Really good knives?

[AngelDog]

I'm looking for a couple of new knives, and I want something which will cut really well. I need a big chef's knife and a smaller vegetable knife, maybe a longer thinner knife between a veg knife & chef's knife size.

Which ones are good? All my current ones are useless, even with sharpening before every use (apart from a Tesco veg knife and a Victorinox serrated one).

do you have a budget in mind?

what will you use to sharpen them?

do you have a preference for french-style cooks knives, or japanese style, or something?

btw you can't sharpen serrated knives

I've got a set of five Sabatier knives in a block that have been great for 20 years. I also use a cheaper, small serrated knife for cutting small things.

As with all things, you have to feel the balance in your own hand.

I love my Sabatier knives.

We got these half-price on Groupon for £40 and I wasn't expecting great quality but in fact they are surprisingly great.

Wusthoff are one of the best - I've had mine for years - a big chefs knife & a small veg one & use them all the time.

I have seen them in TK Maxx from time to time.

Ikea's knives are pretty good and very affordable

Another vote for Sabatier here, 15 years old and still going strong. I sharpen every two months on average.

also Sabatier.....

they are just the best and back to super sharp with a few swipes on a knife sharpener.... i cant imagine mine ever wearing out.

Over the past few years we have replaced all our main kitchen knives with sabatier, by having one as a Xmas present each year... i would never go back to anything else

We use Global. Very happy with their quality.

I like the Sabatier style, but the name is no longer a guarantee of quality. When old M. Sabatier died, his widow and and other members of his family set up various firms trading on versions of the family name, and I think it is also licensedout to other makers. I have some Sabatier Judge knives which are not bad, but I suspect are made in the far East

I think my old Sabatier Veuve knives are better. They are not as shiny and not so corrosion resistant.

I understand that all the mass makers use one of two or three grades of stainless steel.

Thanks, everyone. Our useless ones are Sabatier, I think. We've had them 11 years and I've not been very diligent about sharpening them, but now I do sharpen before every use as they're not much good otherwise.

I use one of these devices with two blades to sharpen them.

I hadn't thought about trying them out, so thanks for the suggestion, Polter. I went to out local cookshop today and found one I liked, but when I'd bought it, I realised there were loads more locked in a display case in the cookshop - more expensive ones so I might go back and have another look at those. Do you pay for what you get?

I don't have a budget but I would definitely pay more for something decent. I want to be able to chop tricky things like swede easily. I have no idea about different types!

I don't sharpen the serrated one, PigletJohn - though the Lakeland knife sharpener says you can use it on serrated blades.

I've got a couple of Sabatier chef's knives, bought in France, & some smaller Kitchen Devil ones bought here - qute happy with all of them.

I have a sharpener a bit like \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wusthof-WT4347-Stage-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B004NOWRIW/ref=sr_1_46?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1359244822&sr=1-46\this} though it isn't Wusthof

I think \link{http://www.lakeland.co.uk/14746/Compact-Knife-Sharpener\this} is my sharpener - didn't get it from Lakeland though

It's very effective anyway

Thanks, all - I've been diligently sharpening and the knives are now much, much better - so much so, that I'm going to take back the new knife I bought. Obviously Sabatier weren't so useless after all.

DSIL has Global knives they are a joy to use but my budget won't run to a set