Chef Knives?

[Too Tall]

About 6 yrs. ago I pony'd up for a Wustoff 10" cooks knife (4582). It is a classic and my hope was to give my 50+ year old Sabatier a rest. After 6 yrs. of use I'm out of love. That blade is heavy and suited for mowing thru heavy veg. and breaking down birds and absolutely useless for slicing anything with a skin or precision work. The ancient Sabatier still rules that roost. I'm back at it looking for another 9 or 10" chef's knife that is versitile in ways that Wustoff is not.

FWIIW I'm no fan of knives with people's names on them unless they ride bikes.

[Curt Goodrich]

Toots,

Pick up a NOS Sabatier.
Knives Round Bolster - 12 in Cooking Knife - Carbon - Natural Wood - ANTIQUE Sabatier K - CARBONE

I know it's bigger than you asked for. Look around and you'll find what you're looking for. Life is too short to cook with a crappy knife.

[Too Tall]

Who but yourself would know they sell NOS knives? On page two there is a SS 10" antique. Tempting.

Toots,

Pick up a NOS Sabatier.
Knives Round Bolster - 12 in Cooking Knife - Carbon - Natural Wood - ANTIQUE Sabatier K - CARBONE

I know it's bigger than you asked for. Look around and you'll find what you're looking for. Life is too short to cook with a crappy knife.

[Noteddy]

Life is too short to cook with a crappy knife.

This! Whatever that means for you. I'm a Shun Ken Onion type, but they are on the heavy side.

[rec head]

I have some decent knifes and this one is my favorite by far. Wüsthof® Epicure Santoku Knife, 7" | Sur La Table It is not shaped like most santoku blades, it rolls a lot better and for chopping vegetables I love it. I have to sharpen it often for cutting delicate things but I use it all the time and don't mind. As a vegetarian that likes to cook I spend a lot of time chopping veggies and this thing was a game changer.

[CamW]

I watched this the other day and now I want a fancy knife

[Too Tall]

HA! I've used one of his knives. Had no idea it was special yet it was a very very nice knife. Thanks.

[spopepro]

Who but yourself would know they sell NOS knives? On page two there is a SS 10" antique. Tempting.

Toots, careful with the vintage sabatiers. Old ones can be awesome or crap, since the mark was not protected so any old fool could stamp it on their blade. The one Curt linked is by a solid family and is probably worth it. The other common issue is with poor mounting of handles, which can be fixed, but it's not fun. The full tang ones are less affected, but the nogent blades I've seen are hit and miss. I personally wouldn't buy one over the internet (and fortunately have a guy locally who deals vintage french steel).

I'm not shy about professing a strong preference for thin, impossibly hard Japanese steel. I've come to dislike large bolsters, tangs, and shaped handles. Fortunately, that local guy deals in that stuff too, so I could get a feel for what I wanted. I think buying a knife over the internet is maybe the toughest thing to do.

[Cookietruck]

^ yeah for the price of that sabatier i'd be getting something like this 240mm gyuto
Sweden Steel Series Japanese Knife,Japanese Kitchen Knife,Japanese Cutlery,Japanese Chef's Knives.Com

i have a 210mm french pattern gyuto from this maker, pretty nice for $120
SHIKI Katana Series (Clad)Japanese Knife,Japanese Kitchen Knife,Japanese Cutlery,Japanese Chef's Knives.Com

also a nakiri similar to this one..they feel pretty nice...
SHIKI Tsuchime Damascus Series Japanese Knife,Japanese Kitchen Knife,Japanese Cutlery,Japanese Chef's Knives.Com

i kinda want something short and heavy like a western deba from breaking down chickens but whatevs...

[sailorman]

I second the Victorinox 10 inch chefs with the fibrox handle it is a great value in a high carbon content stainless steel knife. It is easy to sharpen yet holds an edge. If you are looking to spend more money I personally like the Japanese knives- Mac, Misono, Masashiro etc.. As a professional chef I have a lot of knives from old carbon to henkles, wustoff and sabatier as well as a couple customs. The vitorinox are my everyday go to knives and the ones my family gets to use/abuse. The Japanese knives don't come out to play as often. I also recommend a diamond steel for maintenance and a set of diamond stones the larger the better for honing, DMT makes great ones. If you want to look at a great selection of chefs knives check out J B Prince.

[jdp211]

I'm just going to leave this here.

[zetroc]

I'm just going to leave this here.

I've bought and used several of that exact knife. They start out pretty sharp and I gave one to my mom when she complained about other dull knives. The steel is really soft, though, and rolls the edge over pretty darn fast. I bought a Mac and quit buying the cheap ones.

5/10

[RichTheRoadie]

I got sucked in (perhaps unsurprisingly) by the good looks of the Porsche 'type 301' range. Do not make the same mistake. That's all I have on the matter...

[Shinomaster]

About 6 yrs. ago I pony'd up for a Wustoff 10" cooks knife (4582). It is a classic and my hope was to give my 50+ year old Sabatier a rest. After 6 yrs. of use I'm out of love. That blade is heavy and suited for mowing thru heavy veg. and breaking down birds and absolutely useless for slicing anything with a skin or precision work. The ancient Sabatier still rules that roost. I'm back at it looking for another 9 or 10" chef's knife that is versitile in ways that Wustoff is not.

FWIIW I'm no fan of knives with people's names on them unless they ride bikes.

Try one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Army-400.../dp/B000MD9J52 I'm using a similar Forschner cleaver from 1981 that a bad-assed Chinese chef ( Mr. Chan) gave my mom. It's the most versatile knife I own and what I grab most of the time for slicing and mincing and then scooping. It does everything, except of course chopping bones, as it's not that sort of cleaver. I also covet my moms Sabatier knives from the same era. So much more nimble than clunky German knives.

[mmoore]

Im not sure their reputation, but my parents gifted my wife and I a set of Cutco preparing knifes with the block. They work amazingly and are worth the apparent price of admission.

Don't use them on glass cutting boards like my wife wanted for aesthetics and "germ" reasons. we now have a wood cutting board for a reason and I gave that awful glass cutting board the hammer.

My go to:
https://www.cutco.ca/products/produc...em=french-chef

Second in line is a serrated version of that for heavier cutting of things with bone or something stiff and hearty like cutting a squash or watermelon in half with ease
https://www.cutco.ca/products/produc...itemGroup=3738

[hampco]

This would be the Campy Super Record version: Bob Kramer | Kramer Knives - Licensed Designs

So maybe one or two of those, someday. But if I was starting out again I would plan on buying one or two knives a year, at various price points, to see what worked the best for each situation. And learn to sharpen them, too.

[Cookietruck]

And learn to sharpen them, too.

this is huge

all my knives will cut nicely after i've sharpened them
the large cheap german chef's just needs to hit the stones more often than the japanese knives

but...the japanese knives feel much nicer for their intended purpose

[nelo784]

If you really want something that is the Gold Standard - go here every Friday and keep focus on the carbon blades!!

CUT BROOKLYN

I have two of these, and they are simply the best knives I have ever used - and that is from someone who owns a Nesmuk German knife and numerous Japanese Damascus Blades.

And he rides bikes! Very damn nice ones - but they have an engine!! And a true gentleman to boot!

[Bobonli]

It's 8:30 at night;otherwise, I'd drive into Brooklyn! I just stumbled upon this, independent of nelo784's post.

[Mark Kelly]

John Hounslow Robinson in Tasmania has a cult following over here. Apparently Tetsuya Wakuda does swaps.