Posted on 01/14/2021 11:08:50 AM PST by mylife
High-end custom knives run from $400 to $40,000. Here's what makes them so expensive, and why they could be worth it.
Buying an expensive knife won't turn you into an excellent cook anymore than going to the Container Store will make you an organized person. But well-crafted custom knives are things of physical beauty, and they can have a kind of talismanic power. Super-luxury chef's knives start at about $400, and go up from there. Famously, some custom knives, like those from legendary knife maker Bob Kramer, sell for upwards of $500 an inch. At auction, Kramer's knives often fetch prices in the low-to-mid five figures.
A very fancy chef's knife is also a kind of paradox. A chef's knife, the 8- to 10-inch blade used for everything from breaking down chickens to dicing vegetables, is a tool that gets used frequently. As such, it's often subject to wear and tear, dings and scratches. It's a Ferrari that needs to be used like a Jeep. Plus, plenty of excellent professional chefs use knives that are in the $20 to $50 range to make incredible food.
(Excerpt) Read more at foodandwine.com ...
LOL!
It’s all about the grade of steel used in the knife. Any metal can be sharpened, it is how well does it hold it’s edge that makes all the difference. If you have ever butchered live stock, the quality of the steel will be proven in short order on how often you have to put an edge back on the knife.
Would You Buy a $400 Chef’s Knife?
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Maybe not today, but in a couple of years, ..., inflation?
Better stock up now.
Start hoarding Chefs’ knives.
Knowing how to use a steel is better than any fancy expensive knife.
Buy the best knives you can reasonably afford.
Cheap knives suck. They just will not hold an edge and the handles disintegrate eventually.
[Lots of fake chef knives out there from China. A very good chef knife should run between $100-$150. But boy are they worth it if you do your own cooking. A knife in the above price range really holds its edge and if it does need sharpening all it takes is a few licks on a good steel.]
To me knives are like guns. There are cheap ones, very expensive ones and then you have middle priced ones. If you ever have to use one you do not want it to fail. Same goes for fishing rods and reels.
“ I started a thread laughing at nine meter speaker cables priced at $70,000. Dead serious.”
Nine meters?
Piffle.
Audioquest has some for $20k/foot.
[To me knives are like guns. There are cheap ones, very expensive ones and then you have middle priced ones. If you ever have to use one you do not want it to fail. Same goes for fishing rods and reels.]
I am impressed at how well my dollar store knives have held under daily use for the past decade. Not the kind of implement to be relied on in a knife fight, but more than adequate for slicing meat and chopping veggies.
I have a set of ‘Classic Wusthof’ knives.
I have their knife sharpener to. I mainly use the smaller 8” chef knife.
Every time I sharpen the knives...my wife cuts herself.
Lol!!
$400 for a knife? Not no, but hell no! Great knives are readily available on-line very reasonable priced including free shipping. Do your homework, learn about blade steels, shop carefully, go slow, and buy quality at bargain prices.
Buy a sharpening steel and use it to keep your blades razor sharp. Always hand wash and dry and never put knives in a dish washer. Develop skills, pay attention, remember you’re holding one of the most enduring and useful tools man has ever created. Treat it with respect.
I use my meat cleaver the most of all my knives.
I guess the cops aren’t hip to you yet.
That’s right
😆
#75 You never know who you will be having dinner with...
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Specialty of the House
She consoles him by taking him into the kitchen. The other members are astounded as this has never happened before.
She shows him around the kitchen, then introduces him to the chef who is holding a butcher knife. When Costain arrives, she promises him that the titular Specialty of the House will be on the menu soon.
https://genresnaps.com/alfred-hitchcock-presents-specialty-of-the-house-121359/
Good solid brand. As a kid I was a Mess Sgt. and have always enjoyed cooking although I never made a living doing it. A Chef’s knife is one of the absolute basics. A good one will stand a lot of abuse and hard treatment. I have had Wusthof and Henckels for decades and they last forever. SOME OF THE Henkels are on sale right now. You can get a good 8” Chef’s knife listing for $162 for 99.
https://www.knifecenter.com/brand/186/Zwilling-JA-Henckels
thank you for the link, I’m going to check Henkel’s out.
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