Carbon steel knife recommendation

[kbuzbee]

So I have some nice kitchen knives at this point. But they are all stainless. I was wondering if there are any decent carbon steel knives still made today? Preferably in the USA. I'm not looking for high end Japanese knives. I want something that's a great forged carbon steel (would love something in M4) with a thin blade, 4-6 inches long.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Ken

[moses the armenian]

Google r Murphy knives Massachusetts . sorry man i am posting on my droid night linkage . company has been making kitchen knives for over 150 years !!!! make sure you pay the upgrade they have two carbon steels the newer one is great steel a real razor edge all pun intended!!!!!

[turtle]

I have had a set of Sabatier carbon knives for decades (12" chef down to paring). Never looked again after getting them. Not sure if they still make carbon knives but if they do, get them. A while ago while traveling we stopped at a Sabatier "factory outlet" store off the interstate. They had a rack of "sale mark down" knives.... NOS CARBON... I bought them all (who cares about dups, these were dirt cheap). While checking out the clerk said "I though we would never get rid of these old knives".... One of my better "knife" scores.

[BobS]

I just bought two new Thiers Issard, Sabatier knives that are great.

These are fantastic knives. They are made in France.

http://thebestthings.com/knives/sabatier.htm

[kbuzbee]

Google r Murphy knives Massachusetts . sorry man i am posting on my droid night linkage . company has been making kitchen knives for over 150 years !!!! make sure you pay the upgrade they have two carbon steels the newer one is great steel a real razor edge all pun intended!!!!!

Interesting. Looks like only the 12" knives come in the Stay Sharp steel, though.

I have had a set of Sabatier carbon knives for decades (12" chef down to paring). Never looked again after getting them. Not sure if they still make carbon knives but if they do, get them. A while ago while traveling we stopped at a Sapatier "factory outlet" store off the interstate.

The one near Hilton Head? I saw the sign for it last time we were that direction. Guess we should have stopped in.

They had a rack of "sale mark down" knives.... NOS CARBON... I bought them all (who cares about dups, these were dirt cheap). While checking out the clerk said "I though we would never get rid of these old knives".... One of my better "knife" scores.

Man, I'm jealous. Those look sweet!

I just bought two new Thiers Issard, Sabatier knives that are great.

These are fantastic knives. They are made in France

Thanks for the rec! Looks like BT carries a few lines as well as their house brand, nylon handles for a few bucks less, but essentially the same knives....

Some things to think about.

Appreciate all the input!

Anyone else?

Cheers,

Ken

[kbuzbee]

While we're on the topic of Sabatier, does anyone know the difference between K Sabatier and Elephant? If I understand correctly, Theirs Issard and by extension, Sabatier are more like a collective of makers than a single company, just wondering about those two specifically.

Cheers,

Ken

[morganjg]

You could always go the classic route and get something from Germany. I think essentially what you are looking for is a 6" utility knife in carbon steel. Henkels or Wusthof both make models that are comfortable in the hand, thick in the tang, and hold an edge really well. Both have a lifetime guarantee (no questions asked) and are top notch knife makers. I have had a Henkels 6" utility knife for more than a decade that gets a fair workload (used professionally for almost 5 years) that requires only a few passe through a sharpener (I hand sharpen) every now and again but is strong and comfortable. Good luck.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produ...utility-knives

[Legion]

Check this guys stuff out. I have one of his knives and it is excellent. And he makes them old blacksmith style, which is pretty cool.

http://www.mlknives.com/

[DissonantEscapist]

Search for Mora (now Frost) knives on Amazon. They run very sharp and from almost disposably inexpensive to whatever you want to pay, and in wood or polymer handles. They are Swedish, so the USA requirement is out, but they are very good knives that stand up to hard use.

[kbuzbee]

You could always go the classic route and get something from Germany. I think essentially what you are looking for is a 6" utility knife in carbon steel. Henkels or Wusthof both make models that are comfortable in the hand, thick in the tang, and hold an edge really well.

All my searches seem to indicate both Henkles and Wüsthof are stainless these days. I realize it's a relative scale but I'm really looking for an old style carbon.

