Building my first knife toolkit!

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LauraNM813
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Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:21 pm

Building my first knife toolkit!

Post by LauraNM813 »

Good afternoon,

I'm trying to put together my final decisions for a purchase of my first "nice" knives. I've spent many, many hours the last weeks reading online, searching forums, etc. and still don't quite have all the clarity I would like, so am wondering if I could get some feedback.

I plan on getting a MAC Chef Series 8-Inch, a paring knife, a bread knife, and then a cleaver or a nakiri. I thought I had made my mind up on a CCK Small Cleaver based on what I've read, but then a chef friend of mine started trying to persuade me into a Miyabi nakiri instead.

I'm a home cook, and won't be using the knife for any kind of bone chopping or meat processing. We cook using a lot of fresh produce and herbs. Sweet potatoes, beets, kohlrabi, celery, carrots, fennel, onions, garlic, fresh herbs, apples, oranges, melons, winter squash, artichokes, avocado, tomatoes, bell peppers, pomegranate, etc. are all (seasonally) staples in our kitchen. Since I currently use a chronically dull and now badly misshapen German chef's knife almost exclusively, I don't have experience using a nakiri or a cleaver and am just not sure where to go from here. Can anyone shed any light on picking a cleaver versus a nakiri?

The other decision I'm making is on a serrated knife, between a Shun Classic Serrated Utility 6”, Tojiro DP Serrated Bread 215mm, and a Tojiro ITK Bread Knife 270mm?

I really have no idea how to answer the questions as far as material, size, etc. because that's just out of my knowledge base. I've decided to go the Japanese route simply based on my hours of research, and the feel of them when I went to a store where I did some test chopping with Japanese vs German. You can probably see from my tentative choices that my budget is around $80 per knife. My knife skills are fair? Looking to be inspired by my new knives and learn some new skills when I get them, but I think I'm most comfortable as a rocker. I don't know how to sharpen yet, but do understand the necessity of this and that will be the next hurdle I face after my knife purchase. My brain could only take so much information to process at once, for now!

Thank you so much,
Laura
Gregory27
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Re: Building my first knife toolkit!

Post by Gregory27 »

Going to answer this, mostly to give you a bump, and maybe the people who REALLY know what they're talking about will weigh in. If you're not doing any "bone chopping" a cleaver might be a little bit of overkill for your needs. A nakiri should be fine for most chopping of vegetables, provided you don't like to use a rocking motion when chopping. If you're a rocker, a nikiri isn't going to be your friend. I'd also consider fixing up that German knife and keeping it for heavy duty, cutting melons, winter squash, etc...

As for the serrated, I'd say something as short as the Shun should be out, particularly if you're using it for bread. I don't have either of the Tojiros, but lots of people speak very highly of the ITK. It's pretty bare-bones, probably not as nicely constructed as the DP, and certainly not as nice as the Shun, but, as I understand, it's a great knife for the job that it is designed to do.

And yes, definitely begin to learn how to sharpen. Not sure how misshapen that German knife of yours is, but that might be a good one to start practicing on. It will just be at a slightly less steep angle than the Japanese knives.
jmcnelly85
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Re: Building my first knife toolkit!

Post by jmcnelly85 »

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shpro10.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kapsgy21.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/toitkbrkn.html

For under 250, I would start with these three items to get a really good foot in the door as you learn. The bread knife is the best knife I’ve used in my years of professional cooking, the gyuto should handle nearly every home task with aplomb, and the 1k stone is one you’ll never outgrow if you do end up catching the sharpening bug and find yourself deep down the rabbit hole.

Macs and miyabi’s aren’t bad knives, but your dollar goes further with the kanehide. I would start with a real chefs knife and then see if you really still need or want a paring knife or a cleaver.
Ourorboros
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Re: Building my first knife toolkit!

Post by Ourorboros »

Gregory27 wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:57 am If you're not doing any "bone chopping" a cleaver might be a little bit of overkill for your needs. A nakiri should be fine for most chopping of vegetables
This does not apply to Chinese Cleavers, which are a vegetable knife. Well, actually it is an all-around knife but modern Japanese builds aren't fit for raw chicken bones.
They are like nakiris with oomph. You can handle heavier things more easily than with a nakiri, while doing delicate work. Either is a good choice for veg prep.

The Tojiro ITK is a fine bread knife. If you have the room to work, the 270mm lets you work with many things.

What Miyabi provides is great fit and finish. But for quality of blade, you can get more for the money.
CaptainRon23
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Re: Building my first knife toolkit!

Post by CaptainRon23 »

jmcnelly85 wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 1:09 am I would start with a real chefs knife and then see if you really still need or want a paring knife or a cleaver.
+1

I only home cook as well and I'm comfortable using a chefs knife for almost anything. I've occasionally used a a smaller paring knife but, its something that I just use because I have it. My mom uses it to peel potatoes and apples but i prefer to use a vegetable peeler. I could live without it. I prefer to use one knife for everything.


I'm new at this to. I thought the advice that was given to me was very helpful.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3373
This was my first post and comments to go with it.
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