Main Chef's Knife

Lord_Balkan

Lord_Balkan

Joined
Aug 25, 2016
Messages
600
Hey, I am looking for a good Chef's knife, something around 6" to 8" preferably.

Right now my kitchen tools are

Bark & River Bird And Trout
Bark & River Mini Kalahari Sportsman

The three I found were,

Bark & River Kitchen Petty-Z (but it seems like this one has been discontinued. Knives Ship Free said they haven't gotten any of these in couple of years, I tried emailing Bark&River about it and haven't gotten any response)
Bark & River Super Chef (Looks fine but just pretty big at 10")
Bradford Knives 8" Chef (Really great but a bit pricey @ $400)
Wusthof Classic Cook's Knife 7" (I am just worried about the steel used)


What do you guys think ?
 
A while ago I bought a North Arm Knives Alder chef's knife and couldn't be happier.

North Arm Knives are a small business running out of British Columbia in Canada. They use S35VN for their blades. They use CNC manufacturing, go for thinner blades and achieve very slicey geometry.

They are also a member of this forum and have recently made thebelow post:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...antoku-and-parer-in-S35VN-USA-buyers-save-25-!
 
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Might want to take a look at some of the Miyabi Birchwood knives. People seem to like them a lot. I use a Spyderco santoku and very satisfied with it. They make a chef knife pattern too that I would assume to be as good if not better.
 
Tojiro DP for $60, JCK Carbonext for $100, Misono UX 10 for $175, Victorinox for $40 all day long? I don't mean to be unkind, but darn near anything would be better than what you re currently using.
 
If you have a thing about using a supersteel, the Kohetsu HAP40 240mm gyuto is worth a look.

If you like Wusthof, I prefer the Classic Ikon line mainly due to the lack of a full bolster. Same steel and blade shape otherwise. What is it about the Wusthof steel that makes you worried?

The right kitchen knife for you depends heavily on how you plan to use it, your cutting techniques and skill level, and your willingness and tools/skills to maintain it.

There are forums pretty much dedicated to kitchen knives that can give you lots (and lots) of advice, but they will also ask you a lot of questions to help narrow it down to something that will work for you.
 
jc57 said:
If you have a thing about using a supersteel, the Kohetsu HAP40 240mm gyuto is worth a look.

If you like Wusthof, I prefer the Classic Ikon line mainly due to the lack of a full bolster. Same steel and blade shape otherwise. What is it about the Wusthof steel that makes you worried?

The right kitchen knife for you depends heavily on how you plan to use it, your cutting techniques and skill level, and your willingness and tools/skills to maintain it.

There are forums pretty much dedicated to kitchen knives that can give you lots (and lots) of advice, but they will also ask you a lot of questions to help narrow it down to something that will work for you.
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I just don't know much about the steel on the Wusthof and how it preforms. I can't find much information on it. My skill level as a cook is beginner-ish. I don't know any techniques and I have been just doing things and learning on my own.
 
I think that Henckels leaves its steel a bit softer. From my experience, Victorinox does a better jobs with the HT than Henckels does their downmarket blades. My joke about Henckels is that they use some kind of miracle steel that can roll, flatten and chip all on the same blade. ;)
jc57 said:
http://www.wuesthof.com/international/knowledge/production/the-steel/index.jsp

Wushof uses X50CrMoV15, 58 HRC hardness, sharpened to 28 degrees inclusive (14 per side) on their Classic and Classic Ikon lines. Same steel used by Henckels on their German-made knives, and very similar to the Victorinox steel used in their Fibrox knives.
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None of them. LOL. Just out of curiosity, do you have an aversion to Japanese knives? You might also consider looking at the Japanese made Kramer Essentials knives. I am not thrilled with the fit and finish on them compared to the more expensive models, but you know the steel is probably going to be right. As best as i can figure, it is AEB-L/13C26 at 61 RC. I am told that the Misono UX-10 line uses the same steel.
Lord_Balkan said:
So which one of their lines do you recommend for someone like me?
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jdm61 said:
None of them. LOL. Just out of curiosity, do you have an aversion to Japanese knives? You might also consider looking at the Japanese made Kramer Essentials knives. I am not thrilled with the fit and finish on them compared to the more expensive models, but you know the steel is probably going to be right. As best as i can figure, it is AEB-L/13C26 at 61 RC. I am told that the Misono UX-10 line uses the same steel.
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I am not opposed to Japanese knives, I just would rather get something better than VG-10 which is what a lot of Japanese knives I've looked at use.
 
