Recommend me a kitchen knife!

sliceofaloha said:
I think the 8" size will be all you need! Spyderco site says their chef knife is sold out, it's a little over 7". My Seki City Shun looks to be around $150 these days. Not sure if that fits your sharpening system.
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I can sharpen 7 or even 8" blades on my system, the only issue is i'd need to upgrade my system a little bit to be able to sharpen at 9-12 degrees...
the lowest is 15 degrees currently on my system... I dont think the piece is all too expensive ... so not a huge deal to order and add it on..
 
I am a huge fan of the Bradford M390 Chef's knives. They are currently out of stock on the Bradford website, but if you can find one, you will not be disappointed. I also like my Kikuichi and Zakuri japanese knives. For tougher chores or cutting near bone, I break out the Global GF 33.
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The Enso HD Prep Knife is another you might look at. It's only 5.5" but for your tasks it might be well suited. I don't have personal experience with this one but it sure is tempting!
 
My father was sous chef and I learned to cook (and how to sharpen knives) from him. I break down my own meat/poultry/fish in bulk and I buy/freeze/cook a lot of meat for a guy who lives alone. I own over 20 cooking knives; the largest and sharpest of which I inherited from my father.

FWIW, I don't think you can cook with just 1 kitchen knife. There are any number of specialty knives but I think you'd need at least 3:

1) 8-10" Chef's Knife (or a medium size/wt thin-bladed Chinese cleaver designed for slicing, not chopping).
2) 6-8" Boning Knife
3) 2-3" Paring Knife

For greater versatility:

4) 8-10" Serrated knife (that can be used for both slicing bread and meat)
5) 10-14" Slicer (plain or serrated for carving/serving larger cuts of meat)
6) 6-9" Filet knife (which can also be used for fileting fish or de-boning meat)
7) 1-2# Cleaver for breaking bones (and/or a large/heavy thick bladed Chinese cleaver designed to do the same)
8) 4-6" Santoku (or a small/thin light weight Chinese cleaver) designed for slicing vegetables.

Most of my knives are made of cheap high carbon steel, which stains and rusts (if you don't care for them properly) but can be easily resharpened and hold an edge long enough for normal use. I don't think you "need" to buy anything else but if you like your blades to "look pretty" and hold an edge forever w/o resharpening, there are a lot of other premium S/S knives to choose from.

I'll leave it others to make specific recommendations.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
A great affordable commercial quality knife we use the Victorinox Fibrox kitchen knives, not because of the price. They just feel good in the hand, hold an edge, and work for their intended use very well.
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+1 on this.

I also have a top-of-the-line Henckels Santoku, which I also like, but it only beats this Victorinox in balance. (but weighs more, as a result of having so much steel in the handle) The Vic works better, due to having a longer blade. I can slice even the fattest veggies in one go, cut watermelons, and narrower veggies, I can line up and cut four at a time.

I have the three piece set, consisting of this 10" chef's knife, a 4" parer and a 10" carving knife. I use them all, all the time.
 
An ULU is a good kitchen knife (and pizza cutter).
They use a rocking motion to chop/dice/slice/cube etc.

I forget to mention it in my initial post. :(
 
Eli Chaps said:
The Enso HD Prep Knife is another you might look at. It's only 5.5" but for your tasks it might be well suited. I don't have personal experience with this one but it sure is tempting!
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woah, very nice looking knife! I agree it may actually suit my needs quite well... seems like a very capable knife... No clue about the company itself though, are they as reputable as the others mentioned? --- I noticed they also sell a 7" version that looks pretty good as well...thoughts?
 
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I think all I need is a 5" petty knife, and 8" French chef's knife, a 3.5" paring knife, and a bread knife.
 
sgt244 said:
woah, very nice looking knife! I agree it may actually suit my needs quite well... seems like a very capable knife... No clue about the company itself though, are they as reputable as the others mentioned? --- I noticed they also sell a 7" version that looks pretty good as well...thoughts?
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Well, I don't have first hand experience with them but they generally come well regarded.

The Yaxell Dragon Fire nakiri is another one you might look at. I like a nakiri style for vegetables and it works just fine on boneless meats.
 
Velitrius said:
Now I want that Bradford chef's knife.

Damn the luck.
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I wish I bought the 10" along with the 8" when they were available. I got a great deal on the one I bought. I think it was a flash sale with 40% off or something similar. I also own a set of the Bradford Gatsby steak knives that I love.
 
Check out Nicholas Nichols, really nice guy, does great work, used to be a professional chef. Daniel Hilgenberg at Silver Hand Knife and Tool makes great chefs knives as well.
 
I would recommend @timos- i bought a petty knife from him, and I use it for almost everything. Strong recommendation.
 
Count me as another in the three-knife category (I prefer a traditional Euro/French style knives)...

8"-10" Chef's knife - Most of your major slicing and veg. chopping. It's pretty much the workhorse of my kitchen.
6"-8" Boning knife - Deboning chicken, fine slicing of meats, and can even be used as a carver or filet if need be.
3"-4" Pairing knife - Does all your finer detail work like breaking down small items, pealing, etc..

If you're buying name brand, you can get all three for well under you're $300 budget. I bought my set of Henkle Pro's as a 3-pack at one of the big kitchen stores for around $150-ish about 15 years ago, and will never go back to a cheaper (quality) knife. But you can also get Wusthoff, Shun, or Global well within your budget for all three knives. Just try them in hand first to see what you like (Global's handles don't work for me). Most of the higher-end kitchen stores have demo knives you can try.

Vitrinox also makes a good knife for the money, and you'll be out the door for a third of your budget.

Also remember to budget in a good steel and a real wood cutting board, if you don't already own them. You'll still be well within budget.

Sorry, can't help with Japanese style knives, since they're not my preferred choice. Also don't have any experience with custom.
 
The 8-inch Victorinox Fibrox is my go-to kitchen knife. It is not considered high-end or very expensive, but it has never let me down. It's a great knife. You can get the three or four-piece essentials set for relatively cheap as well (or at least you could in the past).
 
Another Victorinox lover here. I find them nice and light, yet still do a good job. I have a very old set of French Sabatier (sp?) knives that my Dad bought in the 50's, carbon steel, work great. But you can't get those any more, I think.

That Bradford looks nice, I might have to try one of those...
 
I'm a sous chef at a mid to high volume kitchen and what I've found myself preferring more than anything else in an all around chef knife are -

Very stainless steel

Softer, lower end steel that's easy to sharpen

8-10inches in length, 9 being my sweet spot

A bolster for breaking down anything with larger bones.

I have found a very solid daily driver in my Victronox Chef knife. I'd recommend it highly.

If you're considering this blade for professional use please consider that other kitchen staff may abuse and steal your blade. Furthermore, easy to sharpen trumps time between sharpening. If you're cutting volume, itll dull fast enough that I'd rather be able to grab my steel and touch it up a few times a day as opposed to a grueling s90v sharpening session.
 
Even though I own a large number of Japanese kitchen knives both traditional and western, all one really needs are 8"-12" chefs knife or gyuto a paring knife for small delicate work and a serrated bread knife. While the are lots of other shapes and styles they come more into play with more specialized food prep or serving, Typically the Japanese knives hold a better edge but because they use a harder steel, they can chip more easily than the German/French softer steel knives
I love my Yoshikane holds and edge a very long time this is an 8" or 210mm version
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12 ' in action
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