8" or 10" chef knife?

FlaMtnBkr

FlaMtnBkr

Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Messages
4,704
Let me start by saying I do not have experience with nice kitchen knives or how to use them. I like to cook but usually just grab the closest thing from our junk kitchen knife drawer that will work for the task. Usually a small paring knife or serrated steak knife for small stuff and a bigger knife for chopping or cutting meat.

I have decided I am going to get some Shun elite kitchen knives and plan on getting a 7" Santoku. I was thinking I would get a 10" chef knife since an 8" would be similar to the Santoku and the extra length could do big knife chores like carving and even bread cutting. But reading on here it seems that most people like the 8" size over the 10" (and by a large margin).

Does anyone have a suggestion on which to get? These are going to be a wedding gift so to start I am getting a 3.5" paring knife, a 4.5" chef/deba, a 7" santoku, and a boning knife that I'm not sure of the name or size off the top of my head. The chef knife was going to be the rest of the set for now but not sure which size after reading here. Any thoughts?

I also wouldn't mind having a bread knife but spending $200 on a SG2 bread knife at 64 HRC seems over kill. Also, a nice 5-6" serrated utility knife sounds useful but Shun doesn't seem to have anything like that. Any suggestions on a quality knife to fit these roles would be great.

Thanks and sorry about the long post (again)!
 
I have both the santoku and the 8" chef knife I like the length of the 8" knife I have never needed a bigger knife for any reason. I like the shorter blade I think I have more tip control with the shorter. I don't think you need a short serrated knife, I have no need for one. I have a cheap $10 bread knife and never use it I use the chef knife.
The most import thing is to keep them razor sharp.
 
If the knives you say you are going to get,are the only ones,you will get,I'd get the 10".
There is no reason,the 10" is too big,for anything the 8" won't do,but the 8" is in the same size range of the 7" Santoku.
If you get into cooking more,that 10" will come in handy sometimes.

If you said you wanted to keep your set to a minimum & wanted an all around chef,then I'd say the 8",it's a good all around size.

Teamed with the 7" Santoku,the 10" is my pick

Hope that helps,
-Vince
 
FlaMtnBkr, who is doing most of the cooking you or the wife? We've had an 8" Santuko for the 10 years we've been married and it is my 90% goto knife in the kitchen. Last year I bought the MILF her own 5 1/2" Santuko (let her pick the handle for her hands) she uses the piss out of that knife! Where as the 8" is a bit big for her.
A lot of this depends on your work area. A 7" or 8" chef or Santuko can be used almost anywhere. To me a 10" can be a bit much on smaller prep surfaces and cutting boards.
My big argument for the Santuko is that I us it for a board scraper. I used to keep a dough knife around just for that.IMHO it makes transfers form the cutting board to the pot easier.
The other chef v. santuko argument is for starting cuts with the tip. I actually prefer the heel of the Santuko for this. YMMV.
BTW what part of Floriduh are you in? I've lived in most of it.

Bread knife unless you bake your own buy a cheap one and replace it when it dulls or get a good scalloped slicer and let it multi-task with bread.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm still unsure which to get so I guess I will order the 10" from my pusher knife dealer and if his supplier doesn't have it then get the 8" instead which I know they have.

I searched for a Shun review and found a food forum that didn't give them very high marks but I doubt I would ever be able to tell a difference and I don't need to get obsessed with kitchen knives as well. So I am just going to get the Shun Elite and be done with it since I can get them at a slight discount.

I live outside of Gainesville and spend about half my time over at the coast in Steinhatchee which is in the middle of no where and just the way I like it. They are about 20 years behind the rest of the country which is fine by me.
 
People who lean towards traditional Japanese kitchen knives Katsune's and such may poopoo Shun's but I credit KAI for making the normal buying public aware of that style of knives. I also think they have forced Henkles and Wustof to step up their game and blade steels.
I like KAI/Kershaw/Shun/ZeroTolerance and their customer service and warranty is hard to beat.
I love most of Florida but they can annex out everything from the north Palm Beach County line south to the north end of the Monroe County line anytime they want too;) I still miss living in the Panhandle from time to time:(
 
My dad has the shun ken onions and they're awesome. Don't use anything but the 8" chef's knife though. Even on hard crust bread it performs well. Don't really use paring knives, I'd just use one of my edc's.
 
I use my 8" chef's knife the most but have also been using a 6.5" MAC untility. It slices better than any other kitchen knife I have. I also have a 10" Dexter chef's knife that sees use but not as much. When it comes to heavy duty cutting such as ribs and chicken I just break out one of my vintage cleavers.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
I have decided I am going to get some Shun elite kitchen knives and plan on getting a 7" Santoku. I was thinking I would get a 10" chef knife since an 8" would be similar to the Santoku and the extra length could do big knife chores like carving and even bread cutting. But reading on here it seems that most people like the 8" size over the 10" (and by a large margin).
Click to expand...
Get either the 7" santoku or the 8" chef's and forget the 10" chef's. Get a slicer instead. The 10" chef's is not suitable for carving because it is too tall. Forget the boning knife. Hardly anyone knows how to use one, and most meats come well butchered from the market.
Does anyone have a suggestion on which to get? These are going to be a wedding gift so to start I am getting a 3.5" paring knife, a 4.5" chef/deba, a 7" santoku, and a boning knife that I'm not sure of the name or size off the top of my head. The chef knife was going to be the rest of the set for now but not sure which size after reading here. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Add a 9 1/2" slicer:
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/shun-elite-slicing-knife.html
I also wouldn't mind having a bread knife but spending $200 on a SG2 bread knife at 64 HRC seems over kill. Also, a nice 5-6" serrated utility knife sounds useful but Shun doesn't seem to have anything like that. Any suggestions on a quality knife to fit these roles would be great.
Click to expand...
Shun makes a 6" serrated utility whiich is on a more than 50% sale right now ($100 instead of $219):
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/shelu2kn6ne.html

My sister loves hers - uses it for bagels and sandwich making.
 
The longer the blade, the more efficient the chef knife and the less work involved in getting the job done. So the solution is simply to use the longest blade with which you are comfortable. For most people lighter knives can be longer within the comfort range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top