# Only cutting vegetables -- please recommend knives and type of cutting board



## vegiterranean (Aug 26, 2013)

Hi, 

The 10-year-old Henckels my mom-in-law gave us have had it. I'm ready to buy...and our needs have changed. We are vegan now....and trying to eat 75 percent of our calories from fruits and veggies (I know this is offensive to many chefs...this is a health decision...and indeed, I miss pork belly). That means we're doing lots and lots of cutting, peeling, pitting, seeding, coring, slicing. Hoping someone with some experience might offer advice on good knives, particularly for fruit and veggie work....also looking for advice on a good cutting surface...and how and where to learn knife sharpening skills (I've been using the services of a pro knife sharpener, but think it's beyond time for me to learn). 

Thanks for your help.


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Even for meat eaters, the primary use of the knife is vegetables. All the same discussions apply to you too.


----------



## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

gotta disagree on that one.....

after two decades, got me a Wuesthof 7" santuko.

imho  the flatter belly is very superior for all around vegetable prep.

a cleaver would also work better than a typical big belly chef's knife.

a santuko is not a good choice for lopping an acorn squash in half.

for slicing/dicing a zuke, way far more better.


----------



## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I can't think of any here who recommends big belly chef knives. Flatter French/Japanese profiles are the common recommendations.


----------



## denverveggienut (Mar 8, 2012)

Most of the advice you see given to meat eaters will also apply... you just won't need some of the more specialized knives like things for slicing fish and meat. In other words, basically, you'll probably do well with a big knife, a little knife, and something to cut bread. The big knife could be a gyuto or a Chinese-style slicer-cleaver. The little knife could be a petty (maybe something around 150mm) or a paring (somewhat shorter, for in-hand work). Then you have the choices to make. Western or wa handle? Stainless or carbon? Gyuto or cleaver? Petty, paring, or petty AND paring? Do you need two main knives so you can both work together at the same time?

The best kinds of boards are end-grain wood.

Jon at Japanese Knife Imports has some very good youtube tutorials:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEBF55079F53216AB

Hope this helps!


----------



## dhmcardoso (Apr 29, 2013)

Brow.. Board, end grain. And make it big... The bigger you can!
Regarding the knifes, i have some veggan friends and they definetly do not need any big knife. Some time ago I gave them a Nakiri and it ended up being the only knife they use. I am a big fan of the Konosuke HD, so I would recommend you a a Kono HD Nakiri, which I believe is as good the other Konos. However, my nakiri is a masakege Mizu (blue 2), which I love. Every time I have some julianes to cut I put my gyutos aside and go for the Mizu.


----------



## colin (Sep 12, 2011)

Ditto Phatch and Denver. Virtually all my chopping is veg. I think you're best off searching the existing threads on sharpening, boards, and knives.

FWIW my standby is a Konosuke HD2 Wa-Petty 210mm which glides through just about anything. (http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohdwa21.html) A thin blade really helps. But size/shape/handle depends a lot on your own preferences.


----------



## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

A Peking duck slicer like this one by CCK, is a possible addition to cut veggies. They are cheap too. It's like a thin nakiri 8" blade. I wish i could get one.

(Wisemonkeys pick)





  








Duck_Knife_full-575x379.jpg




__
ordo


__
Aug 27, 2013


----------



## mostadonte2 (Jun 11, 2013)

Nakiri or Chinese Vegetable cleavers are designed to chop vegetables.

CCK offers not expensive Vegetable cleavers, they are tall and light made out of okayish carbon steel. Also they hay stainless versions. As for Nakiri, its similar shape as a Chinese cleaver but not as tall. Pretty much any Japanese knife manufacture will have a Nakiri in their line-up. You did not mention your price range or any other details to recommend anything concrete tho.


----------

