General knife talk

zuludog said:
I saw this on offer a couple of weeks ago, so that was my Christmas present to myself

It's sharp, well made, and comfortable to hold & use
If I didn't have plenty of knives already I'd be happy enough to get more Pro Cook knives, probably from the top end of their range
It's very similar to Tsuki 7 knives and some Eden knives from www.knivesandtools.com; wouldn't surprise me if they were all made in the same factory in China

Professional X50 Chefs Knife
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Quite reasonable price for a chef's knife!! :whistling:
 
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zuludog said:
I have knives by Henkels - Zwilling, Wusthof, and Seki Magoroku, and this knife seems just as good

I also had a couple of Global knives; they were good, but I didn't like the way they handled/balanced, so I got rid of them
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I recently invested in a block of Zwilling knives. I am broke now, but they sure are pretty... and sharp!
Also, I agree with you on the Global knives; my mother-in-law has a set and I dislike their slim-to-non-existent bolster.
 
I've been looking at getting a set of these...

Elite Ice X50 Knife Set

I might just get a set of 5 or 6 instead of the 8, not really due yet.
Has anyone got experience of this set?
Are they any good/ worth the money?
Do they hold their edge well... I'm presuming so with them being ice hardened.
 
Several months ago I bought my son a set of Elite Ice X50 knives when he moved into his first house, and I haven't heard any complaints, so I assume they're OK

Then just before Christmas 2021 I bought a16cm Professional X50 (not Ice) in a sale and I'm quite impressed - the composition handles are well made and comfortable, and the steel seems OK - I gave it a quick stroke on a steel when I first got it, and it's still sharp
Generally it looks & feels well made, and balances well, so I would seriously consider Elite Ice X50 knives
But there's just one problem - being spoiled for choice!
The quality of the knives is good, but there are so many combinations available, it's really up to you to find your way through them
But you seem to have done that with your choice of 5, 6, or 8 piece in the glass block

The 8 - piece has everything you need, in fact you probably don't need that many; £223

Although the 5 - piece set has carving & bread knives it doesn't have a large cooks knife, so you could add a separate 20cm cooks/chefs knife; £143 + £44 = 187

The 6 - piece has everything the 5 - piece does, plus an 18cm santoku, so it does have a large strong knife; £159
I would choose between 5 -piece + 20cm chef's or 6 - piece
Yes, I'd say they are good, and worth the money, especially with the discount
Plese double check my prices - I did this in a hurry, and Pro Cook's website is very extensive and not a little confusing

Sometimes Pro Cook include offers
At the moment it's 20% off, which is good, though who knows the exact price of anything nowadays
Sometimes it's a titanium coated knife with a sheath; I got one with my knife, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is for the price

Whatever you choose, remember to get a sharpening steel if you haven't got one already

And just to confuse things even more, these knives look very much like Tsuki knives, now marketed by Vogue, and sold, among others, by Nisbets. It wouldn't surprise me if they were all made in the same factory in China. But check whether Nisbets prices include VAT

Chef Knives - Professional Kitchen Knives & Cooking Knife for Sale UK | Nisbets
 
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zuludog said:
Several months ago I bought my son a set of Elite Ice X50 knives when he moved into his first house, and I haven't heard any complaints, so I assume they're OK

Then just before Christmas 2021 I bought a16cm Professional X50 (not Ice) in a sale and I'm quite impressed - the composition handles are well made and comfortable, and the steel seems OK - I gave it a quick stroke on a steel when I first got it, and it's still sharp
Generally it looks & feels well made, and balances well, so I would seriously consider Elite Ice X50 knives
But there's just one problem - being spoiled for choice!
The quality of the knives is good, but there are so many combinations available, it's really up to you to find your way through them
But you seem to have done that with your choice of 5, 6, or 8 piece in the glass block

The 8 - piece has everything you need, in fact you probably don't need that many; £223

Although the 5 - piece set has carving & bread knives it doesn't have a large cooks knife, so you could add a separate 20cm cooks/chefs knife; £143 + £44 = 187

The 6 - piece has everything the 5 - piece does, plus an 18cm santoku, so it does have a large strong knife; £159
I would choose between 5 -piece + 20cm chef's or 6 - piece
Yes, I'd say they are good, and worth the money, especially with the discount
Plese double check my prices - I did this in a hurry, and Pro Cook's website is very extensive and not a little confusing

Sometimes Pro Cook include offers
At the moment it's 20% off, which is good, though who knows the exact price of anything nowadays
Sometimes it's a titanium coated knife with a sheath; I got one with my knife, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is for the price

Whatever you choose, remember to get a sharpening steel if you haven't got one already

And just to confuse things even more, these knives look very much like Tsuki knives, now marketed by Vogue, and sold, among others, by Nisbets. It wouldn't surprise me if they were all made in the same factory in China. But check whether Nisbets prices include VAT

Chef Knives - Professional Kitchen Knives & Cooking Knife for Sale UK | Nisbets
Click to expand...
Fantastic. Thank you so much for the in depth answer.
I had a quick go of a demonstration knife they have there. It went through raw potato as if it wasn't there by the cynical post of me was wondering if it had been hyper sharpened or something.
They have a 25yr guarantee so surely that says something about their confidence in the knives.
Tbh I'm just a little nervous about spending a lot on something that ,up till now, we've only ever spent a fiver on.
 
