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Chef Knife Critique
- Thread starter Brian.Evans
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2014
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- 26
Great looking knife.
I would also second the lack of a curved edge. For fine/repetitive chopping, the lack of the curve would mean much taller up and down strokes in my opinion. It seems to me that the rocking motion described above not only makes it easier to dice things, a portion of the blade is also riding back and forth on the cutting surface, and the flatter your edge, the more of it will be riding back and forth, which means more friction.
I would also second the lack of a curved edge. For fine/repetitive chopping, the lack of the curve would mean much taller up and down strokes in my opinion. It seems to me that the rocking motion described above not only makes it easier to dice things, a portion of the blade is also riding back and forth on the cutting surface, and the flatter your edge, the more of it will be riding back and forth, which means more friction.
Many knife makers don't understand this about kitchen knives. Often this leads to them making too tall blades, knuckle bangers or handles that are canted up, all of which will hinder the performance of the knife. The top of the handle and the edge should not be parallel. If the heel is on the board and the back of the knife is parallel to the board the edge angles up toward the tip. It can be subtle or extreme, like in a honesuki.
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After looking at your pictures I will stand by my first post. This is a great first try at a kitchen knife. The edge MAY flatten too soon but I cannot determine that from the pictures you posted. It looks good to very good.
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- Jan 27, 2008
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- 2,010
I also like the blade design shown. A bit more of an extended rocker for me also, but that'll make a fine tool.
In my 35+ years as a professional chef(now retired... sort of), I've never come across that "2.4 inch" guideline for a chef's knife. It is, indeed, all about the individual, the task at hand, and how you hold the knife for that task. At the moment I can't think of a task where I would hold the knife in a manner where my fingers/knuckles would repeatedly hit the board. Heck, I dice onions with a paring knife, so 2.4" isn't necessary for that job.
A chef's knife is an all-around tool. It does nearly everything you want a kitchen knife to do - butchering, boning, filleting, chopping, dicing, mincing, slicing, mashing, tenderizing, etc, etc. Its not just a chopper. I'm happy to see a wide variety of blade designs(height, length, thickness, rocker, pointy/blunted, round heel/sharp heel/criollo heel, etc.), and handle shapes incorporated into these tools. There are several very fine knifemakers in this thread, all of whom make a chef's knife a bit differently. That's a great thing! I likely have 6 chef's knives - all different, that I choose according to whim alone. Any of them would do the same job just fine. Personal preference and technique.
Yes, there is a standard design born of tradition, and there are some design elements that make for a more ergonomic, and/or efficient tool, but a strict "2.4 inches" is not one of them. Make the knife you want to make. If your fingers hit the cutting board....move your fingers.
-Peter
In my 35+ years as a professional chef(now retired... sort of), I've never come across that "2.4 inch" guideline for a chef's knife. It is, indeed, all about the individual, the task at hand, and how you hold the knife for that task. At the moment I can't think of a task where I would hold the knife in a manner where my fingers/knuckles would repeatedly hit the board. Heck, I dice onions with a paring knife, so 2.4" isn't necessary for that job.
A chef's knife is an all-around tool. It does nearly everything you want a kitchen knife to do - butchering, boning, filleting, chopping, dicing, mincing, slicing, mashing, tenderizing, etc, etc. Its not just a chopper. I'm happy to see a wide variety of blade designs(height, length, thickness, rocker, pointy/blunted, round heel/sharp heel/criollo heel, etc.), and handle shapes incorporated into these tools. There are several very fine knifemakers in this thread, all of whom make a chef's knife a bit differently. That's a great thing! I likely have 6 chef's knives - all different, that I choose according to whim alone. Any of them would do the same job just fine. Personal preference and technique.
Yes, there is a standard design born of tradition, and there are some design elements that make for a more ergonomic, and/or efficient tool, but a strict "2.4 inches" is not one of them. Make the knife you want to make. If your fingers hit the cutting board....move your fingers.
