Good basic knife set under $200

[Bateshorn 9,969]

Those preset v sharpeners will sharpen your knife, by removing enormous amounts of metal and putting a very rough, toothy edge on your knife.  It’ll cut like a boss,  but dull quickly and force you to use the sharpener again.  It’s not a sustainable edge and it removes a fuck ton of steel.  That’s fine if your gonna use a victornox and beat on it like a line chef at Chili’s (no judgement, those guys work their asses off) but you don’t want to do that to your high end knives.  
 

the previous posters pretty much nailed it about steels and honing rods.  The problem with diamond or ceramics honing rods is you are removing steel and resetting the angle on your edge.  That’s not sustainable long term.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Bateshorn

[davidg 4,041]

5 seconds in and I want to plunge my dull knife into this guys chest.

[Hank Scorpio 17,804]

I'm not sure how there are so many responses to this thread since it is impossible to get good or even decent knives for under $200. You can maybe get away with spending less than $2,000 on a chef knife, but that is really pushing it. If I were the OP I would fly to Tokyo and go to the Kappabashi district and see if one of the knife making masters (I usually go with Hiroshi Kato or Shigeki Tanaka) will make you a knife. You'll also want to bring your own Damascus steel (I usually stop by Damascus to pick some up on my way to Tokyo). In 3-4 months you'll have your knife and be much happier than if you bought some Victorinox piece of shit. I usually get 4-5 uses out of one of these knives before they get a little dull and I have to go buy new ones. It's expensive, but better than using a dull knife like the rest of you stupid fucks. 

[Deej 77,298]

15 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

I'm not sure how there are so many responses to this thread since it is impossible to get good or even decent knives for under $200. You can maybe get away with spending less than $2,000 on a chef knife, but that is really pushing it. If I were the OP I would fly to Tokyo and go to the Kappabashi district and see if one of the knife making masters (I usually go with Hiroshi Kato or Shigeki Tanaka) will make you a knife. You'll also want to bring your own Damascus steel (I usually stop by Damascus to pick some up on my way to Tokyo). In 3-4 months you'll have your knife and be much happier than if you bought some Victorinox piece of shit. I usually get 4-5 uses out of one of these knives before they get a little dull and I have to go buy new ones. It's expensive, but better than using a dull knife like the rest of you stupid fucks. 

Know that I have all this extra money after washing my hands of UT football, this sounds like a plan.

[elfenix 34,396]

Damascus? Fucking basic. I bring my own virgin beskar. None of this recycled shit that's taken 23 blaster bolts. And certainly none mined during the imperial era. No, only the finest original grade steel in the galaxy.

 

 

 

 

[dcbc 14,573]

4 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

Those preset v sharpeners will sharpen your knife, by removing enormous amounts of metal and putting a very rough, toothy edge on your knife.  It’ll cut like a boss,  but dull quickly and force you to use the sharpener again.  It’s not a sustainable edge and it removes a fuck ton of steel.  That’s fine if your gonna use a victornox and beat on it like a line chef at Chili’s (no judgement, those guys work their asses off) but you don’t want to do that to your high end knives.  
 

the previous posters pretty much nailed it about steels and honing rods.  The problem with diamond or ceramics honing rods is you are removing steel and resetting the angle on your edge.  That’s not sustainable long term.

Does that include the electric sharpeners? 

Edited December 14, 2019 by dcbc

[Bateshorn 9,969]

3 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

I'm not sure how there are so many responses to this thread since it is impossible to get good or even decent knives for under $200. You can maybe get away with spending less than $2,000 on a chef knife, but that is really pushing it. If I were the OP I would fly to Tokyo and go to the Kappabashi district and see if one of the knife making masters (I usually go with Hiroshi Kato or Shigeki Tanaka) will make you a knife. You'll also want to bring your own Damascus steel (I usually stop by Damascus to pick some up on my way to Tokyo). In 3-4 months you'll have your knife and be much happier than if you bought some Victorinox piece of shit. I usually get 4-5 uses out of one of these knives before they get a little dull and I have to go buy new ones. It's expensive, but better than using a dull knife like the rest of you stupid fucks. 

Go on....

[Bateshorn 9,969]

14 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Does that include the electric sharpeners? 

