I thought this had been posted before but I can't seem to find it in a search.

Anyway, I'm about to by new Cookware and Knives but I'd like to hear some feedback before doing so. Can folks please offer recommendations on the following:

1. Cookware. I'm ready to buy a full new set of stainless steel vs. non-stick and copper b/c my experience tells me that food cooks more evenly with SS and the clean-up really isn't any different vs. non-stick or copper. I'm probably going to buy a full All-Clad Stainless Steel set of cookware. Thoughts on this decision?

2. Knives. Looking to buy a full Wustof set of knives (good lord they're expensive). Forged, of course. Is there a better set out there that I should be looking at?

I just bought a set of Sabatier forged knives and am very happy them with one exception. The steak knives are serated and cut well, but not cleanly. When cutting a steak, there are bits of meat in the serations. The other knives are razor sharp and hold an edge very well.

I use Cuisinart cookware. I'm sure there are better knives and cookware, but I'm happy with what I have.

I LOVE my Global knives. I have Chantal cookware and they are not so good, but when I bought them 8 years ago the blue matched my kitchen. Time to upgrade, and I was thinking All-Clad.

1. I find almost all modern cookpots are so good, the differences between them are negligible. One of my good wine buddies, at whose home I frequently help out in the kitchen, has a 10-or-so piece All Clad set, and he's very happy with it. I have mostly Lagostina, but only because I got a starter set as a promo deal, and have stuck with it for no particular reason. I also use Revereware for cooking outside with gas, because it heats up so quickly and evenly.

2) Most people who are into cooking favor one knife brand (not surprisingly, it's the one they own ) and again, it's just personal preference. I have about 8 or 9 Wustof Classics, and find that for me, they're the best balanced knives I've owned. Some people prefer the slightly heavier Henckel line that's priced about the same, but I don't like it as much. I prefer an 8 inch over a 10 inch chef's knife, which is the most versatile and IMO important of the knives you buy. I find the smaller one to be easier to use without switching knives for different tasks. I don't get why people spend the money to buy Global knives. I find them awkward, though like anything else, I guess you can get used to them. One final thing: get a good steel (I use a Henckel for this) and use it frequently if you don't want to spend a lot of time or money sharpening. (I wasted about $150 on a Chef's Pride electric sharpener, which beats the absolute crap out of the blades, so I gave it away; a wet-stone set is very easy to use, half the price, and keeps the blades razor-sharp with minimal effort and time. It's also very satisfying to use, making me feel as though I've done something practical after sharpening. I'll post the name of the brand I bought if you're interested).

Enjoy your purchases.

Knifes are a very personal decision. You have to try out the one's you are considering and then go with the ones that feel the best.

I prefer Copper Core from All-Clad for daily use cookware.

I went around to the different restaurants here in St Helena and tried out all the knives they are using. I finally selected the Messermeister Meridian Elite. They are German manufacture, but Japanese design - which is the best of both worlds for me.

My absolute fav knife is a Japanese vegetable knife. Super thin and sharp.

I've got a mixture of Global and Trident knives. I find the Globals are quite delicate while the Tridents tend to be more durable. The Tridents are great for those "big" jobs- lots of hard cutting -vege's etc.. while the Globals are awesome for those more delicate jobs- fish filleting, meat cleaning etc...

I also got a flat diamond stone- awesome for keeping those knives sharp.

I agree with Jones. Go out and try some knives out in your hand, see how they feel and what they are like in your hand. Weight makes a big differance IMO.

I've also got a Mandolin that is great - I thinkits Global but can't remember.

I've got all sorts of pots and pans- they've been collected over quite some time and none match.

There are roughly 3 knives that I use in a kitchen. I use my 10 inch Chefs Knife and my Boning Knife daily... while I use my pairing knife once in a blue moon. The 10 inch and Boning are Wusthoff Trident. The boning has a big fat black plastic handle, which I much prefer over the standard Wusthoff boning knives. Much better handling it has. My pairing knife is Messermeister, a great little knife for the intricate garde manger type work. One the first day of Culinary School I was given my knife set. I've lost most of the blades, but never my 10 inch, or boning. Those are the knives that you use the most. For a home kitchen I wouldn't even recommend getting a pairing knife.... all one needs is a good chefs knife.

I prefer my steel to be ceramic as opposed to diamond. I find it keeps the edge better. And they're only about $20. And a stone + mineral oil is the only way to go to care for your knife. Never get those dastardly blade sharpeners... they do more harm than good.

I'd be interested in tips on these stones/mineral oil things to sharpen your blades. Brands/places to buy would be appreciated.

I am contemplating buying some knives in the next year as well. As I do not have the ability to go hang out in restaurant kitchens to try different knives for weight/feel, do you all have other suggestions as to how one might try out a knife? There are few, if any, knife shops around these parts (but maybe I have not been looking hard enough).

