chefs knives...

I

ipm

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Feb 26, 2009
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I don't know if this is the place for this kind of question but...

Does anyone have expereince with 'chefs knives'?

Any brands to look at or avoid? I hear Henckels is not all bad.

Any credible information sources on steel types, Japanese vs. other manufacturers?
 
There are many choices. I have one in every size from 4" to 10". The brands vary. They are German, Japanese, and Swedish. I love them all. I even tried a French chef's knife. My kids get the hand me downs. I cook a lot and I take it seriously. If you are going to buy only one, then in my view, you simply cannot beat the price/value of the 8" Shun chef's knife with kullens ($130.00). You mention Henckles. If money is no object, their new Twin 1731 limited edition looks like a fabulous and exclusive tool (about $400.00)...with Cronidur 30 steel; beautiful blade geometry as well. On a tight budget, try the close-outs for the Wusthof Grand Prix (not Grand Prix II)...likely around $60.00. If you cook a lot, a 10" starts becoming very comfortable to use believe it or not. If you want standard German, please check out Messermeister before you buy Henckels.
 
IMHO, kitchen knives are a personal thing....handle size & shape, as well as blade shape (German, French, and Japanese knives have slightly different blade shapes) can make a difference in how the knife feels *to you*....kinda like buying a pair of shoes....you can`t have someone else do it for you, you`ve gotta go try `em on for yourself. I would suggest finding a well-stocked restaurant-supply house or kitchen-oriented store where you can go and handle them and see how they feel in your hands.
Even though I own & use quite a few kitchen knives (I have both Wusthof Trident Classics & Globals), I could manage with just 3 or 4....a paring knife, a 7 or 8-inch Chef`s, and a 10-inch slicer are essential, and a flexible boning knife is quite useful as well.
 
Cook's Illustrated has done a couple of well written articles on knives, and the best value was this type:
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Black-F...r_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1237785847&sr=1-2

If I was getting new kitchen knives, that's what I'd get. We have one large wood-handled one, and it's an amazing user. We also have a 20+ year old set of Chicago's, and they're probably going to get retired or re-ground; I haven't decided. The steel in the old U.S. made Chicago's is great, but the new stuff sucks. We have both, and the new stuff is way too maintenance-intensive.

thx - cpr
 
ipm said:
Any brands to look at or avoid? I hear Henckels is not all bad.

Any credible information sources on steel types, Japanese vs. other manufacturers?
Click to expand...

We had two sets of Henckels given to us as wedding gifts that we used for 20+ years. They served us well, and are still in great shape except the wooden handles are starting to chip and crack a bit.

I recently purchased several new kitchen knives from Fallkniven (swedish with japanese steel) Al Mar (USA with japanese steel) and Hiro (japanese). They are of various blade design/size but I haven't owned them long enough to make any definitive choice as to which are my prefrences yet.

One thing to be aware of, Japanese style chef knives have very thin edges which make them excellent slicers, but they are not designed to chop through bone, or cut frozen foods, the edges can be easily damaged.

I don't own a Deba style knife, but they are apparently designed much heavier for chopping etc.

I can say all my new knives out cut the Henckels, no competition, but the Hiro for sure are not as robust as the old Henckels. If you do choose Henckels, go with the twins, they hold an edge much better.

There are photos posted on page six of one of the links posted above.

Kevin

PS Check out http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/products.html for japanese chefs knives.
I purchased some knives through them, very fast, reasonable cost shipping, and happy with the product.
Check out http://www.workwearcanada.com/ for Fallkniven
 
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I am a fan of inexpensive kitchen cutlery.

One of my favorites is the Kershaw Shun Wasabi series. They are great knives for the money. They sharpen up real nice. They hold an edge really well.

The other work horse brand for me is the white handled comercial type from Sam's Club. The ones I have are from Tramontina. Again they sharpen up real nice and hold an edge really well. I have a Santuko, parers, boning and fillet.

Both the Wasabi's and the Tramontina work great for me. I do not feel under gunned in the kitchen. My wallet is happy.
 
ipm said:
Does anyone have expereince with 'chefs knives'?
Click to expand...
A little bit - Japanese chefs knives(aka Gyutos), but I am sure you'll get a lot of feedback on that from many members.

ipm said:
Any brands to look at or avoid?
Click to expand...
Cutco and Furi. Neither worth the money they're charging and I hate their misleading and over-hyped marketing.


ipm said:
Any credible information sources on steel types, Japanese vs. other manufacturers?
Click to expand...
Very short version is that Japanese prefer thinner(blade and edges), harder and lighter knives, which due to those qualities cut better, but are more delicate. Obviously this isn't the universal law, specialized knives are different, but generally this applies to chef's knives, slicers, carving , paring and bunch of others.

As for the kitchen knife steels, I've tried to list whatever I've seen/used/heard here including makers using them.

P.S. I just checked that Cronidur 30 steel used by Henckels in their limited edition knives, aka X30CrMoNi1-5-1. Makeup: 0.30% C, 0.51% Si, 15.55% Cr, 0.98% Mo, 0.14% Ni, 0.42% N. It's not even high carbon really. I figure it's just limited edition thingy adding up to very expensive price. I'd stay away from that set. Steeling rod for 200$?
 
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