Chef's knives question

None of the ones you find in the plastic cardboard backed packages are worth spit. Most of the blocked sets are crap as are serrated blades on things shaped like a Chef's knife ( the tasks you use a Chef's knife for are not compatable with serrations ie rocking off a piviot point on the blade).

Buying a chef's knife is a very personal thing. The best knife for the longfingered cook is useless in the hands of the chubby fisted . The best knife is one that fits you best. An expensive gift knife sits in the draw and I use a much cheaper but still quality one because it fits me better. The person has to handle the knife to make a proper selection. Look up Restaurant Supply in your yellowpages and visit a big one in your area. When you see the selection you'll understand. Good stores carry high end knives as well as workaday models. But I urge you to leave the picking to the person using the knife.

on sale-- one used in a lots of commercial kitchen a solid partner when prepping and chopping veggies and rough breakdown of ingredients... the classic no frills Chefs Knife.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009NZ6G6/ref=nosim/?tag=fatwalletcom&linkCode=as1

Agree with the Turtle. There is a lot of quality in commercial cutlery like Dexter-Russell out there for not a lot of money... but if it's a gift, the name won't be recognizable like Wusthof and JA Henkels.

I use mainly two knives for everything, an 8" Wüsthof chefs knife and a 3" Wüsthof paring knife, both just the standard issue, nothing fancy and they've lasted a long time with many sharpenings. Very much a boring and standard suggestion, I know.

If you want something that looks good and will last a lifetime, I would try and go to a place at Williams Sonoma or a similar store that has high end knives. Try out all of the knives that they have and see what fits your hand best and what feels best to you. We did that and went the Shun knives because we liked them the most.

If you want something that will last a lifetime, definitely go the restaurant supply route.

deff go with the JA Henkels or the Wusthof.

chefdrp is a chef in fact, so his advice is worth listening to.

I know you're asking about a larger knife, but man ... a 3" paring knife of high quality is a thing of beauty, lasts forever, so useful for so many things. Mine's a Henckel but I'm sure others are as good.

I have a chef's knife that I bought in 1966 -- french, Sabatier. Still going strong, but it's not pretty anymore.

Buy a quality knife and take care of it -- it's yours for a lifetime. Damn, saying this makes me feel old but...I still have a German clasp knife that I got in maybe 1957.

I've had Global for 20 years now. Still sharp as a razor and perfectly balanced now as then, with just a few strokes on the steel (actually ceramic) to maintain the edge. Spendy, but worth it.

chefdrp wrote:

deff go with the JA Henkels or the Wusthof.

I've seen JA Henkels at Target. Are there "Target-level" Henkels, or would I be getting the real deal?

So far, thank you everyone for the good advice. The Right nipple wants a good knife for Xmas, so taking her to W-S is out, and gift cards, while convenient, are frowned upon by the missus.

Pamela Andersons Left Nipple wrote:

So far, thank you everyone for the good advice. The Right nipple wants a good knife for Xmas, so taking her to W-S is out, and gift cards, while convenient, are frowned upon by the missus.

One knife? Here's the Swiss Army Knife of chefs knives. Call it the Chefs Army Knife. I started out with this one.

Pamela Andersons Left Nipple wrote:

chefdrp wrote:

deff go with the JA Henkels or the Wusthof.

I've seen JA Henkels at Target. Are there "Target-level" Henkels, or would I be getting the real deal?

So far, thank you everyone for the good advice. The Right nipple wants a good knife for Xmas, so taking her to W-S is out, and gift cards, while convenient, are frowned upon by the missus.

It is funny but there are actually target level henkels. The weight on those things are pretty crummy, and some are made in China, where as the good ones are made in Germany.

henkel wrote:

It is funny but there are actually target level henkels. The weight on those things are pretty crummy, and some are made in China, where as the good ones are made in Germany.

Thank you for that tidbit!

farberware. i'm pretty sure it has to be the worst. i got one at target and it hasn't lasted me 3 months, the backing came out and now the blade is 90 degrees to the handle. i still use it though becuase it's my only knife and i'm poor hehe. i realized it was the worst knife when it was the only brand of knife that walmart sold.

Depending on how much you are interested in spending, some of the best knives I've seen (arguably better than Wüsthof) are Lamson Sharp. They're made in Shelburne Falls, MA. Only American knives that are made from the same grade steel as the German ones (i.e. Wustof and Henkels). All in all, the big difference between great knives and mediocre ones, particularly in terms of longevity, is whether they are forged (good) or pressed (eh). The forged ones will keep a sharper blade for longer. If you live in central MA, visit their factory store (yes, it's actually in their factory). It's pretty amazing.

Another interesting thing to look at are some of the Japanese ceramic-blade knives. They're unbelievably shark and hold an edge pretty much forever. The only problem is that if you drop one, it can shatter (there's $150 down the drain).

The other thing to consider is that the feel of a knife varies from person to person. My girlfriend and I were looking at chefs knives a couple of years ago, and I found one that I loved the feel of that she thought was really awkward. Might be worth forgoing the surprise factor to pick one out that you both like using.

One final note. The two times that a pressed-blade knife makes sense are:

1) for a paring knife

2) for a chef's knife that's going to take a beating (if, for example, you spend a lot of time hacking apart large squash). Then, the best bet is probably a "commercial kitchen" grade chef's knife made by one of the more reputable knife companies. They're likely to cost $20-30, be well made, not as pretty as their high-end knives, but be quite functional for more brutish jobs.

If you want the best there is go for Global.Made in Japan they are definitely not cheap though. Other than that you have so much choice , just got to get something well made and solid.

When I was a young chef starting out some-one gave me a beautiful set of knives from a small factory in Thiers France.

They've served me well although I must admit I gave in to

my envies a couple of times and bought a 2 Globals,A Thin bladed Salmon Knife and a sturdy bone remover.

I received a set of Chicago Cutlery knives when I was married many, many years ago and they have held up quite nicely.

If you want to overpay for knives, go to Williams Sonoma. Otherwise, focus your efforts elsewhere. Global are great. In my personl kitchen, I opt for the more affordable Dexter-Russell with the soft grip handles.

Lamson wrote:

Depending on how much you are interested in spending, some of the best knives I've seen (arguably better than Wüsthof) are Lamson Sharp.

The Right Nipple will be getting erect on Christmans morning when she opens up her 6-piece Lamson Sharp knife with storage block set. They are American-made, have a lifetime warranty, and a good resharpening program.

Thank you everyone for your help!

re: sharpening, many of the butcher shops at your better grocery stores will sharpen your knives for free. The guys at my store do a super job and there is nothing like having your knife professionally sharpened a couple times a year. Even malmo would notice the difference with his global.

I've been happy with my 3 wusthov knives, an 8 inch chef, 3 inch paring and 6 inch boning and always thought that was all I needed. That was until I got a 6" santuko - that baby rocks.

"That was until I got a 6" santuko - that baby rocks."

yeah i have a 7" one and it's awesome, definitely my favorite knife for chopping and dicing.