Don’t waste your money on a knife set… three knives for every kitchen 

This video came at the perfect time. I'm rebuilding my kitchen after moving to another country and starting out with nothing. I was going to buy a knife set, but I will save my money and just get three 😊

THANK you. I was the knife expert at a kitchenware shop for a decade, and this is exactly what I told customers. Chef's knife or gyuto or Chinese knife, a smaller knife (either petty or paring), and serrated. Plus a honing steel.

Growing up my mother never had a ton of knives in the kitchen. She always drove home for me how to take care of the knife for longevity rather then buying fancy overpriced knives. And love that you distinguished the difference between the meat cleaver and the Chinese version of a chefs knife I needed that.

My God man! It was like a cliff hanger, after you mentioned getting into the difference between Western, Japanese and Chinese knives. Please make a part two in the near future, while this is still fresh in your viewers minds. Your insight would be greatly valued. Pweeze? 🥰

First i love the video, you're always so informative and helpful. Please keep up the wonderful content! Personally i got into sharpeing my knives with a cheap whetsone, a cheap stainless knife from a supermarket and a few youtube vidoes for technique. It let make mistakes without wrecking any decent knives, it let me gain experience and get to a point where im happy to sharpen nicer knives. Nothing had to be expensive and the differnce it makes to have a sharp knife compared to one that isnt is astronomical. I highly reccomend using old or cheap knives and not going out to buy a very expensive whetstone, just get something simple and it will likely be enough for the average person like myself.

I switched to Chinese style carbon steel knives decades ago. Love them as they also serve as a great platform/scoop for transferring food from cutting board to pot-one tool! Thank you for the video. Appreciated the instruction on honing - well done. Cheers

This is very useful! I will add though, that for those of us with small hands a chef knife is sometimes just too much. I do 90% of everything with a utility knife. A petty or a utility knife is useful for most tasks. I would say I pull out my chef knife MAAAAAYBE once a month where as I use my petty every day. The two petty knives I use most frequently also have a pointy enough tip that I can even do some really nice paring knife moves with them. I do like your idea of trading off knives to always have one super sharp. I am swiping that.

I think it's worth it for a dedicated home cook to learn to sharpen. If you cook every day, your knives will need it somewhat often (more than once a year) and if you don't live in a major metro area where you can get next-day whetstone sharpening done, you could be without your knife for a fairly long time! On a typical Western-style chef's knife or anything with softer steel, it's not too hard to learn to get a knife decently sharp. I bought a Chinese chef's knife (Shi Ba Zi Zuo F-208) after binging a bunch of Lucas Sin videos last summer and I'm obsessed with it, just a great knife style. Great vid! A good overview for sure. I wouldn't mind a deeper dive on your knives, they look nice and I just think knives are neat!

If I may add, stainless steels do get just as sharp of not more so than carbon steel, depending on the specific alloy. Carbon steel is typically far easier to sharpen though, and by requiring less work and less means to get as sharp, it gets the reputation of being "sharper". The carbides that are created by the various metals in the alloy are what contribute to how sharp an edge can get, how durable the edge will be, and how difficult the knife will be to sharpen. Every alloy will be a compromise somewhere within that spectrum, and it may also be worth it to invest a little time to research what you want from the knife in regards to the steel itself.

Thank you, I love all the practical advice you give.

Happy Sunday Jon! Thanks always for your videos!💯

I love knife videos, can't wait for more!

Excellent. Thank you.

I know it is not about cooking but (as a german) I want to point out that a long serrated edge knives are really great to slice your own bread.

amazing video, thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

Super comprehensive intro to knives! Interesting stuff :)

Very informative video. Thank you 🙏🏼

For the longest time the only decent knife I had in my kitchen was a Zwilling Santoku that had been a christmas gift a few years earlier. All the others were from my roomie's collection that was bad steel and the edges were all badly serrated. Now I have a decent set that I got at discount, a good chef's knife, a good Chinese chef's knife, and the Santoku. I keep them in good order and sharp. I am now living in anticipation of your compare/contrast eastern vs. western knives video!

Thank you for this amazing video 👏

I really need a good knife so this is going to help greatly. Thank you Jon!

Perfect video for a friend who's recently got into cooking

i have seen a couple of videos about knife sharpening but i like you so much that the next time i need sharpening i'm gonna do it exactly as you say lol

Excellent advice. 100% agree. I made it over 20 years with just a stainless steel 8 inch chefs knife. I am very dexterous with it. By the time I got a 3 inch pairing knife, I really didn’t need it. The serrated bread knife came last. It is an excellent addition. If I could do it all over the only thing I would do differently is pay the extra for a 10 inch SS chef instead of the 8 inch.

The best knife is the one that is sharp and feels comfortable in your hand.

Thank you for another great Video. I don't know why, but my sons always want to buy me a new set of knives and I don't want them. LOL! I have my favorites that I use all the time. I have 5 knives that I use all the time. As I kid, I remember watching my Dad sharpen the Kitchen knives for my Mom. It was very satisfying. I actually have his sandstone (Wet stone) that he used. Anyways, sorry, went down memory lane for a minute. That's what happens when you get older. Have a Great Week.

great video brother

Thank you for making this video! I’ve wanted to upgrade my knives from the big box cheap block set to something more, but $ is an issue! Looks like I’ll go the route of 1 at a time purchase

I have a nice set of zwilling pro knives but the knife I reach for 90% of the time is an Ikea Vörda 6” vegetable knife. I keep it sharpened. $12.99 in the USA stores.

