Online best place to look for high-end knives

If you’re looking for high-end knives, the Internet probably is the best place to search, according to a recent article in The Los Angeles Times.

Times writer Russ Parsons’ most recommended sites are run by the New York knife shop Korin and the online-only World of Knives and Blade Gallery.

Korin, Parsons writes, is a small Japanese knife store in Manhattan that has become something of a mecca for chefs and has two Web sites. The main one for buying knives is www.Japanese-knife.com, a graphics-intense site loaded with chef biographies, interviews and testimonials. Strangely, though, Parsons notes, background information on specific knives is slim to none. More than a dozen brands are offered, including Suisin, Nenox, Glestain, Misono, Masamoto and MAC.

The plainer www.korin.com offers the same selection in a less graphics-intense version.

Also, the Web site www.bladegallery.com has a well-edited selection of mostly Japanese kitchen knives, ranging from affordable to pricey (the top-of-the-line Hattori “gyutou” costs more than $1,200). The site provides a wealth of background information.

For a more international feel, Parsons says to check out www.worldknives.com, where knives from France, Germany and Belgium, as well as Japan, are offered. In-depth information on each knife is available.

An added bonus: Because the choice of a knife depends so much on personal feel, all of these sites allow you to return a knife within seven days, provided it hasn’t been used.