Pass me the Chef’s Knife.....

Cellar Hound · Sep 19, 2020

After I recently started a thread on cast iron skillets, I began to feel guilty that I was ignoring my other kitchen equipment. As a result, I feel I need to give some attention to the venerable Chef’s knife. Although I have many knives, here are a few of my favorites....

1. Doghouse Forge (Lakeland, FL) with burl & walnut.

2. Nafzger Forge (Clifton Forge, VA) with dye-stabilized maple and brass and purple charoite accents. The charoite is from Siberia.

3. Weige Knives (Austin, TX) with black ash and purple composite resin.

4. Two matching custom Damascus blades made in Australia. I had a custom woodworker in the U.S. add burl wood scales and brass rivets.

URIT · Sep 19, 2020

My favorite Chef's knife is my Chicago Cutlery 42S which I've used since the 1970s.

I have a hard time choosing my J.A. Henckel International chef over my old reliable Chicago 42S because it just seems to fit my hand best with its boxy handle. It is a sharp knife with good geometry and the profile provides better rocking action. The edge retention is good too.

Onomea · Sep 19, 2020

Those are some good lookin’ knives, Cellar Hound!

Here’s my favorite, a Japanese-made western style chef’s knife. Guy I bought it from has his own shop, and is a sword sharpener by trade. He puts a terrific edge on it.

I bring this knife with me when I travel between my residences in the US and Japan. Stuck over here with the pandemic, the knife needed sharpening. I mailed it to a Japanese knife dealer over here who advertised traditional Japanese hand sharpening with stones. Came back nowhere near as sharp as my guy in Japan produces. I was disappointed, but even more impressed by my regular guy.

ContinentalOp · Sep 19, 2020

I've got a cheap Faberware chef's knife. $7-8, I think. It gets the job done. Probably needs a sharpening, though.

Golddollar · Sep 19, 2020

I have 2 medium sized Old Hickory Chef's knives and a big Old Hickory #509 Chef's knife. Keep them clean and keep them sharp, they have lasted forever.

Texas Star · Sep 19, 2020

Mine are famous Solingen brands ,Wusthof and Henckels.

Bro. Dave · Sep 19, 2020

I have other good knives, but the chef's knife I habitually reach for is the Messermeister. It does not seem to have the name recognition of others, but has been amazingly durable. Regular use of a good steel and careful sharpening when the steel doesn't yield a return to razor sharpness has been a recipe for success.

6518John · Sep 19, 2020

My Henckles Mikado main knives and a Cutco. Cleaver is a gun-show find and a beast that will take a razor’s edge.

I am especially proud of the hand made steak knife set I picked up from a maker. The deer antlers were taken from his farm up in the mountains of Northern Arkansas.

Leatherhead23 · Sep 19, 2020

Friend of mine is a maker.....I mentioned I wanted a nice chef's knife to him and he showed up at my door a few weeks later with this one....absolutely love it. 1/4" thick makes her a bit heavy to use for an extended time but the Ram's horn grip is nice because it gets grippier when it gets wet.

Thanks for letting me share.

Shooter Mike · Sep 19, 2020

My wife is a Chef and this is just a few of her favorites.

andy52 · Sep 19, 2020

I really don't use my standard chef knives much anymore, I find a Santoku to be a better all around knife for most food prep jobs.

Marshwheeling · Sep 19, 2020

Don’t put those in the dishwasher!

Cellar Hound · Sep 20, 2020

Awesome!!

Leatherhead23 said:
Friend of mine is a maker.....I mentioned I wanted a nice chef's knife to him and he showed up at my door a few weeks later with this one....absolutely love it. 1/4" thick makes her a bit heavy to use for an extended time but the Ram's horn grip is nice because it gets grippier when it gets wet.

Thanks for letting me share.

That is beautiful!

Cellar Hound · Sep 20, 2020

Nice!

Shooter Mike said:
My wife is a Chef and this is just a few of her favorites.

Nice set of tools...

eveled · Sep 20, 2020

I don’t use a chefs knife very often, I prefer using a pairing knife for almost everything. I guess it’s necessary if you want to do that hold against the knuckles trick. But I don’t bother.

ArkieVol · Sep 20, 2020

Love my knives...

I live alone and never eat out (except an occasional trip to KFC when I get lazy) so I cook a lot and enjoy trying new recipes. Do a lot of Asian stir-fry so veggie prep and thin sliced protiens call for sharp knives.

Bottom row is a mix of MAC and Shun brands. Top row is Henckels, Hiromoto and Victorinox.

Golphin · Sep 20, 2020

I have a nice Case but the one I use is a old butcher's knife with a great blade and a ugly handle. It is big and blade gets sharp and holds a great edge. It is great for cutting up a chicken or rack of ribs or pretty much anything I want to cut on. Never worry about causing it some kind of damage.

StrawHat · Sep 20, 2020

In my profession I get to handle an extreme amount of knives so daily I can compare between brands. In my kitchen? Herself favors the Wusthof Icon with a blackwood handle. The blackwood is a dense wood, not unlike ebony, that shifts the balance of the blade subtly and makes it more responsive in your hand. My preference is a Sabatier chefs knife that has seen better days. It came to us damaged and without handles. I reconditioned the blade and rehandled it.

Kevin

Oracle · Sep 20, 2020

Several years ago I bought a Cutco set, I really liked them so I gave away my favored chef knife.

The Cutco set remains very nice but I regret giving away that chef knife. It was cheap and looked like a mud fence but it was a very good knife.

Cellar Hound · Sep 20, 2020

Wusthof

StrawHat said:
In my profession I get to handle an extreme amount of knives so daily I can compare between brands. In my kitchen? Herself favors the Wusthof Icon with a blackwood handle. The blackwood is a dense wood, not unlike ebony, that shifts the balance of the blade subtly and makes it more responsive in your hand. My preference is a Sabatier chefs knife that has seen better days. It came to us damaged and without handles. I reconditioned the blade and rehandlednit.

Kevin

Although I have never used a Sabatier, I have had many hours working with Wusthof knives. I prefer the Classic with full tang. They are great knives with thick spines. Great for heavy work like fall squash, whole chickens, and any meat with bones.

Pass me the Chef’s Knife.....

Member

Attachments

Member

Member

Member

Member

US Veteran

Member

Member

Attachments

SWCA Member

US Veteran

Attachments

US Veteran

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

SWCA Member

US Veteran

Member

Similar threads