Ultimately yes.  But all sharpening involves removing metal,  even if it’s Hank Scorpio sitting in a Dojo using mystical whetstones blessed with Samurai taint sweat. It’s just that electric sharpeners do it more aggressively.  the high end electric sharpeners will put a multi angle edge on a knife that is more robust than say a accusharp.  
 

if your knives meet your needs, whatever you have is fine, as long as it’s sharp, because dull knives are dangerous. But know it’s hard on your knives if your running it through an electric grinder on the  regular.

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Bateshorn

[Sam Lin 3,567]

TL:DR - buy this set. It's forged, looks great, they're solid knives, and this is a great sale price: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zwilling-four-star-40th-anniversary-8-piece-knife-block-set/?pkey=ccutlery-values-new&isx=0.0.10304.7998046875

If you splurge on the budget, then add one of the electric sharpeners below. For a complete rookie I'd lean toward the Chef's Choice.

 

 

---

Don't use any of the V-shaped unpowered pull-through "sharpeners" - most of the time the cutting edge isn't bad enough to need them, and by the time it is, they aren't going to bring back a good edge. Definitely don't use them if you have "nice" knives.

If you want to be lazy, get one of the Chef's Choice or Work Sharp electric sharpeners and watch a lot of Youtube to use it properly. Every negative review you see about them is user error. Used correctly they'll give you 98% of a factory edge every time.

Right now is the right season to buy, everyone has them on sale. $75 will get you a solid setup, unless you have 15degree Asian knives, then you'll pay more for a sharpener that can do both angles. If you use the sharpening service at a Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table store, most of the time they're just running your knife through a Chef's Choice sharpener.

Work Sharp belt-type: https://smile.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-W-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B07CVN8HV5/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=work+sharp&qid=1576470542&sr=8-5

Work Sharp wheel-type: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/work-sharp-culinary-e2-plus-knife-sharpener/?pkey=cknife-sharpeners-electric&isx=0.0.204

Chef's Choice 20degree: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/chefs-choice-312-electric-knife-sharpener/?pkey=cknife-sharpeners-electric&isx=0.0.1048.800048828125

Chef's Choice 15 and 20 degree: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/chefs-choice-1520-electric-knife-sharpener/?cm_src=AutoCatRel

--------

On the original topic, this is the correct time to buy knives as well. Williams Sonoma, Zwilling, and Henckels always have great holiday deals. Williams Sonoma holiday sale is here:

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cutlery/cutlery-values-new//?cm_type=lnav

Each of the brands has a value-oriented line. Don't bother buying that line, just go for the Victorinox. Shun Classic, Wusthof Classic, Zwilling Gourmet are budget stamped blade lines.

As posted very early on, the Victorinox stuff is unbeatable value if you're on a budget. If you're looking to spend $200, I'd suggest $130 of it on knives and $70 on a sharpener. If you want to give the 3knife set as recommended in this thread, then do this Chef's knife ($50 is a steal for this): https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zwilling-pro-black-7-chefs-knife/?cm_src=AutoRel

Pair it with Victorinox paring knife and Victorinox slicer/bread knife, and one of the sharpeners above.

If you want to be lazy, here are some sets that'll look great as gifts:

Global set (as mentioned earlier, lots of arguments about Global. Stamped blades, more marketing than substance, you can do better for value, but they really aren't bad knives, and do look distinct): https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/global-classic-3-piece-knife-set/?pkey=csale-cutlery&isx=0.0.2117.60009765625

Zwilling set: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zwilling-four-star-40th-anniversary-8-piece-knife-block-set/?pkey=ccutlery-values-new&isx=0.0.10304.7998046875

[Grippe 313]

The problem I have with Victorinox is they make such a good knife at such a good price it makes it easy to buy more on a whim, case in point:

 

And I regret NOTHING!

[Jerry Callo 8,848]

15 hours ago, Grippe said:

And I regret NOTHING!

And I see NOTHING!

[RollLeft 5,053]

I prefer Wusthof, so Mercer is my go to when i don't want to pay the premium.

