Good bargain kitchen knives

[dgaddis]

Last Black Friday we got a set of Wusthof Classic knives on sale. First nice set of knives I've used, and they were a revelation compared to the crappy pamper chef knives we had.

The last few weeks I've been researching and decided to get rid of the rest of our crappy knives and get some nicer ones. In all that research I ran across Mercer - popular with culinary students and working cooks apparently.

I've bought a few. From their lower end line, Mellenia, I got a slicer. 11", very sharp, and only $22 - heck of a deal!! The handle is a plastic/rubber combo, plastic along the sides, softer grippier rub on top and bottom.

For much more commonly used knives I went with their Renaissance collection - forged blades, full tang, classic Western style handle. They match the Wusthofs pretty well - handles are very similar shape, and same size. Made from the same type of steel apparently. The only thing the Wusthofs have over them is the spine tapers mostly the full length of the blade. With the Mercers the spine stays the same thickness most of the length and tapers at the tip. The Mercers do taper continuously from the spine to the cutting edge. Balance wise they're just a bit handle-heavy, which I like.

I got both a Santoku and Nakiri, both 7". Both can be had for ~$50 each, whereas the Wusthof Classics are in the $120-$140 range per knife. Basically the Mercers are the Ultegra to the Wusthof Dura-Ace.

Anyhow...if you want nice knives without breaking the bank, they're worth looking into. I bought mine from Webstaurantstore.com it was cheaper than Amazon.

[Too Tall]

Great stuff D.G. I've got a similar Wusthof which I use for breaking down poultry. That's good stout stuff!

I've been on the look out for a set of three knives (cleaver, chefs, paring) for the Travel Trailer...but everything I find is J U N K.

[guido]

I have have a small collection of the Victorinox knives with the fibrox handles. They have stood up great over 8 years and are still going strong. They hold a great edge for stainless and are bulletproof. They'd be my first choice for the trailer...

I'm especially fond of the Santoku. Nicely balanced workhorse. I use it to prep part of nearly every meal...

[dgaddis]

I've got a victorinox boning knife and it is very good. The handle is super grippy, and really fat, but I'm not sure how well it would work with a pinch grip for me, the integrated bolder on the handle would get in the way I think. Their Chef's Knife is Americas Test Kitchen's favorite, but the folks at Serious Eats often pick one of the Mercer offerings over the Victorinox.

I've also got two Victorinox paring knives and they're awesome, and at only $10 for the pair, I don't feel bad using them to open packages or boxes or other non-food prep tasks.

[snotrockets]

Victorinox's knives are great. Their paring and tomatoes ones are especially great, can be found for $5-7 each, and stay sharp, as evident by me accidently cutting myself with one just this morning.

[Too Tall]

Victorinox looks great.

[caleb]

I have a Victorinox that's very good, especially for the price.

I've also been using a Tojiro DP chef's knife for a couple years that's all the knife I'd ever need.