Can I get a decent chef's knife for <$30?

O

outofgum

Joined
Dec 31, 2004
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A friend of mine is in need of a chef's knife. He was using a dull serrated steak knife for all his kitchen chores. I loaned him one of my spares, but its been a couple of months and I want it back. Anyway, I thought I'd get him a chef's knife for an under $30 secret santa thing we're doing. If there's nothing decent in the price range I'm looking for I'll probably just get a Spyderco Santoku but thats around $15 over the price limit.

Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
 
I am a chef and can recommend anything connected with Victorinox. Pity about the Santoku though. I have a Kai Santuko in Damascus steel. The shape is great to work with and you can use it to lift food you have cut. You can also use the rounded back to spread butter. Your choice of an 8" knife is perfect though as it is the ideal size of 'one knife for all uses'.
 
I have the 10" Chef's knife and the 8" utility blades I picked up for my camping kit. I think they're amazing for their price. I have Wusthof and Henkels costing more, and I like the Forschners better.

Phil
 
Check this knife from Lee Valley out, I have the older version which had a thin handle and then I bought this one and they made the handle a bit thicker and its great. Not as long as some gyotos/chefs knives, around 180mm I think. It has a great CARBON STEEL (not stainless) blade which is easy to sharpen and holds a good edge. Definately worth the $18.50.

edit: 6 3/4" (170mm)
 
If there is a decent Asian market near you, you might be able to pick up a Japanese made santoku or equivalent for under $30. Most of them will take and hold a great edge because of the thin blade. The heavier ones are chisel ground and not to good for general use unless you are very good with a blade.
 
outofgum said:
Thanks for the replies, would you guys recommend this Forschner:
http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1807
over this CS: http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2615
?

They are the same price and the same size. The 420 steel in the CS blade makes me uneasy, Forschner doesn't list the steel they use.
Click to expand...
Personally I don't like the handles on the CS knives. There's no need for such aggressive texture on a kitchen knife. It just accumulates gunk and can be a pain to clean.

Forschner/Victorinox use Dauphinox steel (from Bonpertuis, I believe) for their kitchen knives. The brakeup of the steel is not readily available, but they harden it to 56HRC (according to my local importer). It performs pretty well in kitchen tasks. Possibly this is not the same steel they use for their pocketknives.

BTW 1SKS has the Spyderco Santoku for about $35
 
Are there anyone using Zwilling Henckels's Twin Master Series? They are in the price range under $30. But I don't know how are their quality compare to the other Henckels.

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E-bay...

I got a Carbon steel chef knife and re handled it with phenolic resin (hockey stick er what ever will work great too). it cuts great and the balance is un beatable


Good luck

Rick
 
I like the Old Hickory knives also. They're not flashy, but they work great.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll go with the Forschner, because honestly, if he doesn't have the drive to get a decent knife, is he really gonna have the disipline to take care of a high-carbon blade?
 
>>"Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll go with the Forschner, because honestly, if he doesn't have the drive to get a decent knife, is he really gonna have the disipline to take care of a high-carbon blade?"

=====================

VERY good point. Few people these days are going to properly care for a carbon steel kitchen knife. A sad but true fact. He'll love the Forschner, guaranteed.
 
Don't laugh! Go to KMart and just take a look at the forged chef's knives with the Martha Stewart brand. They have good handles, are triple rivited, forged, hold a good edge, and under $10. I bought some one year going to camp because I forgot to bring some from home and was impressed.

Here is a review.

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/martha_stewart_chef.html

Note the comparison to the Henkels International (highend) chefs knife and the comment that the Martha S cut better!
 
Another big thumbs-up for Forschner. If you can find the ones with blue handles instead of black, that means you found the Microban ones. I like them mostly because of the blueness.

Seriously, unbeatable knives for the price. I also have a KAI damascus santoku, and it's awesome, but you can't beat Forschner if you want to spend $30.
 
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