Gary Portman

“Dishwasher safe” on a knife set means less than most buyers think. It is the maker’s promise that the knives won’t rust, crack or come apart after a dishwasher cycle. It is not a promise that they’ll stay sharp. Edges … Read more

Ask a cook how to spend a hundred dollars on knives and you’ll usually hear “one good chef’s knife.” I agree, and I’ve covered that in my guide to the best chef’s knives under $100. But the chef’s knife is … Read more

Most people think of Damascus as a special kind of steel, the stuff of old swords. On a modern chef’s knife it is something simpler: a hard core steel sandwiched between dozens of thin layers of softer stainless steel, forge … Read more

The best kitchen knife set under $100 is the Cuisinart Classic Forged Triple Rivet 15-Piece: forged, full tang knives, a lifetime warranty and six steak knives. If you’d rather have fewer knives that you actually use, the HENCKELS Solution 7-Piece … Read more

Put a Japanese chef’s knife next to a German one and the difference is obvious before you cut anything. The Japanese blade is thinner, the steel is harder, and the edge is ground to a narrower angle. That’s why it … Read more

People ask me for “the best knife set” as if there were one answer, but a set that’s perfect for a culinary student would annoy a sushi lover, and the ideal gift set is rarely the best value. So this … Read more

A boning knife and a fillet knife look alike, but they’re built for different food. A boning knife is shorter, thicker and stiffer, made to work around joints and cut meat off the bone. A fillet knife is longer, thinner … Read more

Almost every shucking injury happens the same way: the blade slips off the shell and keeps going into the palm holding the oyster. A sharp kitchen knife makes that worse, which is why a real oyster knife has a blunt … Read more

Cutco knives are good, well-made American knives with one of the best guarantees in the business, but you pay a lot for fairly ordinary steel. Buy them if you value free lifetime sharpening and a knife you’ll never have to … Read more

An electric fillet knife earns its place on one kind of trip: the day the cooler comes home full. Twenty crappie or a limit of walleye with a manual blade means an hour of careful strokes and a sore wrist. … Read more