Looking to get some new knives

I am as well, need a knew knife block, but I'm looking to not spend much. I know the money bags on here will be recommending $500 professional knives that will last forever, but I'm looking to spend under 100

Victorinox is a solid, reasonably priced chef knife. Perfect for someone not looking to break the bank.

LINK

I’d prefer a non serrated knife for sharpening purposes

I have the santoku Zwilling I got as a 5 year service anniversary...have to say, I wasn't expecting a whole lot for free, but it's sharp as shite.

To clear up a common misconception, there’s no such thing as one knife brand being sharper than another. The sharpness of a knife is nothing more than a function of its angle. A knife with a 15* angle is necessarily sharper than one with a 20* (assuming the edges are straight and maintained). You can take some whetstones or a belt sander and make a butter knife sharper than the highest grade Japanese sushi knife on the market. In fact, your regular cheap razor blade or surgical scalpel is sharper than any kitchen knife. What makes a knife good or bad is how well it keeps that angle over time. Your butter knife’s angle will be shot after a couple slices. You only use a razor blade or scalpel a couple of times.

Further, reducing the angle increases sharpness but decreases durability. If you put a 5* angle on a knife it would bend/break immediately. So the optimum angle on any given knife depends on the intended use and the specific properties of the steel. Surgical scalpels will be below 10*. Japanese knifes ~15*. European knives ~20*. Butcher knives ~30*. A logging axe ~40*. Get the picture? As the angle goes up, the sharpness decreases but the durability increases.

As a general rule of thumb, European knives tend to use a softer steel and a higher angle than Japanese knives. There’s no better or worse, per se, and the trade off should be obvious: European-style knives are more hardy, durable, and well-rounded. If you could only have one knife then it should probably be a European-style one (or, see my chinese cleaver caveat at the end of this post). Can use the same knife to slice garlic, cut up a butternut squash, and debone a chicken. European knives are not quite as sharp but well-maintained they’re more than sharp enough. They’re also easier to hone and resharpen, owing to the more malleable steel.

Japanese knives by contrast use a harder steel that is more brittle and likely to break than just “bend.” However, because they’re so hard you can get them down to a lower angle than European knives. I’m talking as low as 12* for some of the high quality ones. Try putting a 12* angle on your European blade and it will bend over on itself immediately. But these Japanese steels will hold that ridiculous angle. But of course you have to be more careful with them, and you don’t get as much of the “one knife for all purposes” quality; instead a Japanese knife enthusiast will need a different knife for different jobs.

Good European-style knife brands:
*Messermeister (prob the best)
*Mercer
*Wusthoff
*Henckell

And of course the fan favorites:
*Victorinox
* Dexter Russell

These two are the ones you typically see hanging up in the back of regular restaurants or Chipotle or whatever. They’re cheap and get the job done about as well as the more fancy ones listen above. Highly recommend going with these if you’re unsure or don’t care. Gives you time to see what you really want if you ever want to upgrade. And hell, I have more fancy knives than I like to admit but I still break out my trusty Victorinox as much as any of them.

Also, I recommend trying to find a French style knife (longer, flatter belly) rather than the German one (big curved belly for “rocking”) that has become more popular over the last couple decades. Rocking your knife is dumb; the push/pull chopping method encouraged by the French style is superior.

Good Japanese knife brands

If you really get into Japanese knives you’re probably going to quickly move past the big brands and get more into the smaller, direct ones from places like cherknivestogo.com.

That said, MAC makes the highest quality knives around as far as brands go. Others brands include Tojiro, Global, Shun (the most comfortable and ergonomic knives on the market IMO), and Miyabi. I personally can’t stand Global but some people love them. Shuns like I said are the most comfortable around. They also look pretty. They’re also a good “gateway” Japanese knife brand as they’re tailored toward the western market and western knife use. Not necessarily getting the true Japanese knife experience but they’re pretty cool. I’d suggest Shun if you’re on the fence between Japanese and Western.

Finally, consider a Chinese (style) chef knife. Often mistaken for a butchers knife, these large flat knives are in fact sharpened to the same angle as an European knife and are used for chopping vegetables and meats. If I could only have one knife it would be a chinese clever. Don’t even have to break the bank; Dexter Russel makes one for less than $30. Or if you want a good one then can pick up this guy for ~100: LINK

To keep them sharp but a worksharp belt sharpening system. best $100 I have spent (well maybe since I was 30 yr old ….) Look on youtube for suggestions. If you want it sharp sharp use bore paste on old 5000 grit belt for razor sharp knives. I am not allowed to make the kitchen knives (henkels) sharp sharp as wife and daughter have gotten stitches

If you are looking for some decent knives that won't break the bank then go to a local restaurant supply store and check out the Dexter-Russel knives they have.