Chef Knife Recommendations?

[FarmerSteve]

I have a bunch of folding knives. Not nearly as many as some but quite a few. And as I was destroying a rib roast tonight with a POC Chinese made kitchen knife, I realized something... I don't have a quality representation of the knife that I probably use the most. (at least as much as...) Does anyone have any recommendations for a quality chef knife that is functionally superior to the knives sold in Target? I'm not looking for a $400 beautiful piece of art. I want something that can take a bit of a licking. I'm not planning to saw through tires w/ it, but I don't want to buy a new one if my wife sticks it in the dishwasher. I'd spend $100, maybe $150, but cheaper'd be better. Anyway, thoughts??? :confused:

[CubistHamster]

Victorinox Forschner fibrox handled knives--shouldn't cost more than $35, and they perform like knives that cost 5 times as much.

I believe they've also been given a number of "most bang for the buck" type awards from cooking magazines/reviewers.

[rororo64]

The Victorinox kitchen knives are very nice indeed. I recently bought a kitchen set of Kershaw Shun classic knives in vg10 damascus and Oh My they are sweet.

[SolidState]

Martin Yan puts his name on some good ones.

[dgulbra]

I am a Chef professionally and you can't go wrong with Wusthof Classic series. Built like a tank, affordable and easy maintenance. Thats what we use at work because we are so hard on knives. Personally at home I use Shuns. I have a set of Shun Bob Kramer Customs but the classic series is great. The Steel is awesome(6 layers of SUS410 High Carbon Stainless Steel pounded to 3/1000th of an inch and then clad on each side of the VG10 core). If you don't want to spend too much go with a Wustof they're great knives. If you want the next level get a Shun.

[Mr.Sparkitle]

I have noticed a lot of preference can come down to hand size at well. My aunt is a professional chef but has small hands so she likes smaller handled knives like globals. Her globals are amazing knives, zero ground, good steel and lots of availabilities in size and shape and purpose. The chef at the restaurant I manage had a set of shun onions and they are amazing. The thicker, ergo handles are a dream and are slightly upswept and very pleasant to hold and maneuver. His are a vg10 laminate as well. I do all of his sharpening for him and I will say that his shun's do chip a bit more that the wusthoff's that the other chefs use, but he does use them daily and hard and they have held up well all these years. I would say get your hands on some first then decide.

[Dankerz]

I recommend reading a little on knifeforums. There are basically 2 styles of knife, German or Japanese. German knives tend to be thick and the steel is softer. Japanese knives tend to be thin and hard. I bought a Tojiro DP and couldn't be happier.

[Emcee Bunzing]

I cant speak for many other brands, i only had no-name kitchen knives before i got into spydercos, but i have a shun classic 7 inch rocking knife and i absolutely love it; VG10 steel core, great ergos, nice and thin, razor sharp(mine could whittle hair straight out of the box), and beautiful to look at. Having said that it's always better to try before you buy if possible. I also just helped a local cafe owner purchase a global 8 inch chefs knife so i'm eagerly awaiting her verdict on how it performs.

[mongatu]

I have several fairly high end Japanese Chef's knives (gyutos) that are incredible but I've also been very impressed with the fairly inexpensive Tojiro DP Western handled Japanese chef's knife. Available from Chefknivestogo.com in various lengths. I recommend 240 mm or 270 mm. The Japanese chef's knives handle so well that you can go a bit longer than you normally would with European chef's knives and the extra length makes the knife much more efficient. The stainless steel used in these knives is a mystery but based on my experience with it, it is easily as good or even a bit better than VG-10. I suspect it might be Takefu Cobalt Special since it is a laminated (3 layer sandwich) and sharpens and performs so well. The blades are pretty thin for great slicing but strong. Anyway the cost is about $100 to $135 depending on length, iirc. They are a real bargain, imo. Totally blow Wustorf/Henkeles and their ilk away.

[jimnolimit]

I have a bunch of folding knives. Not nearly as many as some but quite a few. And as I was destroying a rib roast tonight with a POC Chinese made kitchen knife, I realized something... I don't have a quality representation of the knife that I probably use the most. (at least as much as...) Does anyone have any recommendations for a quality chef knife that is functionally superior to the knives sold in Target? I'm not looking for a $400 beautiful piece of art. I want something that can take a bit of a licking. I'm not planning to saw through tires w/ it, but I don't want to buy a new one if my wife sticks it in the dishwasher. I'd spend $100, maybe $150, but cheaper'd be better. Anyway, thoughts??? :confused:

for bang-for-the-buck, the forschner fibrox in 8"-10" will be a great choice to start with.

how do you currently sharpen your knives?

