Today I want to talk a little bit about kitchen knives. I know, we all have them in our kitchens but I thought I would talk about some of the things one might want to consider when looking to purchase good quality kitchen knives/cutlery. So many times people are concerned with what is the best kitchen knife and I always tell them that there is no such thing. Each maker with a quality reputation makes the best kitchen knives, it is up to you to decide which are going to be the best kitchen knives for your purposes.  There are so many brands and types of kitchen knives today that it simply boggles the mind. The similarities, the dissimilarities. To some people they all just look alike. Well, we know that this is not so and we know that not all kitchen knives are created equally. So here are some of my tips to consider when looking for kitchen knives.

Shun Japanese Santoku

1. Are you a professional chef or cook? Do you consider yourself a gourmet home chef? If so then precision cutting performance is something you will be looking for and in this case I would recommend getting good quality Japanese Kitchen Knives

If you’re struggling to find just the right gift, then you might want to consider a set of kitchen knives. Kitchen knife sets make an excellent gift for just about any occasion whether it’s a housewarming party, birthday, a wedding, or even Christmas.

This is often an overlooked gift that people use just about every day in their own homes. This is the type of gift that will be remembered every time they are cooking, which makes it perfect for someone you care about or who loves cooking. Just make sure you take the time to buy quality set of kitchen knives because you don’t want to buy them a cheap set that is going to fall apart in a week or two. If you’ve ever used a set of high-quality knives then you will understand the difference between a cheap set and a quality set.

You can find a very good set of knives for under $200 that are made by well-known manufacturers. Some of the manufacturers that make high-quality kitchen knife sets are Ginsu, JA Henckels, and Wusthof. However, Victorinox Knife Sets are my personal favorite. I have given these as gifts at both weddings and Christmas time. And every time I do, it is a gift that they always remember me by.

A kitchen knife set is a great gift, be it for a wedding, housewarming party, Christmas or a birthday. When it comes time to give gifts, people often overlook this great present, even though it’s a tool that is used almost daily in the kitchen. If you do decide to give this gift to a loved one, make sure you purchase a good set. That way, your gift will be remembered fondly every time they use the cutlery you gave them. If you buy a cheap set that falls apart quickly, it tells the person you bought it for that you really don’t care.

Unless you’re willing to spend between $100 and $200 on a set, it’s probably a good idea to look into other gifts. You can find other gifts like toasters and blenders for well under $100, and you’ll still be able to give a quality gift. There are sets of average knives on the market that cost less than $100, but they are few and far between. It isn’t until you get up over that mark that you start to see the real quality sets.

There are a number of manufacturers that offer high-quality kitchen knife sets for between $100 to $200. JA Henckels, Ginsu and Chicago Cutlery are established companies, and they all have offerings in this price range that would make a great gift. Anolon and Calphalon are relative newcomers, but they also offer good sets that fall into this range. Sets from any of the aforementioned brands will last a long time if cared for properly.

In order to buy the right kitchen cutlery as a gift, you have to know a little bit about the person or people you’re buying it for. If they are only passively interested in cooking, chances are they don’t already have a great set. Next time you’re at their house, take a quick look in the kitchen and glance at the brand of knives they have. If they have a cheaper set like Farberware, one of the mid-range knife sets would be a good upgrade idea for a gift.

If the person you’re considering giving cutlery to as a gift is an active cook, chances are they may already have a good set of knives. If you give them one of the mid-range sets, there’s a good chance you’ll be giving them a gift that they’ll never use or end up re-gifting later on down the road. If you want to give them a kitchen knife set they’ll actually use, you have to get them one nicer than the one they already have. This may mean spending anywhere from $300 to prices in the thousands of dollars for a set.

If you can’t afford thousands of dollars for a set (and who can these days?), you can instead opt for a gift set that contains only a couple of knives. These sets usually come in a nice wooden box and make for a nice looking gift that is functional as well. Shun offers a couple different gift sets that contain a knife or two.

