Kitchen knives

Hello All,

A few weeks ago I found a old, rusty piece of metal on a flea market for 2$. I cleaned it, then It's got a new plumwood handle.
So, It's a cca. 100 hundred old Redtenbacher forged kitchen knife from Austria. I love it!

Unfortunately I didn't found so much inormation about the Redtenbacher knives on the internet...


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really cool piece and great job finishing!
 
I think I at least skimmed all the preceding posts, and I still got's to know:

What's wrong with Dexter?
They have a couple of wood handle options for those who don't like sanitary plastic approved by the NSF.
The heritage line with the alder-burl handles is ca $100 per knife, for those who don't want to spend too little.

If I needed another chef knife I might see about the Cascade series designed by Ken Onion.
 
for the most part Dexters are fairly good. To be honest though, I can't stand anything K. O. has designed the shapes are obscene.

with that over I have a 10" forged chef's knife in the Connoisseur line 48-10-pcp

one issue a few folks have is with the full bolster that can make sharpening all the way to the heel a pain.

i did a grind job on mine and a Sab.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/W...3iF7Xtt9KzzLtELJJxnEgNAXloZ1qQ=w2400-h1350-no
 
scrteened porch said:
I think I at least skimmed all the preceding posts, and I still got's to know:

What's wrong with Dexter?
They have a couple of wood handle options for those who don't like sanitary plastic approved by the NSF.
The heritage line with the alder-burl handles is ca $100 per knife, for those who don't want to spend too little.

If I needed another chef knife I might see about the Cascade series designed by Ken Onion.
Click to expand...

As a 15yr chef, with extensive experience in dexters and several others, I say the dexters cannot hold a candle to a Wusthof, or even a JA Henkles classic for that matter. For the price point mentioned, and for the kitchen, pro's will generally reccommend the Wusthof, Henkles, Globals, even Cutco (though I don't prefer cutcos). Dexters are what you find in the "utensils bin" at any restaurant. Not to say they aren't a workhorse, they are stout and sanitary. But rest assured the Chefs in the kitchen aren't using them.
 
I like to grind off those fat heels also.
Thanks for the info, guys. I think I'll save this thread.
 
WilliamCody said:
As a 15yr chef, with extensive experience in dexters and several others, I say the dexters cannot hold a candle to a Wusthof, or even a JA Henkles classic for that matter. For the price point mentioned, and for the kitchen, pro's will generally reccommend the Wusthof, Henkles, Globals, even Cutco (though I don't prefer cutcos). Dexters are what you find in the "utensils bin" at any restaurant. Not to say they aren't a workhorse, they are stout and sanitary. But rest assured the Chefs in the kitchen aren't using them.
Click to expand...

What's the deal with Cutco? Are they pretty decent? I always assumed the company was relied too much on its a marketing scheme.
 
Hotshot10 said:
What's the deal with Cutco? Are they pretty decent? I always assumed the company was relied too much on its a marketing scheme.
Click to expand...

Cutco makes nice, high quality, sharp knives. Their proprietary serrades are good and take resharpening very well. As a matter of fact, they will sharpen all their knives free for life, and have a no restrictions, transferrable replacement guarantee that is unrivaled. If you buy a broken cutco handle at a garage sale and ship it to Cutco they will send you a brand new knife. Sounds great, right?

Here are my problems with them:
1. Too low profile. Their chef knives are far too shallow and if gripped in a correct kitchen manner (pinching the blade) my knuckles bounce off the cutting board on every stroke. Ouch!
2. Handle shape is just terrible. Not only are the handles not ergonomic, they actually taper towards the back and dont make for a sure grip (especially if greasy or bloody). That, and all of their handles are identical in size too: oyster knives right on up to 12" vegetable clevers.
3. Spines are sharp-edged. Again, when pinching the blade, the edges of the spine cause severe discomfort over extended use.
4. Availability. This has loosened a bit since the internet is so popular, but when I got my first set (also my very first set of kitchen knives) you could only get them from a salesman or by mail-ordering. They still cannot be found at a brick and mortar storefront, so if you want to feel it before you buy you have to set up an appointment with a sales rep.

So, if you are a home cook, and have small hands, or you don't use correct form (very few outside of a pro kitchen do), these knives would make a good choice. But I would highly reccommend the Wusthof. They aren't that much more expensive but the difference is unbelievable. Ever since I bought mine, I swear by them and wont buy anything else for the kitchen. Even just got a Wusthof fishing fillet knife and it is incredible!
 
I was looking at Cutcos in a chain store that requires membership. The guy showing them off wasn't too clear, but I think it was only certain styles that were 40% off. Somebody wanted a chef's but they were pushing the santokus instead. (This is what got me looking at Dexter). I was surprised to see that Cutco also does plain edges; I'd thought they were serrated only.
 
I am looking for a set of kitchen knives to gift someone but I don't want to spend over $150 or $200 dollars. Anyone recommend a decent knife set on a budget?
 
I think that a lot of folks here think that the Victorinox knives are a much better cheap option than the Dexters and priced accordingly. From my experience, they are better blades than the lower price Henckels stuff. Ironically, the best Henckels knives are probably the ones made in Japan.
WilliamCody said:
As a 15yr chef, with extensive experience in dexters and several others, I say the dexters cannot hold a candle to a Wusthof, or even a JA Henkles classic for that matter. For the price point mentioned, and for the kitchen, pro's will generally reccommend the Wusthof, Henkles, Globals, even Cutco (though I don't prefer cutcos). Dexters are what you find in the "utensils bin" at any restaurant. Not to say they aren't a workhorse, they are stout and sanitary. But rest assured the Chefs in the kitchen aren't using them.
Click to expand...
 
Cutco's are WAY overpriced for what you are getting. You can get a MUCH better knife directly from Japan for what most folks want for a Cutco chef's knife on EvilBay. Hell, for what they ask for their 9 inch "French chef's knife" MSRP, you could get a 210mm Misono UX-10 gyuto.
scrteened porch said:
I was looking at Cutcos in a chain store that requires membership. The guy showing them off wasn't too clear, but I think it was only certain styles that were 40% off. Somebody wanted a chef's but they were pushing the santokus instead. (This is what got me looking at Dexter). I was surprised to see that Cutco also does plain edges; I'd thought they were serrated only.
Click to expand...
 
WilliamCody said:
As a 15yr chef, with extensive experience in dexters and several others, I say the dexters cannot hold a candle to a Wusthof, or even a JA Henkles classic for that matter. For the price point mentioned, and for the kitchen, pro's will generally reccommend the Wusthof, Henkles, Globals, even Cutco (though I don't prefer cutcos). Dexters are what you find in the "utensils bin" at any restaurant. Not to say they aren't a workhorse, they are stout and sanitary. But rest assured the Chefs in the kitchen aren't using them.
Click to expand...

I sell the Dexter V-Lo line to many of my Restaurant Chef's and the line Cooks.

We have to use Poly cutting boards in any kind of Commercial here in Cauliflower State. So the edges get the crap beat out of them and ANY knife Brand will be dull in 2-4 weeks. I do agree that the Wusthof Classic line is the best for people that love the traditional German style knife.

Its price point is a bit higher than the Dexters.. Cutco? I don't care for them at all. Way to many Serrated, thin skinny handles and those damn Hollow ground blades that start to Wedge after they have been sharpened for a couple of years.
 
Did anyone ever try A. G. Russell's kitchen knives? The bolsterless stamped line seems not to have caught on, but he has an integrally bolstered line.
 
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