Quality chopping board and knife!

Deise Musashi

Santoku are a general purpose utility knife, good for most jobs in the kitchen. I find them a little short for carving large joints/turkey/loaves of bread.

I use a large carver or Chef's knife for bigger jobs and usually a petty or smaller paring knife for peeling things.

I probably use a Hattori or Watanabe Santoku blade for 80% of my kitchen stuff, with a veg. peeler or Kitchen Devil paring knife filling in.

When I need a long carver I do have one, but it's rare enough I need over 8" of knife. I was given a sweet little Shun petty, a lovely little knife and ideal for trimming and peeling, nice to have but not an essential.

A good edge on a Santoku and there will never again be a "tough" sweet potatoe, turnip or squash!

cormie

Deise, thanks a lot again for the advice. I'll go with the same Classic Ikon Santoku so for the general purpose and those tough sweet potatoes, turnips and squashes and then maybe just pick up a this guy to use as a parer. Same classic Ikon series so Sweeney's probably have it in stock: http://www.amazon.co.uk/W%C3%BCsthof-CLASSIC-IKON-Paring-knife/dp/B000SM74ZO/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_1

I got the IKEA knife block and ceramic sharpener yesterday so considering I'm 99% a veg man, I reckon the santoku and parer will do me now unless I spoil myself with another addition some time in the future. Cutting up a sweet potato the other day and realising the best knife I had was a general dining knife gave me the kick to finally get something for myself.

Seaneh

That's far too much to be spending on a paring knife Cormie.

Just get a victorinox for about a fiver in any catering suppliers, there is no need in the world to spend a lot of money that you will more than likely use more for opening boxes and cutting string than anything else.


This will do evewrything that other yoke does and it's less than a tenth of the price!
http://www.tommyvarden.ie/victorinox-knives/11059-office-knife-3-.html

BaZmO*

Seaneh wrote: »

That's far too much to be spending on a paring knife Cormie.

Just get a victorinox for about a fiver in any catering suppliers, there is no need in the world to spend a lot of money that you will more than likely use more for opening boxes and cutting string than anything else.


This will do evewrything that other yoke does and it's less than a tenth of the price!
http://www.tommyvarden.ie/victorinox-knives/11059-office-knife-3-.html

Really? I use mine all the time for peeling spuds and the like. I just find it quicker and easier than using a peeler. But I agree on the price though, seems mad expensive for what it is.

cormie

Thanks for the input. Do you think 80 for the Santoku is expensive too? If not, what makes a Santoku worth spending big money on an a parer not?

Seaneh

BaZmO* wrote: »

Really? I use mine all the time for peeling spuds and the like. I just find it quicker and easier than using a peeler. But I agree on the price though, seems mad expensive for what it is.

If you were peeling 10kg+ of spuds, you'd loose way too much with a paring knife vs a peeler and to be honest, after a while, you'd actually be a lot faster with a peeler as you develop an technique, same for any veggie that needs peeling tbh, in a kitchen my office/paring knife had very few functions, usually just fiddly things like frenching trimming pork/lamb/veal cutlets, peeling onions, turning veg/trimming veg/etc.

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for the input. Do you think 80 for the Santoku is expensive too? If not, what makes a Santoku worth spending big money on an a parer not?

The reason €80 for a good 8/9inch cooks knife isn't a bad investment vs 45 for a 3/5inch paring knife is functionality. They have very different uses and very different demands, you buy a €10 cooks knife and it won't last you more than an hour in a kitchen before it's dull and after a small time ti will be totally useless, a good cooks knife will last you years and years if looked after properly.
For the home kitchen a snatoku is generally going to be all you need but it does have it's limitations, it's not going to be good for breaking down anything with bones in it. I mean, the odd chicken here and there won't harm it much but if you want to say break down a rack of lamb or pork into cutlets/chops then it's going to get destroyed pretty quickyl, it's also not going to be good for fast "rocking" type cutting, like say chopping an onion or finely mincing garlic/herbs.

