What knives are the best?

[IC 2.0]

If you were to ask 10 different chefs this questions, you'd most likely get 10 different answers ranging from Wustof to Global. Personally and professionally, I've been a Misono user for over 17 years. Use what you like, and what fits your budget and frequency of use.

 

[CharlieD]

If you were to ask 10 different chefs this questions, you'd most likely get 10 different answers ranging from Wustof to Global. Personally and professionally, I've been a Misono user for over 17 years. Use what you like, and what fits your budget and frequency of use.

Good point. Use what you like

 

[johndyerwrites]

Cutco !

 

[Anitha Kishore]

Cutco !

Nice knives, do you use them on a regular basis?

 

[Alex1fly]

I have Wustof knives but equally adore my $8 knife from the Asian grocery store. Just keep them sharp.

 

[Anitha Kishore]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out!

 

[Aunt Bea]

Use what you like, and what fits your budget and frequency of use.

Just keep them sharp.

This pretty much sums it up for me.

Sometimes I wish that there was a cookware store that would allow me to try all of the high end offerings available just to see if I’m really missing out on anything that would improve my quality of life or enjoyment of cooking.

 

[Andy M.]

A decent knife shop will have a cutting board and some vegetables handy to try out their knives.

 

[CharlieD]

Cutco !

They are nice, if only handle fit my hand, they don't, so I have say no, they are not so nice.

 

[thymeless]

Cutco steel is 440A. Not that good.

 

[fmw]

Any experiences with Giesser and Sanelli knives? What´s better? All suggestion welcome!!!

The best kitchen cutlery in the world is made in Japan. Nowhere else do they produce thin hard blades for superior cutting with as much edge retention and integrity.

 

[dragnlaw]

fmw, just for your FYI, plymoutan posted that question in 2011, and has not been on the board since about a month later. I don't think he'll see your response.

 

[fmw]

fmw, just for your FYI, plymoutan posted that question in 2011, and has not been on the board since about a month later. I don't think he'll see your response.

Hopefulliy it is useful information for forum readers.

 

[CharlieD]

The best kitchen cutlery in the world is made in Japan. Nowhere else do they produce thin hard blades for superior cutting with as much edge retention and integrity.

I hear you loud and clear. I have a bunch of Japanese made knives. But more often than not I return to my Wustoff set. This is the picture of my Japanese knives, and actually it id not even all of them. So, yes, Japanese knives are great, but they are not the best.

 

[fmw]

And I sold all of my Wusthof since they are inferior to the Japanese knives.

 

[thymeless]

I wouldn't use my MAC to open a hard squash. But my Wusthof can do that no problem.

I don't like the asymmetry so common to the edge bevels of many Japanese knives and the resulting steering behavior. This doesn't make assymetry wrong, just wrong for me. That's one reason I went with a MAC was for the symmetrical edge.

And while I don't mind the high hardness, it can be hard for the common US consumer to sharpen. Always trade-offs.

There is no purely objective set of standards for Best knife.

 

[fmw]

I wouldn't use my MAC to open a hard squash. But my Wusthof can do that no problem.

I don't like the asymmetry so common to the edge bevels of many Japanese knives and the resulting steering behavior. This doesn't make assymetry wrong, just wrong for me. That's one reason I went with a MAC was for the symmetrical edge.

And while I don't mind the high hardness, it can be hard for the common US consumer to sharpen. Always trade-offs.

There is no purely objective set of standards for Best knife.

I disagree with all of that. The Mac knives, properly sharpened, will outcut anything made by Wushof. Just plain fact. In Japan, knives get a quick sharpening. It wouldn't occur to a Japanese cutler to know how a customer wants the knife sharpened. It is up to the customer to do the initial sharpening. Knives intended for sale in the West normally have symmetrical bevels but still need some work from the new owner. That is certainly true of Mac.

The hardness of the steel has little to do with the time required to sharpen. Sharpening involves technique. With a hard blade you may want to start with coarser grit before progressing to finer ones. Proper technique is proper for all blades. Hard blades are more brittle. They can take a more acute angle at the edge but too acute can generate chips. Again, it is a matter of technique. If the edge develops chips, the edge angle must be increased.

What makes Wusthof and other similar Euro knives inferior to Japanese knives? Two things. Firstly the thick soft blades don't hold an edge as well. The bolster makes the the knife handle heavy which is more tiring than a properly balanced knife particularly for pros that use a knife all day long. The bolster also gets in the way of sharpening the back of the blade. You can't sharpen them on most electric sharpeners without causing the blade edge to take on an S shape. This is because the grinding starts in front of the bolster which won't fit in the sharpener's slot. Too avoid this you must sharpen them manually. Not a problem for me but it is for some cooks.

The objective standard is performance. The best performance clearly is in favor of well balanced knives with thin hard blades.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Ask 100 people nd they will all give you the same answer: The knives they own.

 

[thymeless]

The objective standard is performance. The best performance clearly is in favor of well balanced knives with thin hard blades.

Please demonstrate objective knife performance. How is it measured and quantified?

Because if you come down to a judgement system like gymnastics, is not objective.

 

[thymeless]

Here is a wusthof. Observe that the booster does not reach the edge.

https://cdn.cutleryandmore.com/products/large/15025.jpg

I agree that a fully dropped bolster makes it is difficult to sharpen, you have to remove that extra steel I don't like that and is a strike against those style of bolsters but that is not the only style of bolster that is available on knives. But this isn't really any different than your argument about having to sharpen your own Japanese knives out of the box.

Indeed the original function of the bolster is to create a balance just forward of the grip which is generally considered good in a chefs knife. In more modern constructions it's usually aesthetic or a demonstration of metal smithing on the fancier knives.