Best knives?

[McPhee]

My mum has just started replacing out Sabatier knives... with Sainsbury's Different By Design. Can you imagine my shock and horror when i came home from work one day to find out that two of the Sabatier had been thrown out and swapped with those?!?!? They had broken tips so were "useless" apparently...

Been looking at some ceramic knives to replace them. I'm off to uni (again) next year so i'll need my own set of knives anyway. The only problems so far are the price of ceramic knives (gonna set me back at least £150 for a set) and sharpening them. You can't use a Steel, they have to be sharpened in an industrial diamond sharpener (which pretty much means sending them away to be sharpened).

EDIT: And i'm still really stunned that this little corner of the forum exists Would never have expected it!

[Funkstar]

Given the expense and limitations of ceramic knives, I really don't see the point in them. Are they that much sharper than steel? are they significantly better to use?

I can't imagine them being that much better than my Globals to justify the added expense, not just in purchasing, but in maintenance as well.

The next thing I need to get is a sharpening steel of some sort. I have one of the table top sharpening tools that uses two stone wheels, which is fine. But a decent steel or two would be good.

[TheAnimus]

Funkstar, get friendly with your local butcher.

I get him to do the edge on mine for me, and pick up some of their excellent sausages at the same time!

(actually after the boxing day shoot, he was selling really nice phesants for £2.50 per bird, with most of the shot removed too!)

[Funkstar]

Thats an idea. Hadn't thought of that before.

There is a really good butcher just round the corner from my parents old place, not been in for a long time. Might need to make the effort

[M0nkeyb0Y]

I find just a few good quality knives suit me fine. I've bought them one by one over the years: long deep knife (general purpose), a long shallow knife (filleting fish and meat, carving), a cleaver (gerneral purpose/tough butcher style jobs) and a stubby knife. All steel, and all I've ever needed.

[Flibb]

This lot are good
http://www.taylors-eye-witness.co.uk/knives1.htm
They make moct chefs use them, they also get rebranded and sold through department stores. i managed to wangle a visit to the factory last year, really interesting place.

[Infinite]

I have a good Global set, look cool and are sharp as they look. =P

I also have a ceramic blade, but im actually almost too scared to use it since it is so sharp XD, it can cut through a piece of sirloin like it was butter in one slice. My dad has told me a story of a guy he knew that was testing the sharpness of a ceramic blade by running his finger slighty down the blade like you can do with normal knives and it just practically sliced his finger in two =S

[kopite]

My brother is a chef so his knives are pretty important to him. he`s recently upgraded his knives to Kai Shun which means I get all his old global knives

I sued one of the shun knives and they are immense he wasnt too chuffed at me for touching it though hehe.

[chazt]

The point of ceramic knives isn't that they're sharper, its that they retain an edge for longer. Which is why you need a harder sharpening device (diamond).

The same principle applies for Japanese vs German steel knives. As Japanese knives are higher carbon content they retain an edge for longer but are harder to sharpen, and more brittle, which can lead to them snapping (i worked in a cook shop, and saw plenty of Globals like that).

IMO you're best off with good German steel like Wusthof, or anything thats made in Solingen. Retains a sharp edge and easy to take care of.

[McPhee]

Given the expense and limitations of ceramic knives, I really don't see the point in them. Are they that much sharper than steel? are they significantly better to use?

I found them very impressive with the very little experience i've had of them. Whether or not i could use them as my only knives i really don't know, but i work as a Butcher (for now) and they carved through a grizzly bit of Shin like it was butter!

Already been warned not to use them for boneing out though so i'd still have to keep a few steel knives lying around.