knife set recommendations

[Jenise]

Jessica, thanks for bringing your question here, we're all fans of having great knives. They make kitchen work so much more enjoyable. I'll have to admit I'm not very up-to-date on what comes in "sets" these days. I've bought my knives mostly one at a time. Or rather, my husband did long ago, and so for the sake of sentiment and not wanting to hurt the feelings of someone very important to me, it's taken me decades to transition over to knives I'd prefer to have.

One of the reasons is that serious knives used to be made for chefs, and chefs were mostly men. (cough cough) So they're for bigger hands and male strength and I never realized that the fatigue I felt after doing a lot of slicing and dicing didn't have to be there. Or that so much ergomics go into knife design. The first time I held a Global, I went nuts: it was one of those experiences where the proverbial sun comes out and angels sing. WOW did that knife feel good in my hand, like it was made for me. I've kept some of the old hubby knives, in particular a cheesy brand bread knife I inexplicably like a lot, but I've mostly replaced most of my early knives with Globals (who make several different grips). And not only do they feel good in my girly hand and look pretty hot, they hold an edge VERY well.

A friend of mine has Sabatiers, loves them. I haven't worked with them but I love saying 'Sabatier'! Not familiar with the other brand you mention.

What I do recommend is that you go to a good knife store IF there's one where you live and it's safe to do so, and just handle the knives. Look for one that gives you the experience I described above, that feels balanced and let a good knife seller help you evaluate what balance really means. If I (and my husband) had done that to start with, I'd have never had those crappy old Henckels.

I think Jenise's suggestion of handling the knives before you buy them is the most important thing.

I have spent over 20 years working in restaurants and every chef you talk to will give you a different answer. I personally prefer Shun knives, but Global the brand Jenise suggested is another of my favorites.

How well it fits in your hand, and how comfortable you are with it is what is important.

I can not speak to the two brands you mentioned, I have knives from many brands, but not those two, sorry...

I am a Sabatier fan. All my daily use knives are Robinson Sabatier. (Unfortunately, the making of Sabatier knives preceded copyright law hence makers are required to add a second name. Kinda like what has happened to Laguiole.) Sabatier knives are made from a slightly harder steel than, say, Henckels, thus they take a better edge but need touching-up more often.

I, too, have never heard of Welch and the blades almost never appear in product tests or comparisons outside the UK. From a bit of searching around I see that Welch was a designer generally, coming to cutlery later in life.

And I completely agree with Jenise and Kasey: try before you buy. If you can't find a store with display models then buy one cook's knife before investing in a whole set.

I am a Sabatier fan.

I, too, have a Sabatier set dating back 30 years or so. I also like my Victorinox chef's knife. I prefer knives with 15 degree bevel.

But I'm also a big fan of cleavers. I bought a beautiful, razor-sharp 3-1/2" wide cleaver with a wooden handle a few months ago from http://www.wokshop.com in California. Check them out. They're only $10 or so.

I’ve not used Sabatier but wonder if you might be better off spending your available budget on one or two knives and add as you can. Eg a decent cooks knife and a paring knife cover most tasks. Where quality shines. You can get by with a cheap serrated bread knife and add in a super cheap Chinese cleaver for “the rough” if you want. After much experience I find it better value to get the bet up front and work up the collection.Think about how you cook and what knives you use most and the pros and cons of each item in the set you are looking at.
Good luck.

I’ve not used Sabatier but wonder if you might be better off spending your available budget on one or two knives and add as you can. Eg a decent cooks knife and a paring knife covers most tasks. Where quality shines. You can get by with a cheap serrated bread knife and add in a super cheap Chinese cleaver for “the rough” if you want. After much experience I find it better value to get the bet up front and work up the collection.Think about how you cook and what knives you use most and the pros and cons of each item in the set you are looking at.
Good luck.

I agree with your good advice. But a super cheap cleaver could be totally worthless (I have one so I know). If you get a good cleaver, you can do virtually everything a chef's knife can. And there's a built-in scoop. I use mine more than 90% of the time, even for the fine stuff. The other 10% is a mixture of a paring knife, boning knife, bread knife, and chef's knife. (Watch what a Chinese chef can do with a cleaver.)

Bit of advice on the bread knife: they cut better when they have fewer serrations as opposed to those with many fine serrations. And get one long enough.

[Jenise]

Larry, I have a cleaver but almost never use it unless I need to really hack something in two. I think it's one of those acquired taste kind of things. Paring knives are another thing that's very personal: I have four, wouldn't even try to make do with less.

Larry, I have a cleaver but almost never use it unless I need to really hack something in two. I think it's one of those acquired taste kind of things. Paring knives are another thing that's very personal: I have four, wouldn't even try to make do with less.

Different strokes.

Cleavers come in different sizes; mine is about a #4, and I would never even think about hacking something hard in two, just like I wouldn't with one of my more expensive French knives (it would be hard on its razor-like edge). I use it for what is done with a chef's knife. For example, tonight I sliced carrots, celery, lettuce, and a little yellow onion for a salad. It's also great for peeling and mincing garlic.

For hacking, I use my el cheapo throwaway cleaver if need be. One day I might get a vegetable cleaver. I became used to handling a cleaver about 30 years ago. I love it, and it's hard for me to change.

This short youtube shows some basic things with a cleaver (a larger cleaver than I have): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4HtGXYZaDA And there are some real masters in other videos. (It's amazing to watch Martin Yan totally cut up a chicken in 18 seconds.)

[Jenise]

and I would never even think about hacking something hard in two)

Ever watched a Chinese chef "hack" a roast duck into about 30 square objects? That's the kind of hacking I'm talking about.

[Jenise]

It wasn't cheap but I would recommend spending money on a good knife if you are keen on cooking.

Couldn't agree more.

Ever watched a Chinese chef "hack" a roast duck into about 30 square objects? That's the kind of hacking I'm talking about.

It's amazing to watch. I would never have the courage to bring down a heavy cleaver from that high, with that much force, that close to my other hand.

I do almost all of my cutting and chopping with a regular-sized (#4?) Chinese cleaver. I have a heavy duty cleaver for hacking. I also have a hacksaw for cutting racks of spareribs crosswise into thirds--the chopstick-friendly Chinese way to prepare them.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I'd buy a new duck every day just to watch that.

Yeah, it's all fun and games until it comes time to eat that duck. Then there are sixty million bones, all small, sharp, and of different sizes and shapes (none of which are found in nature). Bleh.

[Jenise]

I miss living where I can run out and pick up a Chinese duck. One of the few things about Southern California I miss--shopping for food and ingredients in Little Saigon.

Are you looking for high carbon steel or stainless - that's the first decision that needs to be made. I opt for carbon steel knives - you have to touch them up and sharpen more frequently but they also take a better sharper edge than stainless does,

And you don't need a set - start with a good paring knife and a medium sized chef's knife - they will do 90% of your cutting needs. You can later add a larger chef's knife, possibly a slicing knife etc. There are special purpose knives like boning knives, square ended chopping knives etc. but they can be added or not, as you please. later.