[Chewbacca 7,807]

On 12/12/2019 at 8:13 AM, Baboontyme said:

Thanks all. Yeah I don't think she needs a 12 piece set on second thought. I know she had nothing to carve a turkey with on Thanksgiving. She makes a lot of roasts and stuff like that. Pork loins, etc. So what would that be, a chef's knife? I have a couple of Wusthoffs for bbq and that's pretty much all I ever use. 

MAC 8" Chef's Knife (MTH-80).

 

I think I paid around $140 for mine and it's amazing.  Sharp as hell and holds and edge very well.

[Doc Reeves 6,434]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:45 AM, RollLeft said:

I prefer Wusthof, so Mercer is my go to when i don't want to pay the premium.

For sure. 
 

I got this set for my brother 10 years ago and I am really impressed with how well they performed and stood up. He says the chef knife is still his go to everyday. 
 

might be worth a look:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IBU9FW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B000IBU9FW&pd_rd_w=gXbVg&pf_rd_p=c83c55b0-5d97-454a-a592-a891098a9709&pd_rd_wg=zZVyA&pf_rd_r=BMC2WQWNDPNJVQBS9NRE&pd_rd_r=c888dfd0-33a9-4601-8c7b-a8760f40ece2&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRUtHUVlKWkFaSFNSJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODQ2NTAyM0Q2TkpWUEQyN1Y2TCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzkzODUxM0NBMEkwWFI1VUVORiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

(*also, that a real good deal that @SamLin linked and those are very good knives)

Edited December 21, 2019 by Doc Reeves

[Sam Lin 3,567]

The Ken Onion Worksharp sharpener is on sale at Amazon. This is a great sharpener, possibly the best choice for most users, and very versatile. (I previously recommended it in a post above.) The Ken Onion version adds the setting to do 15' Asian angle knives. I've used the non-Onion 20' version for years, and at my last few gun shows, there were multiple tables offering sharpening services where they were using these. Highly recommended, I ordered a couple already:

https://slickdeals.net/f/14474126-work-sharp-knife-tool-sharpener-ken-onion-edition-81-09?src=frontpage

[Landomatic 3,813]

1 hour ago, Sam Lin said:

The Ken Onion Worksharp sharpener is on sale at Amazon. This is a great sharpener, possibly the best choice for most users, and very versatile. (I previously recommended it in a post above.) The Ken Onion version adds the setting to do 15' Asian angle knives. I've used the non-Onion 20' version for years, and at my last few gun shows, there were multiple tables offering sharpening services where they were using these. Highly recommended, I ordered a couple already:

https://slickdeals.net/f/14474126-work-sharp-knife-tool-sharpener-ken-onion-edition-81-09?src=frontpage

Well that didn’t last long.  Deal expired.

[Murfdogg21 4,492]

These do look cheap (and they are inexpensive), but 4 months in they are still very sharp and easily slice through veggies, cooked meats, or for trimming briskets. You have to be ok with fruity colors. 
 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Cuisinart-Cuisinart-C55-01-12PCKS-12-Piece-Color-Knife-Set-with-Blade-Guards/1002832674?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-app-_-google-_-pla-_-235-_-sossmallappliances-_-1002832674-_-0&placeholder=null&gclid=Cj0KCQjwreT8BRDTARIsAJLI0KLXF2n50ZJggdOLwXtxdaVpYdLqzghfDIegm8GCHbSvaDWG4uY7A6oaAuenEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Sam Lin 3,567]

On 12/16/2019 at 12:02 PM, Sam Lin said:

TL:DR - buy this set. It's forged, looks great, they're solid knives, and this is a great sale price: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zwilling-four-star-40th-anniversary-8-piece-knife-block-set/?pkey=ccutlery-values-new&isx=0.0.10304.7998046875

For this holiday season, similar knife deals are starting to show up. That Henckels 4star set above is 150 here (doesn't ship immediately):

https://slickdeals.net/f/14584588-zwilling-j-a-henckels-four-star-8-piece-knife-set-150-at-crate-and-barrel-shipped-free?src=frontpage

 

More knife deals will continue to come as we get in to Christmas. Keep an eye out for Henckels, Wusthof, Shun, Miyabi.

[elfenix 34,396]

nsiap:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/lists/build-your-own-knife-set/