives sharpened with a belt sharpener will grind down a bit of the knife each time.

you can get a sharpening stone at Lee Valley, and they are great. They are not that expensive and a great tool to have.

I have a MAC knife at home which I love and I have a PC ceramic paring knife, (of which I cant find anymore of)

Get a Lansky system from MEC if you are just learning. But they don't have the diamond Lansky, just the stone version. I find the diamond sharpeners way better - MEC has those too but just not the Lansky system ones.

Never seen Nenox(Nenohi) in Canada. The only place i know of that will ship is Korin in NYC. Mac can usually be found at about 20% off at CA Paradis but they will never be cheap by any standard.

If you are learning to sharpen yourself the best choice is a 240/1000 grit waterstone. It works fairly slowly and if your blade angle is incorrect you will not overly damage your knife. Diamond sharpeners are very effective but do wear a blade down much faster than conventional stones, think 40% reduction in the life of the knife.

Good luck

Hey everyone,
I'm a new user on OttawaFoodies, but I saw this forum and had to post. I used to sell knives so not only do I know a fair bit but I also use different kinds of knives at home.
I personally use a Wusthof Classic Ikon 7" santoku knife. I like the ergonomic handle and the santoku is nice because it has the granton edge (the little ovals on the sides near the edge) that help make the knife non-stick. I've had the knife a little over a year and haven't found the need to sharpen it yet, even though I use it on a regular basis. When I need to sharpen it though, i'll probably use the Chef's Choice machine my boyfriends parents own, because it's the easiest at home sharpening system and doesn't harm the edge.
My boyfriend, who enjoys cooking more than I do, has a couple knives. He's had a full set of One Man Henckels for several years (the difference between one man and two man henckels are where they're made - one man: china, two man: germany), and he uses them for the jobs that require a little more elbow grease. The bread knife is probably our most used knife though. He also has two Ken Onion Shuns - a 7" santoku, and a 2.5" paring knife. He's had them for almost 2 years and still hasn't needed to sharpen them, and he cooks more than I do. Shun claims that you won't need to sharpen their knives for at least 4 years, so we're waiting :) Shun sells an electric sharpener that i've tried out, which is ok, but i personally don't think it's worth the $80 price tag.
Most reliable knife companies (Henckel, Wusthof, Shun, MAC) offer free sharpening if you can live without your knives for a few days and send them back to their Canadian offices (in Canada most are in Toronto, except for MAC knives, which is actually in Kanata). They also all have lifetime guarantees. Otherwise, the chef's choice electric sharpeners that use wheels, not diamond grit paper, to sharpen are very good, and also have a lifetime guarantee.
Keep in mind that different knives have different edges. Western style knives, like most Henckels (not the Miyabi series), Wusthof and most no-name brands have an angle of about 22 degrees on both sides, so can be used by left or right handed people. The eastern style knives, for example: Shuns, have closer to a 15 degee angle, but also on both sides of the edge. You will not be able to use the same kind of sharpener on western and eastern style knives, as it would ruin the edges - so be aware of the kind of knife you own. There are knives out there that are left or right edged, and would best be sharpened by sharpening stones. GATCO stones have a couple sets that have several different gritted stones as well as honing oil that will help make sharpening easier, but practice on a knife you don't care about first :)
Sharpening steels that come with many sets, but are also sold seperately, don't actually sharpen a knife, unless they have a diamond grit of at least 600. They help keep your knife sharper, longer though. What they actually do is re-align the microscopic teeth a knife has, that have been pushed apart by the juices in the food you're cutting, as well as the cutting surface, as to help in keeping the edge aligned.
If I were to buy another knife right now, I'd get MAC knives. Many Ottawa chefs use them. They have good longevity, balance and can hold an edge for a very long time.
Anyway, hope that helped - I know it's been a while since the original post.

MMoffatt - Thanks for your comments. I definitely appreciate them, and you've done a lot more homework than I have on the subject!

If they were beveled for a rightie to start out with, that would totally explain why I find them sharper now. That and I've had them for five years or so and never done a good job of sharpening them myself ;)

My impression of my knives is that they all were 50/50 to start off with, but I could be mistaken? My Shun loadout is a chef's knife, a paring knife, a slicer, and a bread knife. Nothing definitely single-beveled like a yanagiba or a nakiri.

I definitely noticed that Capital ground a lot of the blade off. When I started to ring off my favourite bevel angles, the gal who took my knives said that she had "only one guy" that she would give knives like these to, which made me think.

Don't get me wrong: as I said before the difference in the knives is noticeable, and I consider my money well spent. Now that they've been sharpened "properly", though, I'd like to keep them edged/trued with my Gatco kit at home. Given how much Capital removed, I would be reluctant to send them there for routine sharpening. I think, once they start showing their wear, I'll try pushing them to 19 degrees.

Ooh, maybe when I'm in New York for the weekend I should do some shopping around for a badass 10" chef's knife.

Has anybody used the free sharpening service at C.A. Paradis? I've never been, but I'm wondering what they use.

Momomoto,

Shun/Kershaw are indeed beveled at 70/30 for a right handed person. May be too late now but the easiest way to tell is to have a thick piece of meat/tuna(think not too hard to slice through) and try to make a straight cut. If you are using your knife left handed the blade will cut away from you and end up leaving a little tail after a few cuts. And just to be clear yanagiba and the like are usually 90/10 bevel. I have actually had good luck with MAC making me left-handed versions of yanagibas and deba cleavers.

If you are in New York, Korin or JB Prince are the places to shop for knives. They both have websites and most cooks and chefs in the city shop there, or at least did when i worked there. They also have a master knife sharpener who will sharpen it lefty for you for about $25.

