[conspire] A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife.

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Paul Zander (paulz at ieee.org):

> Following up on her suggestions, I found that Zwilling and Henckels are now one company.

The assorted Henckel stainless-steel knives we know have in the knife
block in my kitchen are very nice (and were a gift from Duncan).

Aside from those excellent everyday knives, I also have my One True
Kitchen Knife, the long carbon-steel one many of you see me use, which
is a Sabatier from the 1970s.  Back then, I had a working hypothesis
that one truly exceptional kitchen knife would be enough to get by
unless/until I needed other specialised knives, like, say, a cleaver
(of which I have one that's OK but not special).

Following lore of the time, I've just protected the Sabatier from harm,
kept it dry and clean, and honed it on a "steel" occasionally.  It's not
been necessary to get it sharpened.

"Sabatier", originally from a small manufacturer in Thier, France,
became starting in 1979 a trademark-branding cautionary tale, which you
can read about here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier#Brand_names
Apparently, finding a "real" Sabatier is somewhere between fraught and
impossible, given squabbling and business commotion.  Or, to quote part 
of the Wikipedia page that's not quite that bleak:

  the name "Sabatier" came into use before intellectual property laws
  and is not protected; knives legally bearing the name range from
  high-quality knives made in France to cheap mass-produced products of
  poor quality from France and other countries; a registered logo or full
  name, or both, such as "65 Sabatier Perrier", is necessary to establish
  origin and quality.

Yeah, whatever.   Fortunately, I already have mine from before this 
squabbling and confusion.

Brand names and problems appurtenant thereto aside, I'd suggest before
sinking money into The One True Kitchen Knife, spend significant amounts
of time learning, first, how to _use_ a kitchen knife.  I can tell you
that many of y'all are doing it wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqVGdmVlKk



  I ordered an 8” chef’s knife.  The package said “German Steel”, but the blade was marked China.  Bit of a turn off.  Nice knife.  Very sharp. Much bigger than I need for most things
> I saw a “special” on a morning TV show for a set of 3 knives.  They looked impressive but after using them once or twice they were dull.  I sharpened them, but after cutting zucchini on a plastic cutting board they lost their edge.  Those knives went back in the box and taken to Goodwill.
> Then I found Zwilling / Henckels  has an ebay store:  https://www.ebay.com/str/zwillingjahenckels 
> I now have 4, 5, and 6 inch knives.  Razor sharp out of the package.  I’ve used them several times and they they are still very sharp.  They’re much more pleasant to use than serrated knives.   Looks like it will be a while before I need to use the honing steel.
> 
> These knives are stainless.  Amazing what German metallurgy can do.   Just the same, I wash them by hand to avoid hazards in the dishwasher.
> Paul

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