Recommend a high end chef's knife for wife

[ovgcguy]

Hey Guys,
My wife's birthday is coming up in July and she is a serious cook. I'd like to get her a mid to high end chef's knife as she doesn't have a professional grade knife in the quiver.

I think I'm looking for a medium-large chopping knife as that's what we use most. I'd rather pay for high end steel than a fancy handle or paying for a 'luxury' brand name. Basically, what's a good price:performance brand that delivers a lot of value for the $?

I've looked at the spyderco's and am considering those. What else should I consider for $200-400?

[VooDooChild]

Is she into knives? Is she going to sharpen it? Are you? Is the knife going to be taken care of?
Hand washed? Steps taken to avoid corrosion?

Fancy steel is tempting but something simpler like vg10 could be a better option if the knife might get neglected.

[ovgcguy]

Our standard knives dont get babied, but if it was fancy I would take ownership of sharpening it with a sharpmaker and she is plenty capable of keeping nice things nice.

She's not into knives as we think of them, but is into any kitchen tool and would appreciate/respect a nice knife. It would only be hand washed and immediately dried and oiled if needed. Even if it didnt need immediate dry and oil I'd still probably do it anyways so it doesnt contact other knives in the dish basket.

[TomAiello]

How much money do you want to spend?

The best chef knife I've used is the TRC Equilibrium, but it's pricey. It's M390, and the ergonomics and performance are really good. https://www.lamnia.com/en/p/52586/knive ... m390-knife

Bradford's culinary series are also worth a look. Definitely cheaper than the TRC, and still super steel (m390) or a cheaper (AEB-L) option: https://bradfordknives.com/13-culinary

[benben]

I’m not a chef, but I cook practically every night of the week. I have three Shun knives now and love them, if I somehow lost my Shun Santoku, I’d order another one right then!

The classic Shun I have is VG-MAX, great knife and it doesn’t break the bank! A Shun Nakiri will be my next one!

[TomAiello]

Benben, do you know the chemistry of VG-Max? It's an upgraded VG-10, isn't it? Is it related to SG2?

[benben]

Benben, do you know the chemistry of VG-Max? It's an upgraded VG-10, isn't it? Is it related to SG2?

I honestly don’t, maybe this’ll help?
https://shun.kaiusa.com/blade-steels

[TomAiello]

I found the ZKnives entry for it: http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/vgmax.shtml

"VGMAX(Takefu) - VG-MAX has first appeared few years ago, in 2013, when Shun knives switched several of its kitchen knives from Takefu VG-10 steel to newly announced VG-MAX steel. The new alloy was, and still is proprietary steel and as with many such alloys, its composition remained unknown for a long time. I received composition from the reader, on 01/2020, and he in turn got it from Kai Cutlery rep. (Kai owns Shun). So, after 6 long years we finally have it :) As the name suggests, and as it was announced back in 2013, VG-MAX takes Takefu VG-10 steel as its base and increases several alloying element percentages, which should result in increased performance. Most notably, W and V are both at 3%, and Cobalt is increased to 2.5%. There's also slight increase in Cr and Mo content, but not as prominent as the former three. Target hardness range for the VG-MAX steel is 61HRC, +/- 1HRC, which is normal margin of error for most of the steels. I'm kind of surprised target hardness isn't higher, but the HRC number given here is what Shun wants their kitchen knives to be. Given the exclusivity of the steel, it's unlikely we'll ever find out. I suppose, Shun wouldn't want VG-MAX to compete with another premium alloy in their knives Takefu SG-2 steel. Or may be I am wrong :) May be, Shun simply doesn't want to bring it higher, I've fixed more then enough shun kitchen knives with broken tips as it is. That's not to say Shun knives are more brittle than other VG-10 steel knives though. It's just Shuns are more popular and widespread in western world than the others, and inexperienced users break them more frequently. Anyway, VG-MAX should perform a bit better compared to Takefu VG-10 steel, and it'll be a bit more difficult to sharpen too, though given proper sharpening equipment and skill, it's unlikely you'll notice increase in sharpening difficulty. You should notice better edge holding compared to Shun's VG-10 steel knives though."

I've enjoyed SG-2. Maybe I should try VG-MAX. Sounds like it might have better edge stability (at the cost of edge holding) which would be cool for a super thin kitchen knife that could be re-sharpened quickly and easily.

