Can someone recommend what size knife I should get, what board and what sharpener

irlforum

I'm thinking of the Wusthof classic ikon chef's knife as my first proper knife because I like the look and style.

Is there any particular brand of chopping board I should get and any particular brand of sharpening equipment?

Also a very simple tutorial on sharpening would be great if anyone has any good pointers. Thanks.

bonkey

irlforum wrote: »

I'm thinking of the Wusthof classic ikon chef's knife as my first proper knife because I like the look and style.

Far more important should be the feel....whether or not the knife feels right in your hand....weight- and balance-wise.

Is there any particular brand of chopping board I should get and any particular brand of sharpening equipment?

Chopping boards are mostly a matter of preference. I use wood for almost everything....and fairly cheap plastic boards for the rest. Whats important is that its not something so hard it'll ruin the edge of your knife as soon as you use it.

Sharpening...I think this is the usual link people get offered here. I found it very helpful.

irlforum

bonkey wrote: »

Far more important should be the feel....whether or not the knife feels right in your hand....weight- and balance-wise.

I just think that given the fact it's my first knife I won't really know what I'm looking for. Never the less I might go into Brown Thomas in Galway and take a look - do they do other brands does any1 know?

Reading that sharpening article you linked makes me think I should maybe be looking at Japanese though.

bonkey

TBH, if its your first good knife, I'd go in the opposite direction. Don't spend a fortune...and you'll still learn a lot. You also won't feel so bad if you:

1) Decide that you've bought something totally wrong for you
2) Make a mess of the blade while learning how to sharpen it
3) Decide that its all too much like hard work, and you're happy with some alternative.

You could do a lot worse then starting with something like Victorinox for this...

irlforum

bonkey wrote: »

TBH, if its your first good knife, I'd go in the opposite direction. Don't spend a fortune...and you'll still learn a lot. You also won't feel so bad if you:

1) Decide that you've bought something totally wrong for you
2) Make a mess of the blade while learning how to sharpen it
3) Decide that its all too much like hard work, and you're happy with some alternative.

You could do a lot worse then starting with something like Victorinox for this...

Victorinox it is so. I was definitely concerned about 2 and 3.

irlforum

Hi,
I've picked out this chopping board which seems to get good reviews.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-Kitchen-Series-Cutting-Board/dp/B0008221BG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

It doesn't appear to be normal wood so I'm just wondering what opinions someone might have on this when using with decent knives. Also would you need some silicone corners to stop from slipping around?

Deise Musashi

Get a Victorinox or cheap Japanese style knife from TKMaxx.

Dump any ridged "steels" you may have.

An end grain chopping board, wooden, from TKMaxx is your buddy. Get the biggest and heaviest you can fit in your kitchen. Oil it with mineral oil and beeswax occasionally, it can be sanded down if really beaten up.

Sharpen on oil or water stones, like slicing a thin slice from the stone. Keep angles constant or buy a Spyderco Sharpmaker for ease of use.

Leather with autosol makes a good strop, and better than a coarse steel, for touching up an edge.

Cheap knives from Sheffield ao Carbon steel knives from France are as good as any knives out there. Japanese knives have their own issues like chipping and hard to sharpen, unless you are a fan of sharpening.

You need a good size Chef's knife, 8 to 10 inches, a paring knife for prep work and peeling, and a good bread knife that can be used as a carver also.

I like to have a boning/fillet knife around also but I do prep. game meats and fish at home.

I like Japanese knives and having a Petty, A Santoku and a Gyuto is pretty similar in use if not in form.

I'm liking the Mora Craftline Flexi knife as a razor sharp parer/boner lately. Razor sharp is no joke either, this thing after stropping on white compound on leather pops hairs off my arm and is a very thin convex edged scary sharp tool for very little money.

Victorinox, Mora and Opinel, Sabatier if old and tarnished from France, Hattori and Misono, all good quality knives at various pricepoints.

Sparks

Deise Musashi wrote: »

An end grain chopping board, wooden, from TKMaxx is your buddy. Get the biggest and heaviest you can fit in your kitchen. Oil it with mineral oil and beeswax occasionally, it can be sanded down if really beaten up.

Amen to that, especially if you're tall. For some godforsaken reason kitchen countertops are put at exactly the right height to leave your lower back in pain after a half-hour's work. But a good chopping board from TK Maxx will bring that work surface up a few inches, fixing the problem.

Just also remember to get at least one cheap plastic board for cutting poultry on (and maybe another two for meat and fish) - and don't use them for anything else, and scald the daylights out of them in the dishwasher.

You need a good size Chef's knife, 8 to 10 inches

...or a good size Santoku, probably 7-9 inches (which as an amateur, I prefer because it's a little easier for me to handle). If you can try before you buy, even if only to judge weight and balance in your hand, do so.

a good bread knife

Well, any cheapish serrated one will do for that. You can't easily resharpen bread knives, so I just get a decent-enough-to-do-the-job one and replace it every other year or so.

And if parents or friends want to think of a decent birthday/xmas gift, well, go nuts I have my vegetable knife (a georgous Tojiro Senkou) as a result of that

Deise Musashi

If you really want sharp try an Edge Pro from Ben Dale



or a very decent sharpener, also works on serrations, is the Spyderco Sharpmaker