Kitchen knife replacement thoughts

[Joe Anshien]

I get most of our knives from the thrift stores for $1 or under and sharpen them with this. Works great and are razor sharp. The only knife that we spent some $$ and where actually worth it is the Cutco cheese knife on the bottom rack.

 

[JKalchik]

Gahhhhh..... @Joe Anshien, no offence intended, I absolutely hate those Chef's Choice TriZor style sharpeners. The feel of that edge when slicing always has felt precarious and dull to me. Yes, I tried, 2 different models over a couple of years. I went back to flat stones and then to a flat diamond plate sharpener, before I went to a WorkSharp belt sharpener. I can put an edge on a bowling ball. My brother bought one just to sharpen his orchard pruners (about 100 acres worth,) and several friends have gone out and gotten their own after I sharpened their knives with mine.

As far as a knife goes, I've almost always bought on handle (is it comfortable and secure in my hand,) forged blades, and I've been leaning towards Japanese blade shapes. I have a German made Santoku style chef's knife that is my go-to.

There's really nothing wrong with stamped blades these days, the steel and rolling controls produce a pretty decent blade at a fraction of the cost of a forged blade.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Gahhhhh..... @Joe Anshien, no offence intended, I absolutely hate those Chef's Choice TriZor style sharpeners. The feel of that edge when slicing always has felt precarious and dull to me. Yes, I tried, 2 different models over a couple of years. I went back to flat stones and then to a flat diamond plate sharpener, before I went to a WorkSharp belt sharpener. I can put an edge on a bowling ball. My brother bought one just to sharpen his orchard pruners (about 100 acres worth,) and several friends have gone out and gotten their own after I sharpened their knives with mine.

As far as a knife goes, I've almost always bought on handle (is it comfortable and secure in my hand,) forged blades, and I've been leaning towards Japanese blade shapes. I have a German made Santoku style chef's knife that is my go-to.

There's really nothing wrong with stamped blades these days, the steel and rolling controls produce a pretty decent blade at a fraction of the cost of a forged blade.

That is really odd as I never could get my knives sharp on stones or other sharpeners and the TriZor makes them literally razor sharp. When friends visit they bring their knives over for me to sharpen. I pick up dull knives from the thrift, sharpen them and give them as gifts to friends. I only use the right part to get the initial edge then the middle and right for periodic sharpening as needed. It also has 13K reviews of mostly 5 stars on Amazon.

 

[JKalchik]

That is really odd as I never could get my knives sharp on stones or other sharpeners and the TriZor makes them literally razor sharp. When friends visit they bring their knives over for me to sharpen. I pick up dull knives from the thrift, sharpen them and give them as gifts to friends. I only use the right part to get the initial edge then the middle and right for periodic sharpening as needed. It also has 13K reviews of mostly 5 stars on Amazon.

Again, not trying to be offensive to anyone..... IMO, angle control is key to getting a sharp edge, regardless if you're using a whetstone, grinding wheels, belts, etc.. Unfortunately, to me, the TriZor edge feels more like a balled edge than a sharp edge.

Several years ago, we hosted a big Labor Day bash. A buddy of mine who shares my opinion on dull knives (DANGEROUS) was doing prep on vege for a few dishes. I said "Sorry my knives are dull, I haven't had time to touch them up." He replied "These are dull?????" I know what you're saying about people asking to have you sharpen up their knives.

 

[Scott Smith]

Due to manufacturing improvements, cheap knives keep getting better and better. An expensive knife might still be slightly better, but don't look at it as a lifetime investment. It may last a lifetime, but after a couple of decades it will be no better than a $3 knife from Amazon.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Due to manufacturing improvements, cheap knives keep getting better and better. An expensive knife might still be slightly better, but don't look at it as a lifetime investment. It may last a lifetime, but after a couple of decades it will be no better than a $3 knife from Amazon.

Except the manufacturer will replace it for free when it breaks. And all knives will break or fail at some point, even if it takes 30 years.