I really like cheap stamped stainless knives. In the photo are a Viking, a Kiwi, and something unbranded. Total was $8.20 USD. They are garbage, the handles are terrible, though the ridiculously small Deba has wood scales. They sharpen beautifully.
While you huff and curse under your breath, I have owned custom made Japanese knives, vintage carbon steel Sabatier, as well as all the other stuff, Wusthoff, Global, evs. They aren’t better, just much more expensive.
I am happiest with a cheap carbon steel cleaver (bit of a misnomer as these are really slicers) or a stamped stainless blade. Not Victorinox though, they have too much Nickel and Chromium so they aren’t as prone to rusting. It makes them a bitch to sharpen.
What do you mean they sharpen beautifully? You also say they’re garbage is that just because the handles?
Cheaper stainless often has less Chromium and Nickel. Those add to cost, increase corrosion resistance, but make the steel harder to sharpen.
I steel my knives before every use, when they take small flakes off my thumbnail I consider them ready to use for cooking, then I hone them on whatever pants I am wearing. I have issues undoubtedly, but I really like my knives sharp.
I also like Bees, a lot.
Yo big ups for the Bees
I guess I’m just confused if you’re praising these types of knives or admonishing them
Absolutely praising them, cheap knives are great. I love my custom made Japanese knives, the craftsmanship is incredible, perfectly fitted to how I want to cut. But what I usually reach for is a cheap piece of junk.
'It’s the Jungian thing Sir"
I never really understood knives, especially kitchen knives. I work with them often… but the quality differences never quite made sense. I get the high carbon = easier to sharpen, etc. But isn’t that one of the lowest qualities of steel? Meaning you can stamp that shit out on the cheap and it’s really about how any given chef manages, sharpens and hones his/her blade?
IDK. Seems like another person stealing my turd, shellacking it, and selling it back to me at an extreme premium…
A hard steel will hold an edge longer, but will be harder to sharpen and is more brittle.
A softer steel will need to be resharpened more often, but is easier to sharpen and less brittle.
For like 99% of the population, a dollar store knife will hold an edge long enough and will be easy to sharpen.
I’m too lazy to link because i’m on mobile, but outdoors555 on YouTube recently made a video where he sharpens a dollar store knife and hack away on a piece of 2x4 and the knife stays sharp throughout the ordeal.
So yeah, overall, it’s how you maintain and sharpen your knife that will make a lot of difference.
A honing steel is only helpful if your knife isn’t properly sharpened because it realigns the burr. Just take an extra minute to remove the burr properly and your knife will stay sharp for a while.
The softer the material, the easier it is to sharpen (and dull). There’s some sweet spot there but I imagine it’s much of a preference (and depends on the type of knife), considering knives have been from so many different alloys and differing hardening
Indeed there is a sweet spot. I would rather trade sharpness and more careful maintenance for corrosion resistance. Others would not. I had a housemate that tossed knives in the sink and left them there for days, their Victorinox only showed light rust. You couldn’t really cut anything with them but that didn’t seem to be the point.
I also had a partner who loved Victorinox parers and serrated parers, they could do anything with them and rarely used anything else. Your mileage may vary of course, and I bitched everytime I sharpened them, which was weekly.