Knives of choice [General]

2015 Nov 28
I've recently been upgrading my knives and was wondering what everyone else uses. I'm not looking for a huge set or top-notch chef quality, but more bang for the buck.

I've recently upgraded my chef, bread/slicing, and paring, but looking for options/opinions for a tomato knife, paring knife and potentially a cleaver.

My main knives are -

Chef - Tojiro DP 8 inch, Nenohi Nenox 8 inch - happy with them.

Bread - Victorinox 10.25" - very happy

Paring - Sanelli - decent - like the handle feel but not shape, doesn't hold edge very long and feel that the handle or shape could be improved. Mixed on this one...like it but feel I could likely find better for not much more...

Tomato - yaya, controversial knife...I have a Sabatier and a KitchenAid...surprisingly I prefer the KA...smaller teeth, friendlier handle...but neither make me happy.

Cleaver - I don't have one and only have older knives for hacking, so opinions are appreciated.

2015 Nov 28
Why not go for a Nakiri for the "tomato" knife!?
They are all around good vegetable knives, useful for a lot more than just tomatoes. Knifewear has a good selection for very reasonable prices.

For a cheap, realiable and good quality cleaver check kawloon or even better t&t.

2015 Nov 28
Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely check them out!

2015 Nov 29
I got a recommendation from this site to buy a cleaver at Lee Valley. A Chinese cleaver that has some heft and can certainly hack apart a chicken easily. I use it infrequently so I cannot attest to it's durability but I like having it around.

2015 Nov 29
I have the Wusthof Classic tomato knife and like it very much.

2015 Dec 1
I am a big fan of the Wusthof knives in general,

I have the 8" Chefs Knife, 7" filet, 7" utility and 4" paring knives all Wusthof classic, and all have served me very well.

2015 Dec 3
I have an 8 inch Global chef's knife that I got cheap at a going out of business sale. It's a much better knife than my culinary skills deserve, but I can't live without it now. Also have a set of bottom of the line Wusthofs that we got by taking knife skills courses at LCBO. Despite what theLC says, these are stamped knives-not forged, just a heads up in ase anyone is thinking of taking the course to get some blades.

In a knife related query, does anyone have any experience with the knife sharpening truck that appears occasionally in the Sandy Hill/New Eddy areas?

2015 Dec 4
Hungry Pete,

CA Paradis has free knife sharpening for up to 5 or 6 blades but no serrated edges. But be warned, I ended up spending 100-150$ while waiting for the knifes lol.

2015 Dec 4
Free sharpening even if I didn't buy the knife there?
I was just curious about this truck because it is such a symbol of a bygone era-you know, home milk delivery, a guy who came around once a week selling fish, Fuller Brush man, that kind of stuff.

2015 Dec 4
yup. They would sharpen it even if you did not buy the knife there. The only exception is anything with a serrated edge, they would only do a straight edge. I saw it on an ad/coupon but was told you don't need a coupon but might want to call to make sure if you have a long way to go to see if it is still the policy. I think CA Paradis do it to provide a service and to get you in the door :D So many nice things that I bought a bunch and went back for more later.

Actually we had a Henkle scissor my sister and I bought my mom from Germany back in 1989 I think which broke. Called the store to see if they can repair it and they told me when the Henckels rep would be there and said there were lifetime warranty on the Henckels stuff. Went to the store when the Henckels rep was visiting and they said it could not be repaired but they replaced the scissors, unfortunately with a slightly larger size since my mom really like the small embroidery scissors.

lol I still remember the milkman while I was working in the UK in the late 80s lol. Yeah not that many comes door to door any more.

2015 Dec 4
Yes, it is definitely a no-lose loss leader for them, I start drooling as soon as I walk in the door, , , , ,

2015 Dec 4
When I first got my knives sharpened at CA Paradis a few years back they would sharpen them right away ... 5 min or so. The last number of times I went (always mid-week and mid-afternoon) it has taken 15-20 minutes. And I have not seen anyone else waiting for or picking up sharpened knives. The sharpener guy was not busy with other customers either.

Co-incidence they now let me linger in "Chef's Paradise" or maybe the sign should say "Knife Sharpening While You Shop".


2015 Dec 5
I like and have been slowly replacing my Henckels Twin Master series with Richmond Artifax knives.

Great steel - simple, light and ever so sharp. Not going to win you many ohs and awws - but they get things done.

www.chefknivestogo.com

The price is right also.