@LiveOakVineyard was commenting on their kitchen supplies, and it reminded me that I’m not happy with the knives we have in our property. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good set that will be acceptable for cooks but won’t break the bank, and will live up to at least some abuse?
I bought inexpensive Cuisinart ones from Costco with the plan to replace them every year or so, but they don’t take or hold an edge well so they are pretty useless.
Picked up some excellent knives from the thrift store
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Brand? 2020202020202
I picked up a mid-priced set of of cutlery from Amazon. Does the job, but I prefer nicer in my home.
Most people that stay here prefer to dine out.
Global
Westerhof
Furi
I just go in and rat what they have.
My 4 places are very well supplied and it never worries me if one goes for a walk. No sets to break and at $1 each …
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Good idea. Maybe I’ll take a look and see what I can find.
When I was furnishing my listing I bought a nice set of knives (just under US$500), but I thought about it and decided to first put in a cheap 20-year-old Farberware knife set and see how guests treat them. Three months later I had my answer and decided to leave the cheap knives in the listing. I gave away the nice set as a wedding present.
You shouldn’t have to replace your cheap knives every year, just maintain them regularly and correctly and they’ll last a really long time. Do not use an electric sharpener, ever.
For maintenance, I hone the cheap knives on a honing steel after every guest and I do a proper sharpening when the honing steel doesn’t do the job any more (several months). A couple months ago, I bought a diamond rod and a ceramic rod and put them in the listing, just so I wouldn’t have to bring my own sharpener to the listing. I know one guest so far actually used the rods, which was interesting since I keep them sharp.
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Does every booking party use every knife?
one decent santoku - not too long - is all they need.
Those are GOOD knives - how are you getting those at $1 per?
No every guest wouldn’t use every knife, but honing only takes a few seconds per blade if you know what you’re doing.
We don’t have chef’s knives in our listing; but even as a semi-professional chef I don’t buy top of anyone’s line.
I’m not a salesman, just a very regular knife user.
IMKHO – the best all around general purpose knives you can get are the Chicago Cutlery® Basics 4-piece Steak Knife Set. The 6" partially serrated edges will cut everything well, from paring veggies to slicing big hunks of meat. I’ve had a set for over 20 years as a chef, regularly abuse them, and like the bunny, they keep on ticking.
The other Chicago Cutlery knives I’ve found to be equally good. Prices are inexpensive to fair. That set of steak knives has gone up about $2 in 20 years!!!
(https://www.chicagocutlery.com/product/basics-4-piece-steak-knife-set)
Father was a chef, so know what to look for, also rat estate garage sales…that is where most of my furnishings come from.
Only things new are the towels and linens.
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I personally have the wusthof classic in my rentals and sharpen them as needed. Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table have knife sharpening every other month or so if you do not have a place near you that does it. We have the wusthof classic sharpening steel available for guests if they want to shapen them themselves.
When I travel I bring my own wusthof classic in my travel pack that gets checked in. I hate not having a good knife. My girls like the wusthof classic ikon knives better, but I’m still old school.
No, I pull each one out of the block, check the edge, and check if it’s clean (guests putting knives away dirty is a common problem), then hone and clean if necessary. Most guests groups use only 2 or 3 knives, but occasionally all the steak knives get used, too.
Ken - do you let your guests use your kitchen? I’d be afraid these would end up in the dishwasher, ruining the wood handles.
I leave a note that says to hand wash only and I have not had an issue to date with this. Most people who actually use the knives are well aware of this. The Foodie’s that use my kitchens are also usually familiar with Bar Keepers Friend lol…
I don’t leave a note, but I have it in my house rules to hand wash all sharp knives. My knives have wooden handles, but the rule is to protect the dishwasher, not the knives. At least 50% of my guests still put sharp knives in the dish washer.
Our Cabana does not have a kitchen, so guests don’t use them. OTOH mine have been “accidentally dishwashered” a number of times over the years, with no damage. No One handles my $100 Deba “chief’s knife” or my equally expensive vegetable cleaver, except me.
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The rental kitchen has a $20 5 inch stainless, santoku, which I sharpen on a stone at least once per week, and a Wusthof paring knife. Dull knives are dangerous.
I’ve only been asked for one other knife, when a guest asked if I had a fillet knife (it’s Alaska, of course I do!) to fillet the salmon he caught.
My recommendation is to include a fairly high quality knife sharpener for your knives. Some people really do care about this kind of stuff and it shows great attention to detail.