The Chefs knife is my most used blade of any kind.
A crappy one beats any $400 folder simply because of the design. It is amazing the number of people who use high end folders or fixed field blades in the kitchen, yet won't spring for a decent chefs knife. Steel, super or othewise, does not make up for design. A chef and paring knife are superior kitchen blades for food prep.
Yeah, that always amazes me when I hear about guys using Mini Grips, Sebs, Paramilitarys, etc. in the kitchen, when even the junkiest of junky task- appropriate kitchen knives, if sharp, will outcut even the most expensive and sharpest of folders. (Yes, I know there are exceptions.)
The size and design may be the most important consideration when buying a kitchen knife. [snip] The other bad trend I see is the marketing of chisel grind designs, so beware, unless you just love Emersons or something.
Some of the kitchen knives I've been looking at do have a chisel grind and their ad copy claims that they're very effective, but only for right-handed use. So if the user is indeed a "righty" then what would be the problem with such a grind? And yes, I do love Emersons. Although the only one I have, a Horseman, oddly has the left side sharpened, which is good for lefties but not righties. I think most Emersons are sharpened on that side. I'm sure this issue has been thoroughly discussed and explained elsewhere, but I can't help wonder why in the world Emerson would sharpen what is the "wrong" side of the knife for the majority of knife users.
The Euro brands get bashed a lot on this forum because they use softer steel. They usually handle well though, and don't chip. I tend to agree that there are better main kitchen designs, i.e. chefs/paring, coming out of Japan and Sweden now. However, the Euros still offer the biggest selection of design specific knives.
In my research I'm finding many chef knives (even Japanese-styled ones) that use what is termed only as Swedish stainless steel, or Swedish AEB-L stainless super steel. Funny, as I've never noticed any Swedish steels on any of the folders or fixed blades that get press around these parts. Is Sweden renowned for its steel?
My last chefs knife was looking like a recurve because of so much use, so I just replaced it with a Fallkniven Blue Whale. The VG-10 works very well thank you.
VG-10 seems to be quite a popular steel in the kitchen knives I've been looking at, although most use it in the core of the blade surrounded by softer hammered, layered damascus-
looking stainless steel. Apparently these kitchen knife makers treat their VG-10 to a hard-ish 60rc, thus necessitating it being wrapped in something soft.
Either one of those knives you pictured should be good performers. What size knife does your Father use now? If he has been using a paring knife for everything, for years, he may not like a big chefs knife, no matter how good it is. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks and all that.
He currently favours a POS no-name 8-inch slicing/carving knife, mostly for its thin stock and narrow (height-wise) blade, so anything up to 9 inches should be in his comfort zone, although that might rule out the Bark Rivers I was considering, which are fairly broad. I might then just have to pick up one of the BR's for myself to try out
... although, after some digging, there is quite a bit more out there at that price point.
