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topcat5 t1_j0wa6xn wrote

Get a Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife and a good sharpener. It's inexpensive and long long lasting and doesn't mind being put in a dishwasher. You can buy several for the price of some other knifes.

Don't spend huge sums on a knife that you'll still end up having to sharpen to be good.

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mattrussell2319 t1_j0wcwlq wrote

Can you recommend a good sharpener?

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rand0m1324 t1_j0we8vb wrote

If you want to enter a rabbit hole you can visit r/sharpening , the gist of that though is freehand stones, specifically the shapton pro 1000. Pretty much every pull-through type sharpener will eventually wreck your blade, or not work well enough once it is too dull

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mattrussell2319 t1_j0wfocv wrote

Thanks, and I bet it’s a rabbit hole! I saw honing mentioned in a review for the Victorinox (which I’ve had for 20 years but never even sharpened!) and the Wikipedia page on that was confusing enough … 😆

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rand0m1324 t1_j115fz9 wrote

Haha yes, despite working on my skills for almost 2 years I still feel like a beginner. Tbh though, even a poor job with a stone tends to be much better than no sharpening so i’d still recommend giving it a try! Imo it’s a must have skill if you want to keep any knife over a long period of time

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T_ReV t1_j14lf65 wrote

As someone who has hand sharpened knives on a stone I don't recommend it unless you have some sort of device to keep a consistent angle.

It is way easier and you will get better results if you use a device like a Work Sharp or a RUIXIN knife sharpening kit.

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rand0m1324 t1_j14q11w wrote

There are definitely some great guided systems, I think there are generally trade offs between speed, versatility, skill requirements and cost with whatever system you end up with. Knowing what to go with will depend what you value most of those things. You are correct though that a guided system will generally be easier for someone just starting out.

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topcat5 t1_j0x2zli wrote

I use a Chefpro. It does a great job. Also recommended by America's Test Kitchen.

It's simply not worth your time to sharpen a $30 knife with manual stones.

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Electrical_Ingenuity t1_j0yerky wrote

Learning to use a whetstone is a worthwhile skill. I only need to use mine once a year.

I have 30 years of daily use on both my Zwilling 4 star chefs knife and santoku to show for it. They are truly BIFL.

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topcat5 t1_j0yo1px wrote

One a year? A good chef knife subject to daily use needs to be sharpened much more frequently than that.

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elevenblade t1_j0xxj8e wrote

Spyderco SharpMaker. Works well for serrated blades as well as a conventional edge.

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CityofDestiny t1_j0x3lo4 wrote

Agree. I have the santoku version of this. It is a great knife. Reasonably priced. Durable. Holds an edge well. I've got a bunch of German knives that were more expensive, but certainly not any more effective for their purpose.

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GullibleDetective t1_j0x1kmf wrote

Yep these are the cheapest and best starter knives that take an absolute beating and come back for more

Granted I prefer my kikuichis and shuns over em but these are absolutely the best you can get for about $30

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