Search for Mora (now Frost) knives on Amazon. They run very sharp and from almost disposably inexpensive to whatever you want to pay, and in wood or polymer handles. They are Swedish, so the USA requirement is out, but they are very good knives that stand up to hard use.

USA isn't strickly a requirement, just a preference. I own many French, German and Japanese knives. They look quite nice, and a good value but they appear thicker than I was thinking of.

Check this guys stuff out. I have one of his knives and it is excellent. And he makes them old blacksmith style, which is pretty cool.

http://www.mlknives.com/

As do these. Nice rustic look though. If I wanted something stouter, that could fit the bill. At this point I want the thinnest blade I can't find. I found some Opinels but they are slightly under 4". About perfect in every other respect though...

The search continues...

Ken

[Alacrity59]

I'm enjoying a nice Japanese carbon steel knife these days. I might just pick up this knife though from Lee Valley. $30 hard to go too wrong.

[Gammaray]

Murray Carter hand makes some kitchen knives. I have one of his hunting knives. Very good carbon steel, laminated "san-mai" construction. American made, but pricey.
www.cartercutlery.com

[my19]

The Sabatier "Elephant" carbon steel knives are superb -- extremely sharp and maybe more importantly, very easy to keep sharp. Haven't used the other Sabatiers, though. I have a couple that probably date from the early '80s. I've seen NOS on the web, but don't recall where. There's a knife forum on www.foodieforums.com, and one guy there -- boar d'laise? -- who is a keen fan of French carbon knives.

When I bought my first Japanese knives, I was struck by the similarity in the shape of their blades ... both are considerably different from most of the German makers. I prefer the Sabatiers to any of the Euro knives I've bought.

[kbuzbee]

I might just pick up this knife though from Lee Valley. $30 hard to go too wrong.

I like that! Very nice. Thanks for the link. We may well have a winner.

Ken

[Legion]

That does look pretty good for $30.

[Acmemfg]

Not exacely marketed as a "kitchen" knife per se, but the Grohmann D.H. Russell Canadian Belt knives have worked well for me over the years doing myriad tasks in the cooking arena and doing them very well. I suggest a #1, #2, #4, and #101 could effectively serve even a professional chef's kitchen and properly handle 99.9% of whatever she/he throws at them.
Extremely well made and priced right. Yeah the handle looks odd...but trust me, it works. http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/outdoor.html

[kbuzbee]

Not exacely marketed as a "kitchen" knife per se, but the Grohmann D.H. Russell Canadian Belt knives have worked well for me over the years doing myriad tasks in the cooking arena and doing them very well. I suggest a #1, #2, #4, and #101 could effectively serve even a professional chef's kitchen and properly handle 99.9% of whatever she/he throws at them.

I've always liked the looks of those but I assumed they were too thick for what I'm looking for right now. Can you measure the thickness of the spine for me?

Ken

[Acmemfg]

The flat grind blades will be a tad thinner than the conventional grind blades (which I own).

#1...1/8"
#2...3/32"
#4...3/16" (yeah it's beefy, not as thick as my Randalls though)

I don't own a #101 but I know it is a 1/8" blade stock.

The #1 is probably the most versatile of the bunch

Grohmann makes a nice very thin fillet knife too, http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/fillet.html but they are a stainless blade (which truth be told I have never had issues with). My decades old Henckles and current line up of Cutcos are all stainless and I find their service to be most satiisfactory. (the Randalls are not stainless..but they are a different tool altogether and do no kitchen duty)

[kbuzbee]

I don't own a #101 but I know it is a 1/8" blade stock.

Thanks! Yeah, that's about twice the thickness I'm hoping to find.

My decades old Henckles and current line up of Cutcos are all stainless and I find their service to be most satiisfactory.

Of course, and all my current selection are quite nice stainless (VG10 & SG2). I just have an urge to add a carbon to the mix. But since I know pretty much what I'm looking for, I'm kinda holding out for it.

Cheers,

Ken

[eastomjac]

ive had sevral of these;
http://www.knifexx.com/searchresult....FRKR7QodVVco0g