Oh snap. Boys we've been doing it wrong!Its Asian-style blade is thinner than the traditional ones — less suited for hard veggies like carrots.
Not always bad to be thick with a full tang, nomesayin'?Maybe we need to consult the surprising answers to sex questions. I'm sure we are doing that wrong too.
... wonder what the criteria was for their rankings.
#1 - Make sure you cater to the big boys(ie the manufacturers).
#2 - Make sure you don't know jack about knives.
#3 - Make sure you can get the knife at WS or SLT.
Oh! Henkels and Wusthof Classic! And Chicago Cutlery! Of course!
It's not like those are the EXACT MAKES AND MODELS of knives I hear about daily. I can't think of a single conversation with a home cook that doesn't go like this:
"Oh you sharpen knives? Does that mean that if I bring you mine you can sharpen them for me?"
Yep, I certainly can. And I do it all by hand.
"How much does it cost?"
I charge by the inch.
"Oh ok, because we bought a really good set of knives, and spent a lot of money on them. Can't remember what they are called.."
Henkels? Wusthof? Chicago Cutlery?
"Yeah, (insert brand here)! They are nice knives, but they are just really dull and won't cut anything. We use the rod they came with, but it doesn't seem to do very much. Maybe I just don't know what I am doing."
Every time! If all these stupid foodie rags and websites and retailers are so damn convinced that Wusthof and Henkels are the greatest knives of all time, then how come everyone I work for has them, believes they are supposed to be good, and never uses them? Because they suck.
My most recent home cook had Wusthof, Pampered Chef, and Hampton Forge. She did all of her cutting with a plastic handled, rust pitted steak knife with a bent blade. "That one cuts really good", she said.
They make crappy knives that are optimized for manufacturing, lock down contracts with cooking classes, television shows, public kitchens and culinary schools, then they distribute mythological information that describe those two knives exactly to a T, and then lo and behold, Wusthof and Henkels are the only companies IN THE WHOLE WORLD making knives with all the qualities of "every good knife".
I'd be happy to see all three of those companies out of business. It's not the product that gets my goat, it's the company.
:soapbox:
that Cat Cora knife looks god awful.[/QUOTE
But I always thought she was pretty dam cute.
Maybe we need to consult the surprising answers to sex questions. I'm sure we are doing that wrong too.
Oh! Henkels and Wusthof Classic! And Chicago Cutlery! Of course!
It's not like those are the EXACT MAKES AND MODELS of knives I hear about daily. I can't think of a single conversation with a home cook that doesn't go like this:
"Oh you sharpen knives? Does that mean that if I bring you mine you can sharpen them for me?"
Yep, I certainly can. And I do it all by hand.
"How much does it cost?"
I charge by the inch.
"Oh ok, because we bought a really good set of knives, and spent a lot of money on them. Can't remember what they are called.."
Henkels? Wusthof? Chicago Cutlery?
"Yeah, (insert brand here)! They are nice knives, but they are just really dull and won't cut anything. We use the rod they came with, but it doesn't seem to do very much. Maybe I just don't know what I am doing."
Every time! If all these stupid foodie rags and websites and retailers are so damn convinced that Wusthof and Henkels are the greatest knives of all time, then how come everyone I work for has them, believes they are supposed to be good, and never uses them? Because they suck.
My most recent home cook had Wusthof, Pampered Chef, and Hampton Forge. She did all of her cutting with a plastic handled, rust pitted steak knife with a bent blade. "That one cuts really good", she said.
They make crappy knives that are optimized for manufacturing, lock down contracts with cooking classes, television shows, public kitchens and culinary schools, then they distribute mythological information that describe those two knives exactly to a T, and then lo and behold, Wusthof and Henkels are the only companies IN THE WHOLE WORLD making knives with all the qualities of "every good knife".
I'd be happy to see all three of those companies out of business. It's not the product that gets my goat, it's the company.
:soapbox:
I love how the article states that thin knives are ill suited to cutting hard veggies like carrots.
Again, its not the product, its the company.
They are considered the best because they have all the qualities of a good knife:
A full tang
Drop forged
Full bolster
Thick spine
Balanced in the handle
Soft steel
Big belly
See? Every good knife needs those things! Everyone knows that. Strange thing is, only two companies seem to be readily available that do that, and they come with a warranty! That's what the guy on tv, my cooking school, and bed bath & beyond said. It's not like they were told to say that by the company because they don't know better.
I have heard this from fellow cooks at work, people teaching classes, people making knives, foodies, bloggers, tv personalities, etc etc etc.
Those companies(but especially Wusthof) spent a lot of time and money making sure that every grocery store with a cooking class is outfitted generously with a knife for every student--a Wusthof knife, which they can buy from the giant rack on the wall. Oh, and they gave the instructor a bunch of pamphlets and told him what makes a good knife, so they can pass on the valuable information to the students. Really helpful, considering the guy or gal teaching the class didn't know their arse from a hole in the ground about knives before hand...they are just hired because they know the mother sauces and how to determine learning styles.
I had a coworker come in with a pair of Wusthofs, and I asked why he went with those. He said that's what they gave him in culinary school, and then when they got stolen, he bought them again because "that's what I'm used to" and shrugged.
I think Shun(Classic Santoku) and Forschner(Fibrox Chefs) have managed to come up with a better least-common-denominator, people pleaser knife--the Bud Light of knives. Considering the factors that vary from person to person on which knife is good for them, a knife like a Wusthof Trident Classic is going to be just the right knife for about 5% of people. Though it is what we in the modern world are used to being inundated with, in the grand scheme of knives, it's as extreme a choice to me as a Chinese Cleaver.
Again, its not the product, its the company.
They are considered the best because they have all the qualities of a good knife:
A full tang
Drop forged
Full bolster
Thick spine
Balanced in the handle
Soft steel
Big belly
See? Every good knife needs those things! Everyone knows that. Strange thing is, only two companies seem to be readily available that do that, and they come with a warranty! That's what the guy on tv, my cooking school, and bed bath & beyond said. It's not like they were told to say that by the company because they don't know better.
I have heard this from fellow cooks at work, people teaching classes, people making knives, foodies, bloggers, tv personalities, etc etc etc.
Those companies(but especially Wusthof) spent a lot of time and money making sure that every grocery store with a cooking class is outfitted generously with a knife for every student--a Wusthof knife, which they can buy from the giant rack on the wall. Oh, and they gave the instructor a bunch of pamphlets and told him what makes a good knife, so they can pass on the valuable information to the students. Really helpful, considering the guy or gal teaching the class didn't know their arse from a hole in the ground about knives before hand...they are just hired because they know the mother sauces and how to determine learning styles.
I had a coworker come in with a pair of Wusthofs, and I asked why he went with those. He said that's what they gave him in culinary school, and then when they got stolen, he bought them again because "that's what I'm used to" and shrugged.
I think Shun(Classic Santoku) and Forschner(Fibrox Chefs) have managed to come up with a better least-common-denominator, people pleaser knife--the Bud Light of knives. Considering the factors that vary from person to person on which knife is good for them, a knife like a Wusthof Trident Classic is going to be just the right knife for about 5% of people. Though it is what we in the modern world are used to being inundated with, in the grand scheme of knives, it's as extreme a choice to me as a Chinese Cleaver.
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