Well first, I want to apologize to everyone for not having posted in almost two months, we've been very busy with school. Even now, this is just a little distraction away from an online assignment I'm working on, so this will be somewhat short.
I have a major pet peeve with the Wal-mart effect, as in people are now buying loads more cheaply made goods and trying to substitute them in for quality products, which in the long run costs them loads more than shelling out the money for quality in the first place. This post will be in reference to this pet peeve, crappy kitchen knife sets.
We've all seen them, shiny new kitchen knives often displayed in a cheaply made wooden block with untold numbers of matching "steak knives". They line shelves at stores like Kohls, Target, Walmart, etc. just awaiting their first victim. When a consumer price compares them to a higher brand knife, like Wustoff or Shun, they reel back at the difference, wondering how those companies could think of charging that much, grab the cheap set and run off thinking they've found themselves a killer deal. At home they'll setup this pretty little set upon the countertop and perhaps begin to chop vegetables, only to find the going slow down halfway through and by the time they're done with a half pound of mushrooms, it's like pushing a spoon into a frozen solid ice cream cake. Ah, the curse and danger of the cheap knife.
You see, the reason other companies charge so much is the quality of the steel, and of construction. Makers like Henckels proudly state "German made steel" upon their higher quality lines [4 and 5 star for example] for a reason. The knives hold an edge longer and will take more abuse than their cheap counterparts. I've had a mixed set of Henckels International and 4 star knives for 10+ years now and have never once regretted the price.
It saddens me to see people waste their hard earned money away on these cheap sets, then struggle in the kitchen to make those knives work. Instead, I honestly think that everyone should start a set of good knives. You don't need to blow a ton of money to start with, instead you can start with just two knives; a 10" chefs knife and a 6" utility [also known as cooks] knife. These two knives are the all around, general purpose knives of the set. Like a jack of all trades, they handle all tasks thrown at them, some better than others. Down the line you can customize your set, perhaps a slicer if you deal with a lot of meat, or a santoku if you chop a ton of vegetables. Either way, do yourself a favor, stop using those cheap sets and get yourself something that you'll be proud to own and to use!
As a side note, ALWAYS HANDWASH GOOD KNIVES. Yes, they are dishwasher safe, but it's better for the knife edges to not be exposed to being slammed around in a dishwasher and safer than sticking your hand into a dishwasher only to find that the knife got moved around.