For those of us who aren’t limited by price, there are professional chef-caliber knife sets on the market that anyone would love to have. Global offers a full range of high-end cutlery that looks great and works wonders in the kitchen. Professional chef’s love these knives, so it’s a gift that you can’t go wrong with. Shun knives look nice and are highly sought after, so they would make a great gift as well. Another highly sought after set is the Ginsu Kitana series, which are patterned after samurai swords and are extremely sharp.

A kitchen knife set is a great gift. Do a little research and find the best knife set you can for the person you’re buying for.

Product Description
Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-piece set contains a assortment of quality kitchen knives. The set includes a 4-inch Parer, 5-inch Santoku, 5-inch Serrated Utility, 8-inch Chef, 9-inch Steel, Twin L Shears, and a Hardwood block. Twin Four Star kni

calvin and i the day after christmas…making fun of josh and showing off some paula dean kitchen knives.

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F. Dick Knife Block Set – 9 Piece Stamped Steel

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F. Dick Knife Block Set – 9 Piece Stamped Steel Overview
Keep all your knives in one convenient place with this block set. Knife block includes nine piece stainless steel knives set. Knife block is made of solid wood for superior durability. Knives made of high quality stamped stainless steel.FeaturesKnife block is solid wood for superior durability Keeps knives organized and easily accessible Knives are made of high quality, stamped stainless steel Made in Germany One year manufacturers warranty Includes:6 paring knife 4 larding knife Chefs knife 8 serrated bread knife 8 chefs knife 5 boning knife Meat fork 10 sharpening steel High quality kitchen shears

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More Info: F. Dick Knife Block Set – 9 Piece Stamped Steel

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-Piece Block Set

I bought these knives for my first-time homeowner son, as a housewarming gift, because I had accumulated a number of the 4-star knives for myself.

As I told my son the musician — a good knife is like a musical instrument, you have to keep it “in tune” (sharpened) for it to work at its best. A good, sharpened knife can be poetry in motion, for those who like to cook. But it has to be sharpened to stay like that — otherwise, the “never need sharpening” knives would be a better choice. I run my knives through a two-wheel manual sharpener about every 2 or 3 times I use them. I use an electrical knife sharpener about once or twice a year.

The handles on the 4-star can discolor (whiten) if regularly washing in a dishwasher with powdered detergent. I usually wash mine manually, but I will put them in a top rack occasionally, and I use a gel detergent.

This is a great set of knives for those who don’t mind sharpening frequently. I hang mine on a magnetic knife holder, I don’t care for a block on the countertop. I am a bit envious — there is a Santoku knife in this set that I don’t have. Because I have small hands, I use the 6″ chef knife instead of the 8″. I have the 3″ paring knife; the 4″ would be a good addition to my set.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-Piece Block Set Feature

• 7-piece set consists of 4-inch parer, 5-inch Santoku, 5-inch serrated utility, 8-inch chef knife, cutting shears, sharpening steel, and block
• Friodur ice-hardened, 1-piece, high-carbon, no-stain, forged steel blades
• Full rat-tail tangs and bolsters provide better weight and superior balance
• German-made molded polypropylene handles; Zwilling J.A. Henckels’ logo
• Measures approximately 17-1/2 by 9 by 16 inches

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-Piece Block Set Overview

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-piece set contains a assortment of quality kitchen knives. The set includes a 4-inch Parer, 5-inch Santoku, 5-inch Serrated Utility, 8-inch Chef, 9-inch Steel, Twin L Shears, and a Hardwood block. Twin Four Star knives are constructed under Henckels sigmaforge standards which guarantees perfect geometry, as well as better weight and balance. High carbon, no-stain steel blades which are Friodur ice-hardenened guarantees durability and maximum corrosion resistance. Comfortable, molded polypropylene handles are manufactured in Germany.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-Piece Block Set SpecificationsAvailable at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 24, 2010 01:15:09

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Each time you buy a set of quality kitchen knives make sure to buy a a good quality sharpening stone as well. Sure enough, these knives will dull in time and require some sharpening at some point. The typical method of sharpening knives is still being used today with wet stones. In fact,old school knife sharpeners still appreciate this sharpening method. Cutting edge technology in fabricating top quality knives also needed a market for top quality sharpening tools. Professional knife sharpeners are considered artisans and they can be pretty hard to find these days. And when you do, they can be relatively expensive.

