New cooker here, I have some knife questions

New cooker here, I have some knife questions
Do I need more than 1 knife?
Will any old knife from walmart do?
I just want whatever is cost effective desu

Yeah, there's a dude on youtube that shows the best ways to sharpen them to get A-grade quality out of even the crappiest knives; search it up and you'll realise a good knive sharpener is worth way more than any fancy weaboo mini-katana for chopping your celery.

Knife*. I'm not good with plurals

wow
i didn't realize there were different grades of knife sharpeners
ill try to find him

It certainly makes sense to invest in a decent knife user. Cooking with a shit knife is a real pain in the ass. I know, I have more than 60 chef's knives in my collection. And no matter what knife you decide to buy you will have to sharpen it sooner or later. Just do it right form the beginning and get a good combo waterstone, one side around 400-600 grit and the other around 1000-1500 grit. Then watch some sharpening videos on youtube and learn how to get rid of the burr after sharpening. Knowing how to sharpen on a stone a hugely useful skill that you will benefit from for the rest of your life. For a starter knife get a Victorinox, or the IKEA 365+ all metal knife, which is surprisingly good.

You need a proper chef's knife with a 8'' or larger blade, this is where most of your money should go. A small parer (3'') and a bread knife are also quite practical. You can also buy a mid-size petty with a 6'' blade, but buying a good cutting board should have priority. always buy a larger one than you think you will need.

>the best ways to sharpen them to get A-grade quality out of even the crappiest knives
Worksharp Ken Onion edition b/w the grinder attachment. That's all you need, brother. Just practice with one of those and you'll get insane results.

I have two bread knifes one for bread and one for everything else. Never had to sharpen or buy new ones.

I can't imagine what a pain in the ass it would be to have to cut everything with a fucking bread knife. I guess you have never worked with a good knife before and so it is just the normal for you and you don't feel like you are missing anything, good for you user.

I hardly even cut anything anyway. Just cheese and bread sometimes for sandwiches. I usually buy pre cut anyway

>I just want whatever is cost effective desu
Get a cheap chef's knife and a cheap one of those 2-stage sharpeners that you run the knife through manually.
The knife will probably dull quickly, but then you can use the sharpener and it will be ok again.
Should be serviceable for home cooking as long as you don't need it to do some sick knife tricks where you cut the tomato in mid air.

You need 3 knives. A stiff chefs knife, a paring knife and a flexible knife for breaking down animals.

The only thing I'd add to that list is a bread knife. Brand and price is up to you but that's what I'd go with for basic cooking.

The difference in the quality of knife will affect two things.
How often you sharpen it and how much work it will take to chop things.

Sharpening can be difficult at first but once you get it down, it will only take a few minutes. On cheaper knives you will have to sharpen nearly after every use. For this you'll need some sharpening stones. Don't invest in expensive ones initially because you won't get much use out of them until you know how to properly sharpen.

Good knives will just have to be honed, or straightening the metal fibers. You use one of those ridged metal rods or the underside of a coffee mug.

The other part is the knife's weight and balance. A good knife is properly balanced and will fit well in your hand. This will allow you to make smooth well calculated cuts which are very hard to obtain on a cheap knife.


In reality, what it comes down to is buy the best knife you can afford. Better knives will improve your cooking experience, but you can still accomplish a lot with a cheap knife.

You can't just hone a knife forever Even good ones need to be sharpened.

I guess what I meant is you'll only have to sharpen once in a long while. My good chefs knife goes about two weeks before needing to be sharpened.

Mind, I cook about 5 days a week.

mate i am broke
i just bought a medium sized plastic cutting board from walmart

why can't i use the chefs knife to cut meat?
mostly i will be eating fish and chicken breast

desu i dont think i have enough space in my home for a whet stone
terrible living situation
so i'll probably go with this, thanks
thanks to everyone else too i will keep this info in mind for when i get real materials or if this cheap shit don't work

>flexible knife for breaking down animals
of all the knives a novice could buy this one is the least important. Somebody struggling to make a properly fried egg needn't worry about butchering his own meat for a long time.

>can't i use the chefs knife to cut meat?
Of course you can when said
>breaking down animals
They meant turning a bone-in joint into a boneless joint, or turning a chicken into portions. You need a different sort of knife when cutting around bones and through connective tissues.

You can and should be using the chef's knife on already-prepared cuts of meat.

roger dat

Once you get settled on your basic knife set, go buy them from a restaurant supply store. Not as fancy looking, but cheaper and more durable than name brand retail knives.

For a beginning cook, you only need a chef's knife. You'll know it's time to expand your knife collection when you tackle something that makes your chef's knife look like a big, dumb brute who ruins everything. Then you need a paring knife.

What kind of metal should a good knife be made of? The sharpening advice only works if your knife doesn't rust or whittle away its original shape

I didn't even know this was a thing
Is it a walk in type of deal?
And if this is true why don't these stores run the kitchen supply market.

That's not even remotely true. Sharpening works on every type of metal.

Whittling away the original shape is what makes your knife sharp.
You're shaving material off of it to make the edge thin.

The trick is to only shave off as much as you need, which is what all this business about technique and stone grit and angles is all about.

>Sharpening works on every type of metal.
Ever tried sharpening mercury?

Would be possible at certain temperatures.
That's like saying steel is impossible to sharpen when you've just melted it.

>a good chef knife
>butcher knife/cleaver
>paring knife
>bread knife
>(optional) cheese knife
>(optional) cooking shears/scissors
Thats all you really need. There are other knives or knifesets to add to your collection, but those are optional. The chef knife is a necessity, as is a good sharpener. That is where you should start. Although they meme otherwise, there is nothing wrong with buying cheaper brands and mediocre quality while saving up for a high-quality knife. You will feel the difference as you upgrade. Many recommended upgrading to a japanese or german brand.

I have 7 knives
2 are for fruit/veg
3 for meat
1 for hard fruit/veg eg. pumpkin, pineapple and sometimes even chocolate when im baking
and 1 for bread

I use multiple meat knives for when preparing different meats which i dont want to contaminate also saves washing up as much so i use less water when washing

Also just have a standard knofe sharpener but want to invest in a better one

All you need for basic cooking is an 8" chef's knife for most things and a small paring knife for small or delicate shit. Yes, an inexpensive forged chef's knife from Walmart will work.

because all their stuff is so butt ugly and industrial looking that nobody in his right mind would want to put it in his home kitchen, unless he wants it to look like the back kitchen of some nigger tier restaurant or an abbattoir.

This right here.

Though I would suggest that a home cook doesn't need the paring knife. Those are mainly for carving fancy little garnishes which is something a home cook doesn't tend to do.

Don't listen to these autist babish-wannabe home cooks with a massive arsenal of knives. Just be reasonable about it. As long as they're sharp, it's all good.
Chefs knife
Pastry knife
boning knife
small knife or something

It all depends on how much cooking you do, if you want to make something which requires a knife you don't have, just get that knife.
It comes down to about 50/50 sharpness and technique. You don't have to spend a fortune. Despite what a lot of people here will tell you, you do not need to spend a fortune on a quality knife. Just please don't get one with a patterned blade or some shit.

And get a steel too!

shut up

Somebody making a fried egg doesn't need a knife at all.

Nice analogy, retard.

don't buy a japanese meme knife
get a whetstone. You're just buying a chunk of metal, your ability to make it sharp and keep it that way is the single important factor for its utility as a knife, whether it has stupid wavy lines and kanji on it will not make it any better at dismantling onions.
Also in real practical terms, the japanese knives are typically much thinner AND much harder and thus more brittle and easily broken or chipped.