Cheap knives and machine sharpeners?

Hmm, been working at Whole Foods in the meat department since last August, and now I want to do some cooking at home.

I'd rather use those cheap Cozzini knives we have at work (that get sharpened weekly, well, I don't know how....).

Would anyone here confess to just using cheap knives, an electric sharpener, and just killing the blade and replacing fairly often?

If so, any recommendations on cheap knives with decent handles

I just know I have never bothered to trek out and get my Henckel's sharpened, and the cheap crap at work is easier to cut with...

Nancy

I've posted about this before, but my favorite cheap knife is Lee Valley's Peasant Chef's Knife. Their Chinese Cleaver looks pretty good, too. This is all from a company that was originally only for woodworkers - then they figured out the Microplane might be useful in the kitchen, too.

I won't confess to anything....but....

Although I haven't tried the brand of knife you refer to below, you might want to check out Northwestern Cutlery. They have a lot of cheap used knives. I presume these were previously owned by restaurants that are now out of business. They also have the complete line of Forschner knives, which are excellent and incredibly inexpensive. We have the Forschner 10" bread knife, a boning knife, and pairing/utility knife. All are excellent. The 8" chef's knife gets rave reviews by the folks at NW Cutlery, many on this board, and Cooks Illustrated.

NW Cutlery sharpens knives and also sell the equipment to do it yourself.

I bring my knives there, but also own a sharpening stone. I had always though that the stones were much better (and presumably a lot cheaper) than the electric sharpeners. Can anyone shed more light on this?

Northwestern Cutlery
810 West Lake Street
Chicago, IL 60007
Ph: 888-248-4449
www.northwesterncutlery.net

The knife I use the most, I bought for $5.95 in Chinatown. It's a small cleaver with a wooden handle. I sharpen it on a Chef's Choice sharpener, the knife will last longer than I do. Once in a while I have Northwestern sharpen it (maybe once a year) other than that it does fine. I bought the sharpener 20 years ago, it will also outlast me.

The best inexpensive knife I've come across is the Victorinox Forschner with a Fibrox handle. An 8 inch chef's knife is $28.

FrankP is right: Forschner Victorinox makes terrific knives. They've done extremely well in professional tests at Cook's Illustrated. Amazon sells them for $20. I only use three knives: a Forschner Victorinox with Fibrox handle, paring knife, and a serrated knife for bread.

If your knife is in pretty good shape, you can get by with a cheap sharpener like the AccuSharp Knife and Tool Sharpener (about $12). It does a good job and doesn't take off much metal. It's also pretty easy to use.

If you let your blade get very dull or notched, I'd recommend an electric sharpener, but a good one (Chef's Choice makes the best) costs at least $80. Electric sharpeners can take a lot of metal off the blade quickly, so be careful. They are easy to use and built to last.

Stones are very good at sharpening knives, but it takes time to learn how to maintain the angle as you sweep the knife across the stone. I would reserve them for prized, expensive knives. The Accusharp does nearly as good a job without the guesswork.

fleurdesel wrote:If your knife is in pretty good shape, you can get by with a cheap sharpener like the AccuSharp Knife and Tool Sharpener (about $12). It does a good job and doesn't take off much metal. It's also pretty easy to use.

America's Test Kitchen rated them #1 of the hand held variety.

Yes, I own cheap knives and 'sharpen' them myself. There. I said it. I can't really give you a source for the knives as some are scavenged from thrift stores, but I do like my electric sharpener, which has the added benefit of being cheap, and can take a knive from unable to cut through lettuce to slicing tomatoes (which I usually keep around just to gage when to stop sharpening)

I bought the Presto Pro EverSharpfrom Amazon, and it seems to work. I should mention here that your judgement of my suggestion should be tempered with the knowledge that I buy cheap knives because I regularly engage in other knife impropriety: I wash them in the dishwasher, I use them to scrape stuff off the cutting board and, well, I've never mastered that turn-your-knuckles-in thing, but I do get food on the table with a minimum of bloodshed....

You can often find knife bargains at Marshall's.

Wow,

Thanks for all the comments!

I ordered the Presto Ever Sharp, plus a R H Forschner 7-inch Santoku Knife from amazon.com.

I think I will go ahead and sharpen the ol' Henckel's 4-stars we have. Couldn't hardly make them worse.

And who knows if we'll switch over all our knives - well, before we wear out the Henckel's. But I've been curious about a Santoku knife anyway, and I do love my Forschner tomato knife.

Will let you know how it turns out.

Nancy

FYI: got my first Santoku knife for Christmas a couple years ago - the learning curve was a bit of a shock, but I love it now (and am able to go back and forth between it and my chef's knife without difficulty) You can't "rock" it when you are chopping, it's more of a slicing motion.

I like the dollar store "Ginsu" variety. I have one I bought like 5 years ago & its still sharp enough to cut a soft tomato neatly.

Ron Popeil would be proud ;>

Nancy:

Consider taking you old knives to NW Cutlery and having them professionally sharpened, then maintain them with your hand sharpener. I think you'll get much better results.

In addition to sharpening the knife, it is important to straighten it. I do this every time I use the knife. See "Maintaining the knife edge between sharpenings" on this thread.

I also use a chef's choice electric. I think it was 120.00 (ish)
My main is a 10 year old Chicago Cutlery 10" chefs knife. And a 5 yr old 10 inch cleaver. Both still keep a blade like nobody's bidness, and sharpen up something fierce. (The cleaver still scares the crap out of me when I'm using it. I'm sure it would chop a finger off if you let if free fall about 5 inches above a digit. It's nice and heavy) I will say, however, that some of my cheaper knives just don't seem to take an edge after they've dulled down from regular use. My older Chicago Cutlery always takes a razor's edge when I sharpen it, and I don't have to do it very often. I'm a knife hound, so I have quite a few I haven't even cracked open yet. I think Kitchenaid and Calphalon* are the knives that won't seem to take a good egde that I have. I think one of my in-laws came to the conclusion that for the most part, the cheaper knives won't take a great edge, but the nicer ones do?

*Hey, I bought them at a 75% off clearance sale. It was worth a try. I would not buy those brands again, however. but, the LOOK really nice.

seebee wrote:I think Kitchenaid and Calphalon* are the knives that won't seem to take a good egde that I have. I think one of my in-laws came to the conclusion that for the most part, the cheaper knives won't take a great edge, but the nicer ones do?

I agree. We bought Calphalon chef knife and santuko and are very disappointed in them. They lose their edge very quickly after being sharpened. The difference between these and our wusthofs is very noticeable. Avoid.

dukesdad:

Take 'em to NW Cutlery? But geez, I live way out in the NW burbs!

I mean, I have been meaning to take them there, for say the last 5 years, but I doubt I ever will. Just way too long a trip.

Nancy

Come in on a Saturday, the place is a cook's candy store. They do them while you wait. Even better, move into the city.

Nancy S wrote:Will let you know how it turns out.

Nancy

Just came across this thread - how did it work for you, Nancy?

Hi,

Finally commenting on the Presto Eversharp

It DID NOT do any wonders for sharpening my old knives - I still need to drag my Henckel's in for a professional sharpening.

But for my new cheaper knives - the HONE function (the stuff on the right side of the machine) - is wonderful. My Forschner Santoku knife finally got where it wasn't that great, ran it through hone, three passes each side - and it's like new again.

I'm guessing the machine is much more useful for maintaining a well sharpened knife than resurrecting old dull ones.