Best,

Mike

That's crazy! All this time. That would explain why it's been so difficult for me to cut straight with this thing. Thanks again for your help, Mike.

I think it's best I keep my existing knives at 50/50, since my wife uses them about as much as I do and she's a righty. However, when I head down to Korin (AKA the candy store for knives) to pick me out a nice one (I've been drooling over all the nice 10.5" Gyutous they stock), I'll make sure that it's done lefty. Maybe I'll pick up a stone while I'm at it.

Good shopping! And while you're there don't miss Eleven Madison Park for lunch. They have a 2 course lunch prix fixe for $28. It's an amazing deal and the best you'll find in a four star NY resto...

Good news and bad news!

The good news: we bought an absolutely gorgeous 10.5" Masanobu VG10. To be honest, I had a bit of reservations about the balance of the blade (since it's weighted heavily towards the handle), but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

The bad news: the one fellow they have that performs the re-beveling is out of town at a conference. So I have to wait a little bit to try the thing out at home.

As i`ve been doing a bit of shopping for knives lately, here`s what i found out (and didn`t know) about henckels:

When shopping for henckels, notice the logo.

Henckels (with the twin logo) is the german branch and higher quality.

Henckels (with the single man logo) is made in china or taiwan and is a cheaper version. Also known as Henckels international.

A lot of Henckels products are no longer made in Germany. I think most of their basic knifes + most of their non-knife products are made outside of Germany.

Their high-end knives are still made in Germany and are very nice.

SteffQc: In addition to the logo, the names on the products are slightly different as well.

"Zwilling Henckels" is the one with the two guys and made in Germany ("zwilling" means "twin" in German, I believe).

"J.A. Henckels" has one guy holding an axe and is made in China (or elsewhere outside Germany).

Yes, "Zwilling" means "twin"

7 of the ones in this shot are Zwilling, the others are cheap knives that fill a need: paring, cutting tomatoes, sandwich spreading. Oh, we also have another Zwilling bread knife. Another half-dozen serrated steak knives and the Dragonlady's 'special' knife that she kept from her dad's old kitchen. You know, the short, wood-handled knife that your parents had for a hundred years before they had you and is the perfect thing for peeling apples.

I have 3 different grits of waterstone, but I only use those on my woodworking equipment. No, an oilstone is good for my kitchen knives. 2 different grits, one on each side. Sharpen on the pull stroke only, edge away. I touch up all of our knives every month. You just get in the habit of it. I can do the whole kitchen in about 30-40 minutes. That isn't very long.

Remember, a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.

Last week I went to C.A. Paradis (or whatever it's called now), and noticed that they no longer have the "20% off Mac" sign that seemed to be there every other time I've been there. It was quite busy, so I didn't stick around to ask a member of the staff, but does anyone here know if/when they plan on bringing back the 20% on Mac knives? I'm planning on adding a knife or two from the pro line, but would rather not pay full retail. Is there anywhere else I could order a Mac from with a discount? I've checked a few places online and will compare my findings to C.A.Paradis, but would also like to know if Mac is sold anywhere else in Ottawa. TIA.

We bought a bread knife and a pairing knife at the Grohmann Factory in Pictou NS about 30 years ago. They remain my best knives. They do mail order and likely have dealers here. As well there is a clearance section on their web site. These knives are Canadian made & great!

For best price on knives check Russell Equipment in Little Italy on Preston

I keep meaning to go to the Grohmann factory every summer on vacation back East. It's a good idea and will give me something to do this year besides worry about work.

Mac make great, well balanced, super sharp knifes. The blades are typically quite thin, but unless you're trying to chop down A TREE OR CHIP ICE OFF THE FRONT STEPS THIS SHOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE.
Sharpening, a rod, or steel, is for honing, that is to say, removing small nicks or bring back an edge in between sharpenings. There is no substitute for sharpening, and there is no reason with a little practice you can't sharpen your own knives at home. For most pro knives, the blade/cutting edge is between 10 and 15 degrees, some as high as 18. To achieve that angle, imagine two dimes stacked on each other resting under the dull(spine)side of your knife. This will approximate the 10-15 degree angle. Get a wet stone, two sided, soak it in water for 15 minutes. Place the stone on a neatly folded towel(no slippy stones please. The "coarser" side, let's say 4000 grit, is for initial sharpening, getting big dings and dents out, the "smooth" side, say 8000 grit, is for bringing out the razor sharp edge. In smooth steady motions, move the entire blade across the stone maintaining light pressure with the non handle holding hand and a 10-15 degree angle, always with the cutting edge leading. Make sure you are "swooping" the blade so all areas of the cutting edge make contact with the stone. Reverse and do the same for the second side of the knife. 20-25 swipes per side should be fine. If you aren't ambidextrous, you can swipe towards you but be careful, and wear closed toe shoes.
Wipe the blade with a clean towel, give the stone a quick soak and flip it to the smooth side and repeat the process.
If you use your knife everyday, depending on the steel quality, you should sharpen every 3 weeks or so. Lots of commercial kitchens just get a service like Capital Cutlery to pick up dull knives and drop off sharp ones. They aren't high quality, but they are sharp and relatively cheap. Maybe they can provide home service for those that aren't comfortable with learning to sharpen.
You can't really screw up you knives by sharpening at home unless you absolutely ignore common sense. Sharpening is just grinding away a bit of material to leave behind a sharp edge. Be Brave, search for a how to online. Practice with a hohum knife(any garage sale) until you're confident with the results then go for it.
DON"T GIVE YOUR KNIVES TO THE BELL RINGING CARTS OR TRUCKS! Bless them, but they're sharpening lawnmower blades, chisels, skates and who knows what, learn to trust yourself. If all else fails and you can't muster the courage to learn the technique, the Fiskar draw sharpener is quite effective.