I'd go for a western style cooks knife for a home kitchen (and a professional kitchen to be honest) as it's more of an all-rounder and will be as happy slicing veggies as breaking down a chicken or rack of lamb/pork as the butt end of the blade is very strong. The more prominent tip is handier for boning, the fack it's narrower means its better for filleting and the more curved blade means it rocks more which makes it easier to make the blade do the work rather than you using your strength to push through stuff.

If you are just chopping veggies all day and can learn an up-down motion rather than the more natural rock-role motion then a santoku is perfect but something like the knife below (20cm IKON Chef's knife) would be a better all-rounder, in my opinion and experience.

It's all down to personal preference though.

But back to the paring knife, you don't need to buy a ferrari to pull a trailer around a field!

cormie

Cool,
Thanks a lot for that info. Very helpful. I'll probably just go for the Santoku considering I'll really only be doing veg and won't be cutting meat or bones at all I'd say. I might have a look and see if Deise's recommendation of a kitchen devil is sold in the same place and see how much a decent paring knife is too.

cormie

Just to add, I know 45eur is pricey compared to others, but considering I'd be planning to use this for another 50 years at least, would it not be better just to get a ferrari now?

Seaneh

cormie wrote: »

Cool,
Thanks a lot for that info. Very helpful. I'll probably just go for the Santoku considering I'll really only be doing veg and won't be cutting meat or bones at all I'd say. I might have a look and see if Deise's recommendation of a kitchen devil is sold in the same place and see how much a decent paring knife is too.

A kitchen Devil is just a cheap brand of knife you can usually get in places like tesco etc, so Deise is saying pretty much the same as me, no point at all in spending more than a fiver on a paring knife, and no, even if you plan of keeping it for 50 years, it's not worth it, it won't last more than 10 years anyway.

Swiper the fox

I didn't think there was anybody who still used a knife to peel spuds or anything for that matter, my OXO peeler is the most used item in my kitchen, can't go wrong with that.

Maglight

Don't spend too much on a paring knife. They have a nasty habit of ending up in the bin with the parings when you aren't paying attention. Sweeney O'Rourke on Pearse Street in Dublin have two ranges of Wusthof knives - the expensive ones and the much cheaper plastic handled ones. The cheaper Wusthof knives have great blades and work very well.

For a larger chopping knife it's worth spending more. I have had two Global knives for the past 16 years. They are the best balanced knives ever and I use them daily. You may end up buying your knives online, but I strongly recommend testing out the weight and feel of a knife in a shop first. A knife that's too big or small for your hand, too heavy or poorly balanced won't get used.

cormie

Cough cough, not very much support for an expensive paring knife I see

I may have gone a bit wild in Sweeney O'Rourke today, but I think I did quite well for myself.

Let's just say I got this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000WW45NY/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=kitchen

this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/W%C3%BCsthof-CLASSIC-IKON-Paring-knife/dp/B000SM74ZO/ref=pd_sim_kh_2

and this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OXO-Good-Grips-Salad-Spinner/dp/B00004OCKR/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1351276423&sr=1-1

(total £158 or €196)

for €154 all in, including VAT and everything. I think the haggling makes up for the paring knife purchase I mentioned the kitchen devil and he didn't know of it but suggested the oxo peeler for peeling. He said it's the best peeler in the world and with mention of it here too, I might pop in to get it when I'm passing next, it was only €7 or so.

Swiper the fox

cormie wrote: »

Cough cough, not very much support for an expensive paring knife I see

I may have gone a bit wild in Sweeney O'Rourke today, but I think I did quite well for myself.