jdm61 said:
Tojiro DP for $60, JCK Carbonext for $100, Misono UX 10 for $175, Victorinox for $40 all day long? I don't mean to be unkind, but darn near anything would be better than what you re currently using.
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Lord_Balkan said:
So which one of their lines do you recommend for someone like me?
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jdm61 lists several good options there.

A Wusthof 8" Classic Ikon chef's knife is about $160 currently. They are not on sale at any of the major sellers right now. Wusthof seems to coordinate sales because if any of their big resellers has a special price on them, they all do.

If I were going to own a German chef's knife, that's probably what I would buy. However, I think they are overpriced (recently they were available for $120, which is still overpriced). I've got one Zwilling Henckel's knife from Germany (they call it a 5 1/2" prep knife) in the Pro line, which is a nice little knife but I think Wusthof makes a better knife (and it is typically priced a little higher to match).

There are a number of overall better kitchen knives (mostly Japanese made) available for less than that.

The list of usual suspects are:

Tojiro DP
Gesshin Stainless
Fujiwara FKM
Suisin Inox
Kanehide PS60
Misono 440 (that's the model number, not the steel)
Misono UX10
Misono Swedish

These are assuming you want to stick with a stainless steel and a western style handle, in the Japanese gyuto / French Sabatier blade shape, and don't want the full belly and high tip of the German style chef's knife.

You should use any of them with a wooden cutting board (some people like soft rubber like the Sani Tuff or similar), and most are probably not suited for trying to cut through bone (even chicken bones, except at the joint, where you are just cutting through tendons).

If you want a carbon steel or a typical Japanese octagonal handle, then your options open up further.

You can always go with a Victorinox Forschner 8" chef knife for around $40 and use that while you are learning to cook and learning knife skills. Softer steel that is easy to resharpen and works fine with a honing steel between sharpenings.
 
VG-10 is supposedly rather sensitive to heat treatment. I had a Hattori "forum knife"270mm western sujihiki for a while and I really liked it. Hattori has a reputation doing a really good job with VG-10, but I have heard that others may not take quite so much care. Many of the European makers do a good job with it's Austrian cousin N690. The quality of the work on that Hattori was reflected in the price of the knife. The current discounted price on that knife from JCK is $235.
Lord_Balkan said:
I am not opposed to Japanese knives, I just would rather get something better than VG-10 which is what a lot of Japanese knives I've looked at use.
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The Tojiro DP 210mm gyuto in VG10 is excellent. I cook a lot at home and it's performed very well for the year or two I've had it. It's a step up from my Victorinox 8" chefs knife. The only reason I'd want something more expensive is for a different handle material.
 
From sharpening feedback for a few pro-Chefs i've learned that both Tojiro and Sakai Takayuki do an excellent job on their heat treatment of VG10.
 
Higher carbon compared to AEB-L/13C26 plus a pinch of nitrogen, so more stain resistance, but perhaps not the same absolute ability to take a super fine, stable edge.
Lord_Balkan said:
I haven't heard much about that steel. What does it compare to?
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jdm61 said:
Higher carbon compared to AEB-L/13C26 plus a pinch of nitrogen, so more stain resistance, but perhaps not the same absolute ability to take a super fine, stable edge.
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I'm not familiar with those.. How does it compare to something like 154CM or S35VN?

Thanks in advance, I am new to this and am still learning.
 
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