Peloquin said:
I've been looking at getting a set of these...

Elite Ice X50 Knife Set

I might just get a set of 5 or 6 instead of the 8, not really due yet.
Has anyone got experience of this set?
Are they any good/ worth the money?
Do they hold their edge well... I'm presuming so with them being ice hardened.
Click to expand...
I´ve never bought a "set" of knives, although I´ve seen others who have.
I notice this set has a paring knife and 2 Santoku knives - I´d ask myself "How often am I going to use them?"
I use a chef´s knife for almost everything, and a small, vegetable knife occasionally. bread knife, obviously, for bread - and we eat a lot.
As for "ice hardened" - it seems to be a process where the forged steel is plunged into ice-cold temperatures. I don´t know how that affects the steel, but I´d imagine that the forging is probably more important. Just a thought.
 
Well, alright, the problem with buying knives is that you can go on & on and round & round for ages, but sooner or later you've got to settle on something
As far as I can tell Pro Cook have found a sweet spot in the market, selling well made, well designed, and reasonably priced items for the domestic market, and I haven't heard any complaints about them

IMHO these are the knives you need for general use - approx sizes and remember that knives are measured by the blade length only, the handle is extra, though PCs website usually includes a good diagram & dimensions

8cm peeling
12cm paring/vegetable
16cm chef's/cook's
20cm chef's/cook's

bread knife if you intend eating unsliced/rustic/artisan type bread; you can manage with a larger cook's
carving knife if you intend eating large joints of meat , poultry etc
18cm santoku, which is a compromise between a chef's knife and a slicing cleaver; useful, but not necessary if you have a large chef's

So you only really need 4 knives, but because they often come in sets, a set of a few knives is often cheaper than 3 or 4 individual knives, hence all the offers, discounts, and shopping around - welcome to the fun!

Oh, and remember to use a wooden or plastic chopping board, not glass
 
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Here's a suggestion -
Unless you're a keen cook IMHO you won't use a carving or a bread knife much......and do you need a knife block?
This set has all you need to get started, and you can add as you go along. Not Elite Ice, but I think they'd still be good, and it's a very good price
It is also a way to see how you find the feel/balance/handling at a reasonable price

I use a magnetic knife rack; I haven't got a carving knife, and my bread knife was cheap from a car boot sale. My 'proper' cook's knives are by Henkels/Zwilling and Wusthof, but I worked up to those over a lifetime. Now that I've tried Pro Cook I'd be happy enough with those

Professional X50 Knife Set
 
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I was made redundant at 47 and retrained as a chef
On the first lesson at catering college we went through clothing, equipment, and so on; the lecturer said that unless we specialised, we would probably never use a boning or a fish filleting knife after we left college - and I haven't
Once you get into expensive knives it's worth finding out how they feel/handle/balance for you - Global are excellent knives, but I have tried them and don't like them
And I'm not too keen on the traditional Sabatier style handles either; I've gradually replaced all mine with handles that are more shaped and swept upwards

I've idly thought I might try filleting fish, but I think that while Pro Cook's composition handles are very good & comfortable for general use, I think they might become too slippery when filleting fish
I would probably choose one of the Dick knives at £21-99 from Nisbets; but check on VAT

Chefs Knives | Nisbets Catering Equipment
 
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I have a couple of filleting knives (I go sea fishing so the family eat any Whiting or Cod that I catch).
I'm not too bothered about carving knives or bread knives as I have decent ones. This is why I wasn't sure which set to go for.
The ice hardened part, according to Google means that the metal is cooled to -70. This makes the metal much harder wearing, it'll keep its edge a lot longer. The hardness rating is 60 +-2.
The shop staff were very helpful when I asked and said if I didn't want a glass block then it was no problem, they'd work something out, be it a drawer block, magnetic strip or a knife roll.
 
I have favourite knives that seem to see the most use.
For veg peeling a slimline serrated GINSU 2000 does everything required.
It's especially good for onions as it makes light work of the skins.
My Kitchen Devil is also still going strong and mainly cutting bread these days.
 
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