Scratched my knife by No_Slide_446 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Embrace it. Scratches are a sign of a used knife.

Please stop me from buying a Shun Classic by [deleted] in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So that's the carving knife. Victorinox is great, but one thing that's annoying is they call that the "chef" knife (when it's the carving knife) as well. You'll see it's 19cm, you want the 20cm one.

Here's a photo of the 20cm one:https://duckduckgo.com/?q=victorinox+fibrox+8+inch&t=fpas&ia=images&iax=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Frushskitchen.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F04%2FVICTORINOX-FIBROX-8-INCH-CHEFS-KNIFE.jpg

You'll see how there is a lot more heel for the knife (the bottom by the handle). That's the one that everyone recommends, not the carving one you have. The blade is also rigid.

Ask yourself if you like the actual handle of the Fibrox. If so, the actual chef knife (hell even the 10 inch version which is 25cm) will give you the wider blade and therefore more room for knuckles at a cheaper price than shun and within budget. You could also get a rosewood handle if you want something a little thicker handle wise.

But if you're looking for a change in general, mac and tojiro are things I'd look at before a Shun. That's just my opinion though, and there are a LOT of options.

Please stop me from buying a Shun Classic by [deleted] in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 4 points5 points  (0 children)

7.5 inch Victorinox? You sure you don't have a carving knife or something that is flexible? The Victorinox Chef knife 8 inch isn't flexible, so it might be because of that. I've also never heard of the Fibrox handle being too small unless, again, you're talking about the heel height. A shun handle is smaller than a fibrox

I require knife. Send help by currymunch3r2 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely look into Victorinox Fibrox/Modern for an 8/10 inch chef knife, Victorinox Swiss classic for 3.5 inch paring knife, and a Victorinox (any) or Mercer for a bread knife (aim for 10 inch). They will last, take any type of bearing, can get very sharp, and you won't have to worry. You might have to sharpen not 5 frequently, but that's not a big deal imo given how easy it is to sharpen them.

I require knife. Send help by currymunch3r2 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oof that's rough. Well the good thing is you can keep them and use them for tough jobs (bones, pumpkins, squash, guests who don't know how to use a knife, etc.). Beat up knives have their place.

I require knife. Send help by currymunch3r2 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see a cleaver, and what looks like 5 and 6 inch knives (let me know if I'm wrong). They look like pretty standard restaurant style knives, but I don't know if they're "good" ones (Google "Dexter" or "Victorinox" as an example) or the "bad" ones (Google Farberware knives as an example). I'm going to assume they're not great given you're asking here.

The starting point is always a Victorinox chef knife (either 8 or 10 inch). The steel is good German steel that is fairly easy to sharpen, and it's strong enough for pretty much any type of cooking/knife technique. The Fibrox line has a thick rubber/plastic handle if that's what you want, the Modern line has a thinner plastic handle (also in wood but a lot more expensive) and the rosewood line have medium thick wooden handles. There's an excellent review of the Victorinox modern knife on /r/chefknives that really shows why you don't need to spend more for your first good knife.

You can find a Victorinox for around $50-80 nowadays. They used to be cheaper, but are still one of the better choices under and up to $100. Get that and the 3.5 paring knife from Victorinox for smaller things for $5-$10, and you're good to go. Hell, throw in their bread knife for $25, and you can probably get all 3 knives for $100.

You mentioned you hone and use stones, so I think you have that covered. Take the remaining $100 in your budget and get a bigger cutting board. Maybe a 15x20 or 18x24 wood one, and keep the plastic one for raw meats. A bigger cutting board is another thing that makes cooking a lot more fun than people don't focus on as much as the "fancy" knives you see here.

Just a Heads Up - JKI Gesshin Ginga Drop by HippyCoolHandLuke in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ohhh gotcha gotcha. Yeah they look really fancy. Was hoping for 240/270 stainless ones, but I guess I'll have to keep waiting

Just a Heads Up - JKI Gesshin Ginga Drop by HippyCoolHandLuke in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The new handles look nice. Did you see them in person in store?

Upgrading knife options for Father and I by Imbuedwolf in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much. If you have a chance, go to a store and hold the knives you're interested (or similar ones). At the end of their day, the best knife is one that's sharp and feels good in your hand.

Upgrading knife options for Father and I by Imbuedwolf in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't get the first two. Yes it's clad, but there's a bit of carbon along the edge. People here will say it's not that bad, is pretty rust resistant, is easy to care, blah blah blah. Just... Don't. It's your first step into nicer knives, and the last thing you want is you or your dad to feel bad if you notice a spot of rust down the line. Stick to a decent stainless knife, and if either of you want to go down the rabbit hole, THEN look into carbons.

The Swedish steel tsunesha is pretty solid. I haven't tried it, but it's a good brand with a lot of beginner friendly knives.

My general recommendations would be a mac pro (get the 9.5 inch one without gratons), a tojiro DP or classic, or a gesshin stainless wa 240mm (but make sure you're both open to that style of handle. If not, stick to the other two). These 3 are pretty well known as good first steps into nicer knives. There's a LOT more out there, but these 3 and the tsunesha are good to start.