Let's just say I got this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000WW45NY/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=kitchen

this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/W%C3%BCsthof-CLASSIC-IKON-Paring-knife/dp/B000SM74ZO/ref=pd_sim_kh_2

and this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OXO-Good-Grips-Salad-Spinner/dp/B00004OCKR/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1351276423&sr=1-1

(total £158 or €196)

for €154 all in, including VAT and everything. I think the haggling makes up for the paring knife purchase I mentioned the kitchen devil and he didn't know of it but suggested the oxo peeler for peeling. He said it's the best peeler in the world and with mention of it here too, I might pop in to get it when I'm passing next, it was only €7 or so.

Fair play to you, you did alright there. I have a fetish for knives, if I won the lotto I'd be off to Japan to spend thousands on them. There was a very interesting interesting chapter in Giles Coren recent book about buying knives in Japan,

BaZmO*

Last link is for a Salad Spinner!

What about this? Good make, cheap price.

I do genuinely use a small utility knife that I've had for nearly 20 years for peeling spuds. Its got quite thin blade so it's ideal for the job I much prefer it to using a peeler (which I do use for veg), and tbh I'm much quicker using and there's not much waste either. I've been using it for so long that I'm so used to it at this stage. It's decent quality so that's probably why it lasted so long.

cormie

Yup, I was thinking about getting a salad spinner anyway and saw one in there so picked it up. It's got about 700 reviews on amazon.com and a 4.5 star rating so it must be a good one :P

I should be ok for knives for the time being anyway maybe I'll add to the collection later but I'd say the santoku and carver will do me good for a while now and hopefully last ages!

Deise Musashi

Knives these days are steel and last ages, it's only style and feel does them in!

Any knife you like that does the job is a good one!

Any knife can be sharpened and resharpened!

Carbon or stainless steel, like!

Enjoy your knives and the food prep, you eat with the eyes first anyways!

cormie

Have used the knives a bit now. Such a huge difference from using the regular dinner knife for everything Just curious about care with regards cleaning them. I used one of those dishmatic cleaners and noticed a few tiny scrapes in the steel blade after. I tend to wash immediately after use and give a quick go of the ceramic rod and straight back in the block. Is it inadvisable to use something coarse like the dishmatic to clean them?

BaZmO*

cormie wrote: »

Have used the knives a bit now. Such a huge difference from using the regular dinner knife for everything Just curious about care with regards cleaning them. I used one of those dishmatic cleaners and noticed a few tiny scrapes in the steel blade after. I tend to wash immediately after use and give a quick go of the ceramic rod and straight back in the block. Is it inadvisable to use something coarse like the dishmatic to clean them?

The green part of those scrubbers is extremely abrasive, enough to scratch steel, so I'd use them carefully on any polished steel. I'd also never use them on glasses.

cormie

Yeah, I might have to use something softer so, I don't have any glasses I'm worried about but I don't want to ruin the knives after spending so much on them

karlitob

Maglight wrote: »

Don't spend too much on a paring knife. They have a nasty habit of ending up in the bin with the parings when you aren't paying attention. Sweeney O'Rourke on Pearse Street in Dublin have two ranges of Wusthof knives - the expensive ones and the much cheaper plastic handled ones. The cheaper Wusthof knives have great blades and work very well.

For a larger chopping knife it's worth spending more. I have had two Global knives for the past 16 years. They are the best balanced knives ever and I use them daily. You may end up buying your knives online, but I strongly recommend testing out the weight and feel of a knife in a shop first. A knife that's too big or small for your hand, too heavy or poorly balanced won't get used.

Hi,

Just wanted to get your advice if I can. Love the wusthof knives so bought a santuko online from a reputable dealer. When I got the knife I had a tremendous sense that it was a bit flimsy. Its an Ikon classic. Handle and blade at the hilt are solid but the tip seems a bit flimsy. Its scalloped so I'm wondering if it means less blade and therefore thinner. I just want to feel I wasn't shafted.

Thanks

Deise Musashi

The scallops (grantons?) may make it a bit more flexible, but it's still a good quality knife and the bit of flex may be useful for dealing with fish.

I find I use an eight inch Santoku or a ten inch Gyuto most of the time in the kitchen, peeler and parer make up the rest really.