[zazi]

hi, i love cooking, right now i have shun classic, yeah i know so main stream lol, i'm looking for the next big thing.
i cut mostly vegetables and i sharpen my knife once or twice a year at a professional place, (as they say, i have no clue if they are good or not).
i like the 8" size but i think a bit bigger will be more comfortable for me.
the budget is about 150$~200$.
i would love help in finding a better choice at knifes.

 

[foody518]

Hi Zazi, welcome to Cheftalk

Honestly what may make the biggest difference for your continued enjoyment of your knives over time is to either pick up sharpening or find a great sharpener you're willing to send knives to. Once or twice a year if you're cooking regularly has me thinking you're using a sub-optimally sharp knife for most of the year. That listed budget if used for sharpening equipment could set you up for a years to a decade if not longer, if just sharpening your own knives

What is your location? This can affect availability of knives and sharpening equipment at certain prices

Any other details about what you're wanting? There's lots of previous threads about knife recommendations, you can scroll there a few of them to see the questions that always get asked so that the thread starter can get more specific recommendations than like 20-50 options in a given price range.

 

[zazi]

I live in RamatGan in israel. Sadly, we do not have many shops that sharpen tools and knives.
I need a new knife because one of me roommate's broke the edge and ruined the blade when he was showing off to his girlfriend.

I Cooke once or twice a week for the whole week do to lack of time (full time job and a student) so there is not much wear and tare to the blade.
I buy most of my stuff on Amazon or ebay so I can get most? Of the knifes they sell there.

 

[foody518]

See if you're able to access these ebay links

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yoshihiro-I...-Chef-Knife-Ryu-Series-/232112174732#shpCntId

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tanaka-kitc...steel-210mm-/252686703916?hash=item3ad54d1d2c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Ginga-Swedish-Stainless-Steel-Wa-Gyuto-Knife-210mm-/381972439604

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262914696000?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT#shpCntId

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NANIWA-Prof...GOUKEN-KUROUTO-Medium-1000-Wide-/262957564181

Still, buying a nice knife and especially once you go up more in price - it makes little sense to get a better knife without a way to maintain its performance over time. All knives get dull with use

Depending on how your roommate damaged the knife, it might still be able to be fixed
Also might be worth seeing if these guys have a sharpening service https://www.tcblades.net/about-us

 

[millionsknives]

 At some point low quality disposable culture took over and people are used to lousy disposable stainless knives.  Like any craft, you need to learn to take care of your tools.   Nicer things require upkeep - DIY or pay a service is up to you.  

Think about this - would a woodworker let someone else sharpen his chisels?  NO WAY

No sharpening services know what they are doing with good knives in my area either.  Buy stones and do it yourself.  You can learn to get a decent edge in under an hour.  It's the other stuff, polishing, thinning, repairs, microbevels, that takes more time to learn.

 

[zazi]

I can buy all of the above and ship them to my country.
So, if i'll get sharpening tools and a knife for 200$ what's the best combo for my use?

 

[butcherandbaker]

My opinion, For what ever its worth to you If I could only have 5 knifes I would have [one or the other] A 9'' MAC chefs's knife [stainless steel with a European style handle] Or if your place of work understands and accepts the nomenclature of carbon steel, I would choose a K Sabatier Au Carbone 9" chefs knife [you can have the factory engrave your name on the P.O.M handle scales and or a cool logo. Next I would have a stainless steel paring knife, Buy the 3" Wusstof that comes with a nice pare of kitchen shears [that come apart so you can clean them] I'ts a great deal at about 25 Bucks! Also the wusstof 3" parer was voted fav by America's test kitchen for what it's worth. =]

Then my third Knife would be a VERY flexible 4 star elephant Sabatier from The Best Things.com [In carbon steel] awesome for boning or filleting a fish. My fourth knife would have to be the MAC 10" professional serrated bread knife, it is unique in that it is re-sharp-enable and cuts like there is no tomorrow, the serrations are a bit wide and spaced apart for cake,BUT because it is so crazy sharp it WILL trim and torte a cake, this knife also utilizes a off set handle so your fists miss the cutting board. And lastly my 5th knife would be a Carbon steel butchers slicing knife [like a scimitar or catuse or French or bullnose],,,this is for breaking down and slicing large cuts of protein or breaking down and custom fabricating a animal. [my personal knife is a 12" Vertible Bresswick Chef Au Ritz Bullnose butcher-slicer {carbon steel probaly made in late 40s or 50s in Paris]

my wild card would be at number six....lol a,, Havalon surgical scalpel This is because I do a lot of butchering of wild game and domesticated Hogs, and this does very well at eviscerating and skinning [you can also buy mini bone saw blades that fit in to the handle for bone, This knife is food safe because it is sanitary by nature. [this would also in my mind defeat the need for a petty-utility blade especially if you have a pare of good clean-able kitchen shears as mentioned above] [it folds AND its easy to clean] so you can have it on your person if you wish.

 

[foody518]

If you are ready to pick up sharpening pretty quickly, then the Tanaka plus this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-wh...417535?hash=item2f0392d5bf:g:CnUAAOSw8HBZF-d9 the Tanaka knives I've purchased have not had a particularly usable initial edge - too thin and brittle. I set a small primary bevel on the stones right away before using. This 800 grit side of this stone needs to be soaked

Or the stones previously listed

Watch these videos on knife sharpening https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEBF55079F53216AB

If you're more comfortable with buying something that should have an intially more usable edge, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tojiro-work...473028?hash=item41a0f7de04:g:-Z8AAOSwHQ9WXw4i