Suggestions for Carbon Steel set of knives for the kitchen?

7

72jroberts

Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Messages
277
Hey All,
Ive decided that I am totally sick of the Henkels knives that don't hold an edge at all.
I have an old hickory knife that I really like, and like the HC steel, but can someone recommend a butcher block knife set made of HC steel?
Sounding snobbish, I guess, but I would like something that has a little bit more pride of ownership than old hickory..........but not a 500 dollar set either.......

Thanks so much,
John
 
Excellent Carbon by Misono in the Swedish Carbon series. Steel is harder than with the French carbons, thinner blades, exceptional F&F. I wouldn't buy a large set though, as it would include knives you never use. And for a few tasks you will still prefer stainless. Choosing different knives is much more fun...
 
It may be interesting to know that Korin has its summer sales.
 
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For something more western, Sabatier still makes carbon steel kitchen knives.
 
Vintage carbon steel knives from Henckel (TwinWorks), Sabatier (Thiers Issard, K-Sabatier, Veritable Bresduck), Gustav Emil Ern, and Dexter. The ones made prior to the late 1980’s, used virgin carbon steel will take and hold a better edge than the later ones made of recycled carbon steel or stainless steel.

Robert Herder knives from Germany are prized for their extremely thin carbon steel blades. The “Windmill” are said to be excellent and the “K2” is cult class.


The Misono Swedish mentioned above is very nice and has a freakin awesome dragon etching.
 
Hello! Believe it or not, this is my first post on this site. I saw your query and I really had to jump in to ask a few questions. When you say 'set' of knives, how many are you looking to purchase? Five or ten knives? If so, I'd like to pose an interesting point - I have three knives, two from a wonderful manufacturer named Konosuke - a wa-gyuto (Japanese steel chef's knife), and a wa-petty (Paring knife). I also have a and a nakiri (square-shaped knife) by Takeda (I believe...) that take care of every single kitchen need I've ever had. Together these knives total about $500, but they are extremely high-performance carbon-steel knives that hold a very keen edge for quite a while. Are you looking for the traditional riveted European-style handles on your knives, or would you be open to the octagonal-style handles on Japanese knives?

Putting all the personal knife-habit questions aside, I have found that my Konosuke-Sakai chef and petty are fantastic knives, and consistently give me an excellent edge with remarkably little fatigue: I really enjoy using them. Bear in mind, however, that Japanese chefs knives are not used for the same purpose as you might find for a Wüsthof - The thinness and edge of the steel precludes using it to break, say, chicken bones, and Japanese carbon steel necessitates a very strict care regimen, which I learned to my detriment - Make sure that the knives are completely dry before storage, and it may be well worth your money to invest, no matter what your knife, in a 'saya' or wooden scabbard for your knives!
 
R. Murphy makes carbon steel kitchen knives. They are made in the US and are fancier-look and somewhat more expensive than Old Hickory.
 
First off, you'll likely be better served creating your own "set", if usefulness and efficiency is top priority. If purely upscale looks are more important, you'll be tempted to get a nice looking set of which half will go unused. But it'll look great in the counter block. :D

Although these are the "Old Hickory" version of French paring knives, you will be hard put to get more useful carbon paring knives than these inexpensive Opinels. They are fantastic.

EDIT----I can't get my photo to load. Sorry.
 
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That R. Murphy chef select 8" chef knife looks nice. Any idea what steel they use?
 
If it's hardened to 58Rc 'high carbon' without any additions, it's 1095, good, finely grained stuff, easy sharpening, can be maintained by both steeling or stropping. Excellent choice for the kitchen I would say.
 
instead of buying a butcher block knife set, just get the individual knives that you need. the two most used knives in a kitchen would be the gyuto (chef's knife) and the petty (paring/utility).

masamoto HC series is an excellent carbon steel knife choice.
 
i would dig around and see if you could find some old Case XX in high carbon. had a full kitchen set of them 25 years ago, my xwife probably gave them to goodwill. old hickory knives are not the worst in the world either, invest fewer $$ and spend a few hours polishing and sharpening.
scott
 
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