.

[bh49]

I want something that can take a bit of a licking. I'm not planning to saw through tires w/ it, but I don't want to buy a new one if my wife sticks it in the dishwasher.

I wouldn't stick any half-decent knife in the dishwasher. Chemicals from detergent will ruin the edge. I strongly prefer Japanese made knives (Gyuto), much better slicers and staying sharp forever. But need to be handle accordingly: hard and thin edge is delicate. Cut only meet and veggies. No bones. So if you are not sure about handling, pick-up German style knife. Or buy one for yourself and one for your wife. I took me a lot of work to educate my wife on how to treat Gyuto. She loves them now and will not use anything else.

I am a Chef professionally and you can't go wrong with Wusthof Classic series. Built like a tank, affordable and easy maintenance. Thats what we use at work because we are so hard on knives.

+1

[Blue72]

I have an expensive set of wusthof knives I received as a wedding gift. I was never happy with them. plus the steel they use is not so great. I think its equivalent to 440a

On my quest for a better kitchen knife I was able to get a petty and gyuto fairly cheap from japanesechefknives.com. Shipped directly from Seki cityand they are some of my best performing knives

[John_is_my_name]

Victorinox Forschner fibrox handled knives--shouldn't cost more than $35, and they perform like knives that cost 5 times as much.

I believe they've also been given a number of "most bang for the buck" type awards from cooking magazines/reviewers.

I totally love my Victorinox Forschner 8" chef's knife.

[tonydahose]

Here you go. scroll down to gyuto, i'd go with a 240 or 270mm. they are on sale right now.
if the color doesn't suit you go with a masamoto VG series. i like the vg series because they are rust resistent compared to the carbon knives. Here ya go same thing about scrolling down to the gyuto.

[jossta]

My stepdad bought me a set of Wusthof classic knives when the gf and I got our house. The chef's knife will thinly slice ripe tomatos for a LONG time. Very impressed so far.

My Mom and stepdad cook all the time and my Stepmom is a chef. Stepdad prefers German (Henckels) knives (although he's swiss, so probably biased) and Stepmom has a set of Shun knives. They both use their ceramic knives the most though.

[rosconey]

lol-i bought a set of kitchen knives at target-lol

started off by buying a 5" santuko at the dollar store -it smoked the hand me downs i had -i didnt have 2 knives that looked alike-or even cut butter-so i bought a 7" santuko at wally world-

then i realized i had no storage for such fine cutlery-when i looked for a storage block at target i found a set of hampden forge on clearance -btw the super no-stain steel -stains easy :D -they feel good in my hand and do the job-and i now have 6 steak knives that not only look alike but cut also

are they any good -not really-but im no chef and i would rather buy a nice pocket knife with the saved money :spyder:

[dj moonbat]

You can get surprisingly decent prices on Sur La Table's Miyabi Fusion knives. They are fairly typical of a high quality modern Japanese knife that incorporates a Western handle: VG-10 clad with a rippled-looking cladding of lesser steel. [EDIT: I just saw above that somebody had posted a link to some Kagayaki knives made from solid VG-10. That's even better.] My friend has one of these and it's very nice: slim, sharp, and much harder than German knives.

Personally, although I'm completely through with my existing set of Henckels knives, I won't be making any replacements until I find out what Spyderco intends to do about maybe making another go at the kitchen.

[cckw]

My qualification to offer opinion: I sharpen for money and sharpen a lot of kitchen knives.

The Victorinox and Wusthof both use the same blade steel so to keep it simple we will say they are the same thing. Just pick a handle you like. Both are a great value and ideal for most people in their balance of cost vs quality. I think a 7" santuko with the notches on the side of the blade is the one to get. When folks have that one they rarely use their tradition chefs knife. If you are a little patient you can find a real bargain on that online auction site who's seller fees are so high no one should use it.

[phillipsted]

I have a lot of kitchen knives (including some older Spyderco kitchen blades) - but the one I end up reaching for most recently is a Spyderco Mule Team s35v. I bought a set of basic Halpern Option 1 scales and bolted/epoxied them on. The knife works wonderfully as a basic chef's knife - I do almost everything except chopping on hard bones (cleaver work) and fine paring knife work.

TedP

[Blerv]

I have heard really good things about the Shun Kai Pure Komachi line. Not compared to the REALLY high end but they are supposedly 10 times better than the generic knife block sets.

http://www.kershawknives.com/searchresu ... re&x=0&y=0

They are extremely bright but you can buy a block for like $80. I don't think they have Wusthoff scared but I'm certainly interested. :)