Lazy....ha ha...I can relate...to your friend. I don't cook much and we have a set of probably on the low end Henkel knives. Well, over the holidays I did need to do some chopping and felt like I was trying to cut through an oak tree with a pen knife. Unfortunately, the AccuSharp knife sharpener I'd read about here on GW was wrapped and sitting under the tree for DH!

I hear ya! I've been in a few homes where there's no chef's knife. It's excruciating watching them chop an onion with a boning knife or steak knife.

My husband's default knife is paring....it drives me crazy.

Ha -- this is so familiar!! I was staying with my in-laws for 3 weeks to take care of DD (she'd just had hip surgery), and cooked dinner for everyone every night. They were such good sports, and put up with all my crazy vegetarian meals, but I couldn't find a tolerable knife anywhere. Finally, I remembered that I'd given DD a really nice chef's knife last year, and I rifled through the drawers in her apartment kitchen until I found it.. Brought it back to the in-laws' house and all was well!

My DMIL is a packrat, and cooking there has the added challenge of needing to move 17 smaller glass baking dishes to get to the 9 x 13 one. I'm pretty sure the cheese grater won't be accessible until they move out.

Exactly why my mother got a crock full of spatulas, tongs, and other devices! She got a good knife last year from me, and a good pan or two from my brother. We visit and eat and cook there often enough I know I'll end up using them. If she doesnt burn them up first. She only cooks on high!

My mother cooked on high too. We used to joke that she stir-fried the canned green beans.

I had to buy my dad some sharp knives because I do the cooking when I visit him and I was bludgeoning the onions, peppers, fruit, you name it. I had Amazon send him a few inexpensive Hampton Forge Tomodachi knives, the colorful ones. Of course, he still uses his dull knives when I'm not there because "yours are too sharp, I'll cut myself!"

god, I hate when I see people storing knives in drawers (that aren't protected by a cover). Of course they're gonna be dull as all get out! My mom does this and it drives me crazy - and they're usually cheap knives from the supermarket (she has a problem spending money on things) which doesn't help.

Once we came over for a visit and we brought our 3-stone sharpening tool and got all her knives in good shape. It took a couple hours. Then we got her one good chef's knife and one good paring knife, and made her promise not to throw them in the dishwasher like she usually does. /facepalm

Oh, noo, no, no! Dull knives are so dangerous! A sharp one is so much safer, imho. A dull one takes a whole lot of extra pressure to cut through something, and if you slip, it's not good! A dear friend of mine slipped while cutting a watermelon with a dull knife and deeply wounded her palm just under her thumb. It took months, and surgery to fix the nerves back up, before it healed. I'll take one good sharp knife over a drawer full of dull ones any day.

Since we are on the subject of knives. My DIL gifted to me a very inexpensive knife set because mine are dull. I just have not taken the time to sharpen them properly. The set is going back to the store; I just have to break it gently to my DIL.

Questions - 1) what brand of knives do you use and 2) how are knives to be stored?

I took a knife skills class at a local kitchen supply store and it changed my life. Well, OK, that may be an exaggeration, but really, it did change my whole attitude toward chopping vegetables and, through that, toward cooking. At the class, we got to try out various chef's knives and I learned what felt comfortable in my hand. A few months later I bought myself an expensive (for me) Miyabi 8" chef's knife at Sur la Table. I take it to be sharpened every 6 months or so at the knife store where all the big-name chefs take their knives, lol. I love that knife!!

I keep in in a wooden knife block in a drawer in my prep area. Hope this helps.

I use my 6" and 8" Wustof chef's knives every day. I bought them 30 years ago for around $20 each. I keep them in a cardboard sleeve in a drawer. For many years I just threw them in a drawer of knives and put them in the DW. Not today because it would cost over $200 to replace them!

My home knives are Farberware from Walmart or the supermarket of your choice. And some accumulated knives from family.

I like the way the handles fit my hand - that's the #1 requirement. They get sharpened when they need it, washed by hand, and are kept in a knife block.

And it's probably a better, sharper set of knives than 80% of the homes in the USA.

It was a transformative experience when I replaced a very large set of every conceivable knife size with just a handful of Wusthof Classic knives. Heaven. I keep them in their original trays in a drawer.

My favorite knives are also the Wusthof Classic. Ours are white. We bought white because they were cheaper than the black ones! Go figure. I've had them for 7 years and have grown very fond of the white color.

I also have a set of Henckels which I rarely touch because I don't like the feel of them in my hands. They look just like the Wusthof Classic, but feel totally different. We sharpen ours with the stick and take them in to get professionally sharpen (at the wusthof store where we purchased) once every couple of years. I use the 10" chef and 8" santoku knives religiously.

We keep ours in the knife block that it came with on the counter. We do not have any kids.

I feel the same way when I go to another kitchen and cannot find any sharp knives. We are pretty spoiled with ours.

I have had Wusthof and Henkels and now I have Cutcos. I have had them probably 6-7 years. Store them in the block they came in. The store horizontally. Every few years a new college kid tries to sell us some and they will sharpen for free. They are the sharpest knives I have used. I think once you buy good knives, you have to learn how to sharpen them. And then every year or so get them sharpened professionally if you can't get them back to the original sharpness. Nothing beats a sharp knife.

I love my short chef's knife.

My go to knife is an old wooden handle/steel blade $1 paring knife, always at the front of the drawer. Sharpen it on the little wheel gizmo.

I frequently experience what people here are talking about, but I also experienced the opposite at one point.

Over 19 years ago I put together a custom set of Henkel's 4-star knives -- some were wedding gifts, others I bought from returning other gifts we received. I still use and love the knives. I would use a steel on them every so often but hadn't ever sharpened them until about 6 years ago when I was visiting a brother-in-law and went to cut an onion using the amount of force I was used to, and his sharp knife went through the onion like it wasn't there and banged into the cutting board. Immediately after returning home from that trip I bought a sharpener that was recommended here.

This post was edited by bob_cville on Sat, Jan 4, 14 at 10:47

It's the "freshly sharpened" knife that's dangerous. Knives dull gradually so you get used to it. Freshly-sharpened you aren't used to, so the fingers get in the way. After a few days, you're used to the sharpness again. Solution: regular maintenance!

BTW, I bought a Cutco peeler and love it. It replaced the Oxo peeler that broke the day the student called.

Guilty! I have wusthoff classic and use a steel but episodically take them in for professional sharpening at the knife store.
Made a pork roast last night and DH noticed the knife was getting dull.
I store my larger knives in a double wusthoff drawer insert but saw a post with a better one that supports the whole knife.
The one that came with the kitchen was beautiful but worthless as holds less knives and no handle support.

"It's the "freshly sharpened" knife that's dangerous."

Yes! My hostess remarked, watching me cutting something after I used the impromptu tile/stone that the knife looked too sharp. I think I converted her to the joy of sharp knives before I left, because she wart slicing and dicing potatoes and commented that it was taking less time.

I have a 2-step sharpening tool, plus the edge refresher.

Here is a link that might be useful: Knife sharpener

Was just at Marshall's and saw several Wusthof knives. No chef's knives though. They were made in Germany. Henkel's too, but didn't check to see if they were made in China.

That is how I feel at my mom's house. I bought the knives so that is the only good tool. A solid pot would be awesome, but she complains my all-clad is heavy.

This is a great thread. Over the course of 35 years of marriage we have owned many brands of knives. I have a couple of Henkel, a Wushtoff, a great carving knife from Pampered Chef and a set of Cutco. My biggest mistake is not maintaining the knives. Since I am somewhat snowed in, I think it will be a knife sharpening day!