So what do you use?  I have an old crappy walmart set of knives and its time to move up.  Want best quality that will last a while.

I've been lookin at Wusthof Ikon but they're pretty expensive although they'd probably last forever if not abused.

inexpensive ones from a restaurant supply store

There is no best, it comes down to personal prefernce.  I work in a professional kitchen, and have used a lot of high quality knives, and I think bang for the buck, Globals are the way to go.

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Best Production Knives: Wusthof, Shun

(I say "production" beause there are some amazing hand-made ones you can get, but they're so specialty and expensive that it's cost prohibitive to consider for everyday kitchen use)

Global is nowhere near the top for me. I've seen too many fail (literally split in half) from standard use.

In over ten years of use by me and other chefs I work with, I've never seen a Global split in half, or otherwise have a structural defect, and they've been through more than any home cook will ever put them through in a lifetime of use.  The only thing I've seen happen to them is a broken tip from being dropped, which is a user mistake, but that would happen to any knife.

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Tag.

I personally think Global knives are the best.

I have a set of Cutco that was given to me years ago and I'm still happy with them.  The scissors will cut a penny in half.

wustof, shun, global, MAC or anything from japanesechefsknife.com

Ginsu

Shun

I like my Shun knives. Amazon has some great sales on the occasionally.

Dexter-Russell......can be had for less that $50 at your local restaurant supply.

Hell of a deal on a Henckels set right here.

This is what I got my dad and stepmom for Christmas this year, and I think I did pretty good.

Ronco

/thread

tag

I mostly use Chef's Choice Trizor 10x Professional in my kitchen. They're fully forged, Rockwell tested at 60, and MADE IN AMERICA!
Fabulous knives of very high quality. They ain't cheap but with proper care they will outlast me.

For de-boning and basic butchering I use a combination of commercial quality butchering knives like Forschner, F. Dick, Mundial, and Tramontina. All of the above can be found for very reasonable prices and don't need to be super high-end. They won't last forever but they are speciality knives and I take excellent care of all my cutlery.

Whatever you decide on make sure you buy a good core set that includes an 8" or 10" Chef's knife, a pairing knife, and utility size knife. You can always add other knives to the set later but don't skimp on the core!

Good luck!

Global or Shun.

after much research, I ended up with this working combo. It's great for my wannabe chef kitchen:

Suisin Inox Yo-Deba 210mm (thick fish/chicken tool) really stout and quarters bird and breaks down big fish easily

Misono UX-10 Gyuto 240mm (general use chef knife) stainless and really easy to handle. great steel

Shun Classic Wide Santoku 7" (veg prep and chopper de-lux) great for potatoes and other heavy vegetable prep

Masamoto VG-10 Petty 150mm (slicer/utilty) sharp as hell and handy for just about anything

Shun Classic Paring 4.5" (paring knife) blade design will handle most small tasks. really great for fruit and small vegi prep

Henckels bread knife 8" (bread/ frozen stuff) cheap, but sturdy. will be replaced with a Gude (hopefully)

I also use a Hand American Borosite hone to keep the edges up. It's got a cool leather sheath and borosite is better than a steel IMHO.  Hope that helps. Prices vary depending on brand and grade, but that setup has done everything I've needed. Just a basic lineup.  Surv.

Wusthof

I am sure there are better blades, but I like using Forschner blades the best. The handles fit my hands well.

I used to fillet tons of fish with them. They were all I used and now they are what I use at home.

I think we just did this a week or two ago for someone else.

Doesn't Solingen mean they have to be made in Solingen, Germany?

This. I love my Shuns

Look for something with a Rockwell C hardness of above about 55.  This is why Shun, MAC, Global and most Japanese knives are better than most European and US knives wihch will have a generally lower hardness, and thus won't hold and edge as long.  

