Knife Thread

Define good chef's knife. A supermarket 20cm chefs knife can be quite adequate and look presentable and will perform well if regularly sharpened. A catering supplier will provide a very nicely balanced and quite ugly chefs knife for a very lean sum. But if you want a pretty blade with a nice name sky's the limit.

Personally my preferred knife is a supermarket brand 20cm knife the weight and feel of it is good it looks presentable and I keep it sharp. Cost less than £30 but brings no bragging rights.
 
PlacidCasual said:
Define good chef's knife. A supermarket 20cm chefs knife can be quite adequate and look presentable and will perform well if regularly sharpened. A catering supplier will provide a very nicely balanced and quite ugly chefs knife for a very lean sum. But if you want a pretty blade with a nice name sky's the limit.

Personally my preferred knife is a supermarket brand 20cm knife the weight and feel of it is good it looks presentable and I keep it sharp. Cost less than £30 but brings no bragging rights.
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Agree to a point, I will always keep my ~£15 Victorinox 16cm kitchen knife at hand when preparing any meal as it's so practical, sharp and a bit more robust than my more expensive knives.

Haven't got a picture but got a Wüsthof Classic 23cm chef's knife for Christmas and I'm SO pleased with it. Very comfortable to use, practical thin blade and outstanding build quality - unlike my pro Sabatier set which couldn't be used for precision work and also hasn't stood the test of time very well.

Birthday coming up so have a Wüsthof CLASSIC 16cm kitchen knife and just trying to decide on a couple of good pairing knives in the same set.
 
boxman2000 said:
Agree to a point, I will always keep my ~£15 Victorinox 16cm kitchen knife at hand when preparing any meal as it's so practical, sharp and a bit more robust than my more expensive knives.

Haven't got a picture but got a Wüsthof Classic 23cm chef's knife for Christmas and I'm SO pleased with it. Very comfortable to use, practical thin blade and outstanding build quality - unlike my pro Sabatier set which couldn't be used for precision work and also hasn't stood the test of time very well.

Birthday coming up so have a Wüsthof CLASSIC 16cm kitchen knife and just trying to decide on a couple of good pairing knives in the same set.
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Have you considered a smaller santoku knife rather than a smaller cooks knife, 23cm to 16cm wouldn't seem to make much of a difference to me as much as the change in blade shape. I do tend to split down the middle and go for a 20cm as my main knife.
 
Mel17 said:
Thought you guys might appreciate this short documentary on Chinese knife skills. Quite interesting to see how the knifes are made and how they are utilized when cooking. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sijUq_Gxyu4
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Ok, having some good knife skills myself, the ones demonstrated in that video are pretty insane. I have been using Vicnox knives for 20 years in my trade (butchery and Fishmongering) and have developed a damn good set of skills. Over the years I have had requests for slicing beef or pork into VERY thin slices for customers and have done so with great results but I can see how it would be easier using one of those chef ones.

In that video I saw a chef cutting a fish fillet into a chrysanthemum/hedgehog/squirrel type design and deep fried. I have actually done that for a customer at work. Maybe she saw that video or found a recipe for it.
 
Shaz]sigh[;25699653 said:
What size do people recommend for a Chef's knife? I was thinking somewhere between 24-25cm - is there any reason to go smaller?
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8 inch Cooks knife will quite happily do most jobs, but balance in the hand for me is a big thing. I have a Gustav emil ern set and the cooks blade is just divine to use, so i'd recommend having a feel of a few :)

way too much double entendre in that paragraph :D
 
Droolinggimp said:
Ok, having some good knife skills myself, the ones demonstrated in that video are pretty insane. I have been using Vicnox knives for 20 years in my trade (butchery and Fishmongering) and have developed a damn good set of skills. Over the years I have had requests for slicing beef or pork into VERY thin slices for customers and have done so with great results but I can see how it would be easier using one of those chef ones.

In that video I saw a chef cutting a fish fillet into a chrysanthemum/hedgehog/squirrel type design and deep fried. I have actually done that for a customer at work. Maybe she saw that video or found a recipe for it.
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For me, it was pretty inspiring to watch. I had heard from a friend about the skill building lessons/exercises practiced in the Chinese culinary schools, so it was nice to see a video which further detailed what I had been told.
 
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