Best Commercial Kitchen Knives

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plcooper

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Nov 18, 2009
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Looking for opinion of best Commercial Knives for Culinary Use.
Recomendations and rationales. Comparison independent reports.
Conclusive cerification. CARTA testing.
 
I've never seen of kitchen knives CATRA testing results.
What is conclusive certification?
IMHO it's Japanese kitchen knives that are #1, granted the user or operator knows what he/she is doing...
P.S. here, quite a few kitchen knife reviews
 
Define "commercial Kitchen knives". Is it price? Is it style? Exactly what are you looking to buy?

Like Gator says, most CATRA test results aren't usually published.

I know a few professional chefs that post here have posted that Victorinox Forschner gives a lot of performance for the money and that they themselves choose that brand for their work.

What most pros look for in a knife is not the same as what most home chefs want. Pro chefs usually look for knives that work well but are not too expensive, because they are going to take a beating and may get damaged or taken. A home connoisseur often wants the ultimate performance with no limit on cost.

So what are you looking for?

And Welcome to BladeForums!
 
For price vs. value, Victorinox is the brand most often recommended for western style knives. For Asian style knives, you'll get a variety of recommendations. There is no "certification" for kitchen knives. However, of the cooks I know, Victorinox is also the brand most preferred. However if they see a shapely brazillian or chinese knife for a good price at TJmax, it can also become a favorite of a proffessional cook. CATRA testing results is not something most firms divulge, it's proprietary information.
 
Because I am also interested in kitchen knives (besides all other types of knives) I pretty much always ask cooks and butchers at the shops where/how do they get their knives.
In 99% of the cases so far the answer is that the owner of the place ordered... And I suspect that owner ordered whatever was on sale for a good price that day.

So far I found only one chef in nice Italian restaurant who used his own globals, but sharpening was done by a "pro"who also sharpened the rest of the knives in that place. As far as I could tell from the knife, it was around 1000-1200 grit finish...

My point it, chef's don't really determine what's being used and when they do it's on personal level.
And the fact that most of the chef's are taught the same full bolster, heavy, full tang thingy in the culinary schools doesn't help at all.
 
I have seen Globals being used in a few restaurants. I know I like mine. I also discovered how well the bigger Herder (the German company of the famous "windmillknife") kitchen knives work - for example they have extremely thin Santokus that work really very well, even better than my Globals in fact!
 
I went for design, so I got Global. I've sharpened and honed them and they cut tomatoes like a hot knife goes through butter. No, they weren't cheap, but they weren't the most expensive either. A lot of people bash on them, but there never seems to be any constructive critique at hand.

I recently sharpened and honed my girlfriend's IKEA knives and they too cut through stuff like nothing. She had her friends over for dinner and while the girls were helping out cooking, they pointed out that they didn't enjoy using her knives, as they were so scary sharp! My point? That any knife'll do, so get the ones that you like and focus on the sharpening part. Edge retention and all that stuff isn't as important when it comes to kitchen knives. You're at home, close to your sharpening equipment and not on a deep jungle expedition where a sharp edge is a luxury you can't afford to lose.
 
The Wilkin's Ryback is the finest chef knife that I have EVER used in my 20 year cooking career.
 
Lycosa said:
The Wilkin's Ryback is the finest chef knife that I have EVER used in my 20 year cooking career.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at one for a while.

Where do you purchase them? Aftermarket only? I've never seen them on the site. What kind of money do they bring?
 
Lycosa said:
The Wilkin's Ryback is the finest chef knife that I have EVER used in my 20 year cooking career.
Click to expand...

Those look fantastic. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.:thumbup:
 
Gator, per "My point it, chef's don't really determine what's being used and when they do it's on personal level." I beg to differ. I know four chefs, both have their own knives that they use at work. I go to an "after-hours" bar that a few chefs stop at before going home. At least 2 who take the bus bring their "knife bags" in and guard them more carefully than a lady guards her purse. Many kitchens supply knives, but that does not mean that the chefs don't have their own. I was at the knife store a few months ago, and one customer had just taken a job where they had to supply their own knives. She was buying a bunch...all Foerschner/Vitoronix.


Per "In 99% of the cases so far the answer is that the owner of the place ordered... And I suspect that owner ordered whatever was on sale for a good price that day." I know one man who owns a resturaunt and he buys Foerschner/Vitoronix knives for his kitchen. The efficiancy of your kitchen as well as the safety of your employees depends upon good tools that are sharp.
 
Lycosa said:
The Wilkin's Ryback is the finest chef knife that I have EVER used in my 20 year cooking career.
Click to expand...

Wow! That just made my day. It's a pleasure and an honor to turn on the computer and read a statement like yours.

make me wanna keep making knives!:thumbup:

Complete info on all stuff is on my website.
 
I worked as a cook for a little bit, and liked my knives. Mine: Wustof, Global, Victorinox, $5 'kiwi brand' Chinese style cleavers. In that order

Globals take a fair while to sharpen, especially the first time, but their 'ceramic sharpening steel' is a good quick fix to a fading edge when faced with a mountain of tomatoes. They stay sharp longer than the rest too

Wustof is the best I've had, easy to keep super sharp, but too expensive. I dropped a Wustof on a concrete floor once, and cracked the handle, sent it off and got a free replacement, within a week or two.

Victorinox are the great knives for work IMO. I usually left my Wustof/globals at home, too scared to use them in the rough and tumble of cooking to the clock.

If you can sharpen a knife well, some of the 'kiwi brand' 6-7 inch thin blade cleavers in the Chinese grocers have brilliant balance, and I have only praise for them, they are hollow ground, and can be made VERY sharp and hold the edge well

The most important thing is knowing how to stone your knives, and do it at least once a month.
The local knife sharpening businesses did a horrible job, often giving a convex edge (like the opposite of hollow ground)
 
maverick3981 said:
The Ikea VG10 blades have always worked very well for me. Easily available and good steel and handles.
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Do you have a link? I just quickly looked on their site and did not find VG10. It was only a quick look. I did not open every knife description, just one from each line. Thanks.
 
I'm not a chef, but typically use Victorinox, KAI, Kiwi and Old Hickory.
 
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