Quality Kitchen Cutlery

Well, in our last blog we talked about the handles of your kitchen knives.  Let us think about your choices of blades and consider what to look for.  Of course that will have to do with the brand you choose and there are many qualities and name brands. You can only make a product just so good.

 There are many companies making superior quality kitchen knives.  Some are pricey and others are more conservative in price but you cannot always gauge the quality by the price or the brand. Check out the reputation and performance of the manufacturer. Check on the quality of steel used and their process of manufacturing.  German made knives go through some stringent tests, but so do Japanese made and American made products like Chicago Cutlery.  Many manufacturers with products available today have been in the business for many years and have proven track records. A good proven kitchen knife manufacturer will offer you a good choice of handles as well as excellent blades on all the knives.

If you are interested in price and quality check out the web.  Many websites are very informative about their products and give detailed information about the product.  You can usually buy the product much cheaper on the net than at the store.  With the stiff competition most web sites are trying their best to offer you the best price possible.

Quality knives and Cutlery need to be sharpened to smooth and hone the blades and to keep your knives with a sharp edge.  There is nothing more frustrating to anyone in the kitchen or even devestating to a professional chef than to have a blade that is dull or with jagged tears.  To avoid this, quality knives and cutlery must be sharpened with a whetstone on a regular basis…at least every two or three months.  The very best way to sharpen a knife would be to have it professionally ground or sharpened, however, it is not practical to take your knives each time you want them sharpened to a professional craftsman.  Therefore, tools are available for sharpening your knives and cutlery yourself.  There are various styles of knife sharpeners but to get the best and sharpest edge is to use the whetstone and sharpening steel.  It may seem a little difficult to master the sharpening if using a whetstone and honing steel, or sharpening steel, but with practice you can do it yourself with much success. 

It is recommended that you first start with a whetstone which is made of carbonundum or another abrasive that comes in three densities:  coarse, medium (for all-purpose shrpening) and fine.   The coarse stone is good for sharpening Chef’s knives, while the fine stone is better for slicing knives or boning knives.  The whetstones come in two basic types–oil or water.  The oil whetstone is prepared by lubricating it with a few drops of oil which is smoothed to a light film across the stone.  A water stone will have to be soaked in water for approximately 15 minutes to absorb moisture.   Regardless of the type of stone you use, after it is prepared, be sure to place it on a non-stick surface, such as a tea towel, to steady the stone before you begin the sharpening.  Using the whetstone may leave a few minuscule pieces of jagged metal and therefore following up with the use of the honing steel is needed.

The honing steel, or sharpening steel, is a tool that serves a different purpose from the whetstone but they work in conjunction with the each other.  The honing steel is a steel rod up to one foot long, rounded in cross section with longitudinal ridges or grooves in it and it’s purpose is to smooth out or remove any microscopic nicks or jags in the edge left from using the whetstone and make the blade smooth.

It is recommended that you use your honing steel before each use to remove any tiny burrs and maintain the edge in between sharpening on the whetstone.

Whatever you do, don’t allow the blades of your knives and cutlery to become dull.  Keep them sharp using at least some type of knife sharpener on a regular basis.

Kitchen knives are available in sets or they can be purchased as a single item in both Chicago Cutlery or Ginsu.  Block sets come in a variety of combinations with just a few basic knives or with a wide range of all the kitchen knives you would ever need for any task performed in your kitchen as well as a variety of block woods and colors.  You might ask what is the best knife and block set.  You might start out purchasing a quality knife or knife set and then add to it or you might  want to purchase a block set to begin.  Quality knives and block sets range in prices but it is recommended that whatever you purchase, keep in mind the quality, what kind of warranty it has, is it made by a reputable company, what kind of durability, precision and balance does it have, and last but not least, is it a knife or block set that will best suit your needs.

The name of Ginsu has become a familiar name since it earned its way from the country fair to America’s finest kitchens and restaurants.  Ginsu has great quality knives that can be purchased separately or in block sets.  The Ginsu cutlery set comes in a various combination of knives and is also available in different types of storage blocks such as the under the counter space saver block.  With Ginsu you can look not only for great quality but also it’s designed for beauty.    You can depend on Ginsu because it’s built for extreme strength and lasting durability.

Chicago Cutlery knives evolved from a knife conditioning service that catered to professional butchers and packing plants.  Then a demand for sharp knives increased and  that is when Chicago Cutlery began to manufacture knives.  Their knives are designed to meet tough demands of professional knife users as well as for home use.  Their knife blades are constructed with high carbon stainless steel that resists rust and stains and has a lasting beauty.  The knife blades are made with either extra thick stamped stainless steel or forged steel.  The stamped steel is punched out of a single sheet of steel but the Chicago Cutlery knives are made of extra thick steel that adds strength and control.  The forged steel blades are made from one piece of steel that is heated until soft and then pounded into shape with a hammer.  Forged knives are very strong and heavy with a bolster (located where the blade meets the handle) for safety  and balance.    Some of Chicago Cutlery knives can be purchased with serrated edges and others with a fine edge.  The serrated edges never need sharpening while the fine edge must be sharpened after every couple uses to maintain its very sharp edge.  Chicago Cutlery knives come with wood, polymer or stainless steel handles.  The wood and polymer handles are triple rivited to the blade for safety.   Chicago Cutlery knives would be a very attractive addition to any kitchen.