Fear not, an inevitable slide into costly faffery is erm, inevitable, but not before I have completed the necessary training (wax on, wax off, sand the floor, paint the fence, bow etc etc).
And I cannot resist expensive shiny things.
In the meantime, I still need to chop stuff. If I’m going to learn how to sharpen a knife, I’d rather do it on a modest Victorinox than risk offending a Japanese master with a collection of handmade instruments of destruction.
Hmmm.
We don’t eat much whale in our house.
And how come his fingers are still attached to his hand?
Cheers. That will do for me.
I fear you are not taking this quest seriously. And why don’t you eat Whale?
Cos it won’t fit in the trolley.
And the kids prefer chicken nuggets.
I feel like some more background information is required here to really advise properly. Some idea of what knives you already have for example. You mention a nakiri, which is a moderately specialist option in terms of intended function. A santoku is a more general purpose knife at least, but you may find a 8" chef’s knife more useful if you don’t have an equivalent (most Santoku stop at the 6"-7" territory).
There’s also the whole Western vs Japanese approach to making knives, which are quite different. Western knives tend to be heaver / wider, and almost all have that very distinctive handle that you see on things like Sabatier knives. Japanese tend to be straight handled (although not all of them).
I have a knife block containing a motley assortment of mostly really shitty knives of various sizes and shapes, from tiny paring/utility to a cleaver, taking in most sizes in between. they are almost all really quite horribly blunt, but even when the were (relatively) sharp, I didn’t feel drawn to use many of them.
The nakiri caught my eye in the Pro Cook sale, and I bought it because I liked the shape (and it was both cheap and well-reviewed). It was really quite sharp fresh out of the packaging and I immediately preferred the feel and weight of it to the other knives (all of the more familiar European style). That nakiri gets used for just about everything. It just feels right.
It was only from reading this thread that I picked up on the idea that a santoku might be a better bet as a general purpose knife, so I thought I’d try one. That said, as an untrained home cook, I find the nakiri works really well for me.
When my minosharp arrives, I plan to sharpen everything in the knife block and try the different types (there is an 8" chef’s knife in there, albeit a pretty nasty “out of a 1980s £20 Argos set” type).
Fair to say that I definitely prefer the Japanese designs.
Most of my chopping is fruit, veg, various meats and occasionally fish. I don’t do any ‘specialised’ stuff like boning or filleting anything challenging. This may account for the nakiri suiting so well.
The thing I’d add in there is that knives are generally designed to cut by slicing, which is where a longer blade comes in handy. I’d second the above recommendation of Victorinox for inexpensive without being shit. I’ve used one of these extensively:
Amazon tells me I’ve had mines for ten years. I tend to use my Wusthof most of the time now but they still get a fair bit of use.
This assortment is there for practice get some blocks and have a go , you may be surprised.
It does take practice a little bit of it’s a fucking knife it needs to be sharp
If you have a TK Max nearby then go check the knife section, often on amazon too. You are looking for zwilling and henckels ice hardened stainless knives. Same blade and material as their more expensive offering but without some of the details such as Metal boss, wood handle etc. Usually on offer at around 25 quid rather than the 50 quid retail. .
I think this one was called a pro chef or somesuch.
All our local TK Maxx no longer carry knives.
If that’s also true near me, it would save me the soul-sucking experience of setting foot in there. I hate TK Maxx. It’s like a jumble sale with delusions of grandeur.
Christ, I’ve barely started on cheap, blunt and rusty…
Have you any use for a plastic cross?
Same here.
I bought a knife from TK Maxx a few years ago and needed some kitchen scissors a couple of months ago. Two options for scissors and no knives at all, no longer sold.
