Knife for 15 year old

bdjansen

bdjansen

Joined
Jun 11, 2011
Messages
88
Hi!

My 15 year old has been getting really into cooking over the last year. We were at the kitchen store yesterday to Christmas shop for my mom and he was looking at the Shun knives in the display.

I’m thinking that a nice knife would be a good Christmas gift this year. Something he can keep separate from the rest of the family and just use when he’s cooking.

- He doesn’t have enough experience to have specific preferences about his knives. Something solid and standard and a tool he can learn to use would be best.

- Something with a moderate amount of maintenance is best. He expressed interest in learning to use a water stone. So I think learning to maintain it would be part of the experience, but a knife that’s too hard to maintain would be frustrating.

- Something that has a bit of bling to it. Because it’s a gift and I want him to look forward to taking it out and using it. We have the Victorinox standards in our kitchen and I think they are great and are the ideal starter knife, but I can’t get him his own of what we already have because that’s not really special.

- $150 and under please.

Thanks!
 
Spyderco has some fun kitchen knives actually, and there is always Mora of you want a bunch for learning to sharpen.
 
I would stay away from Shun as a first knife. They can be brittle.

A Wusthof Gourmet 6" Cook's Knife would be a very good choice. A 5" Santoku from the same line would also work well. Good quality, light, nimble, and pretty durable.

Do you sharpen?

The cooks knife run you about $70+ shipping.

The santoku will run about $50.

And in a Norton Cyrstolon JB8 stone is about $25.*

A universal stone holder (not absolutely necessary but very nice to have) is about $20.

So you'd be in for around $100-120 and he'd have a very functional, well made knife to learn and grow with and the tools to start learning how to properly maintain it.

* A decent water stone would be good to exchange here as well.
 
Tojiro DP Gyuto 210mm - $85.00
Imanishi Two Sided 1K/6K Stone - $55.00
CKTG 140 Grit Diamond Flattening Plate 3"x8" - $29.95

- $ 170

Yes, the water stone and flattening plate combined cost more than the the knife. You did mention water stones.
 
The Zwilling Diplome is $79.95 and cutleryandmore. Good knife made with AEB-L. The steel was made for razors and it can take a very fine edge. The profile isn't made for rock chopping tall things, but it will do fine with herbs and such.
From Chefknivestogo you have a few choices. Fuji Cutlery has a gyuto at $49.96, you have the Arifex at $59.95, a Western grip Yahiko VG-10 that is patterned after the Tojiro @ $69.95 and a Japanese (wa) handled Yahiko VG-10 @ $89.95.
All get positive reviews and are good steels.
In addition to the Imanishi combo stone, the Cerax combo stones are well regarded.
 
If your son likes Shuns they are fine. As as Zwilling Miyabis. There are tons of better/costlier knives but those are fine to start with and to learn sharpening on water stones. Stainless knives hardly require any maintenance to speak of other than to keep clean and wash by hand.
 
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