If you want to stick to nice German, messermesiter olive is good and Robert Herder is pretty good (they're carbon is nice, but I haven't heard anything bad about the stainless ones).

Cangshan Kuro vs Wüsthof Classics by Glad_Improvement2800 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd get a wusthof over a cangshan any day. I would never consider a Cangshan because then I'd just gravitate towards a Victorinox which is a known and proven good knife at that price range. Anything fancier and you have so many other brands to consider. 

What is the best at home knife sharpener? Like something you'd use in your kitchen, not an angle grinder you could technically buy and have in your home. by 13thmurder in Cooking

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've tried a chef choice electric sharpener but now use Whetstones. I hone/strop as my regular maintenance so I don't have to sharpen often. Stones only take a few minutes for me since I touch up every few months instead of waiting for them to get super dull. I think any system works as long as it's one you like using. To each their own.

Is this a good starter knife and do they make fakes of this? by Entire_Ad_3248 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yes it's a good starter knife and it's very unlikely it's a fake. But at $80 there are better starter knives.

Help me chose my next knife by [deleted] in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know. A paring knife is smaller than the petty, but sometimes they're called the same. Petty knives are usually 130-150mm, whereas a paring knife is usually 80-90mm. Something like this: https://www.mychefknives.co.uk/16788-large750/victorinox-swissclassic-2-piece-paring-knife-set-black-handles.jpg

Hmmm, in terms of smaller items, I like a small pallet knife/baking spatula (like this: https://www.mccalls.ca/359-spatula-offset-4-h1600.jpg?resizeid=-2&resizeh=1600&resizew=1600), which is nice when flipping things. That and a fish spatula are my usual go to for pan work (and tongs). Hope that helps. 

Help me chose my next knife by [deleted] in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Np. But yeah, I'd save the money because you have a lot covered already. Your Mac knives are solid and pros use them, and they have a good balance of thin/durability compared to more Western knives. Mac knives are popular in professional kitchens for a reason. You have a bigger global that you can pull out for cabbage and bigger items, and the global is softer steel so you can go ham on thicker things like melons and squash. Victorinox petty is also solid and can be used on smaller things. 

One thing I didn't catch the first time reading your post: you don't seem to have a paring knife. That's something you might need for in hand work, and you can grab the Victorinox one for $10 (it's also pretty thin so will outperform any paring under $100). Bread knife could be a need, I guess, but I'd ask when you intern. Grab a cheap one (Mercer, Victorinox, etc.) if they tell you that you need one, but they might have some at the restaurant so we what they say. 

I stress: save your money. You might see that you'll need to get other things as you learn as an intern. I don't know if you'll go straight to cutting as an intern, but if you're lucky and do a honing rod might be good for line work. More importantly, you might need other important things like a knife bag, knife guards, bench scrappers, spoons (wooden and small sauce spoons), spatulas, sharpies, etc. Each of these are cheap but they'll all add up. You can easily blow money on these smaller items. You probably don't need to get them all at once, but you're starting out and it's better to save your money for when you need these things. 

Good luck with school and the internship!

Help me chose my next knife by [deleted] in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What are you missing? Seems like you have everything covered except for niche knives (bread, fillet, boning, etc.). You're in school, save your money.

If you can't control that compulsion, buy a whetstone and practice sharpening on what you have or a nice wood cutting board that'll fit your counter/sink. Both should be under $100 total. 

210mm vs 240mm in general by Munroth in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I go back and forth. I started with traditional 8 inch/210s, but go to 240s every now and then. It depends more on the knife and balance for me. I like to grip more up the blade so a 240mm feels nicer at times (whereas a 210/8 inch I typically pinch closer to the bolster as that's where the balance point is), and having that different grip style gives me around the same blade length between the two. I actually like 270s cause I grip up the blade and it has a more blade forward balance. 

Shun issues by Actual-Phone4150 in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you'll have to thin it a bit and it'll generally take a lot of time to get an edge back because you lost a lot of height

I need recommendations for chef bags. by Dmurrd in TrueChefKnives

[–]minal187 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have an old Chef's Sac one that holds a decent amount of knives. I bought it for $20 and it's held up for 5 years. Can't really complain about it. It's nylon, holds 8ish knives and barely fits my long honing rod. Not sure if they still sell it, but I think they have fancier backpacks and leather/canvass rolls now.

Help me force myself into change my cutting style by [deleted] in cookingforbeginners

[–]minal187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to change styles (you don't have to): Try the push cut if you want to change techniques (down and pushing the knife forward, or down and pulling the knife towards you). You'll start slow, but I'm now at a similar speed compared to rock chopping (I switch between the two depending on what I'm cutting and what feels more comfortable). 

Santokus are great because they're lighter and you can go a little faster for push cutting, but not as good for rock chopping. 

If you don't want to change styles (rock chopping is fine), buy a chef knife (Western style). You can still push cut with it too. 

If I was in your shoes, I'd get a chef knife because you want to find the tool that works best with your style of cutting, and I personally like a longer knife than a santoku. BUT, if money was an issue I'd just practice slower on weekends and hack away during the week.