What is the ideal kitchen knife? Who makes it? Kitchen knives, to me, are as much a preference rather than selecting a brand. Wusthoff, Henckel, Global, Victornox, etc. all make very good knives and I have a few from each but they are not my favorites.

 

For greens I use a Kyocera ceramic knife. The ceramic blade interacts much less than a metal blade would with the greens as you chop them and reduces the likelihood of the leaves browning where you’ve chopped them.

 

For day to day utilty I use Japanes knives. I really like the Shun Kaji knives that Williams-Sonoma sells. They have a razor sharp blade that is easy to keep sharp and is made from layers of nickel and hardened steel. I find a knife that has a blade of just hardened steel requires extra effort to keep it sharp. As well know, a dull knife is a chef’s enemy and very dangerous too. These Shun Kaji knives are not cheap but if you try them I think you’ll love them too.

 

My second favorite knife is a Masahiro carbon steel chef’s knife. The blade stains, the metal is softer and while it does not look pretty it sharpens to a razor with a few passes of the steel. The knife has character and performs flawlessly.

 

What knives should everyone own? If I had to limit the knives available to me I could go with three knives. An 8″ chef’s knife, a serrated knife large enough to slice bread and a pairing knife.

 

For almost any kind of knife you can find them, along with everything else you need for a kitchen, at J.B. Prince online. I find their prices better than most local retail stores but if you want the Shun Kaji the only place that sells them is Williams-Sonoma.