LOCATION
What country are you in? USA (TN)
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
I'm interested in a set of knives. At least a chef's knife, slicer, utility, bread, and paring knife. I don't see myself ever using a cleaver, and don't have any opinion on a boning knife.
Are you right or left handed? right
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? no idea
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) yes?
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? looking to spend $1,000 - $1,500 for a set
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.) trimming/slicing meat and vegetables
What knife, if any, are you replacing? Ken Onion Shun Set
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? none
What cutting motions do you primarily use? There is no method to my use of a knife
What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.) I was actually pretty happy with my knife set. If I were picking nits, the only bad thing I ever noticed was food would stick to the blade's smooth side.
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Not rubber, but some combination of the rest. Never glass, if that's what this is asking.
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes and no. Pocket knives and cheap kitchen knives, yes. I had decided I wasn't going to personally shapen my Shun set.
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.) Yes, very interested
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes. I have a set of DMT diamond sharpening whetstones but find I couldn't maintain a consistent angle to get a properly sharp edge. Thinking of picking up the cheap HF 1x30 belt sander.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I bought the Ken Onion Shun set on woot.com around the time they were being discontinued, then filled out the pieces missing from the initial set. The offset handles kept my hands from running into the board while using, which has annoyed me with previous knives. They were a beautiful Damascus layered steel, extremely sharp, hard Japanese blades that I expected to stay sharp a long time. I really enjoyed using them. I am by no stretch a professional chef and do not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. That said, I like nice things and hate being disappointed by my tools. I'm aiming for spending money now on quality things that will last me the rest of my life (currently 33 years old).
I owned that set of Shun knives for about a year and a half, maybe. Then my house burned down, and insurance is giving me something like $1,000 - $1,500 to buy a new set. If I could find all the knives I had before for sale again, I probably would just buy them, but they're not made anymore. I think they were on their way out when I bought them originally. Googling around landed me on Ken Onion's Rain Series by Chef Works. They are similarly shaped, but made by someone completely different, and there is a texture to the blades. The texture may help with food release, but it may also hinder sharpening. I have no idea how much about what I liked about the previous set would be transferred over to this new one, aside from the visibly similar shape.
Further research on some kind of reviews on the set turned up very little. One of the primary things it turned up was the lengthy thread here. I was honestly kind of astonished at the near universal hatred for the things. Everyone talked about the terrible unergonomic shape, wrists hurt just looking at it, couldn't manage a full day of prep with them, only good for rock chopping. I said before, I am far from a professional chef. I will never spend all day in the kitchen working with a knife. I don't know enough people to ever cook that much food. I don't know that I ever really rock-chopped with the other set. They were just really sharp and then and cut through anything I put under the blade easily.
All that said, if they're so bad, what would you recommend? I have a moderate budget, so I can afford something better than bargain basement sets. Maybe a Shun Classic? I'm honestly interested in what's considered good. Convince me not to go buy this: http://www.cutleryandmore.com/ken-onion-by-chef-works-rain-series/ultimate-knife-block-set-p129850
What country are you in? USA (TN)
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
I'm interested in a set of knives. At least a chef's knife, slicer, utility, bread, and paring knife. I don't see myself ever using a cleaver, and don't have any opinion on a boning knife.
Are you right or left handed? right
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? no idea
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) yes?
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? looking to spend $1,000 - $1,500 for a set
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.) trimming/slicing meat and vegetables
What knife, if any, are you replacing? Ken Onion Shun Set
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? none
What cutting motions do you primarily use? There is no method to my use of a knife
What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.) I was actually pretty happy with my knife set. If I were picking nits, the only bad thing I ever noticed was food would stick to the blade's smooth side.
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Not rubber, but some combination of the rest. Never glass, if that's what this is asking.
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes and no. Pocket knives and cheap kitchen knives, yes. I had decided I wasn't going to personally shapen my Shun set.
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.) Yes, very interested
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes. I have a set of DMT diamond sharpening whetstones but find I couldn't maintain a consistent angle to get a properly sharp edge. Thinking of picking up the cheap HF 1x30 belt sander.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I bought the Ken Onion Shun set on woot.com around the time they were being discontinued, then filled out the pieces missing from the initial set. The offset handles kept my hands from running into the board while using, which has annoyed me with previous knives. They were a beautiful Damascus layered steel, extremely sharp, hard Japanese blades that I expected to stay sharp a long time. I really enjoyed using them. I am by no stretch a professional chef and do not spend a lot of time in the kitchen. That said, I like nice things and hate being disappointed by my tools. I'm aiming for spending money now on quality things that will last me the rest of my life (currently 33 years old).
I owned that set of Shun knives for about a year and a half, maybe. Then my house burned down, and insurance is giving me something like $1,000 - $1,500 to buy a new set. If I could find all the knives I had before for sale again, I probably would just buy them, but they're not made anymore. I think they were on their way out when I bought them originally. Googling around landed me on Ken Onion's Rain Series by Chef Works. They are similarly shaped, but made by someone completely different, and there is a texture to the blades. The texture may help with food release, but it may also hinder sharpening. I have no idea how much about what I liked about the previous set would be transferred over to this new one, aside from the visibly similar shape.
Further research on some kind of reviews on the set turned up very little. One of the primary things it turned up was the lengthy thread here. I was honestly kind of astonished at the near universal hatred for the things. Everyone talked about the terrible unergonomic shape, wrists hurt just looking at it, couldn't manage a full day of prep with them, only good for rock chopping. I said before, I am far from a professional chef. I will never spend all day in the kitchen working with a knife. I don't know enough people to ever cook that much food. I don't know that I ever really rock-chopped with the other set. They were just really sharp and then and cut through anything I put under the blade easily.
All that said, if they're so bad, what would you recommend? I have a moderate budget, so I can afford something better than bargain basement sets. Maybe a Shun Classic? I'm honestly interested in what's considered good. Convince me not to go buy this: http://www.cutleryandmore.com/ken-onion-by-chef-works-rain-series/ultimate-knife-block-set-p129850
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