[benben]

Benben, do you know the chemistry of VG-Max? It's an upgraded VG-10, isn't it? Is it related to SG2?

My Santoku is sharp, stays sharp, but it’s never felt screaming sharp to me, but it cuts like crazy because it’s sooo thin behind the edge! My wife bought me a 4” Shun paring knife, now that rascal is scary sharp, you don’t get any skin near that edge!

One of the main reasons I love that Santoku is because of that wide, tall blade, makes it so easy to serve plates with while you’re cutting things up with it.

[TomAiello]

One of the main reasons I love that Santoku is because of that wide, tall blade, makes it so easy to serve plates with while you’re cutting things up with it.

Do you have a Cai Dao?

I've made a couple of them, and the one I made my wife has become a favorite in the kitchen, for similar reasons.

It looks like Shun makes one in VG-MAX, actually. (https://shun.kaiusa.com/classic-vegetab ... ver-7.html)

[benben]

Tom, all 3 of my Shuns are the Classic version, probably their least expensive models, plenty good enough for my uses! During vacation last Summer in Tennessee, I went to SMKW three times I think? On one of those visits I spent quite a while in the kitchen cutlery section, carried on a nice conversation with the guy behind the counter and he handed me 4 or 5 different models of Sal’s high end kitchen knives. I was beyond impressed, as in they were super nice! This guy was also a trained chef and really knew kitchen cutlery, he said this Spyderco Nakiri would be his next knife purchase!
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/K17GBNBK/1821

[benben]

One of the main reasons I love that Santoku is because of that wide, tall blade, makes it so easy to serve plates with while you’re cutting things up with it.

Do you have a Cai Dao?

I've made a couple of them, and the one I made my wife has become a favorite in the kitchen, for similar reasons.

It looks like Shun makes one in VG-MAX, actually. (https://shun.kaiusa.com/classic-vegetab ... ver-7.html)

I don’t, this model Nakiri is the one I’m looking at.
https://shun.kaiusa.com/classic-nakiri-6-5.html

[Karl_H]

Chefknivestogo.com has a nice selection of Japanese imports at reasonable prices. I have one of the Kohetsu HAP 40 knives and really like it.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohawahakn.html

The Tojiro branded knives are generally considered to be good value.

[benben]

Here’s something unique and off the beaten path. Small knife maker out of Wilmington, NC. Here’s his version of a 6” chef’s knife.
https://forgeandfoundryknives.com/colle ... ack-walnut

[OldHoosier62]

If you want something high quality and personalized then check out Harner Knives on FB. Lloyd "Butch" Harner is an outstanding maker of chef knives and custom razors. He is also a member here and licensed by Spyderco for use of the Spyder hole. I have one of his first folders and it is outstanding.

[Doc Dan]

What about Spyderco's kitchen cutlery?

[JuPaul]

We have several Shun Classic knives and love them. We also have Global kitchen knives, and they are awesome. Just be aware they come with a convex edge, so require slightly different maintenance.

[Snacktime]

I have Shuns, wife got them for me. Realistically the biggest difference is the like new look after a year of use. Been very happy with the quality and no edge issues so far. My last set of good knives started having cracks in the edges after 4-5 years.

Biggest improvement to my kitchen life has been the $150 for 5 cutting boards. It is so nice to just grab a new board and throw the used one in the dishwasher and keep going.

[skeeg11]

One of the nicest things you can do for your kitchen cutlery is to invest in a nice quality "end grain" butchers block. Take care of it and it will be nice to your knives which means less sharpening. Do not use spikey, aggressive serrated knives on it, tho.

[kwakster]

A while ago i bought these two 210 mm gyuto's, custom made by the Sabol Brothers in Slovakia.
Besides knifemakers the brothers are also steelheads, and they always go the extra mile to make sure their knives get the best heat treatment possible, complete with deep cryo.

The idea for me was to have two Japanese style blades in high quality materials suited for the professional kitchen, while also being a bit oversized to better fit the hands of many Dutch Chefs, which in general tend to be much larger individuals with larger hands compared to most Japanese Chefs.
The second from last picture shows both Sabol Brothers knives together with two Japanese gyuto's which are in use with two professional Chefs in the Netherlands.

The knife with the yellow colored accent is made from stainless Elmax @ ~62 HRC, while the one with the red colored accent is made from K390 tool steel @ ~64 HRC.
Handles are made from octagonal shaped black linen Micarta, and each blade measures ~0.2 mm behind the edges.