Chef Knife Critique

B

Brian.Evans

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Aug 20, 2011
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So, I decided to try a chef's knife. It is going to be a lot of a challenge with my current grinder setup, but I'm going to try. Here's what I have so far. It's at 60 grit right now. I plan to take it up to 120 pre ht and then see where I'm at. The edge is still around .030" right now, so plenty of meat left on there. 3/32" 52100. Right at 1 15/16" at the heel and 8 1/4" blade.

Butch Harner put up a video on kitchenknifeforums about how he grinds a kitchen blade. It is a heck of a video. Made all the difference in the world to figuring out how this stuff works.

Anyway, critiques welcome before I spend anymore time or energy on this project. I'm not sure what I want for handle scales. Depends on how it all turns out I guess.

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Brian- A Chef knife needs to have a 2.4" heel, so one's knuckles do not hit the cutting board. A slightly curved edge, for ease of rocking motion. And, a rounded or melted spine, for comfort in case the user need to choke up on the knife.
rolf
 
I tend to avoid making a perfectly straight edge on a chef's knife, especially before heat treat. This is partly an issue of preference, as I just prefer the action of at least a very gentle curve. I also find that 52100 always bends towards the edge during HT, so if it's perfectly straight prior, it's going to have a recurve after.

Chris
 
Lycosa: I've seen you make this 2.4" claim repeatedly, and I'm not sure where it comes from. Most production kitchen knives I've ever seen are less than 2" wide at the heel - if this was a problem for most users, they would change it. The angle of the blade on this particular knife means that there will be plenty of knuckle clearance.
I just checked my Henckels Zwillinge 8" chef's knife - it is 1.75" wide at the heel, and my knuckles have about a half inch of clearance on the cutting board. I can only guess that you either have monster hands, or you're holding your knife in a different way than I do. Either way, your claim that "A Chef knife needs to have a 2.4" heel" just isn't correct. That may be your preference, but it is not a general requirement.

Chris
 
Well, Chris. My knuckles hit the cutting board. Most don't know how to properly use a chef knife.
I have not seen production knives with a rounded spine either.
I have cooked professionally for 16 years and speak from experience.
But, each cook must do what works for them.
rolf
 
I didn't mean to impugn your experience - just your assertion that your experience is universal. If you could give us more details on why you have this preference, maybe we'll come around.

Chris
 
i like my bnlades a bit on the taller side also but i have kind of large grip. with the handle being slim i think it will be ok for many i made a good deal of chef knives right at 2 inch due to the limits of my LN tank now i have a large mouth tank so most all my chefs are 2.5 or even a hair taller less they are ordered differently. alot of home cooks work with at least part of there hand off the board so they are way less likly to have knuckle issues. that said kitchen knife skills and knowledge even for us knife knuts can be lacking
 
I'm only an amateur cook, just do it because I love it, but I have to agree to a slight curve in the cutting edge. It's just personal preference, but a straight cutting edge feels awkward on the board to me, and seems to require more sharpening due to dragging the tip when cutting with handle angled up.
Also, personal preference is just a slight downward curve where my pinky goes, rather than the pronounced curve you have there on your design. I have large hands, so probably not an issue for most chefs.
 
this is one of the best looking profiles from a beginner, I have seen posted on here. could use a "very" slight curve to the edge if it is not that way already. unless the end user has gorilla fingers there is no reason to have the heel any taller than it is on this size style of blade.
 
Strictly peanut gallery over here, but on the topic of handle scales, I would think micarta would be nice.

I have used nicer kitchen knives than most people I know for quite a few years at this point, but then a few years ago my wife introduced me to an even nicer kitchen knife. And since that point I have started thinking more about things that I would like in a kitchen knife. And the thing that I have been thinking about was micarta. I find micarta just feels nice in the hand, and more forgiving than the hard plastics that normally seem to be used on kitchen knives. I used a (non-kitchen) knife with a micarta handle for food prep recently and I really liked the way it felt, and that it got more grippy after it got wet.
 
I agree with Bill, that's a fine shape- what you need to do is finish it, try it out, lend it out, get feedback, and make some more.
One thing to play with is the angle of the top of the handle relative to the cutting edge.
Too much and your wrist is uncomfortably bent, too little and it's a knuckle banger.
Different people will prefer a different angle, and what they're really talking about is what works on their cutting board as it's set up.
Standard kitchen counter height is just wrong for a whole lot of people- people come in all sizes, and counter height is one size fits all, so a handle that's angled up or down too much doesn't feel right for some folks.....which is why there are all kinds of knives and no single "right" setup.
 
elementfe said:
Can I get a link to Butch's video?
I've never been able to find that....
Click to expand...
I will find it again and link it. It is really a great video. Made the difference for me vs just reading about it.
Bill Burke said:
this is one of the best looking profiles from a beginner, I have seen posted on here. could use a "very" slight curve to the edge if it is not that way already. unless the end user has gorilla fingers there is no reason to have the heel any taller than it is on this size style of blade.
Click to expand...
Bill, thank you. I've lurked you and Butch's sub forums for some time now and studied as many pictures of knives as I could. Hopefully this shows. Also, it has a bit of curve, but it starts too far tip-ward. I needed have the flat part a little shorter in length, but I'll do that on the next one. See the pictures.
butcher_block said:
i like my bnlades a bit on the taller side also but i have kind of large grip. with the handle being slim i think it will be ok for many i made a good deal of chef knives right at 2 inch due to the limits of my LN tank now i have a large mouth tank so most all my chefs are 2.5 or even a hair taller less they are ordered differently. alot of home cooks work with at least part of there hand off the board so they are way less likly to have knuckle issues. that said kitchen knife skills and knowledge even for us knife knuts can be lacking
Click to expand...

I looked at a bunch of knives on chefknivestogo and most were right around that 2" mark. Honestly I'd prefer around a 2.2" ish heel, but I had to make.....design changes.....to this knife. My grinder sucks. Also, the nut holding the blade isn't the best quality.......lol

I have not seen production knives with a rounded spine either.
I have cooked professionally for 16 years and speak from experience.
But, each cook must do what works for them.
rolf
Click to expand...

But don't you wish they would have a rounded spine to make your finger not hurt? But then, you probably have a callous by now.
 
Crap, forgot the pictures.
 

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The Kevin Wilkin's, Restaurant Chef knife, Gen.1, is the finest chef knife I have ever used.
Please use Google for a pic.
rolf
 
That knife is shaped very much like one of my two favorite go to knives in the kitchen. Mine has a gentle curve to the cutting edge and I do favor that. I was a journeyman meat cutter by the time I graduated from high school. Had no desire to that long term, but I have worked with a lot of knives and own some fine knives. I believe your design is one that 95% of users could pick up and be very happy using.
 
Lycosa said:
Brian- A Chef knife needs to have a 2.4" heel, so one's knuckles do not hit the cutting board. A slightly curved edge, for ease of rocking motion. And, a rounded or melted spine, for comfort in case the user need to choke up on the knife.
rolf
Click to expand...
Surely the minimum heel height required to clear the board depends on the height of the handle and the grip employed, as well as finger diameters. I have a Wa-handled Japanese Gyuto with a 1.75" heel that, using a pinch grip, clears the board comfortably. If one uses more of a hammer grip, the required height would be greater.
 
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