Ski has no love for Kastle?

[Tony S]

Another disclaimer: I have worked in restaurants and have decent knife skills. I also own a decent working collection of kitchen knives. Some expensive and some rather plebeian .

Thread drift.

Right. You acquire knives in various ways for various reasons. Some you ditch. I like the cheap Forschners. Especially the paring and boning knives. Also like an old high end chef's knife from Lamson Sharp in the Berkshires, that I would have turned my nose up at if Wendy hadn't come with it.

So, KG, what do you think of the Misen knives? I like them, and their affordability.

 

[Alexzn]

Kitchen knives: Anything you see advertised in Facebook is overpriced garbage. Most "boutique" Japanese knives are made in two or three large factories in Japan. When you buy a kitchen knife, look at the steel, that's what makes a good knife. A very fancy chef knife that is as good as they get is the Zwilling Kramer 8-inch Euro Carbon line. Insanely expensive, but has top-notch 52100 carbon steel and fit and finish is as good or better than anything else you can buy in any store or online. If you want better knives you are getting into handmade customs, custom Damascus, even more $$$ and down that rabid hole fast. Functionally, of course nothing beats a Foerschner. Decent steel, bulletproof construction, and quite cheap. The $10 gadget is hilarious, how difficult is it to learn proper technique?

Kastle: I have yet to see a Kastle ski that was bad, some better than others (agree fully with @markojp about MX99!), but none was bad. The most consistent quality line of skis on the market for a few years. Modern Stockli line is as good, you can debate the differences, but both are terrific skis. I am terribly worries about the brand expansion, the "Designed in Austria" skis and the expansion of the model line that is coming down the pike. I guess with the expanded line they will expand the ad budget and Ski will like them again.

 

[Wasatchman]

I am terribly worries about the brand expansion, the "Designed in Austria" skis and the expansion of the model line that is coming down the pike. I guess with the expanded line they will expand the ad budget and Ski will like them again.

Yeah, Ski will like them with an expanded budget and yet they could very well crush their brand in the process. Sounds like you have the same concerns as I do.

Who knew so many Pugs were culinary/knife experts. I know nothing about cooking. How do Wusthof knives stack up? I know nothing but my mom uses them and tells me they are good knives so that's what I have. Same with laundry. I don't know any better, but my mom always used Tide growing up so I insist to my wife that we use Tide rather than Gain

Edit: The reason I know about the Wusthof knives in the first place is that I was once using a knife in her kitchen to fully open the lid after using a can opener. all of a sudden I hear my mom screaching, heyyyyy, what the hell are you doing. Are you crazy? That's a Wusthof, you'll ruin the great knife. So I was like ohhhh, okay. I then went ahead and bought some Wusthof knives. Now when I catch my wife using the knife to open up the lid on a can, I screach at her, heyyyyy that's a Wusthof, what the hell you doing. I still know nothing about knives or cooking

 

[Plai]

Who knew so many Pugs were culinary/knife experts.

Once a nerd, always a nerd?

 

[KingGrump]

I just happen to think the MX89 is as good as advertised. This is coming from someone that also really likes the K2 Pinnacle which is definitely not a cool kid ski to say the least. I love the Pinnacles skis in soft snow and bumps and it's forgiving/easy nature. But boy, I feel like that MX89 is one smooooth ride and has a great locked in feel that gives me confidence at speed/firmer/cruddy conditions. EDIT: And the MX89 still works fine in pow/bumps. Maybe a little more work than some skis in those conditions, but still enjoyable for my tastes.

My MX88 is at the end of its life cycle with 95 days on them. Still sweet on a softer snow groomer day. It’s probably one of the smoothest ski I had been on. It just didn’t quite fit the terrain and snow I find myself in most of the time.

I have couple other pairs of Kastle in my current personal quiver. They are indeed slick, smooth, sweet feeling skis. However, I find them overshadowed by the wider performance envelope of the skis immediately adjacent to them in my quiver. They often don’t get the days on snow they could’ve if I didn’t own other similar skis.

Mamie ended last season with two pairs of Stockli, a pair of Kastle and a pair of Dynastar. She is trading the Dynastar in for a new pair of Stockli. Our conversation on her new Stockli went something like:

Mamie: Will the new Stockli be too much ski for mer?

Me: No.

Mamie: How do you know?

Me: You skied Chute 75 on my FIS SL last spring.

Mamie: That was fun. What about a pair of SL?

Me: I’ll get you a pair of X12 bindings and remount one for you.


There is really no harm in getting a premium pair of skis based on great reviews if it fits with the skier’s ability level. What troubles me is when skiers buy too much ski for their skill set based upon reviews. Purchases like that generally will set the skier’s progression back for a while.

I rate the ski I am on by the size of the smile it puts on my face. If the Kastle or Stockli put a big smile on your face, go for it. Be cognizant the smile ideally should emanate from the feet rather from the head.

Thread drift.

Right. You acquire knives in various ways for various reasons. Some you ditch. I like the cheap Forschners. Especially the paring and boning knives. Also like an old high end chef's knife from Lamson Sharp in the Berkshires, that I would have turned my nose up at if Wendy hadn't come with it.

So, KG, what do you think of the Misen knives? I like them, and their affordability.

Never used a MIsen. Seen a few reviews on them in cooking mags.

I am very leery of knives from China. The steel is often of inconsistent quality. The handle design looks a bit off. Couple independent online reviews pan the knife for those two points. But if the knife works for you, go for it.

My preference in chef knives leans towards traditional European. A heavy slightly tapered tallish forged German steel blade with a deep belly rocker. Not fan of the straight santoku style knife edge found on some of the new chef knives. A half bolster is nice feature for ease of sharpening. But only if the handle design is done right.

Love the Forschner paring knives. Buy the by the bunch. Travel with at least two in my knife kit. Not much love for their chef knives. Have both the 8” & 10”. Good quality steel. Really sharp and holds an edge well. The design, balance and handle angle of the knives are off for me. Especially the 8” chef knife. The handle angle does not work for me. The handle angle on the 10” is much better than the 8”. The tactile feed back on both knives are lacking.

I have a bunch of Henckels, Wusthof and Sabatier. Couple of my favorite chef knives currently are Henckels. The Henckels Pro 8” & 10” are both very good blades. Really happy with the balance and handling on couple of the Sabatier. The steel is not as good as the Henckels or Wusthof but better feel in the hand.

Another work horse for me are couple Dexter 10” chef knives I pick up for $25 at a Costco Business Center. That is a package of two knives for $25. Can’t beat that price. The ones with the NSF institutional white plastic handle. Definitely not the prettiest knife around. I prefer them over the Forschner 10”. The steel is not as good but the handling is much better. They can plow through lots of prep in a short time with very little effort. Couple of work horses. I can take them on the road and not worry about losing them.

Last but not least are several Chinese vegetable cleavers. Probably the most misunderstood knives outside the Chinese community. It’s built for heavy duty prep work without putting any strain onto the hand and arm. Makes a 10” chef knife feels wimpy. The knife does all the work. Takes a very different technique.