If you’re a housewife with a knack at being pretty handy, you will find yourself at ease at handling these knife sharpening equipments. The consumer market offers electric kitchen knife sharpeners that come with easy to follow instructions and can be found in most homes as many people realize how professional services can be quite expensive. Although the crudest method only requires a wet stone, doing this may need a bit of practice from the home owner to achieve satisfactory results without ruining a set of expensive knives. Most restaurants would rather invest on a knife sharpening equipment as kitchen knives play a crucial role in the efficiency of their kitchen. The cooks preparing food surely will need to sharpen their knives constantly. This is due to the varying textures of food they need to chop and cut for long hours and naturally, and knives take a good beating from this. Having to send knives to a professional knife sharpener may present a few unpredictable snags along the way and compromise the kitchen in the end that can cost some good money. Electric knife sharpeners are a good investment for restaurateurs as this makes the lives of their kitchen staff much more convenient and efficient in their performance.

The market offers various models of knife sharpening equipment suited for either home use or professional use. They can cost as much as up to $100 but you can get a good one for a reasonable price of about $30. Those intended for commercial heavy duty use can cost a few hundreds of dollars but may not be as sharp as you expect them although it can handle some pretty good bulk chopping and slicing.

Prior to purchasing an electric knife sharpener, you have to know and you understand the shape and the slope of your knive’s blade. A blade’s beveled edge will tell you how sharp the knife is or how fine it can cut. Chefs like Japanese knives because they are seriously sharper and show off with precision cuts and slices because of its tight beveled angle.

Always pay attention to the kind materials used in the type of grinding stone used in an electric sharpener you would like to buy. The diamond coated stones are harder however, other materials used will be hard enough to do do a good job on most knives.Single stage electric knife sharpeners generally sharpen both sides of the blade with the use of interlocking grinding wheels. Just place the knife in between the vertical wheels with the sharp edge facing down and slowly pull it through. Do this a few times until the knife is sharp enough to your preference. If a fancier knife sharpening equipment is more to your fancy, there are multi-stage electric sharpeners out in the market. They are made with three types of grinding stones. A coarse stone and is perfect for very blunt knives and generally used for the first stage. The second stage has a medium surface grind stone to remove the scratches as it smoothens and sharpens the blade’s edge. The third stage lets you polish and buff your knife with its fine surface stone or plastic disks.

Kitchen knives are a good investment in any kitchen. Give yourself a little bit more leverage by putting in a few more dollars on some type of knife sharpening equipment to make your total investment worthwhile.

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A good set of knives is the foundation for any serious kitchen. It is simply not possible to be a serious cook, to produce superior meals that will impress and delight your friends, without a set of kitchen knives that work with you, not against you. If you use ill-suited knives, or just poor quality knives, you are only making things harder for you in the kitchen. If you are an aspiring cook, or an accomplished cook who is just simply tired of making things more difficult than they need to be, this article will help you put together a set of quality kitchen knives.

Your First Kitchen Knives: The Basics

The single most important knife in your kitchen, and the starting point for any collection, is the Chef’s knife, sometimes known as the Cook’s knife. As the name suggests, this is your general all-purpose knife, able to do everything from mincing to chopping to slicing and to dicing. The Chef’s knife has a gently slopping blade and is usually around 8 inches long. The next knife you should invest in is the little brother to the Chef’s knife, the paring knife. The paring knife is basically just a smaller version of the Chef’s knife. The paring knife is designed for more detailed or intricate jobs than the Chef’s knife. A paring knife usually measures around 4 inches long or shorter. The third knife you should purchase to complete your basic set of kitchen knives is a bread knife. The bread knife should ideally be about the same size as your Chef’s knife, but instead of a straight blade, the bread knife will have a serrated edge. A knife with a serrated edge resembles a saw blade, with the blade having a series of u-shaped cuts into it. The bread knife is obviously great for slicing bread. It is also useful however, for cutting food that would be squashed from the pressure of a straight blade.

