IGX

I never paid much attention to my kitchen knives before. Sharpened them on a steel, wiped them off, and carried on. They did the job OK.

This knife http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47520- ... 436&sr=8-1 is affordable at less than $30 and has impressed me for the last 30 days.

It's light, but not flimsy. The non-slip handle feels good in hand. I've trimmed meat and cut veggies with it; the edge is a razor if you use a knife steel, three swipes per side, each time.

Never had an easier time cutting onion, celery, and carrots as I had with this knife today. Also minced some garlic and parsley using a rough, rocking motion through the food again and again. I didn't have much precision, but it made a paste of both in no time.

I'll be buying the paring knife for smaller jobs. My serrated bread knife is already pretty good, but I would not rule out upgrading to the Victorinox. And I'm certain I need a magnetic knife rack for storage. http://www.amazon.com/Better-Houseware- ... 584&sr=1-2

There's a reason why chefs often bring their knives to work with them; a good set of knives makes any kitchen job easier and makes cooking in general a lot more fun. If you haven't already, see if you can get someone to show you the basics of cutting and prep technique.

Fat Cat wrote:There's a reason why chefs often bring their knives to work with them; a good set of knives makes any kitchen job easier and makes cooking in general a lot more fun. If you haven't already, see if you can get someone to show you the basics of cutting and prep technique.

Good tips. I worked in good restaurants when I was younger and thought high-end equipment was unneccessary for a home cook. Then the cheap pans I bought flaked teflon into my food, and my cast iron and stainless replacements worked like a champ; then my cheap food processor burned up and an upgrade produced immediate great results. Blender, stand mixer, same story. Cheap shit is cheap shit. The upgrades have lasted years with no problems.

I have no explanation for why I still bought bamboo cutting boards and near-bargain knives until now. Guess I thought swiping any knife along a sharpening steel made it a good knife. Any sous chef would have pointed out that was a mistake.

I've been using knife techniques all along, but was much slower than the people I modeled. Probably because my blades were dull as shit. I can see ripping through knife jobs with the new equipment.

I've got that knife and I love it. Cook's Illustrated ranked it the best value in one of the product reviews and I agree. When I switched to the Victorinox from the $15 chef's knife from Target I was previously using (had to start somewhere!), it was like trading in a Ford Fiesta for a Lexus.

Eric, culinary students will practice knife skills on a shitloads of onions, then bag the onions, toss 'em in the freezer, and use as necessary. Might help with speed.