Chef's Knives

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GEL99

Joined
Jul 10, 2007
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I am looking at replacing/upgrading (if possible) my meager collection of chef’s knives and am looking for feedback or recommendations.

There are a lot of choices out there but the makers that seem to be prominent include: Henkels, Global, MAC, Nenox, Forschner Victorinox, Shun, Tojiro, and Wusthof (I am sure thast I have left out a few). To make this more dizzying, most makers have more than one line of knives.

The knives that I most commonly use in the kitchen include a 4-inch paring knife, an 8-inch chef’s knife, a 7-inch Santoku knife, and a 6-inch boning knife. It seems like VG-10 is a popular choice for chef’s knives these days so I am leaning in that direction although I am certainly not married to the idea.

I have spent some time trolling through the Internet but there is little in the way of REAL reviews out there. Most information is marketing aimed at selling product.

So … I figure the best bet is to go ask people who know knives. What information, advice, or opinions can you all offer?

Many thanks in advance!
 
I had mine made for me in carbon steel damascus in Japan. I am not sure of the price ranges you want to go with but I would stay with carbon steel and not stainless. Just wash after each use and never stick the in a dishwasher, I keep mine on a magnetic strip rather than a block to keep them as moisture free as possible. If you don't want to spend several hundred per knife I would go the other way and spend less...try Warther Cutlery, you can get a very nice set of what you listed for about 100 bucks...give them a look:

http://www.warthers.com/kitchen_knives/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=t1p0jo3umn4i2s0253pnvfnka2

I have several of their smaller paring knives and they are of excellent quality. I had some of their larger knives but gave them to a nephew when I got my customs. Anther nice thing...Warther's provide a lifetime of free sharpening when the kitchen knives are returned to their factory in Dover, OH. Take the kitchen knives in Monday - Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and they will sharpen them at no charge, while you wait. If you don't live close you can ship them in for the same service.
 
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I recently bought a Shun santoku and I've hardly touched my Henckels chef's knife since. It was the sharpest knife out of the box that I have ever purchased and seems to be holding the edge forever. Good balance and comfortable handle (D-shaped in cross section). Rocking action is better than my chef's knife. The only down side is that I got used to a thick bolster that extends all the way to the bottom of the blade and the Shun's do not have that. The bolster is just an extension of the handle so I rest my middle finger against the trailing edge of the thin blade - definitely not as comfortable as having a nice thick bolster there.

I need a carving/slicing knife and I'm looking seriously at the Shun Kaji "hollow-ground" 9 inch slicer. It isn't really hollow ground but has grantons to reduce the food sticking to the blade.
 
I have been using the Shun Classic 8" Chefs knife for about 3 months. It has been the sharpest laser of a knife I have used. I only use it for vegetables and boneless cuts of meat. It has VG10 damascus and sports a 17 degree edge. It has been holding an excellent edge, As sharp as the day I bought it.
 
Al Mar has a great selection of quality kitchen & chef knives.

I bought a set almost 10 yrs ago & they still look & work excellent.

Just throwing it out there.They're worth a look.

Good luck
 
My son is a professional chef, and he says 95% of the time he's using his Shun Classics: 4" paring knife and 7" Santoku.
 
Don't know much about every brand, but for the one's I've used:

Henckels: Don't like them, they're no longer forged and are made by welding pieces together. Have bolsters that drop too far. Are way too $$$ for the quality.

Wusthof: OK, but fairly soft (dulls + sharpens quickly.) Like Henckels, the bolsters drop down too far which interferes with the back of the edge.

Global: Great knives with terrible handles.

Messermeister: Best of the German stuff I've used. Proper bolsters that don't interfere with the edge, decent blade quality.

