I have used Henckels, and Wusthofs, in Professional settings. They are great knives. But I have a set from Wolfgang Puck, from ten years ago. Basic - 8" Chef's Knife, boning, paring, carving, and bread knives, plus honing rod. With block, under $40.00, back then. They are almost as good; over the years, they have held their edge. At possibly 1/10th the cost. Is it a status thing?
Henckel is overrated. I have a Henckel, Victorinox, Chicago Cutlery, and Cutco. (I am talking about Chef's knives). My favorite is my 10" Chef's knife from Sam's. It is light, fits my hand, has a wide blade which is great for riding against your knuckles of your guide hand as well as for scooping stuff up from your cutting board. An 8" and a 10" cost about 12 bucks at Sams. Best value going in Chef's knives. Link My Cutco filet knife is my favorite of that type. Very flexible blade that will easily filet anything you want to filet. I rarely use my boning, paring, or carving knives. As far as a bread knife, pretty much any serrated knife that fits your hand is fine. FWIW, my knives are WAY sharper than Stevescookin's!
I have an unmatched assortment of knives that work for me. The ones that I actually use a lot are sharp.
Nice reply. Yeah, I was just including what was in my Basic Set. What I use most often is a Chicago Cutlery 8" serrated boning knife. (Ha.) It's very forgiving, relatively sharp, and when I've "Had a Few", it (Me) wont slice my index fingertip off. I use it for almost everything. I bought several, and used them, almost exclusively, in Kitchen environments. Could keep up with the others, too, in Food Prep . . .
Sam's Club or the neighborhood restaurant supply shop are the best places to shop for knives, pots, pans, etc. IMO. If they're good enough for restaurants then they're good enough for me. A nice bonus is that they're usually cheaper as well.
Right after you left that day...an itinerant sharpener came by and my knife is sharp now. The skill of the hands using the knife is more important than the knife itself. Most people who just love those expensive knives cut onions and bell peppers like a housewife...and they've never had their knives stolen as often as I have. I'd hate to think what I'd do if someone stole a $125.00 knife from me. I use a cheap white handled chef knife from Sam's club, but my personal knife is a Forchner (Swiss army)...that one was around $20. I got all my knives engraved with my initials (at the trophy shop). When you work in a large restaurant kitchen, be prepared to have your knives "walk". I can't tell you how many times I found my engraved knives at someone else's station. I usually retrieve them and issue a threat as I walk away...It gets respect and lets them know right off that they're dealing with someone who's not in their right mind. I never have a second problem with that person again...it's always the new guy.
We have a set of Henckles. My wife likes them. I use a little white handled knife that I have been using since I was 14. I have done everything with it from deboning turtles to cutting onions. It is mainly my potato peeling knife though. I make myself some potato chips almost every day when I get home from work.
Wusthof knives are awesome. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-7-Piece-Block-Black/dp/B003MU9FZQ/ref=sr_1_4?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1314305017&sr=1-4]Amazon.com: Wusthof Classic Ikon 7-Piece Block Set, Black: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]
They probably are. The question is, are they more awesome than a $6 knife from Sams. Typical case in point: Last Thanksgiving we (all of us "cooks" in the family) were in the kitchen. My nephew, Tyler, showed up with a bunch of marinated duck breasts. We needed to clean and cut a bunch of green bell peppers and onions to go with his "duck bombs". He thought it would take about 20 minutes (based on his personal prep experience) to prep all of it. Emma and I had it done in about 4 minutes. We used Sam's commercial knives. The difference is we are used to the knives and are pretty accomplished with prep work. Tyler was blown away at how quickly we did it. Moral of the story: There are a lot of knives that will do the job. Don't get hung up on price. Find a sharp knife that feels good in your hand and keep it sharp and practice good technique. I know I'll get my ass kicked, but one day I'm gonna go to stevescookin's place and have a prep work race with him. That dude can fly!