-Peter
jdm61
itinerant metal pounder
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- Aug 12, 2005
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- 47,357
I think that both of these chefs knives were right at 50mm. My stubby little fingers fit okay even when using a hammer grip. A lot of the type of people who would pay extra for a knife like yours use the pinch grip anyway. The slicer is obviously not that tall,but it is used for a different purpose. With that said, you can still use it on a board with a pinch grip. if you are uncertain about design, do like many of us have done and coppy the shape of an old Sabaiter. It was good enough for the JAnapnese smiths when they were looking to create the western style double bevel knife that we know as the guy. I actually used a couple of Japanese knives as examples as i wan't a couple for my kitchen and didn't want the integral bolster and I wasn't sure I could trust the newer carbon steel Sabatiers to be as good as the old ones. 
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- Jul 1, 2013
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- 32,479
Brian,
I really like your fist work here and just to recap a few thoughts of others and my own, Chef means Chief! As Peter mentioned, It will do most chores that you would come across in the kitchen, You don't need to be a papered Chef to enjoy fine food and some of the best I've ever had was prepared and cooked by just down home folk that loved to cook.
I go as high as 3" at the heel on a couple of my designs and part of my Designing in this height is that the blades can sharpened for a full generation and still have enough height in the heel for next one or two gens
and others have the relief holes and I want to give plenty of years of use and sharpening before the edge get's near there.
I've never a heard a mandatory 2.4" height at the heel ether but it's not a bad starting point?
There really is no rule about how high at the heel your knife needs to be.
Generally, If you want to chop with a knife you want 2" or higher at the heel and if it's a slicer/Siji about 1 3/4" or less.
I personally would round that blade at the heel ever so slightly, like how the rear of the hull on a sail boat will come up just slightly, but it's your baby!
The amount of rock & roll is up to the individual.
Finish it and use it at home until you have found where you can make improvements and then back into the shop.
Have Fun & Stay safe!
I really like your fist work here and just to recap a few thoughts of others and my own, Chef means Chief! As Peter mentioned, It will do most chores that you would come across in the kitchen, You don't need to be a papered Chef to enjoy fine food and some of the best I've ever had was prepared and cooked by just down home folk that loved to cook.
I go as high as 3" at the heel on a couple of my designs and part of my Designing in this height is that the blades can sharpened for a full generation and still have enough height in the heel for next one or two gens
and others have the relief holes and I want to give plenty of years of use and sharpening before the edge get's near there.
I've never a heard a mandatory 2.4" height at the heel ether but it's not a bad starting point?
There really is no rule about how high at the heel your knife needs to be.
Generally, If you want to chop with a knife you want 2" or higher at the heel and if it's a slicer/Siji about 1 3/4" or less.
I personally would round that blade at the heel ever so slightly, like how the rear of the hull on a sail boat will come up just slightly, but it's your baby!
The amount of rock & roll is up to the individual.
Finish it and use it at home until you have found where you can make improvements and then back into the shop.
Have Fun & Stay safe!
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james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
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- Apr 15, 2010
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- 22,618
That depends on whom you ask
There's no "one way" to make a kitchen knife that works really well. Hard fast "rules" about design are guidelines, at best.I'm not gonna drop names here... but suffice to say, there are many ways to skin a proverbial cat, and there are many ways to dice an onion.
I've only been in the kitchen knife game for a short while, but I'll tell ya this... if it's comfortable in the cook's hand and it cuts well, it will find a market.
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- Dec 6, 2004
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jsut wanted to touch on the curve of the edge it all depends on how the chef makes most of his/her cuts (slicing, rocking or push) this is also key to the grip angle and or shape
theres a buyer for every knife part of your job is finding them
first think i did was talk with lots of chefs and home cooks to kind of find an avg. for both types of user and then spread from there with shapes and sizes
theres a buyer for every knife part of your job is finding them
first think i did was talk with lots of chefs and home cooks to kind of find an avg. for both types of user and then spread from there with shapes and sizes
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2014
- Messages
- 644
That depends on whom you ask
I'm not gonna drop names here... but suffice to say, there are many ways to skin a proverbial cat, and there are many ways to dice an onion.
I've only been in the kitchen knife game for a short while, but I'll tell ya this... if it's comfortable in the cook's hand and it cuts well, it will find a market.
Well spoken!