I need someone to make me a good chef's knife

M

Morkaleb

Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
51
OK.. I've given up on finding a good knife for work. I need it to be tough enough to handle chopping all kinds of food for eight hours straight. I want it to be good at taking an edge and to work for my whole shift remaining as sharp as it was when I got to work. I haven't decided on a material for it yet.. but I want it to be 10" long, and about 4.5" wide where the blade meets the handle. the handle should be about 4.5" long and very comfortable. Finally.. I want to top of the blade to be softly rounded rather than squared off, since eight hours of chopping and dicing against a squared off back of the blade makes for a very red index finger.

as far as the materials makign the blade, I'm open to suggestions.

any Ideas on the knife or who I should get to make it?

Morkaleb
 
Contact J.P Holmes.He might have one in stock.
925-455-1839
Randy
 
Thomas Haslinger is a chef-turned-knifemaker who makes some beautiful and very functional chef's knives:

NewGenIronMosa.JPG


I'd also suggest going to BladeGallery.com. Daniel O'Malley, the owner of Blade Gallery, is also a knifemaker specializing in chef's knives. He has pulled together a great collection of production and custom chef's knives at his site.

Knives for Chefs at Blade Gallery
 
I don't have any experience with Rhino knives but, I'm sure he is capable of building a good knife too so, along with the dozens of other good knifemakers out there I don't mention, it's nothing personal - so many knives/knifemakers and so little time ;)

I have used a Trace Rinaldi TTKK for ~5 years and absolutely love it. It is made from BG-42 and was the first knife I ever owned that would slice and dice a 10 pound sack of Potatoes without going dull. Edge geometry and over all knife design is simply excellant.

Over the labor day weekend, I used my George Tichbourne chef's knife to cut up whole Rib Eyes, New Your strip and, several other big chunks of meat (that should have really been hacked up by the butcher but, I would missed out on the fun ;) ). For average jobs, I find it a little too big and too heavy. It is capable of doing almost any kitchen chore but, I would not want to use a knife that heavy for 8 hours a day. George builds a knife made to be used in the kitchen so, I would contact him with your requirements and let him guide you to a good knife. His prices are pretty good too, especially when you consider the attention he gives each customer. All the bases are covered with good ergonomics and round edges everywhere.

Thomas Haslinger builds a really good knife and is a chef too so, he has put a lot of thought into that knife specifically. He is definitely on my "buy" list when time and money allow it.

For a totally off the wall suggestion - Murray Carter Japanese style blades. I picked up two of these at Blade West last year and love them. Their lightweight makes them a dream to use for extended periods of time. They are not as forgiving of abuse as the knives mentioned above or your good old German production steel but, are not brittle either - use the right knife for the job :) . The Muteki line he makes uses two layers of stainless steel with a good carbon steel core hardened to an RC of 62-64. The carbon steel core exposed along the edge will take a patina (or even rust if truly abused) which gives it a nice character IMHO. For about $150 to $180, you can get 3 knives that will give you the selection you need to cut translucent slivers of tomatoe or onions, julienne hard carrots or dice potatoes, and a heavier model for hard cuts into meat with bones.
 
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