Chefs Knife Question

M

Mikethemick

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Feb 27, 2005
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My friend is a chef at an exclusive golf club here in mass and has asked me to make him a big chefs knife, He said he wants the blade to be at the very least 9" long. I was wondering if any of you guys cook for a living and if you do what would be the ideal size, thickness, width, steel type and should a chefs knife be heavy or light. I have alot of o1 stock that is 7/32 thick, is that way to thick and is o1 ok for this application. If it was in your kitchen what would you want? He goes strictly by name and efficiantcy of a blade and was'nt able to tell me the more important aspects that I needed to know. I asked him to bring me his favorite knife but has'nt had a chance yet. Also I want it to be unique. What do you think?
 
I can't realy answer your questions but here is a thought on steel type. If he plans on using it at the restraunt it will probably need to be stainless so the health department does not popo it when they inspect.


Matt Matlock
 
9" is not a big knife.Typical chef's knives run 8, 10 and 12". The european types are rather soft steels with carbon contents of about .55 %.My Henkels is 8" long, 1 3/4" at the widest point and 5/32" at the thickest part of the spine. I would prefer a nice stainless like S30V but O-1 would make an excellent blade.As for style there's the typical european fairly pointed and the japanese sanoku type. As for the handle I would prefer stabilized wood. Make sure you know what he wants .
 
Matlock said:
I can't realy answer your questions but here is a thought on steel type. If he plans on using it at the restraunt it will probably need to be stainless so the health department does not popo it when they inspect.


Matt Matlock
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As long as the carbon steel is cared for (i.e. no surface rust) the health department won't care. Most all chefs I know use carbon steel.
 
As Mete said 9" would be on the edge of a short (8") and a regular (10") for most european knives. All of the proffesional chefs I've made knives for have wanted them blade heavy with as light a handle as possible. I use 1/4" stock with a full v grind. I also have them HT'd to 58-60 HRC which is a good bit harded than a traditional european HRC of around 54. If he will be using it in a comercial kitchen it will have to be stainless with a synthetic handle. Especially if he's in eastern MA, man do they love laws, rules and regulations there. :rolleyes:

WS
 
I make a fair number of professional chef's knives.I use ATS-34 on most,S30V on the better ones.I have only had orders for a few carbon steel chef's knives.The most preferred handle is canvas micarta.Some like white and others like black.Make the handle large with a mortised tang,and three rivets.10 inches is the most popular length (slicing,dicing,chopping),12" for cutting large vegetable items (cabbages,etc.),8" for small prep work(mincing,Julianne).
 
hey mike my professional opinion. make it pretty thick like mete said the henckels are beefy towards the bolsters but they thin right down. you need the thickness towards the bolster areas to give weight for when you're cutting larger items. working your way through racks of lamb, cutting up any type of chops. splitting cabbage, any type of winter squash etc. but as long as it has a razor thin tip you're all set. i personally use two knives in the kitchen for most jobs paring and chefs knife. the 9" is a good length for any type of work. as far as the small stuff goes all you need is the thin tip, to slice though stuff like your preliminary cuts before dicing or slicing mushrooms, fanning pears or a strawberry. as for the 0-1 thats a great choice, the beating that knife is going to see everyday he's going to want something he can sharpen easily and strop the edge back quick.
you can etch the 0-1 or do some type of mustard finish or vinegar etch to give it a nice even patina but as he uses it it'll get a nice patina on its own.
i find the canvas a micarta really nice handle material too, because it stays nice and rough for a good grip even when youre hands are wet. hope this helped. show us pics whenyou get some
 
Mike, that is good advise from GrassHoppa. You did know that he was a professional dishwasher. HEHEHEHE!!! :p :D
 
Thank's for th advice guys. Hey mike s. whats a patina. Hopefully I'll get it started and you can check it out midway at IG's to kinda steer me in the right direction. thanks again.
 
My preferred blade length is 10" on a chef's knife. Steel type will depend, as always, on how much trouble one is willing to go to care for the knife. Myself, I prefer carbon steel. In fact, I had this conversation with some coworkers today. My chef's knife is an Old Hickory. I just wipe it off with Olive oil after I use it, and it's stayed in fine shape.

Again, a personal preference.
 
indian george said:
Mike, that is good advise from GrassHoppa. You did know that he was a professional dishwasher. HEHEHEHE!!! :p :D
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For real, Michael, you don't post much but then you bust out with something like that? You should speak up more.

- Chris
 
I vote against O-1. It reacts with acidic foods to make a funny metalic taste. Not sure what makes O-1 different this way from other carbon steels. I made my first kitchen knife out of O-1 and now just use it to open coconuts. It's tough.
 
Mike the patina is a surface finish that will come with time due to contact with acids, its a little protective layer, kind of like bluing steel, you can speed this up by etching the blade in ferric chloride, or other acids, mustard, vinegar, whatever you have around the house.

DaDanoska: I tell people the same thing when they ask about chefs knives, go with the carbon but most people don't care for their knives like they should. it breaks my heart i'm making 8 chefs knives for my boss, and i know how he treats knives, and i know what they're going to look like in a year. he thinks using the Stainless Steel table is a good enough cutting board :(

Chris- thanks a lot man. i try to speak up when i have the time ;)
how are your knives going by the way? going to be at the NCCA. CT show in may?
 
As an ex-health inspector for Palm Beach County, FL that there is no health or restaurant regulation rule about stainless steel knives. Lots of other silly rules, though! Having said that, I would still make the knives from SS. The reason is that a lot of people think that SS is a regulation and will turn their nose up at anyone who uses anything else (i.e. restaurant owners or managers).
Lynn
 
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