Mama, could you explain that a bit. What is an Xpress 101 machine? Sounds like a drag racer.
KYHeirloomer is absolutely right. I made the unfortunate mistake of buying a set of Cutco knives about 25 years ago. I thought they were such good knives as I paid a lot for them. However, they never held an edge for long. After years of cooking for my family I realized that I only used four of the knives on a regular basis: the chef's knife (80%), paring knife (15%), the serrated and boning knives (5%). All the other knives pretty much sit in the drawer. I don't know why the butcher knife even exists. Don't buy a set.
Last year I bought four Shun knives: the 8" Granton Chef's knife, 3 1/2" paring (I wish I had gotten the 4"), 6" boning knife, and the 9" Classic bread knife. I want to get the new 4 1/4" mini chef's knife. I think that one will be nice for dicing and chopping most of my veggies and smaller things like a single clove of garlic, etc. I have to say that good quality knives are a real treat. Unlike Cutco, which uses a cheap stamped 440A stainless steel, quality knives will use at least 440C, or other good knife steel, that has a higher carbon content. 440C has between 80% to 95% carbon while 440A and 440B have between 60% to 75% carbon. Shun uses VG-10 stainless steel. VG-10 contains other metals like chromium, vanadium, and cobalt which makes the steel substantially harder than 440C without making it brittle. There are other great metals for making knives but please stay away from anything that does not at least have the hardness of 440C. The higher the carbon content the the harder the steel and thus the better it will hold an edge. I sold my 15 piece Cutco set at a garage sale for $100. I figure I got my Shun paring knife for free.
First, make sure the knife feels great, not just good but great, in your hand. It should feel wonderful. The Shun knives are designed for right-handed people. I don't know if they make a left-handed version, but the feel is extraordinary. Second, get forged steel. It doesn't matter if it is 440C or 1060 or 1080 or 1090, (1090 is best) or VG-10, or whatever. Just get a good high quality steel that will hold the edge for a long time. 440A steel is just crap for holding an edge. Sure you can sharpen it easy, but it will not hold the edge at all. Stamped 440A or B steel is the cheapest steel on the market that is being used for kitchen cutlery - the cheapest. It is my guess that the increased cost of manufacturing imposed by union benefits and high taxes make it impossible to use higher quality steel. Third, make sure the knife is well balanced. This really helps reduce fatigue, as does sharpness. Third, get a knife that has a bolster. Not all knife designs use a bolster between the blade and the handle, but I like it. After experiencing the difference I am sold on it. I don't really understand how or why, but the whole knife design seems stronger with a bolster. Fourth, don't EVER put your knives in the dishwasher. Wash them by hand and dry them immediately and put them back in the block - hopefully your block holds the knives in a horizontal postion. A dishwasher will dull your knives faster than any other process, except for abuse. As the water from the jests goes around it causes other tinsels to move and slap into the knife, resulting in a dull knife.
I am not promoting Shun at all. There are other great knives out there. I just loved how well they felt in my hand when I was comparing them to the other brands. When comparing the cost of Cutco to other knives I realized that going from a Corolla to a Rolls Royce is was not that big of a deal. Even if I could only buy one piece a year it would be worth it.
Getting 30 knives for $30 tells me that the deal is too good to be true. Quality is never cheap, but paying a little more for it will pay dividends - not just over time, but from the very first time you use them. Nowhere in the kitchen is quality more important than your knives. Leave the infomercial knives alone. There is a reason why you get so many knives so cheap. It is not rocket science, it is common sense.
Tom
Last year I bought four Shun knives: the 8" Granton Chef's knife, 3 1/2" paring (I wish I had gotten the 4"), 6" boning knife, and the 9" Classic bread knife. I want to get the new 4 1/4" mini chef's knife. I think that one will be nice for dicing and chopping most of my veggies and smaller things like a single clove of garlic, etc. I have to say that good quality knives are a real treat. Unlike Cutco, which uses a cheap stamped 440A stainless steel, quality knives will use at least 440C, or other good knife steel, that has a higher carbon content. 440C has between 80% to 95% carbon while 440A and 440B have between 60% to 75% carbon. Shun uses VG-10 stainless steel. VG-10 contains other metals like chromium, vanadium, and cobalt which makes the steel substantially harder than 440C without making it brittle. There are other great metals for making knives but please stay away from anything that does not at least have the hardness of 440C. The higher the carbon content the the harder the steel and thus the better it will hold an edge. I sold my 15 piece Cutco set at a garage sale for $100. I figure I got my Shun paring knife for free.
