MAC and Gesshin are the r/ChefKnife approved go to recommendation for nice but entry level knives. Pretty sure you can get MAC as a set but Gesshin you’ll have to purchase individually. Dalstrong and Shun are marketing ploys and not worth your money.
- Victoro311

Shun are overrated and with Dalstrong you have to know what to get. Some lines are poop, but some are great. I have the 8" Crixus knife from their Shogun series and it's friggin great. I bought their Nakiri knife from their Omega series and it's pure garbage.

My Miyabi is my baby though. That thing is ridiculous.

MAC and Gesshin are the r/ChefKnife approved go to recommendation for nice but entry level knives. Pretty sure you can get MAC as a set but Gesshin you’ll have to purchase individually. Dalstrong and Shun are marketing ploys and not worth your money.
- Victoro311

Also unless you want to get real into the weeds with Japanese knives that specialize in cutting different things you don’t need a 7 knife set. All you need is a standard sized chef’s knife as your all purpose work horse and a petty or pearinf knife for small fruits and vegetables as the absolute necessity. The next tier is probably a smaller chef’s knife for more maneuverability if that’s something you really value and think the sta TD standard size is gonna be too much for some tasks that a petty isn’t going to be quite big enough for, and a slicer if you’re going to be dealing with a lot of big pieces of meat.

Serrated knives can’t really be sharpened so they’re beaters that you replace when they wear out and not worth spending real money on.

Shun are overrated and with Dalstrong you have to know what to get. Some lines are poop, but some are great.
- Rinosaur

And you can get an equally good knife as the best Dalstrong line off chefknivestogo.com for a fraction of the price. These are not good value knives even in their best format.

And you can get an equally good knife as the best Dalstrong line off chefknives.com for a fraction of the price. These are not good value knives even in their best format.
- Victoro311

I use my Miyabi SG2 the most. The best knife for the money.

Also unless you want to get real into the weeds with Japanese knives that specialize in cutting different things you don’t need a 7 knife set. All you need is a standard sized chef’s knife as your all purpose work horse and a petty or pearinf knife for small fruits and vegetables as the absolute necessity. The next tier is probably a smaller chef’s knife for more maneuverability if that’s something you really value and think the sta TD standard size is gonna be too much for some tasks that a petty isn’t going to be quite big enough for, and a slicer if you’re going to be dealing with a lot of big pieces of meat.

Serrated knives can’t really be sharpened so they’re beaters that you replace when they wear out and not worth spending real money on.
- Victoro311

Yeah. I have a collection of knives. No sets. Mercer is actually a very good brand for the money. I don't typically endorse Chinese made knives, but they are pretty damn good and cheap. I have a mercer bread knife that has lasted me forever, hasn't been sharpened once and is like day 1.

I use my Miyabi SG2 the most. The best knife for the money.
- Rinosaur

Miyabi is probably the best out of the marketing ploy brands.

Yeah. I have a collection of knives. No sets. Mercer is actually a very good brand for the money. I don't typically endorse Chinese made knives, but they are pretty damn good and cheap. I have a mercer bread knife that has lasted me forever, hasn't been sharpened once and is like day 1.
- Rinosaur

Legit Chinese cleavers are apparently excellent all purpose knives but I am not brave enough to figure those out. They are huge.

Legit Chinese cleavers are apparently excellent all purpose knives but I am not brave enough to figure those out. They are huge.
- Victoro311

I see those Chinese-made hipster looking cleavers all over the internet.

Legit Chinese cleavers are apparently excellent all purpose knives but I am not brave enough to figure those out. They are huge.
- Victoro311

What do you use to sharpen your knives?

I see those Chinese-made hipster looking cleavers all over the internet.
- Rinosaur

They’re the traditional Chinese knife and thus can be trusted since there’s craftsman’s history there. I would never in a million years buy Chinese-made Japanese knives. Those are mass produced knockoffs.

