My father is always complaning about his steak knives not holding their edge, of course he has cheep steak knives. I would like to get him some good knives for christmas but don't know what are good brands that will hold there edge. Can any of you cooking experts help me out?
Thanks [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I buy my cutlery from a butcher supply store in downtown Montreal. A bit of a hike, but I feel like a kid in a candy store. The knives are Victorinox and much cheaper than the brands you would buy from a retailer. Last time I went I bought:
This might not be the most elegant or attractive alternative, but my whole family (Parents and two brothers) uses Chicago Cutlery - full tang carbon steel blades riveted into walnut handles. I bought the first one as a kid years ago for my Dad for Christmas because it looked cool. Now we all have our own sets built here and there when we find them on sale. We use them a lot for a range of chores. If I had to pick just two, I'd go with a 3-4" paring knife and an 8" chef's knife. I rarely use any of the others unless cutting meat.
We steel them to straighten the edges (steeling is not sharpening unless you use a ceramic rod), and protect the edges by hand washing after use and storing in a block. They are never thrown in the sink or drawer to bang around. We have friends with all sorts of more expensive brands, and if they are abused, they will never hold the edge. My reccommendation is to find something like the Chicago brand and protect the edges - even clanging around in the dishwasher speeds dulling.
<font color="blue">(steeling is not sharpening unless you use a ceramic rod)</font color>
If it cuts better after doing something to it, then I call that sharpening. I know what you mean though, the steel doesn't actually remove material. A few passes on the stone every 6 months should be enough for the aspiring chef.
I have purchased some Henckels on Ebay and have been very pleased with them. The quality is top notch and the prices much better than retail.
The other solution is some inexpensive serrated steak knives. Unless your dad cooks some really tough steaks [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] they should work just fine for a long time.
I have an odd collection of Henkels, Sabatier, Chicago Cutlery, and some old butcher knives I inherited from my grandparents.
I use a butcher steel to keep them sharp, but every now and then I put them on a diamond hone to really sharpen them. This is really important on stainless steel blades. Stainless is hard to sharpen on a regular Arkansas stone. I ran into a discussion on the net somewhere a while back that pointed out that carbon steel sharpens ok on a Arkansas stone because minute particles of carbon fall out of the sharp edge of the blade and cause microscopic saw-like teeth in the cutting edge. You can actually see this under a high power magnifyier. Stainless, on the other hand, supposedly contains little or no carbon and there fore the microscopic saw-like teeth must be artificially created via the diamond hone.
I tried it, and it certainly seems to be true. I have a few German knives with stainless blades that did not want to take any kind of edge on a regular stone. A few passes with the AMT Diamond hone and then a touch-up on the Arkansas stone put an edge that will shave hair on the back of my arm. Try it. Also works great on regular carbon steel blades.
After they are sharp, a few quick passes on the butcher steel will keep them razor sharp.
My take on steak knives is that they should not have to be sharp for cooked steak, unless the steak is tough. Then I would invest in better steak, not better knives. Just my opinion.
Also, I like sharp knives and have a fit if they are used to cut anything that is not on a real cutting board. Dear wife and daughters seem to like the glass "boards" for cutting, and I go nuts. Same as cutting steak on plates that are ceramic or hard surfaces. Cake pans and cooking ware are also hard on sharp edges.
There is a really nice set of caphalon steak knives on special buy at all of the EXPO stores for 20 bucks! they are usually 45. i love the set that i bought.
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