3 Knives You Must Have!

Last month CSN Stores gave me a $60 gift certificate to buy anything I wanted at any of their 200+ stores. This was the post I did about it: Tons of Unique Items at CSN Stores. I had a very hard time deciding what to get, but it finally became very obvious to me what I really NEEDED to get.

Next month I will have been married for 14 years and I have never boughten myself a good set of kitchen knives. I have been using the same $10 Walmart chefs knife for 14 years and I have never had it sharpened. I have always been afraid of having sharp knives because I am a bit of a klutz and being the thrifty person I am I have never been able to justify hundreds of dollars on a nice knife set. I have spent a lot of time deciding where to put my dull knives and even did this post last year:

Where Do You Keep Your Kitchen Knives?

An an anonymous commenter pointed out to me that most kitchen knife accidents are caused by dull knives.

It was very obvious to me that I needed some new knives with my $60 gift certificate. I spent several hours researching which knives to buy and this is what I came up with:
All of the cooking blogs love Victorinox and the best part is that they are affordable! Just do a google search for "victorinox reviews" and you will find a ton of cooks praising them.
Victorinox is by the inventors of the Swiss Army knife and they have a whole line of kitchen knives. I knew that I didn't want a big block of knives and after some more research I found out from the professionals that I only needed 3 knives.

1. A chef's knife. I really wanted a Santoku knife for this. The santoku knife is a modified variation of the chef's knife with origins from Japan. It has a finer edge which allows for finer precision-cutting. The blade width and weight usually matches that of the handle so if feels more balanced in the hand. It is also made from harder tempered steel. It is shorter, lighter, and easier for smaller hands (like mine). I also love the divots on the sides of the blade that help prevent the vegetables from sticking to the knife.
I got this one for $34.99 at CSN Stores Cookware.com

I am LOVING this knife! It fits perfect in my hand and feels so light that I can cut a ton of vegetables without cramping. I can't believe how thin it cuts too. I did cut myself the first time using it though. I was used to my very dull chefs knife so when I used my fingers to slide the vegetables off of the knife it sliced my finger a little. The blade is VERY sharp. I have learned my lesson and am more careful now, so hopefully I won't have any more accidents.

2. An 8" or larger bread knife. I mostly use this for bread, but it comes in handy for slicing pineapple and other fruits.

I got this one for $22.99 at CSN Stores Cookware.com

3. Paring knives are great for fine precision work like peeling, coring, etc... I got a set of 3 (you really only need one, but they are so cheap and often come in sets). I have used these quite a lot and have enjoyed how easily I am able to core, peel and make precision cuts.

I got these for $12.00 at CSN Stores Cookware.com

Thank you to CSN Stores for my new knives that didn't cost a fortune! I wish I would have done this research 14 years ago, but better late than never.