First, make sure the knife feels great, not just good but great, in your hand. It should feel wonderful. The Shun knives are designed for right-handed people. I don't know if they make a left-handed version, but the feel is extraordinary. Second, get forged steel. It doesn't matter if it is 440C or 1060 or 1080 or 1090, (1090 is best) or VG-10, or whatever. Just get a good high quality steel that will hold the edge for a long time. 440A steel is just crap for holding an edge. Sure you can sharpen it easy, but it will not hold the edge at all. Stamped 440A or B steel is the cheapest steel on the market that is being used for kitchen cutlery - the cheapest. It is my guess that the increased cost of manufacturing imposed by union benefits and high taxes make it impossible to use higher quality steel. Third, make sure the knife is well balanced. This really helps reduce fatigue, as does sharpness. Third, get a knife that has a bolster. Not all knife designs use a bolster between the blade and the handle, but I like it. After experiencing the difference I am sold on it. I don't really understand how or why, but the whole knife design seems stronger with a bolster. Fourth, don't EVER put your knives in the dishwasher. Wash them by hand and dry them immediately and put them back in the block - hopefully your block holds the knives in a horizontal postion. A dishwasher will dull your knives faster than any other process, except for abuse. As the water from the jests goes around it causes other tinsels to move and slap into the knife, resulting in a dull knife.
I am not promoting Shun at all. There are other great knives out there. I just loved how well they felt in my hand when I was comparing them to the other brands. When comparing the cost of Cutco to other knives I realized that going from a Corolla to a Rolls Royce is was not that big of a deal. Even if I could only buy one piece a year it would be worth it.
Getting 30 knives for $30 tells me that the deal is too good to be true. Quality is never cheap, but paying a little more for it will pay dividends - not just over time, but from the very first time you use them. Nowhere in the kitchen is quality more important than your knives. Leave the infomercial knives alone. There is a reason why you get so many knives so cheap. It is not rocket science, it is common sense.
Tom
I tend to be on a tighter budget so the higher dollar knives aren't in the picture. Strangely enough, I got a Chicago Cutlery Chefs Knife from WalMart (yeah, I know, the evil empire) that sharpens fairly easily and holds an edge pretty well and is comfortable in my hand. Cost? a bit over $20. Infomercial knives? I agree, no way.
Bubba, you are so right about the Chicago Citlery quality for the price. They were my only knives for years, may not hold an edge long with constant use, but take one really well.
I upgraded my chef's knife to a Wusthof about 8-9 years ago and loved it. Lost all my tools 3 years ago and when I went to replace them (thank goodness for insurance), found they had changed the Wusthof chef's to make it more ergonomicaly correct? Well it didn't feel right and was too light.
So wandered into a kitchenware store I wasn't familiar with and wow, a gorgeous Shun display called out to me.
Picked up a 10" Classic Chef's and it was part of my arm and hand. They do have a left and right handed style, but although left handed, the rightie felt better. Seemed that's not uncommon?
So with that Super Star, my butcher, fillet, and bread knives are Chicago Cutlery, slicer and paring knives are Wusthof.
enjoy,
Nan
I upgraded my chef's knife to a Wusthof about 8-9 years ago and loved it. Lost all my tools 3 years ago and when I went to replace them (thank goodness for insurance), found they had changed the Wusthof chef's to make it more ergonomicaly correct? Well it didn't feel right and was too light.
So wandered into a kitchenware store I wasn't familiar with and wow, a gorgeous Shun display called out to me.
Picked up a 10" Classic Chef's and it was part of my arm and hand. They do have a left and right handed style, but although left handed, the rightie felt better. Seemed that's not uncommon?
So with that Super Star, my butcher, fillet, and bread knives are Chicago Cutlery, slicer and paring knives are Wusthof.
enjoy,
Nan