Agreed. I use 4 knives: Gyuto (ched's), Sujihiki (long slicer), Nakiri (vegetable specialist) , and Deba (heavy de-boning). I've been meaning to get a Petty (paring) but have found that I can manage using a light Gyuto so have not bothered.....

Can you talk about American vs Chinese chef knives?

That Miyabi chef knife is beautiful, but it makes no sense to hone it on a honing steel as the knife's steel is harder than that of the rod. That knife needs to be honed on a ceramic or diamond rod.

No fluff just honest truth and how refreshing the tell it like it is teaching. Thanks ⚔️🔪🪨🪴🍳🪴🪨🔪⚔️

Been awhile since I've learned so much from a video. Thanks!

That is a fire flannel you got on, my good sir!

I really love my Kiwi knives ❤

I have a beautiful collection of knives that my kids & friends have bought for me; I rarely use them because they are too large *(less comfortable) for my hands.

very cool video one thing i would add is a pair of scissors that is always in reach, so you don't cut your hand opening things with a chefs knife 😂

Are you planning to make things like cakes? Or something like fries with a twist? I’m a new viewer and love your videos!

Love your content! Where did you get your bronze spice container and glass bread display from? I love how they look on your counter.

yes.

Yo Jon! Very informative video, I couldn't agree more about not needing a knife set. (They're usually a rip off too) Not trying to f**k with you, you're a gangster, I love your content; however, that sharpening part specifically... was horrible advice, and I'm surprised you don't own a whetstone, you're like the most trendy, hipster, brolic, handsome Asian cook on RU-vid. You bought pearls before a whetstone? (I'm poking fun at you) You need a whetstone, a Shapton-Pro 1000 Grit, or a Naniwa Pro 1000 grit. Those mail order sharpening services also damage knives because they use high powered belt sanders to do bulk knives quickly. I sharpen knives professionally as a side gig, and almost every knife I've seen come to me after being "sent out" has had overly large bevels, a messed up heat treat (this is when you can't re-sharpen it well because the temper of the blade is gone), and a whole slew of other problems. They also grind off WAY too much metal usually, thickening your knife, which makes it wedge in thicker ingredients like carrots and potatoes. It takes literally 30 minutes to learn, and with one of the stones I suggested, you can literally shave hair off. The stones are also only like $40-60, which is SO much cheaper then "constantly sending out 2 shitty chef knives..." Tell them to learn how to sharpen their current shitty knives AND THEN buy a good knife like your Miyabi. Much love, and peace my dude.

Best part of the Chinese chefs knife.. it makes peeling and mincing garlic so easy you'd never use a western chefs knife for garlic ever again. At least for mincing

Waiting for western vs Japanese knives!

What do you call the knive that you use for cutting pumpkin?

I use a knife case product that clips shut, but makes contact with the knife sides using rubber pads so it doesn't slre around in the case. I have two young kids and a clumsy wife so couldnt see keeping my very sharp knives out in the open. They're all in cases in a child proof drawer.

just a heads up, but you absolutely lose metal with ceramic sharpeners. not as quickly as the carbide ones, but way more than you need to if you regularly and properly hone and/or strop. even a small piece of ceramic will scratch most steel without you applying any pressure. it can definitely eat through a blade if you overuse them.

The only time I heard "back to front" ever suggested.

Hi Jon, I noticed that the hone you demonstrated with appears to have a built-in angle guide at the hilt, as some homes do. I know Shun, for example, prefers their knives honed at an angle that they build into their hones. What's your take on that?

What is the fish butchery knife called? I might want to add one to my collection

❤❤❤😊

i never payed attention to all this. but i remodeled the kitchen. and im replacing my utencils. since trying to cut a tomato with my knife is like smashing it with a hammer. what is the difference between a rough honing rod vs a smooth honing rod. which one is better for normie cooking?

Most of my knives come in cases and they are kept in their own drawer.

9:45 does anyone know any good reputable services like this?

Your knife will tell you the right angle while honing.

Pretty sure I saw you at 168 Asian market but didn’t want to ‘that guy’

Just stop teasing me with these videos and come to my apartment to cook me dinner. I promise I will wash all the dishes

95% of my work all done in a chinese 8 inch cleaver. 5% is done by a bone cleaver LOL :)

You can hold my steel... HAHAHAHAHAAAAA! x

just fyi there are basically no knives on the market that are greater than 15*. also dunno why you'd advise a knife block those things are useless unless you have the tools to make your own slots.

Why do you have all those unnecessary knives😅

carbon steel all the way. so easy to sharpen.

Did he just call his miyabi a shun ? Damn dude few hundred dollar difference 😂 ig not really if you think about it

Bro buy a kiwi or a Japanese santoku/gyuto. Stainless steel. Chinese knives do not hold up in quality sadly

Excellent video and channel. Just this morning I started using my new Nuwave Mosaic induction wok while watching this video. Please buy and review a Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener if you can. I have been using one for decades on decent knives and they are always razor sharp with very little trouble. Thanks for doing this channel.

The coolest thing about a Chinese cleaver is dealing with cloves of garlic: *SMACK*/(pick up and discard skin)/*SMACK*/smeeearr/chopchochopchopchop/slide/scoop/transfer. Five-second garlic!

Nothing but 📠📠📠📠📠 no 🗞🗞🗞🗞