Need a veggie chopping knife (recommendation?)

H

_Happy_

Joined
May 30, 2020
Messages
6
I need a better knife for chopping vegetables (mostly peppers). I use it in a commercial kitchen and go through about 6 LBS per week of Poblano Peppers. I have very little experience with kitchen cutlery terminology.

My current knife has a Heel / Bolster that gets in the way. I'm looking for a recommendation for this chopping knife around or under $200 USD.

I have a sharpening system similar to the Edge Pro Apex kit that I can use to touch it up from time to time.

Thanks,

_Happy_
 
I do not work in any professional kitchen, but I do own a few kitchen knives. Victorinox makes several kitchen knives, at various "grades", some are marked Wenger too, so they may be worth a look in your case and they should be easily available in most countries too.
 
Buy this knife... so I don't.

Magnacut Nakiri (Repost Price Reduced)

Hey everyone, I'm reposting this nakiri discounted. I'll be leaving the country for 6 weeks at the end of the month and don't want to leave any available blades lying around. 6.5" Magnacut Nakiri : $350 $310 HT'd by Jarod Todd to 63HRC 11.25" overall Stock thickness at the plunge line is...
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I am by no means a pro, but I do love dabbling in the kitchen, and I have come to love my cheap-azz Santoku. I won’t even say its name because I’d probably be laughed off the forum, but it’s served me well for a good 10 years or so, as long as I keep a hone on it regularly. And I am planning on replacing it with something better very soon … but not quite $200 better. Point is, I use the Santoku for just about everything vegetable. If you think that’ll work for you, and $200 is your ceiling, you can’t go wrong with a Wüsthof, as long as you don’t go all J Nielson on it. And you can find this one just about anywhere. Just my very humbled and unskilled opinion.
CLONK
 
So I wrote to Chefsknifestogo and he recommended one. Just climbed out of the rabbit hole of chef knifes... I'll be ordering one "wa" style stainless knife for my cafe (need to be durable) and one "yo" handle knife for home. Both Gyuto.

This is probably the Wa style i'll go for: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kapsgy21.html

Still waiting on a recommendation for the Yo handle knife.

toker toker that nakiri is lovely but out of my $ range this time.
 
hughd said:
Fess up, sounds like my kind of kitchen knife...
(I won't tell anyone)
Click to expand...
I can’t. No, don’t make me do it. I won’t, you can’t make me.

ALRIGHT. It’s a Farberware!! Are you happy now??!! :D

It’s one of their forged styles, so not a total piece of junk; it’s never seen the dishwasher, and I give it a good honing before every use, so it’s really kept it’s edge pretty well. It’s light and comfortable to use, and it just gets the job done. It’s just my wife and me, and we split the cooking, so that’s the extent of how much it gets used. But I’ve been thinking of upgrading for some time now, because, you know, I have to, and I’ve been eyeballing the Henckels Classic line, made in Spain, but with German steel. I’ve got a 8” chefs knife, 5” and 7” santoku, and a 4” pairing knife in my Amazon saved list, just haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I really like that Wüsthof, but I just can’t justify dumping that kind of money on one knife for how much I’d use it, especially when that price will almost cover all four of those Henckels’s I want. Could also be it’s a good thing I haven’t bought yet before joining this motley crew, as maybe somebody will enlighten me to some of the better kept secrets in cutlery.
 
_Happy_ said:
So I wrote to Chefsknifestogo and he recommended one. Just climbed out of the rabbit hole of chef knifes... I'll be ordering one "wa" style stainless knife for my cafe (need to be durable) and one "yo" handle knife for home. Both Gyuto.

This is probably the Wa style i'll go for: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kapsgy21.html
Click to expand...
Something to be aware of if you're going to keep the factory edge.

Edge Grind: Asymetric 70/30 (Ok for lefty or righty)

If you're going to be cutting vegetables almost exclusively, look at a Nakiri.
 
_Happy_ said:
So I wrote to Chefsknifestogo and he recommended one. Just climbed out of the rabbit hole of chef knifes... I'll be ordering one "wa" style stainless knife for my cafe (need to be durable) and one "yo" handle knife for home. Both Gyuto.

This is probably the Wa style i'll go for: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kapsgy21.html

Still waiting on a recommendation for the Yo handle knife.

toker toker that nakiri is lovely but out of my $ range this time.
Click to expand...
The knife you linked to is yo (western) style handle WA is Japanese style handle. Nakiris are good for chopping vegetables, but so are gyutos so either will work with gyuto being a more general purpose knife. Kitchen knives are easier to sharpen on stones free hand especially the longer ones. Kaeru 240 is a very solid choice. It is stainless clad and core is Japanese version of D2, good durable knife.
 
ace said:
The knife you linked to is yo (western) style handle WA is Japanese style handle. Nakiris are good for chopping vegetables, but so are gyutos so either will work with gyuto being a more general purpose knife. Kitchen knives are easier to sharpen on stones free hand especially the longer ones. Kaeru 240 is a very solid choice. It is stainless clad and core is Japanese version of D2, good durable knife.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction. I had it backwards. So after taking a look at the Nakiris I'm very interested. I can see how this shape and weight would be useful for me work. So I'm just going to have to get one of each :)

Anyone recommend a decent Nakiri under $200 that ships from the US ? I see the selection is much larger with the Wa handle. At least at Chefknivestogo . com. I would be into bothe Wa and Yo for a Nakiri. Just so many options, dont know where to start.
 
