ISO comments/advice on 10" chef's knife

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Sarah Moulton is 5 foot tall and weighs 115 pounds. Have you ever seen the humongous Chef's Knife she wields?

Gunter Wilhelm MODEL 205 10 Inch Chef Knife

 

[dcSaute]

Most cooks can have a few knives. I usually keep a 10 for prep, and a smaller one on the line for quicker work in a tighter area when doing short order. The 10 will be great for certain applications.
They are like golf clubs. You need many to get the job done properly.

amen, that's it in a nutshell.

I have a 10", and 8" and a 6".

I do not use the 10" knife to chop a few sprigs of chives.
I do not use the 6" to cut a 10 pound roast in half for freezing.

actually, I could do either task with either knife. but is the appropriate tool?

what you do / what you cook / what you "need to knife" is the primary consideration, imho.

it is also true that for example a less tall person can have issues with the fancy-smancy flashing knives rock&chop stuff with a long long knife simply because the handle has to be raised too high for it to be a comfortable motion.

 

[FrankZ]

I was using an 8inch knife for the longest time. I got a 9.5 inch knife for Christmas and I thought it was huge, but after using a few times it feels about right. Occasionally it feels large, but that is usually when I am starting to hem my workspace in.

I have thought about a bigger one.

 

[justplainbill]

We use a stout 6" Lamsonsharp, relatively thin 9" Anton Wingen - Othello circa 1964, and a well proportioned 12" Sabatier circa 1985.

 

[jpaulg]

Half the time I just use my 10" Sabatier rather than grab my paring knife. With practice you can use the larger chef's knives with delicacy.

Where I find the 10" very useful is processing things like chicken breasts, that extra room to rock forward and back makes life a lot easier.

I work in a small kitchen so I have to keep most of my knives in a bag, and what I have out is the 10" Sabatier, a 7" Usaba (Japanese vegetable knife), a bread knife and a 4" paring knife. Most days that's all I need out.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I am a fan of the 10" size, as is my 5'2" daughter. My other daughter enjoys a 9 inch blade, if I recall correctly. My son, who cooks for a living, uses an 8 inch blade. He likes both hte santoku and French chef's style blades.

The ten inch blade gives me a longer slicing stroke, and allows me to chop/mince as much garlic, onion, or whatever it is that I need to process.

The key to the enjoyment of any knife, large small, or anywhere in between, is to maintain that knife, and keep it sharp. Also, use a quality cutting board so as to protect the knife edge. Get yourself a high quality sharpening steel as well, and hone the edge every day you use the knife, both before, and after you are done with the cutting chore.

Remember, happiness is a sharp knife.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[RPCookin]

I've been wanting a 10" for years now, and I finally made the decision today. Got a 10" Wusthoff Classic Chef. I've had a 6" Classic Chef and a 5" boning since I took a cooking class several years ago. Just can't ever seem to convince my wife of the importance of a knife that feels right. She uses anything that comes out of the utensil drawer and never seems to care how it feels, or even if it's sharp. I've used tools my whole life, and the right tool has always been important to me, so right now when I have a little extra cash on hand, I'm using it judiciously to improve my kitchen.

The Wusthof Classic design feels like it was custom made for my hand. I only used the new one a little bit preparing supper this evening, but I love it already.

 

[4meandthem]

I have quite a few knives that I use for different things but I mostly grab for one of my 10 inch chefs knives I often choke up on the tang (hold the back of the blade rather than the handle) when doing more intricate cutting etc.

That being said it not the best choice for slicing cheese and real delicate work. that is when I grab something more appropriate. Not the best knife to filet a fish either.

There is no one knife answer like the golf club analogy. I have some cheap flexible knives that work good for certain chores and even a Ginsu tomatoe knife my wifes grandmother gave me. Awesome knife for slicing tomatoes even though it was inexpensive.

Btw my favorite 10'' knife I have was purchased from Russels for men. It is a damascus chefs knife with reliefs on one side. I also have a folding portable chefs knife from them I take when traveling.That knife is awesome too.

 

[danbuter]

If you like your 9" knife, why not just stick with it?