8" or 10" for 1st Chef's Knife?

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8" or 10" for 1st Chef's Knife?

  • 8" model

    Votes: 9 52.9%
  • 10" model

    Votes: 8 47.1%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .

TripleB

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
16
After only cooking a couple items I've already decided that I love to cook. Too bad it too me 43 years to finally try it...thank you Food Network for getting me interested.

Anyway, for my first Chef's knife, should I go with an 8 inch model or a 10 inch model (it will be a Victorinox due to just starting and my budget)?

I'm 6'2" which seems to indicate I should probably go with the 10" model. But right now I'm using a 7", very dull, santoku knife (at least that's what it looks like) and it seems pretty large. :)

Thanks for all your previous input....it has helped a tremendous amount.

TripleB
 
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Well, I'm a pro cook and my views are probably biased towards that but I think a 10" is the better choice. A 10" will do anything the 8" can do but the opposite isn't true.
 
I'm not sure how to vote, it depends on what you are using it for. I have both around those sizes and no paring knife. When I am making stuffed jalapeno peppers I grab the smaller one because it is better (for me) for more delicate work. When I am slicing a boneless loin for the freezer, the larger. I had the smaller one first and it wasn't long before I wanted a longer knife. Chopping onions and cubing beef for stew meat I usually grab the larger one. I like the longer slicing motion it gives me.
Hmmm, am I leaning towards the 10"? lol
 
Well, I'm a pro cook and my views are probably biased towards that but I think a 10" is the better choice. A 10" will do anything the 8" can do but the opposite isn't true.

Rob I certainly respect your opinions, views, experience, etc...but I'm curious...What can a 10 do that an 8 can't....I have both, but constantly reach for the 8..
 
Rob I certainly respect your opinions, views, experience, etc...but I'm curious...What can a 10 do that an 8 can't....I have both, but constantly reach for the 8..

A lot of the things I cut up with a gyuto (or chef's knife) are large enough that an 8" won't go thru them. Things like squash, heads of cabbage, melons etc are usually a bit too big to cut without sawing or repositioning the product. This is especially true when I'm cutting meat or carving. If you're cutting a rib roast or ribeye steaks (especially if you're using "Ups") then you can't get thru them with one stroke, meaning you have to "saw." This takes more work & time plus leaves marks on the meat. Also things like sheet cakes are too wide to span with an 8" but a 10" will cut them cleanly.

Again, I've already admitted mine is a bias based on cooking professionally. At home it's not a big deal if it takes twice as long to process canteloupe or your rib roast slices have some saw marks. Still I'm used to what I'm used to.:ROFLMAO:
 
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A lot of the things I cut up with a gyuto (or chef's knife) are large enough that an 8" won't go thru them. Things like squash, heads of cabbage, melons etc are usually a bit too big to cut without sawing or repositioning the product. This is especially true when I'm cutting meat or carving. If you're cutting a rib roast or ribeye steaks (especially if you're using "Ups") then you can't get thru them with one stroke, meaning you have to "saw." This takes more work & time plus leaves marks on the meat. Also things like sheet cakes are too wide to span with an 8" but a 10" will cut them cleanly.

Again, I've already admitted mine is a bias based on cooking professionally. At home it's not a big deal if it takes twice as long to process canteloupe or your rib roast slices have some saw marks. Still I'm used to what I'm used to.:ROFLMAO:

Exactly.
 
When I started out my first knife was a 10" which I loved. The problem was that my workspace was pretty cramped so having a knife that large was not ideal. When I bought my first J knife I went with an 8ish inch. I am much more comfortable using this one. When I am cutting something big like a squash or melon then I still reach for the 10" otherwise I reach for the 8".

It all comes down to personal preference though. If you are using a 7" that feels large right now then a 10" might feel too large. Go to a store and hold a 10 and an 8 and give a few practice cuts (even if you are just cutting air). Get a feel for it and see which feels better to you.
 
Thanks Rob....I see your point. ~~ As a home cook who mostly chops smaller things like onion/green onion, celery. bell pepper, potatoes, parsley, carrots etc. I feel I have better control with an 8 than the 10....For meats, or large melons I use some old wooden handled slicers/carvers a butcher gave me when he had to get rid of them for Health Department Regulations...The longest one...maybe a 12, I call my Watermelon Knife....One swipe and it's history!:LOL: ~~ Thanks again for your always informative post!!
 
GB said:
It all comes down to personal preference though. If you are using a 7" that feels large right now then a 10" might feel too large. Go to a store and hold a 10 and an 8 and give a few practice cuts (even if you are just cutting air). Get a feel for it and see which feels better to you

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This!
 
I feel I have better control with an 8 than the 10....For meats, or large melons I use some old wooden handled slicers/carvers a butcher gave me when he had to get rid of them for Health Department Regulations...The longest one...maybe a 12, I call my Watermelon Knife....One swipe and it's history!:LOL: ~~ Thanks again for your always informative post!!

With my 240mm gyuto I am a human food Terminator!


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:ROFLMAO: :LOL: :ROFLMAO: :D
 
I'm 6'2" also. I've used an 8" for as long as I've been cooking and I have never found a task that I couldn't do because the knife was too short.

The 8" is a little easier to control for a rookie until you develop some comfort level and cutting skill.
 
I appreciate everyone's input so far....very informative.

Right now I'm leaning towards the 8" model plus a pairing knife.

TripleB
 
I definitely see the positive points made for choosing a 10", but at the same time I don't think the 10" can do anything an 8" can do - with the same effect.

For example, I don't use a paring knife - I choke up on the 8" knife a bit and go to town. I can't imagine having an additional 2" of blade across my palm would be beneficial (except for hospitals making money on me!). To extend this further, I wouldn't say an 8" knife can do everything a paring knife can with equal effect.

By the way, are your employers/you really concerned with how a steak is cut from a rib-roast if you use an 8" knife and require a single change in cutting direction to reach the board? With a sharp knife I've never noticed that the meat is chewed up - especially after cooking. I'll have to be more conscious of this next time we grab a rib-roast to see for myself. :)

I would also agree with the recommendation to visit a culinary store and hold the knives yourself. If it's not comfortable, the blade length and forging really doesn't matter.
 
My "go-to" knives are actually about 9.4" instead of 10". All my knives are Japanese and they use metric; therefore a 240mm is the stand-in for the 10" that we might use. And yeah, I use it instead of a paring knife most of the time.

As far as the "chewed up" edges or marks, you have to keep in mind that prime rib is already cooked- we just cut it to order. Or maybe that was my little secret til now!:shifty: Ultimately if the presentation is affected and the guests notice it, then it's a problem. And at the prices my joint charges we have to put out a pretty nice plate. After cooking it might not be an issue but basic professionalism is. Shoddy work that wouldn't be noticed at home won't be tolerated in a fine dining establishment.
 
Silly me. I thought you'd use a carving knife for the prime rib if you really were concerned about appearance.
 
I understand, Rob. That's a lot of knives.

For the beginning home cook, I think feel and comfort are the most important thing. If you're careful, you can saw through a piece of meat with minimal saw marks.
 
I think the OP is talking about getting by with just a couple.

Yep...just starting out I don't want to invest too much money into knives...going to order 2 to start with since it seems most of what I'll be doing can be accomplished with these two (Chef's and Pairing).

Thanks again for everyone's input!!!

TripleB
 
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