Looking for the right knife for me

Which "30$ knives from the restaurant equipment store" do you use? Gives a baseline of what you are familiar with to.

Odds are they are Dexter or Forschner right?

Jim

Hi Tony,

I can't really answer your question very well but one thing that I can contribute is that I'm in the GVRD and just ordered knives late last week from japanesechefsknife.com and it shipped on the 20th and is already clearing (or may have even cleared) Customs. For $7 shipping to Canada, that's pretty awesome. 

Just wanted to let you know because it might affect where you decide to order from.

I've also spoken with Paul and paulsfinest.com in Montreal and found him very good to deal with - real honest about the various product to the point where he helped me decide NOT to order one of his knives.

Good luck.

Buy no new knife. They are a waste of money. Go to the Salvation Army and treat yourself to wonderful antiques.

The diamond sharpening stones are so wonderful. They sharpen the very best of steel like butter. What is the very best of knife steels? It is CPM10V.These are extraordinary. These are normally offered as hand made knives. They will out cut all other knife steels.

Tony,

Your description of what you want is too general and non-specific for me to help you.  It would help if you could narrow down your expectations and experience so that I could at least figure out whether you want a Japanese, Euro or American made knife. 

You're probably looking at a bit more than $100 for a sharpening and steel kit, which would leave you with about the same amount for a 10" knife.  Actually that's a bit of an awkward price range -- we can save you a little money, or do the knife and sharpening kit at the next step up in quality for another $75.  I can't tell you what would be better without knowing more about you. 

Are you going to be doing heavy duty work like splitting chickens and pineapples with your new knife?  Or, are you looking for something more specialist? 

Assuming you plan on sharpening freehand on bench stones, I usually recommend starting with a Bester 1200 and Suehiro Rika, and Idahone 12" hone; then adding a Beston 500 only once you've established good sharpening habits and technique.  I also usually recommend a 12" Idahone "fine" (aka "1200") rod.  If you're going to be subjecting your rod to a lot of knocking around, you might prefer a DMT CS2. 

In terms of entry level, Japanese knives -- I most often recommend the Fujiwara FKM or Tojiro DP.  As a first really good knife, I most often recommend the 9.5" MAC Pro. 

If you want the sturdiness of a European or American made knife, there are an entire different set of criteria; and honestly, I don't really know the traditional knife lines that well anymore. 

If you want something usable that won't cost an arm and a leg and is worth resharpening, I recommend Forschner knives and a good "oil stone" kit with a couple of Norton India synthetics and a couple of Hall's Arkansas (natural stones).  Soup to nuts, including a ceramic steel and a Norton "sharpening station," that's going to run you less than $200; 80% of it for the sharpening stuff. 

BDL

Tojiro DP (around $100) is generally more rugged than the Fujiwara FKM ($80).  Fujiwara is a little more agile, and a bit less chip prone.

It takes a better developed skill set (mostly grip and sharpening) to use a 10" knife instead of an 8", but the benefits are well worth it especially in a commercial environment.

I think you already understand that your journey begins with sharpening and sharpness.  For a commercial kitchen all using knives ground to the same bevel angles, I'm wondering if a Chef's Choice electric sharpener, or a really good manual pull through like the Mino Sharp Plus 3, might work better for your professional kitchen than stones.

You'll be replacing them frequently -- especially the CC -- but they don't require much in the way of learning, so they'll get used properly and at least the kitchen will have sharp knives.  I'm a big fan of the best practical choice.

BDL

Take a look at the Chef Knives to Go and Cutlery and More websites. 

CKtG doesn't carry the CC machines, but Cutlery and More does.  There are three CC machines which will suit your needs:  The 316 Asian angle and XV only sharpen at 15*.  If you want to use them for your old knives, that means you'll be regrinding them to 15*.  That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the particular knives.  The XV is about $50 more expensive than the 316, and about $50 better -- especially if you're going to reprofile your old knives. 

The Mino Sharp 3 is as good as the CC 316, maybe better -- a little slower, but I'll bet it lasts a lot longer.

If you want one machine which can handle both angles, there's the 1520.  I suggest the XV and replacing your non-chef knives with R.H. Forschner over time.  Forschners can handle 15* bevels very well.

BDL

Disclosure:  In case you haven't been following any of the other knife threads, I'm not only discussing a commercial relationship with CKtG but may have already entered it.