Kitchen Knives Recommendation

[blackal]

The only global knife I own, I’ve had for 22 years and it’s still keeps a great edge.

Yeah - I have only one, and it is good at what it does - and retains an edge.

BUT - I wouldn't buy a set of them.

[Kevin]

Handles are fine, never had any issue.

Only ones I’ve seen or heard of snapping have been abused with a dishwasher.

Mine are ancient, so have served me well.


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If yours are ancient they are probably one piece forged construction, they aren't any more they are stamped out of steel sheets and the handles are welded on. (Unless you buy the very top of the range)

All the ones breaking that I know of have been dropped and snapped at the handle, (the weld) none had been near a diswasher and all were reasonably recent purchases or gifts.

There is quite a lot of instances reported online although I appreciate it is difficult to know how widespread the issue is and anecdotes aren't statistics

[j0hnbarker]

Handles are fine, never had any issue.

Only ones I’ve seen or heard of snapping have been abused with a dishwasher.

Mine are ancient, so have served me well.


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Same here.

Depends how you look after them as well.

Mine are over 10 years old and I have never once dropped one (my cats are always under my feet so that tends to focus my mind).

I also only wipe in the sink with a cloth rather than use the dishwasher.

[Carlton-Browne]

If yours are ancient they are probably one piece forged construction,

As a matter of interest, what qualifies as ancient? I have one Global knife which I think is about 20-25 years old but I don't believe it's from their professional range.

[j0hnbarker]

As a matter of interest, what qualifies as ancient? I have one Global knife which I think is about 20-25 years old but I don't believe it's from their professional range.

They've been making them since 1985, so if yours is 25 years old, I suspect it qualifies!

[MrSmith]

I had Robert Welch ones recommended to me a good few years ago. They have been superb, are British designed and are very good quality.
https://www.robertwelch.com/collecti...hoCSasQAvD_BwE

I was gifted a Welch chefs knife, I prefer it to my partners global, much better in the hand for me and I like the curve of the RW and can do fine work with the tip and the middle of the blade for bigger cuts. It’s stopped me buying more knives as it’s so versatile.
Not fancy looking (or overpriced) but a bit of thought has gone into them.

[Carlton-Browne]

They've been making them since 1985, so if yours is 25 years old, I suspect it qualifies!

Thanks. I've just counted back in my head and it's at least 25 years old - I once worked on a change project that closed a building which included a kitchen. I still have some nice copper pans acquired at the same time .

[Mj2k]

Thanks. I've just counted back in my head and it's at least 25 years old - I once worked on a change project that closed a building which included a kitchen. I still have some nice copper pans acquired at the same time .

Always wanted copper pans hanging from the ceiling just for the look!


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[UMBROSUS]

Think ours are 5 years or so most likely the new ones.

I am not a butcher or the like so the knifes are used for cooking mainly chopping slicing and tidying up cuts of meat.

Washed and put away when finished of course

For this mine are more than adequate keeping an edge well.

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[barbusg60]

I’m certainly no expert but if I wanted 3 knives and had the time and money I would book time at a forge and make my own, or get some some made there if they have a resident knife maker anyway.
Not easy at the moment with COVID though.
I spent a day at a local forge in Glastonbury a year ago which was a Christmas present from my wife. Brilliant day and made a half decent, quite large kitchen knife with a walnut handle.
It’s easily the sharpest knife in out rack and can take/keep an edge better than the Sabbatier ones that my wife bought a while back.
Cheers,
Rob

[Franco]

I am not particularly harsh on my Global knives, never dropped them. Usually quickly wipe and hand wash, sometime dishwasher on rinse cycle only and then hand wash. Had them more than 10 years, very happy, use Minosharp when needed, no problem.

Also use a ham slicer and paring knives from the spanish Arcos brand, extremely cheap and utilitarian.

[amalgam786]

Had a Lansky Sharpener kit for decades but recently bought an Electric sharpener - super fast and as accurate (if not more so) than the Lansky kit.

Hi, which electric sharpener did you go for?

[jmitch]

My globals are now 27 & 28 years old respectively and did over a decade in professional kitchens before being in daily use at home.

There are very few tasks I can't accomplish with my
Global G7 - 18cm Oriental Deba Knife and I would replace it in a heartbeat.

After almost 3 decades I have just had it fettled by longstrider and I'm sure I can get at least another 20 years out of it.

For small tasks the 10cm victorinox paring knives are great and cheap.
I also have a 12" Henkels chefs knife for heavy work, that is 30 years old and has seen a lot of action but I don't like heavy knives unless it's for butchery or tough jobs. Any decent chef knife will do for those and I would be equally as happy using a £25 victorinox or Swibo like I did at catering school as I would using the £200 Henkels

A decent 14" bread knife/slicer is a must but these are cheap.

I would never ever buy a set of knives. It's pointless in my view. Put all the cash into one good knife you use 75% of the time and buy cheaper ones for the rest.



All have been freehand sharpened using a traditional steel with six monthly fettling on a 1000/6000 whetstone and an 18" strop (glued to a solid wood backer) and some starkie blue smurf poo gets a mirror finish.

[blackal]

Hi, which electric sharpener did you go for?

Chef’s Choice 1520 for Japanese and European knives.

Bought from an Ebay reseller. 240v, with UK plug fitted.

Prob avail on Amazon too.

[magirus]

Re sharpening, I did my son's Leatherman Fuse with the Lansky kit at the weekend . . .

[Mj2k]

Good effort there, has come up perfect.

Amazing bits of kit aren’t they!