_Happy_ said:
Anyone recommend a decent Nakiri under $200 that ships from the US ? I see the selection is much larger with the Wa handle. At least at Chefknivestogo . com. I would be into bothe Wa and Yo for a Nakiri. Just so many options, dont know where to start.
Click to expand...
I've purchased knives from both chefknivestogo and japanesechefsknife.com. Both are really good retailers.

JCK has a lot more options for a Nakiri than CKTG. There are a lot of good steels to choose from for under $200. VG10, White, Blue, etc.
japanesechefsknife.com

Nakiri

Vegetarian's Knife "Nakiri" is is rectangular in profile and has a tall, thin blade. It is often used for chopping, slicing or mincing vegetables and fruits.
japanesechefsknife.com japanesechefsknife.com
 
before laughing, i'd suggest holding one of these in your hand and using it for a while (remember, 30d return @ amazon).
Kiwi Brand Stainless Steel 8 inch Thai Chef's Knife No. 21
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FEJ0WO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
sadly, supply chain problems have increased its price significantly: it's jumped 26% since i got it in january - & now up to $10 (shipped).
the blade looks like a rectangle leaning to one side; it's wide & QUITE sharp; now my go-to daily knife for most everything; and made of an unknown stainless.
there are a number of favorable comments by chefs, too.

FWIW, i soon bought their 4" paring knife - also surpriingly sharp. in fact, while breaking down boxes today. i noted the paring knife cut thru them EASIER than the box cutter!
 
My son gifted me a MAC brand Nakiri for Christmas and I'm beyond impressed with it!

iu
 
docflash docflash :

Review - Thai Kiwi knife & Zanussi cutting board

For several weeks now i've been doing a bit of testing in our home kitchen with a very cheap and second hand Thai Kiwi knife & a newly bought Zanussi polyethylene cutting board. Got the knife for free from one of the Chefs i sharpen for, the tip being a bit bent from prying. He bought it while...
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In the absolute budget class i haven't found anything better.
There's one quite upscale restaurant in my area where the head Chef has his entire commercial kitchen outfitted with only Kiwi knives, i kid you not.
Imo you need to use these on a good edge friendly cutting board (like those Zanussi ones) to get the most out of them.
 
Yep, another vote for a nakiri.
JCK & CKTG would be the vendors I'd be checking out in your price range, as others noted. Murray Carter or his apprentices' Muteki series when you win the lottery.

Docflash, while that Kiwi is super affordable, I perceive a lot of belly on the edge vs traditional Japanese nakiri blades. Belly is wonderful for rocking chops & sliding cuts. Not so good for push chops (where you want lots of edge landing at once) since belly effectively gives more or less a single point of contact between the edge and the cutting board. More optimal blade shape will depend on what type of chopping style the OP is using to cut up their peppers. Just MHO.
 
>belly
good observation! i'm not that familiar w/ japanese knives, tho' i can recognize at santoku (which the kiwi replaced). but after my interest in knives was rekindled (resharpened?) recently, i bought a hulsbus paddle strop at amazon and stropped the kiwi. now it easily cuts dime-size circles out of newspaper. i guess i'm easily impressed.
 
I was given a Kai Seki Magoroku nakiri 30 years ago in Japan, and it's been my vegetable knife at home ever since. I endorse the nakiri for home use for sure. For commercial purposes, I'd recommend a Chinese cleaver (slicer), light and thin. Last year, for my birthday, I bought a Shibazi f208-2 that could easily meet all your production challenges. You can read reviews on AMAZON, also Youtube.
 
My veg cleavers are Lamson made in Western Mass. I have no affiliation with them but I do go to the factory store and buy their seconds.
104529F0-B1C6-45D0-8DFE-FBBF4EE9D191.jpeg104529F0-B1C6-45D0-8DFE-FBBF4EE9D191.jpegBE2C8377-2607-42DA-A9B2-5898846AC134.jpeg3DCB8CFF-752F-485B-A469-30337E164EE6.jpeg4BC84480-FDDB-4717-8F66-EAD43C3F49B3.jpegC8E56CAE-DF2D-497D-90FE-22E6B48E0BB2.jpeg

I love my Lawrence rhino knife. But I do like the Asian style the knives for cutting vegetables regardless of maker. If you now how to handle a knife and put an edge on it i on you. I have cheap knives which I like, however they take work to maintain.
 
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