Have a Knife Day

One of my prized possessions is my complete set of gorgeous stainless steel Wusthof knives. Due to some Iron Chef fantasies and the fact that I allowed my husband to go crazy with the registry scanner thing at Williams-Sonoma (ill-advised, ladies), I ended up with the full set — from the tomato knife to the bird-beak parer. If you are not headed down the aisle soon, the prospect of buying a nice set of knives is a frighteningly exorbitant one (you better hope those knives are real sharp when they take that arm and that leg).

However, all is not lost. You don't have to keep chopping veggies with that rusty old can lid, or that butter knife your old roommate left behind, until you win the lottery. There are tons of great, inexpensive knives on the market. Your best bet is looking at restaurant supply stores (see the online listings below) for the good, solid knives that feel good in your hand. And make sure you also buy a sharpening steel and hone those suckers whenever they start feeling a little less-than-sharp, and store them safely- like on a magnetic strip, as I do (the only thing more dangerous than a sharp knife is a dull knife. Oh, and a shark with a laser attached to its head.)

In the cheap, industrial, knife world there are certain brands that get rave reviews: Dexter-Russell, Kiwi (from Thailand) and Forschner are especially popular.

All you really need is a good large chef's knife (an absolute necessity for chopping onions...and all vegetables, really), a sharp paring knife, and a serrated knife for cutting bread and tomatoes. You can add additional blades to your collection gradually as needed.

Here are some great sources for cheap knives, but if you have a restaurant supply store in your town, nothing compares to actually holding the knife in your hand to see if it's a comfortable fit. Aren't you sharp.

www.restaurantsource.com
www.knifemerchant.com
www.cutlery.com
www.knifesupply.com