[DavidD]

Hello,
I am fairly new to the world of cooking, I have been serious for about one year or so. I am almost 16, and I have recently started practicing cutting techniques with my parents "El Cheapo" knives. I was getting pretty good, so I decided to look in to some good knives. I started on the internet and did a little research, well alot of research actually. I finally decided on the Global 8" Cooks knife, or the Wusthof 8" chef's knife (keep in mind this was just internet research, I hadn't actually held ether of these knives). Anyway I stumbled on some of the posts about knives, that said to definetly go and try before you buy. Well There inlies the problem for me, see I live sort of in the country without a kitchen store in sight, and I can't drive yet. So what should I do? Well I managed to find my self in hechts department store and thought I'd check out there kitchen department, and it just so happend that they had all Henckels on sale (that is also the only brand they carry) so after a little more research I decided to go and try some out. I first tried the "Pro S" series, wow A great improvement from my parents knives (Chicago Cutlery would blow my parent knives away!) then I tried the 5-star series WOW! Felt great! I was amazed of how comfortable this knife was! It felt my hand perfectly! so after a little thinking and holding both knives a few times, I decided to go with the 5-star 8" Chef's Knife. I took it home and tried it out on a piece of celery... Man! this thing cuts like a hot knife through butter! I Love this knife so far, and have not found anything i dislike about it. If anyone else owns one of these knives, let me know what you think. also what else should I buy to take care of it, and keep the blade sharp?

Thanks, and Happy Cooking!

[Britcook]

Congratulations, excellent selection process and a good result. To keep the blade in the best condition you'll need to get a decent steel and use it regularly - I give my knives a couple of "wipes" every time I use them. Periodically - that will depend on use - you'll need to get it re-sharpened, I use a Henckels sharpener but opinions vary greatly on this, other people recommend having it done professionally but given your location (and likely use) the Henckels gadget will be OK. And don't ever forget mail order if you live out in the boonies.