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[wuyangkid]

I've just bought a set of wusthufs and am eagerly awaiting their delivery. Seem to be taking ages, ordered end of Dec and have been told delivery would be early March

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[noTAGlove]

I have a couple of Henkels - they seem to be marketed as Zwilling these days. This set looks good value: https://uk.zwilling-shop.com/Kitchen...168-100-0.html

The Op coming full circle on this.

We bought a set of seven Zwilling knives in an ash block with integrated ceramics sharpeners.

Excellent knives and the were a bargain in the sale in Bentalls Kingston for half price at £99.

Seems like a great deal as the cheapest set of 7 on the Zwilling website is £249.

Thanks for all the replies.

[Middo]

The Op coming full circle on this.

We bought a set of seven Zwilling knives in an ash block with integrated ceramics sharpeners.

Excellent knives and the were a bargain in the sale in Bentalls Kingston for half price at £99.

Seems like a great deal as the cheapest set of 7 on the Zwilling website is £249.

Thanks for all the replies.

Is there an online link?

[noTAGlove]

Is there an online link?

Bentalls doesn’t have a dedicated website. It is part of Fenwicks.

I did take a look on the Fenwicks website, but they don’t show.

They were on a table in the department store. Must have been around 20 boxes.

You could give Bentalls a call if you are interested 020 8541 5066.

Harts of Stur did have the same set on sale too for the same price, but they have sold out.

https://www.hartsofstur.com/henckels...485-007-0.html

[Middo]

Bentalls doesn’t have a dedicated website. It is part of Fenwicks.

I did take a look on the Fenwicks website, but they don’t show.

They were on a table in the department store. Must have been around 20 boxes.

You could give Bentalls a call if you are interested 020 8541 5066.

Harts of Stur did have the same set on sale too for the same price, but they have sold out.

https://www.hartsofstur.com/henckels...485-007-0.html

Thanks for the info. I will give them a call

[oldoakknives]

The Op coming full circle on this.

We bought a set of seven Zwilling knives in an ash block with integrated ceramics sharpeners.

Excellent knives and the were a bargain in the sale in Bentalls Kingston for half price at £99.

Seems like a great deal as the cheapest set of 7 on the Zwilling website is £249.

Thanks for all the replies.

They look like decently made knives but 57rc seems a bit on the soft side, although it will mean they are easier to sharpen if they dull slightly quicker.

[noTAGlove]

They look like decently made knives but 57rc seems a bit on the soft side, although it will mean they are easier to sharpen if they dull slightly quicker.

I don’t know much about knives, and we’ve obviously had some rubbish ones previously. Very knowledgeable sales staff said we should expect at least 10 years out of them, compared with 30 years for the pro range, but they are triple to quadruple the price.

I managed to lightly tap the blade on my hand today, the first day of use. Blinking thing is like a razor and left me with a nasty gash, something which my previous kitchen knives wouldn’t have been sharp enough to do.

Seem like there is no room for being clumsy with decent knives. I’m going to have to be more careful and less of a klutz.

[oldoakknives]

I don’t know much about knives, and we’ve obviously had some rubbish ones previously. Very knowledgeable sales staff said we should expect at least 10 years out of them, compared with 30 years for the pro range, but they are triple to quadruple the price.

I managed to lightly tap the blade on my hand today, the first day of use. Blinking thing is like a razor and left me with a nasty gash, something which my previous kitchen knives wouldn’t have been sharp enough to do.

Seem like there is no room for being clumsy with decent knives. I’m going to have to be more careful and less of a klutz.

I have various knives in the kitchen. Some cheap some not. My favourite is still a rather small, cheap Japanese knife, no idea why. Decent steel with a good edge is very unforgiving though!

[dkpw]

Any procook knife set that you like the look of. I have a 20+ piece one I've had for 15 or so years. I often think of replacing them for snob value, but they are still great.

Not the fanciest steel, but they are still sharp after a lot of hard use - but I have a good sharpener and a clue.

This
https://www.procook.co.uk/product/pr...3&tmcs=q48qwwl

+ a steel

+ https://richmondcookshop.co.uk/produ...RoC7ZcQAvD_BwE

Would give a very nice set that will last decades.

Well thank you for the recommendation of the ProCook web site.

My 10 year old John Lewis chef's knife, while still useful, as I can keep it sharp with my Naniwa stones and ceramic steel, is prone to chipping. That then entails a fair bit of reprofiling work. Ten years on, I felt I should purchase a new knife.

After looking at the offerings on Amazon, which incidentally feels more and more like a slightly - only slightly - upmarket Aliexpress, except a lot more expensive, I went to ProCook and bought an X30 8" Chef's knife. The knife was £15 and the next day delivery was £4 via DPD which as we know means, they give you loads of notification and actually turn up when they say they will. I didn't need a set, as I already have other knives to cover bread slicing, pairing and so on.

On arrival, I tested the knife using A4 paper, and compared to some of my other knives it was sharp but not quite good enough on the factory grind. However, a couple of minutes on the strop brought it to just the point where I need it. Now it slices through A4 easily and even slightly over-ripe tomatoes were no match for it. The handle is much better ergonomically than I thought it would be and the knife has a good heft and balance.

I used it tonight on a beef stir fry and it went through the beef like butter, chopped the carrots, onions and broccoli no problem, and finely diced the chilli and garlic superbly.

For £15 I am absolutely delighted with it. Stropping will keep it going for a good while, and when it needs it, the X30 SS will be no problem to hone or sharpen.

Nice.