I like my MAC knives, which a bit cheaper than others for the same hardness (58+), and I got a couple Messermister Asia Precision Series knives which are AUS8, for a great price, which are good, I've got a Global which is great.  My best knife is a handmade Japanese Santoku made by Shinichi Watanabe

For good kitchen knives real cheap, get some of the carbon steel Old Hickory knives by Ontario.  I have severeral and they're great, but do rust easily.  I just sand the rust off.  The carbon streel sharpens really fastm easily and sharp, and holds a good edge.  $6 for a paring knife.  Get 3 and always have one sharp.  The boning knives are realing good for...well, actual boning of meat, because the carbon steel is so much easier to re-sharpen than stainless.  It kills me to touch my hard earned edge of a quality stainless knife to a meat bone, so the Old Hickory 6-in Boner is one of my favorites, for boning work.  To bad they don't sell the long chef's knives anymore.  I got two, and I really like them, especially if I have to do something that I know will cause a need for resharpening, like carving a turkey on a ceramic plate.  

There are several good knife vendors, but one I like is The Knife Merchant because there is a lot of good info there as well selection.  For an all-around, must have kitchen knife, at the best price (above that of the Old Hickories), I recommend the MAC UK-60      6” Chef’s  Utility Knife for $39.  It was highly recommended by a guy via a knife forums website who has made his living selling and sharpening knives for many years, and who has proved the performace of this economically priced knife by taking knives to soup-kitches were he volunteers, and letting other volunteers test various knives.  This is the knife I've had in my kitchen for years, and it wil do it all.  If I only had one, this would be it.  

I've got and tried enough of the softer steel kitchen knives, like Forshner, Victorianox, Tramontina to know that they just don't hold and edge well enough to avoid frustration.  Rockwell C of at least 56.  Better 57+.  The inner steel of the Wantanabe Santoku (it's a katana like sandwich) is as high as RC 64! which is why it holds an awesome edge so well.  Just don't use it as a pry bar.   Use your cheap knife for that.

cutco are great knives. My favorite in the drawer. holds an edge like none other. My sister had one for over thirty years and when it broke, they replaced it for free.

Only thing I don't like about the Old Hickory line is that the wood handles are porous and can't be sanitized.  I generally like to soak my knives in a mild bleach solution after I've been cutting up raw chicken, etc.

The steel is great, though.

I really Like the knife merchant Website you linked.   I'll probably get a big knife block with a MAC UK-60 and a couple other knives and just add on as I go as I dont have a ton of money to spend on a set and mixing and matching sounds fun.

If anyone has any knives they'd like to reccomend for my knife block, GO.

19.96

http://www.miracleblade.com/home.html

Wustoff for the win.



I got my wife one for Christmas last year.  Just like anything else of quality, buy one and slowly add to your collection.  Unlike the Walmart knives, they'll be around for years and years.

Where in Ohio are you?  If you're anywhere near Dover, take a look at Warther.  Handmade in Ohio by the Warther family.  They're great knives.  We have a set and regularly give them as gifts.

https://www.yoshiblade.com/

Another Cutco user here......

I use Shun. I only have 4 of them so far.

snap-on

Global.

Tag.

I love my Wustoff knives.

I have Wusthof, but if I had it to do over again, I'd go to a restaurant supply store and get Forschner.  Cook's Illustrated says Forscher (Victorinox) knives are as good as or better than knives costing four or five times as much.

I have shun & al mar, both are great.

-JTP

My Benchmade folder may or may not be my only sharp pointy thing.

Forschner's are O.K., until you have to sharpen them.  The higher grade knives are easier to put a good edge on.


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Global's are great but these are better:

are those handles comfortable?  they really don't look like it.

I think it means they are made there specifically with their steel. At least that is my understanding.

Does anyone have an opinion, or ever use, Al Mar cutlery?

I've got a 4.75 Al Mar utility knife that is one of the sharpest knives I've owned. Its a bitch to resharpen, but it holds an edge for damn near ever.

I also use a Tramontina kitchen set for a lot of stuff. They hold an edge fairly well and sharpen easily.

I'm a big fan of Old Hickory knives, too. They were the first kitchen knoves I owned. I found out if you stab an onion with them and let them sit for a couple hours, the blades will "blue" and they don't rust quite as quick. I also soak the handles in thinned down spar varnish and then card them down once they dry. Makes the wood impervious to crud for a long time.

I love my shuns with the ergo handle for righties.  I have done a lot of fishing in my life and still spearfish a lot, and I use Dexters for my workhorse fish cleaning knives.  I have a breaker, 3 of their fillet knives and a serrated fillet knife, absolutely love them.

i wish i had some ceramic knives myself...except for maybe a steel cleaver