A ton of great information here, but knife buying is only half the issue. They will need sharpening at some point.
I'm not a professional chef, not even close, but I do the vast amount of kitchen food prep and indoor/outdoor cooking/smoking/grilling/baking here at home. A sharp knife is a joy to use. When one push or pull slices effortlessly through a hard veggie or hunk of meat, it gives amazing feedback and sense of control.
The vast majority of our knives have a Rockwell hardness rating between 54 and 58. Steel source is Germany, Spain, and Japan. $50 is our most expensive knife. 54-58 is considered softer steel by knife pros. BUT, with a good sharpening, those babies hold an edge for months to a year or more with normal kitchen use and a quick hone on a steel.
I recently stopped using an electric sharpener because it was starting to damage my knives. Back when I was working, I didn't have the time or desire to stone sharpen knives. Now that I have the time, I've returned to stone sharpening.
I bought a cheap set of stones to bring back the muscle memory and see it if was something I wanted to do again. The skills returned quickly, especially by examining the worked edge with an $8 lighted coin 60x microscope (Amazon) instead of just feel and paper slicing. It's incredible to see the edge, flaws, and shavings with that tiny device. The joy of stone sharpening returned. It's like meditating with feedback. And friggin' addicting!
Now, it you think shopping for knives is confusing, stone shopping can drive you to madness. I'll be buying better stones soon.
The lighted 60x coin microscope is shown below. It rides along the edge and reveals incredible detail.
I'm not a professional chef, not even close, but I do the vast amount of kitchen food prep and indoor/outdoor cooking/smoking/grilling/baking here at home. A sharp knife is a joy to use. When one push or pull slices effortlessly through a hard veggie or hunk of meat, it gives amazing feedback and sense of control.
The vast majority of our knives have a Rockwell hardness rating between 54 and 58. Steel source is Germany, Spain, and Japan. $50 is our most expensive knife. 54-58 is considered softer steel by knife pros. BUT, with a good sharpening, those babies hold an edge for months to a year or more with normal kitchen use and a quick hone on a steel.
I recently stopped using an electric sharpener because it was starting to damage my knives. Back when I was working, I didn't have the time or desire to stone sharpen knives. Now that I have the time, I've returned to stone sharpening.
I bought a cheap set of stones to bring back the muscle memory and see it if was something I wanted to do again. The skills returned quickly, especially by examining the worked edge with an $8 lighted coin 60x microscope (Amazon) instead of just feel and paper slicing. It's incredible to see the edge, flaws, and shavings with that tiny device. The joy of stone sharpening returned. It's like meditating with feedback. And friggin' addicting!
Now, it you think shopping for knives is confusing, stone shopping can drive you to madness. I'll be buying better stones soon.
The lighted 60x coin microscope is shown below. It rides along the edge and reveals incredible detail.