For around $175 I think you can Wusthof set, but I' not sure you'll get 7. Zwilling is pretty common, but a $200 Zwilling should be good.
- Rinosaur

Was eyeing some Zwilling JA Henckels but figured I’d check with the peeps here that know their cooking stuff.

They’re the traditional Chinese knife and thus can be trusted since there’s craftsman’s history there. I would never in a million years buy Chinese-made Japanese knives. Those are mass produced knockoffs.
- Victoro311

They're flooding amazon right now. Those and Dalstrong are, but I stand by my Shogun Crixus knife. Cleaver/Chef Knife hybrid. Great weight, stays sharp long and just fun to use.

What do you use to sharpen your knives?
- Rinosaur

My knives are carbon so I use a whetstone. Stainless knives can hold up with a honing rod but that’s still a pretty rough way of sharpening your knife and will shorten the life span of any knife. The electrical sharpeners that you pass knives through should never ever be used.

Was eyeing some Zwilling JA Henckels but figured I’d check with the peeps here that know their cooking stuff.
- Feds91Stammer

I'm with Vic in that you can buy a set of steak knives and gets other pieces separately. You really only need one good chef knife, one good petty knife and one good bread knife. Those do everything you'll need.

But yeah, as far as standard sets go, you can't go wrong with Zwilling.

I'm with Vic in that you can buy a set of steak knives and gets other pieces separately. You really only need one good chef knife, one good petty knife and one good bread knife. Those do everything you'll need.

But yeah, as far as standard sets go, you can't go wrong with Zwilling.
- Rinosaur

Yeah I’ll probably go with zwilling for now. My knife skills aren’t worthy of higher end stuff.

They're flooding amazon right now. Those and Dalstrong are, but I stand by my Shogun Crixus knife. Cleaver/Chef Knife hybrid. Great weight, stays sharp long and just fun to use.
- Rinosaur

Also don’t buy Japanese knives off Amazon or you’re going to have a bad time. Trusted European brands like Wusthoff that you mentioned are good to buy wherever found though.

My knives are carbon so I use a whetstone. Stainless knives can hold up with a honing rod but that’s still a pretty rough way of sharpening your knife and will shorten the life span of any knife. The electrical sharpeners that you pass knives through should never ever be used.
- Victoro311

I agree with the last sentence for sure. I got a whetstone, but I'm just really struggling to get a good technique down. I bought that new fad knife sharpener where you put your knife in a clamp and there's these mini whetstones that you glide over them. It's pretty solid, but I can't do less than 15 degree angle.

Also don’t buy Japanese knives off Amazon or you’re going to have a bad time. Trusted European brands like Wusthoff that you mentioned are good to buy wherever found though.
- Victoro311

You mean to tell me the 9 piece set of Japanese Damascus for $80 isn’t legit?

Yeah I’ll probably go with zwilling for now. My knife skills aren’t worthy of higher end stuff.
- Feds91Stammer

Get those skill down. It's amazing when you learn the right way to hold and use a knife. Something that seems so simple, but you get longer use out of knives and cutting food becomes easier.

Yeah I’ll probably go with zwilling for now. My knife skills aren’t worthy of higher end stuff.
- Feds91Stammer

All my flatware is Zwilling. Great brand if the world of Japanese knives seems daunting.

You mean to tell me the 9 piece set of Japanese Damascus for $80 isn’t legit?
- Feds91Stammer

LOL

Get those skill down. It's amazing when you learn the right way to hold and use a knife. Something that seems so simple, but you get longer use out of knives and cutting food becomes easier.
- Rinosaur

Yeah that’s why I need something better than this $30 set of Amazon basics we get one we got our first apartment together.

Yeah that’s why I need something better than this $30 set of Amazon basics we get one we got our first apartment together.
- Feds91Stammer

Zwilling will do you right.

LOL
- Rinosaur

They look cool though lol and you get all the morons dropping 5 star reviews before they even use them.

Zwilling will do you right.
- Rinosaur

Alright sweet. Good to know I was headed in the right direction.