Chef's Choice Trizor: IMO, best of the European style chef's knives. Basically Messermeister with harder blade steel (higher RC)


Lastly, EVERY "granton" bladed knife I've ever seen other then actual Granton of Sheffield, England brand ones are made wrong. Granton edges are supposed to be alternating scallops in the side of the knife that extend down into the edge itself, making a sort of left-right-left-right-etc wavy pattern to the edge. Sort of a sideways serration in a non-serrated blade. However, all the knife companies that sell "granton" style knives puts the scallops too far up, not affecting the edge at all, and call them "air-pockets". This is a useless marketing gimmick. Buy a knife from the Granton company (they're not expensive) to see how it's supposed to be done.
 
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Almar All Stainless 7 in. Ultra-Chef Santuko Knife Damascus?

ALAM-SC7.jpg


The new Almar all stainless steel Ultra-Chef models are modern in design and state of the art in performance. The one piece ergonomic, hollow, all stainless steel handles are not only visually stunning and perfectly balanced, they are also impervious to just about everything found in today's kitchen environments. Each blade is 33 layers of stainless steel with the center cutting layer made of VG-10 Cobalt stainless steel which is heat treated to a Rockwell c-scale hardness of 60-62. Strong and light in weight, each knife is hand sharpened to an incredible edge. Each knife is individually gift boxed.

Retails between $160-$190 & will last a few lifetimes;):thumbup:
 
I have 5 Globals and intend to add 2 models from Mcusta's recently launched chef line. I have no problem with the handle of the global knives, perhaps it's a matter of taste. I do think that they offer a correct quality/price ratio.
My two favourites are from the smaller GS series. The GS-5 is a truly handy versatile vegetable knife, I find it more comfortable than a big chef knife for this usage, and I use it every time I cook:

img_global_gs-5.jpg


And the GS-1 is a great kitchen knife for peeling etc:

img_global_gs-1.jpg
 
i really hate to thread-jack, but i have been looking as well and have a few other questions. what about ceramic? is damascus better than high carbon? where does stainless land? any other, better materials? finally, can any of the higher quality brands be gotten in a set and if so, do they come in a block or a briefcase type box? i have been looking for a while and it seems the nicer knives can only be gotten individually. if i can only get them individually, what knives should i get to comprise a good set that will have what i need?
 
Two problems with ceramics, first the blades are extremely brittle, I saw one shatter when it was dropped on the ceramic tile floor. Second is while they do hold an edge for a long time sooner or later they will have to be sharpened and very few can do it properly, normally you send them back to have it done.

Warther are very nice knives, you can get a good set for about $120 (2 paring, 5 inch boning, 7 inch chefs) or you can spend $700.00 for a set of Shuns...just depends on your budget but the Warther, which are carbon steel, will last a lifetime with care and do an excellent job.
 
so for under $1000 for a set, would shun be the way to go? or is there something better? i have heard a lot of good things about shun, and there is the ken onion designed shuns with damascus that i am liking...
 
If you plan on spending that much I would go custom...I did. I still use Warther paring knives but my main blades were made for me in Japan. Expensive but worth every penny. Nothing against Shun but I gave mine away, I had 4 of the Onions, the ergonomics of the handles never made me happy but that is personal preference nothing against the quality. I think I would have liked the classics as I have stated before.

You might look through here: http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html and see if you find anything, I wouldn't hesitate to order from any of the makers there. Problem with a "set" is you don't always get just what you want and may get items you won't often use. That plus I really dislike keeping knives in blocks.

My three made for me by Ichimonji-Kichikuni, Sakai Japan... the maker's chop is the long set of symbols, the short set is my chop...
kitchen2.jpg
 
thanks absintheur, i'll take a look at those. still though, i am wondering about damascus vs. high carbon for kitchen use...
 
also, are there any "real" damascus blades for kitchen use or just the "damascus look" as the shun classic states?
 
The damascus made by the makers on the page I listed is real folded damascus...not just etched blades. I don't think there is a huge difference in perfomance in the damascus vs HC arena. What is nice is the fact that many makers clad their HC in a good stainless like VG-10 giving you good stain and corrosion resistance with the cutting edge of HC. My three are damascus but were not heavily acid etched to raise the pattern tho you can see it in the grind.
 
I get very good service from the medium price range Kershaw kitchen knives and I use them a lot every day.
 
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