Quote:
Originally Posted by SpartanAir
I'm looking to drop a decent amount on a good knife set in the near future. I made the huge mistake of buying a piece of shit set "on sale" at Canadian Tire. Even after sharpening, they're not sharp, water gets in the handles, and one of the handles just broke off from rusting within. So much for "stainless steel"; funny, the first thing these knives did when I used them, was get stained. 
Anyone recommend a good mid-range set? Should I hold off for some sales?
TIA |
Apologies for the very delayed response.
I've been pondering on your question for a while.
A person's definition of "
decent" varies.
Likewise, when most people talk about a "
set" of knives, they are thinking of those traditional 10+ piece knife blocks.
And yes, I'm very not surprised at your cheap knives don't "get sharp" aka they can't "take an edge".
They are probably a crappy metal combined with a poor heat treatment.
I would NOT buy a pre-packaged set.
You don't need those extra knives. The hones are always metal and not long enough.
You should focus your money on getting a better chef knife.
In my mind,
Mandatory (aka You should have):
1x Paring for like fruits and very fine work.
1x Bread knife
1x Chef
Optional:
1x boning knife
1x petty knife (baby chef knife)
I think a Victorinox Fibrox knife is
good enough for everything on that list.
Search Results for "fibrox" | cutleryandmore.com
I just picked up a couple and was pleasantly surprised.
If you are reaaaally poor, just get the first 3 knives, and a fibrox chef knife.
But I would make the small jump to getting a Tojiro DP chef knife ($50 USD).
That to me is your baseline. It's a wonderfully functional knife.
And one I still happily grab for after making a $400+ upgrade.
You should also get a 12" ceramic hone. Also mandatory.
Ceramic is needed because a good Japanese blade is really hard metal.
A metal hone doesn't work so great with it.
Messermeister Ceramic Sharpening Rod, 12-inch | cutleryandmore.com
A couple strokes before each session to keep the edge in proper alignment.
Then think about if you want to learn to sharpen or not.
Everything after those basic 3 knives + hone = gravy.
The rabbit hole past this goes DEEEEP.
I prefer stainless lasers with a western handle.
Westopher seems to be glued to his Japanese style high carbon blades.
Suggest you start slow, then figure out what you like.