looking for a new set of knives. any recommendations? which ones are best for the price. preferably under $50.
If you're spending 50 bucks for a set of knives, you won't get good ones. Fork over some dough and get a decent set. Just google "kitchen knife reviews". You don't really need a huge knife set. All you really need are: 8-10 inch chef knife. You can use this one to chop almost anything. long serrated knife. Essential for cutting bread and cakes boning knife. Used mainly for cutting up raw meats. Those three knives can take care of probably 95% of your cutting needs. You can go ahead and get a cheap set of steak knives. If you cook your steak properly, you don't really need a sharp steak knife.
I would add a paring knife to A-Train's list. I also don't think a boning knife is very important, but that might reflect different modes of cooking. As a former knife salesman, I do have some strong feelings about knives. Fortunately, most knives do provide these qualities, but there's a couple crappy ones (like Chicago Cutlery) that don't. Things to look for: 1. A full tang -- that is, the metal of the blade runs the entire length of the handle in a single piece. 2. Forged metal instead of stamped. I don't know how to tell you the difference except you know it when you see it. 3. High carbon stainless steel (or surgical steel). Regular stainless steel is softer and won't keep an edge. 4. Composite or metal handle. Wood swells and stains. 5. No serrated blades. Except a bread knife. Serrated blades can't be sharpened and tear food instead of cutting it. Cutco double-D blades are not serrated, but sharpening them is a bit of a pain; you have to mail it to the factory (but man are they sharp). I wouldn't go with Henckels or Trident or Global because you're paying for the brand as much as the knife. They might be slightly better, but I promise you won't be able to tell. KitchenAid, surprisingly, is pretty cheap and make a quality knife. Whereas a Henckels chef knife costs something like $40, KitchenAid costs $20. You can probably satisfy your essential knife needs with Kitchenaid for $50. There are other companies operating in the same space as KitchenAid too. See which one feels best in your hand.
That looks like a decent set. The main thing you want to look for is high carbon stainless steel. The carbon in the blade helps keep the edge sharper for a longer period of time. I forgot about the paring knife. I usually use a vegetable peeler to peel all my stuff, but a sharp paring knife will do the job good. Plus, it's good for chopping up garlic and shallots Slap on one of these bad boys and you should be good to go. Trust me, the first time you squash a loaf of bread with your straight edge knife, you'll be begging for a good bread knife
I sold CutCo for about two weeks. I was a crappy salesman, but those are some damn good knives. I still have the sample set they gave me. My favorite item from that set, though, is this bad boy... Best kitchen shears EVER. If I lost mine, I would pay the $70 for a new one...
