Since the current knife thread is just a damascus circle jerk,

Shun is a good knife under $200. Carbon steel is gooder because it can be sharpened to a sharper edge because metalurgy. However it requires more maintenance to prevent rust. It doesn't hold an edge as long as stainless either, however due to the nature of carbon steel, its easier to sharpen.

End grain cutting boards are favored because they'll last forever if periodically taken care of.

>>8263698
>What makes carbon steel better than stainless?
All steel has carbon, stainless steel has chromium. Steel has varying amounts of additional elements alloying with carbon and iron.

For a knife, you want your steel to be able to hold an edge, primarily, whilst having some flex still, and some resistance to corrosion. Generally there is some trade-off between these three properties. However, it's easy enough to search around, and you'll see that most of the high end knives are made from similar steels. Some knives will have gimmicky steels that may or may not do anything to justify a premium price. Any knife that does not tell you its steel content is guaranteed to be shit.

How are Wusthof knives?

>>8263801
>It doesn't hold an edge as long as stainless
I thought the opposite was true...
>>8263698
>Can anyone recommend a good chefs knife under 200?
Victorinox fibrox
>>8263807
Sound advice
>>8263853
They're ok. Just ok. They have several different series of varying quality.

>>8263978
I ordered the Ikon series for my mother as a birthday gift, got it for 73% off retail so it all came around to $200 or so for a chefs knife and 4 steak knives

>>8263698
>What makes carbon steel better than stainless?
It isn't really that better these days with the fancy stainless steels out there now. But it holds its edge longer and gets sharper easier.

>Can anyone recommend a good chefs knife under 200?
Tojiro DP if you like japanese. Wusthof Pro if you like German.

>Also can anyone explain whet stones and honing rods?
Whet stones sharpen and take off metal to create a new edge when it gets dull. Honing rods just help realign the edge that's already there so you dont have to sharpen so often.

>Recommend good ones?
Idahone Ceramic

>I heard some anon say something about fancy cutting boards and cutting with the grain so as to keep your knife sharper, does this have validity or are cutting boards only good for looking cool?

Unless you are a complete autist or are using something delicate like a single edged japanese blade, there is no fucking reason to do this. Just stick with plastic, wood or rubber for cutting board material and your knives will be fine.

>>8264000
As far as I can see, the Ikon series is one of the better ones. I don't own any myself, but just looking at their construction I can tell their not garbage. Steak knives are kinda just filler for knife sets. Seeing as she's a mom though, she'll probably use them. As someone who's nearly spent that much on a single knife, I say good job anon.

>>8263978
I actually bought a Victorinox Fibrox chef knife due to all the reviews. I absolutely hate it. Feels light and cheap.

I never paid much attention to knives, but my parents were downsizing their home and let me grab some knives. Looking more closely now, its a JA Henckels Twin series Santoku. Just feels well balanced and well weighted.

>>8263698
>can anyone else explain basic knife science to me?
knives are sharp things and are used to cut things
>What makes carbon steel better than stainless?
it's harder -> it can be sharpened to a finer edge, so it can be sharper than stainless steel, everything else being equal, and it will retain the edge for longer
it's harder -> it will take more to sharpen and it will be more prone to chipping
it has a relatively high carbon content -> it will rust if you leave it in the sink and such, but as far as I understand (I haven't owned any) they're not that much of a hassle
depending on how much and how you use it you might find it better or you may not

>>8264034
>Honing rods just help realign the edge that's already there so you dont have to sharpen so often.

But that's not true anon. They're abrasive just like a stone is. They just tend to be finer.

Old steel ones have grooves in them like a file. Modern ones are either made with ceramic or diamond abrasives.

>>8264545
Kinda sorta.

>>it's harder -> it can be sharpened to a finer edge
No, even a flimsy piece of tin can metal can be sharpened to an amazing edge. The difference is how long the edge stays sharp, not how sharp you can get it.

>hardness takes more to sharpen it
that's a factor, sure, but it's not the only one. The extra metals added to create stainless steel tend to be "gummy" and are more difficult to sharpen. Google about "machinability of metals" for example, and see how many engineers are loathe to work stainless steel because it's so difficult to cut/drill/tap compared to other metals. Carbon steel is easier to sharpen.

>>it has a relatively high carbon content -> it will rust if you leave it in the sink and such
Carbon content does not determine rusting. Stainless steels contain just as much carbon as "carbon steel" does, despite the confusing name. What determines rusting is the presence of other elements in the steel. The basics:

Iron. It's soft. Add carbon to it and how it can be hardened. That's steel. We call it "carbon steel" to distinguish it from stainless steels, but all steel contains carbon. the literal definition of steel is iron + carbon. Take carbon steel and add Chromium. Now you have stainless steel. It doesn't rust, but it also has some less desirable physical properties like ease of sharpening.