Where to buy knives

[NCTDN]

Where would you go to buy a good set of knives?

Anyone bought any recently?

Nisbets, the catering suppliers.

They have shops in some places

A good independent kitchenware shop. Failing that John Lewis.

Harts of Stur is a good place for knives and all things kitchenware, usually good prices as well. I always look there first if I am buying for the kitchen

How much do you want to spend?

I'd say rather than getting a set, which is very expensive if you want particularly food knives, work out which kitchen knives you use most, and buy one at a time, but spend a bit more on each one. that way, you end up justifying spending more on each one, as it's not all at once, and in the long run, you should end up with a really quality set, even if they don't all look the same. invest in a quality knife sharpener, and don't store them in drawers, where they can get battered and blunted. a knife block, or, I use a magnetic strip for my better and most used knives.

many chefs will have a specialised knife roll to protect the blades, and to transport them safely between their jobs.

Whatever you do, don't order from Northern Knives UK. They're actually shipped from somewhere in China, and many people don't ever receive them, (found this out after I'd ordered and went on trust pilot) They aren't cheap either. I ordered some on the 29th November as a Xmas present and still haven't received them. I have no hope of them ever arriving and they're impossible to contact, so I've raised a complaint with the bank to try and get my money back now.

I got mine. the communication about dispatch and so on was a bit iffy (got the dispatch notification after it arrived, and the tracking code didn't work)
but it came in about the timescale suggested, and the knife is gorgeous, and very sharp and good to use.
when I didn't know what was going on, the facebook messenger person was very helpful, and able to update me better than the website did.

2 years ago I bought DH a knife from The Japanese Knife Company, it’s made like a Samurai sword, folded and hammered 31 layers in total. It is brilliant!
The next year he bought me 2 more for my birthday.

We use a Minosharp ceramic knife sharpener, very gently.

The knives are a joy to use, expensive but worth every penny.