After you have established your basic collection, the possible additions to your collection are endless. You could buy a myriad of larger knives such as cleavers (large rectangular knives designed for cutting through bones and joints) or smaller knives such as tomato knives, utility knives or even grapefruit knives.

Caring For Your Knives

Even if you have purchased only moderately priced knives, you should be interested in learning how to preserve your investment. Knives will become dull over time as they are used. Fortunately, you can take a number of easy steps to help prolong the life of your blades. The most important step is to never put your knives in the dishwasher; you kitchen knives should always be washed by hand with a mild detergent and then hand dried. The second step is to always use a cutting board; other surfaces can damage your knife blade. The third step is to have your blades sharpened by a professional. And finally, do not keep your knives in a draw with all your other junk – the knives should be keep out of contact with any other metal in a knife block.

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The purpose in sharing the contents found within the article would be to help you get hold of the ultimate superior quality kitchen knife at a very reasonable price. I adhere to one personal and special theory that many people don’t usually think of when they’re ready to buy their knives. what I believe is rather than buying that seventeen piece set that promises you would need every one, I’d prefer to buy a minimum number of quality knives which will definitely ensure 99% completion of any knife related tasks. your cooking style wouldn’t dictate the kind of knife you’d be getting, but always stick to anything basic when you are buying knives. the two most useful knives would be: a serrated & a chef’s knife. A chef’s knife holds a characteristic of having a very straight and very sharp-edge feature, usually measuring approximately eight to ten inches in its span. This type of knife is definitely useful in approximately 80% of knife related duties. Serrated knives should include features like: long, sharp and jagged edges which will allow the knife to cut through soft and tender objects such as tomatoes and bread. the two mentioned knives cover approximately ninety five percent of any kitchen duties. I may opt not to use other knives because the 2 ones would already be sufficient. Although there are certain instances that it is important to get specialized knives to perform certain tasks that both these knives wouldn’t be performing accurately. Some examples would include a paring knife/kitchen scissors. But then again the 2 basic knives would still be better in performing any special tasks. If buying any of the 2 basic knives we have been mentioning be keen in checking those forged-blade knives rather than those stamped-blade ones. Telling them apart is easy; their difference lies in their handles, a forged-blade’s knife’s hand-molded. , while the stamped-blade knife was pressed using some machine. the forged-blade knife naturally comes superior compared to that of a stamped-blade knife. Its huge advantage would be their durability. when using a stamped-blade knife especially when its blades are loose, you might cut yourself accidentally. while using a forged-blade knife together with appropriate care and maintenance, will last one lifetime & by far safer to use. by now you have understood the qualities to check for when you buy a forged-blade knife, other contributing factors in searching for the ultimate best knife includes the dimensions of the knife. as a ‘rule of thumb’ whenever choosing the knife’s size. Check the length of the cutting or chopping board that you’d use often, and then measure the board diagonally. Purchase knives which are approximately equal or perhaps one to about two inches less than the total size of your cutting or chopping board. always think that during buying knives, this kitchen equipment is truly a huge investment. Imagine the convenience it would bring the user. together with quality and appropriate care and maintenance a forged-blade knife could last one lifetime. also check the knife’s maintenance-package and really take extra care with it by reading the instructions and following them carefully when sharpening your knives, there are many tools available today. But my most favored would be that steel-sharpening rod & that two-stage ‘knife sharpener’, I usually don’t prefer using those electric ones. What’s also great when using regular sharpening models is that they actually cost approximately half as much and performs equally the same superior job. when looking in enhancing kitchen productivity, getting quality knives is the ultimate best step to achieve that. I did suffer using those cheap stamped-blade knives. it was only recently that I realized that together with great techniques and that quality superior-knife. I now can definitely cut about 1/2 the time on my slicing, dicing & chopping duties. good Luck!