Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Quality kitchen knives. Do they exist?

I have Henkels, wustoff, dexter russell, victornox, and cutco. My favorite chef knive is the 28 year old Henkel I prefer it for most kitchen duties. My Cutco hunting knives are great they are bullett proof especially the serrated one. The Wustoffs are good for general kitchen duty. Dexter Russells and victornox are good for the money and easy to sharpen and I prefer those for processing fish and game. I do have some bubba knives for filleting fish.
Not so sure about those quite yet.

I've got most of the knives mentioned. I think the old Victorinox knives hold an edge better than the newer ones. Most stainless knives today don't hold an edge as good as the Old Hickory carbon steel knives do for me at least.

Buy a Victorinox Fibrox block set for around $150

I have been using them since the 1970s when they were made still made under the Forschner brand( which Victorinox bought out)

Also ,bone up on your knife handling and sharpening knowlege and skills.

Too many people to stupid schit with their blades resulting in premature dulling.

They also have not a CLUE about maintaining an edge through honing (straightening )rather than an actual sharpening(recuting the edge)

I agree on not buying the sets. I started out with Chef and a paring knife in the Henckel professional line.
Next a bread knife then filled in from there. I use every knife in my block.

If kitchen knives are important to you, consider hand made Yu Kurosaki Japanese kitchen knives.

I use Chinese crappers.

Whats a good American alternative?

Yep, Global makes superb knives for not a huge price. My main kitchen knife is their G-2 8" chef knife, cost around $90. Easy to sharpen very sharp, and holds an edge well.

I'm in Sevierville, Tn usually 3-4 times a year. Smoky Mountain Knife Works has misc individual pieces outside the sets. That's how I've gotten some mine. I just want the Henckel paring/peeling knives.
I don't need the Grinch's fancy fork for the roast beast or the michael myers pumpkin murderer.



I was sniffin around a Goodwill few yrs back, found a few wustoffs mixed with in within a barrel of 'school lunch' forks and knives. Gave .25cents apiece for them. 😄

No doubt some good ideas here. Tractor, pickup, chain saw, no matter the topic. " Buy what I did".

Yeah that always cracks me up. Someone that lives in a una-bomber shack in idaho talkin bout a $300 steak knife they got.

lol

Victorinox and a couple of good cutting boards.
Most kitchen knives are dulled by cutting on ceramic and stone plates.

The Dexters are great and the Victorinox get lots of good reviews.

You shouldn’t need more than a few swipes on a good steel. Stones and pull through sharpeners fugg up a heap of kitchen knives.

My favorite knives are Henckel and Wustof. Both hold an edge well.

Don't buy the Spanish made "cheap" models. They don't hold an edge as long.

The main thing about knives is to learn to sharpen properly, and then maintain the edge with a steel.

I finally broke down and bought the BEST whet stone I've ever owned.(at age 65)

It's diamond, and sharpens quickly. It cost over $50. but is well worth it.

Before that, I used a Japanese water stone, which worked well, but needed leveled too often, as it would hollow out quickly.

Virgil B.

Yes. I have three Shun Classic kitchen knives. A chef's knife, a santoku, and a unique paring/utility knife with a deep sharpened radius to better peel fruit and vegetables. I don't believe they are making that knife anymore. They are made from stainless damascus with dark wood handles that are shaped to fit the hand well. I really like them.
They are not cheap, but they don't break the bank either. I would guess my three knives cost me about $300 and probably a little less. I bought them at a kitchen supply on line store that is no longer in business but see these folks have them at fairly reasonable prices, too. They make sharpeners but will also sharpen your knives for you if you send them in once a year. Shun makes higher grades of knives, too, but they are mostly just a little flashier in appearance, not usefulness.

https://www.cutleryandmore.com/shun.htm

When someone asks 'what brand xyz do you recommend', do you recommend something you have no fugging first hand knowledge/use, or do you recommend stuff that has worked well for you?

Sweet Jesus

Best post so far,other than mine when I recommended the white handled Dexter knives.
This really is a great every day set up. You don't want hard to care for expensive stuff for the wife and kids to ruin.

I would buy the DR stuff and one good chef knife to hide for when I felt like playing head chef. The Masamoto VG or Tojiro Japanese would be my choice for my one good knife on a budget.

Don't be fooled. You can buy knives that will take sharper edges than those I just suggested. The problem is that you have to have the knowledge to sharpen them that sharp,the knowledge how to make that level of sharpness useful,and the ability to keep them that sharp. That is too much work and care for anyone who isn't cutting sushi into decoration. A DR will slice tomato just as thin as you like and sit in a sink full of dirty water all night without complaint.

Russel Green River knives. Good ol American made carbon steel that cut chit and don't cost a fortune.
I buy the blanks (about $8) and put my own handles on but you can find em with handles too.



Ontario Knife works' Old Hickory knives are good CS knives too. Canada at least pretends to be our friend.

Not knowledge, a steel. I have one, I use it a couple times a year to true up the edge. Looking tells you what the geometry of the edge is and you sharpen accordingly, but like I said in my post, you can also send them in once a year and they will sharpen them for you. I haven't, but that resource exists. As for maintenance, when I use mine I put it under hot water from the faucet then put on drop of dish soap on the middle of the blade and use my fingers to wipe the blade down in one direction from the back of the blade to, and off, the edge. Then I run it under the hot water again, wipe with a kitchen towel and done. Simple and effective and takes less than 2 minutes. I do all my cutting on a cutting board, mostly on a small one that came with my sink, but never on plates or other hard surface that could dull it. A quality knife is a beautiful tool that I use most every day. Mine are well balanced, easily kept sharp to cut without force, and fit in my hands like and extension of them. Going cheap is fine too, if none of that is appealing. We all have different inclinations and none of them are wrong, but might be less desirable for some. When I realized how much money I had in hunting knives I use a time or two a year, I decided to try a reasonably priced quality kitchen knife I use every day and found that was an excellent decision for me.

Cutco.

Cry once.

I send mine in once a year for free sharpening. They replace em if you beat them up too bad.

I don't work in the kitchen that much, but when I do I use an Old Hickory boning knife made from high carbon steel,...probably 1095. I keep it sharp enough to shave and have it oiled and stored in a drawer in my bedside table.

I think I gave about $10 for it. After use, I wipe it off with some soapy water, dry it, touch it up with an Arkansas stone, then lightly oil it before putting it up.

It's a well ground piece of carbon steel with full tang through a riveted on hickory handle.

I picked it up at the hardware store before a trip to the ocean when I was expecting to catch some fish.

This one,.....nothing fancy.

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Hickory-Boning-Knife/dp/B00AQ66XS6