Chef's Knives

[norcalblacktail]

Shun or Global.

 

[Bernoulli]

It depends on how you use your knives and what you expect out of them. I don't care what the steel formulation is as long as the knife is comfortable to use, will hold a reasonable edge and will cut meat, fruits and vegetables. Every time I pick up a kitchen knife I use a steel and seldom have to sharpen my knives.

I do the cooking. The cooking is all from scratch. For example, I buy whole chucks and bone them and use it all. I am not a chef, so I don't spend day after day boning or doing prep work. If cooking were a vocation rather than an avocation, I might think differently.

I have had a large number of knives and currently use mostly Kershaw Kais. I like the handles because I can grip them regardless of how greasy they get and I like the weight. For me, the most important thing is how the knife fits me. I would be very nervous about buying a knife without handling it first. I prefer stamped over forged or cast (dendritic) blades (I've had both).

I'll take function over form. The ergonomics have to fit me as an individual - the strength and size of my hand, the length of my forearm, the range of motion of my wrist, etc. There are many good manufacturers. I'd recommend buying individual knives that fit you personally.

 

[cybrok]

I like my Tojiro knives.

+1:thumbup:

I have a Tojiro DP. Not a damascus steel so it allows the knives to be cheaper. Still very good. When I asked on forums, these were said to be the best bang for the bucks for under 100$.

 

[Sharp Eye]

Take a look at the kitchen knife collection from Bark River Knives.

Here is a review.
If they are anything like other Bark River Knives they are wicked sharp, easy to maintain and come with a bullet-proof guarantee.

 

[GEL99]

As much as I would love to have custom knives made, I am afriad that my budget will not allow such a thing. =(

A lot of people seem to be recommending Shun and indeed they have captured my attention as well. While I fully agree that a test drive is a great idea before buying a knife, I have a hard time convincing retail outlets to give me 20 minutes alone with their display knives and a sack of carrots.

As an interesting side note, I was eating lunch in a Sushi bar today in Vegas (I am here for a convention) and asked the Sushi chef what knife he used. He held up a Global. When I asked him why he used that particular brand, he said that they work great and were not too expensive.

Hummm ....

p.s. Those Bark Rivers look great. I will go look that up.

Thanks all!

 

[bh49]

Recently I bought Kanetsune 8" Gyuto KT102. 33 layers of Damascus steel, VG10 core. Performance is outstanding. It goes through meet like it is water. Very good balance. Price is unbelievable $60 at Smokey Mountains.

 

[gustav]

have you tried a chinese cleaver? they are effective and inexpensive. try it if you havent, you may like it. They do not need to be expensive and are very versatile. They have the heigh and so you can use the knuckles as a guide when chopping fast or rest your palm at the tip and not accidentally cut your fingers. They excel in smashing garlic too.

 

[tenman]

Have a couple of Shun Classics, a paring and utility. They handle 90% of everything we do in the kitchen; need something a bit heavier for cutting through bone. I really like them, sharpen easily and hold their edge well.

 

[gdtrfb]

I own a set of globals, some wustoffs, some mess..., some other Japanese production knives so far.

Globals - blades are high quality, the handles aren't for everyone. If you are doing mass amount of prep, especially in a really wet env, they may not be for you and there are other options at this pricepoint with equal or better performance. Blades are hard and may chip more easily than most western knives. (This goes for most Japanese knivies with a higher hardness value though.) The slicer is the one I like the most, but don't have a need to use it that often. For a chefs/santoku, I prefer other handles even though the blades are very very high quality.

Wust - don't use them much at all any longer. But I have one tomato knife that is a handy utility all around serrated blade with fork prongs on the end. I don't use it for tomatoes as the globals are wicked sharp and work fine, but this is a handy 50$ knife to have around.

Seki made santoku and usuba w/ western handles. Handle are great, but the blades are Ok: made for messermeister (probably stamped). the santoku was my first non cheapo knife and I still use it, but it will be relegated to my camping kitchen soon.

Ask yourself what kind of knives do you really want? What do you eat/prep the most? For many mainstream brands, you can often go into a sur la table, william sonoma, etc. and try them out.

 

[Buhbuhbonky]

My Wusthofs rule. German knives are made with a different theory than Japanese. German knives are made to be steeled often. They are workhorses. They have a greater blade angle and somewhat softer metal, but if you steel them like chefs do they will last forever and not need to be sharpened very often.

They have a classic look that I like. They are less artistic than Japanese knives I'll give you that, but they are very masculine and medieval looking IMHO. And their larger bolster makes them better balanced to m.

That, and chicks dig 'em.

 

[Kim Lau]

Recently I bought Kanetsune 8" Gyuto KT102. 33 layers of Damascus steel, VG10 core. Performance is outstanding. It goes through meet like it is water. Very good balance. Price is unbelievable $60 at Smokey Mountains.

+1 on the Kanetsune. They seem like really good quality knives and are cheaper than Shun's.