Also, would you recommend buying a full block set or buying knives one at a time? And, if you buy them one at a time, how do you store the knives if not in a block?

I agree that there are so many good cookware sets out there now, that it is really hard to go wrong. Get what feels comfortable to you. I love my Calphalon stuff, but it is heavy, and thus, not for everyone.

As for knives, I would strongly suggest that you NOT buy a $400+ set. You really only need a couple of knives, and you may not like all the knives of a particular brand. You might prefer Wusthof's 10 inch Chef's Knife over other brands, but like Globals 6 inch blade better than Wusthof's 6 incher. There is no crime in having a mixed set. I think that a good 10 or 12 inch Chef's knife (I use the Wusthof 12 inch Grand Prix. Like the handle much more than the "Classic"), a 5 or 6 inch Chef's knife, a boning knife and a bread knife are all you really need. And I would never spend top dollar on a bread knife. Just not worth it. Get an adequate one from Target.

As for a sharpener, some day I am going to break down and get all the stone and oil paraphenelia. But for now, I use a steel and a Chantry Sharpener.Chantry I find that this works quite well.

tj -- the sharpening set I bought is the 3-stone (you can get sets with more stones, but you have to be fanatical and have lots of spare time to go through all the steps, IMO ) set from GATCO. Here's a link so you can see what they have:

GATCO knife sharpeners

They have a clever system using metal rods with guides so that it's practically idiot-proof to get exactly the angle you want on your blades. And idiot-proof turns out to be just perfect for me!

Personally, I wouldn't buy a full set of knives. Though I have more, there are 4 that I tend to use far more than others: 8" chef's, 3.5" paring, 6" utility, and 6" flexible-blade boning, in that order. A serated bread knife and 12" carving knife get used only when needed, and the others just sit there and stay sharp. Also, most knife stores sell storing blocks separately. I have a Sabatier lucite and wood knife holder, but don't own any Sabatier knives. I just liked the look and practicality of this unit.

Seaquam: There's alot of good stuff in that link. Can you tell us what you have and would recommend for the rest of us idiots. Thanks.

Seaq-- The system may be idiot-proof, but it looks kind of complicated to me. So I guess I must be an idiot's idiot! I guess their instructions would eplain how to use it but just looking at the one-pager makes me go 'Huh?'

Lots of good stuff there, though.

I prefer a tri-stone without the angle widgets. Of course I have been sharpening my own cooking and hunting knives for most of my life.

I use this particular model and like it very much. If you're looking for a conventional system, I would recommend this one from Knifeart.

Knifeart tri-hone

TJ - it may look complicated but is actually very easy to use. Once you sharpen a couple of knives, I'm sure you will appreciate GATCO's straightforward design.

GA - That looks like a top-notch set of sharpening stones. Just added to my Christmas list!

This might be tough but it would be neat if we could put together a group order and get them wholesale. Any one have any "sharp" connections?

I use Calphalon cookware -- I especially like my oval braiser. I braise in it and also use it for turkeys and chickens (it has a rack in it as well).

I have mostly Henckels knives (the ones with the full tang). Kohl's has the best prices I've seen on them. Check it out.

I use an electric sharpener once a year. I find this is sufficient.

Jimmy, I have their bottom-end 1003 system, which comes with 3 sharpening stones of differing coarseness, a guide system for the rods that are attached to the stones, and a fine oil for the stones. The guide allows varying angles that, if I recall correctly, range from about 25 to 11 degrees. I use 19 degrees, which they suggest (and I concur with this from experience) gives the best combination of sharpness and durability of the edge. The more expensive systems use more stones for a more gradual gradation during sharpening, but this takes more time. The most expensive system uses industrial diamond-coated (I think) stones for even better edging.

For the amount of time that I'm willing to spend, and for the very good result that I can get, I like the model I bought. About a year ago, a friend took 2 of my knives and sharpened them using the same system, and I was happily amazed at how much sharper the blades were than my electric sharpener could provide. I bought the 3 stone sharpener the following week. It was the only model available ata knife store here in Vancouver, and truth be told, if there had been a more expensive model, I would likely have bought that one. As of now, however, I'm VERY satisfied with the 3 stones, and while there might be some slight advantage to using 5, there's only so much time I'm willing to dedicate to knife sharpening.

Two caveats: use some old knives that you don't care about the first time you use the stones, so you can see whether you have the [simple] technique right. It's easy to master, but just in case you don't "get" it right away, it's best to start this way. Also, be generous with the oil. You almost can't use too much, and especially when the stones are new, they absorb a lot of it. It's much cheaper to buy more oil than replace a stone.

Anyway, I like this system for its simplicity and ease of use. 'Nuff said.

Thank you, sir, for the valuable info. You have likely set me down the path of another hobby that I have neither the time nor money for right now!

I have Calphalon cookware. Not sure I'd go with the non-stick again as we weren't careful enough with using non metal utensils and the non stick came off one of our skillets.

Love my Henkels.

jb