Jovidah
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Perhaps a bit boring to write about since most of us already know about these, but I figure I'd write something down anyway... who knows maybe it's of use to some outsider at some point or helps people who are shopping for cheap stuff, or just to provide a 'different' perspective than most mainstream reviews. It may surprise some of you that I actually have 5 Wüsthof knives considering how much **** I talk about them. What can I say, I got them all for dirt cheap on a sale (they did a slight rebrand with a differnet logo so all this stuff went out for at least 50% off), and they have some uses.
Don't worry I'll try to keep this actually short.
Photo down below is mostly to make it easier to get an idea what knife I'm talking about.
Starting from the top:
9 cm and 12 cm paring knives (classic Ikon)
Main reason to buy these (apart from being surprisingly cheap on the sale) was because although you've probably heard me rave about the cutting performance of the dirt cheap Robert Herder paring knives - that normally cost like half as much as these do - you might have also seen me complain about their anemic skinny handles. And these tend to win a lot of 'normie' consumer reviews looking at kitchen knives, so I thought why not.
Well... the handles are indeed a bit of a step up. It's no-maintenance POM and they are indeed larger than the Herder and Opinel, so in that sense the handles are more ergonomical for me. The handles are probably also a little bit larger than you usually find on J-knives this size. But the cutting performance... yeah... sorry... not even in the same ballpark as Robert Herder. Sure, they can cut okay-ish, but they're just noticably thicker behind the edge. Quite similar to the cheap Opinel paring knives (that I also found somewhat underwhelming in cutting performance given how good their folders are ground). Guess I'm spoilt.
Between the two I noticed I massively favored the 9 cm over the 12... The 12 is in this awkward middle spot where its extra length only makes it more annoying for in-hand stuff like coring strawberries, or cutting pits out of potatoes, but doesn't really bring anything else; it's still awkwardly short for board work. So between the two I'd say 9 cm-10 cm any day of the week. I really wished more Japanese brands would make petties / paring knives in this shorter length; the 12 cm is just a bit too awkward for me.
Although the Herder cuts way better these still see some use. They're basically my 'dirty hands but need something pointy and somewhat sharp right now' kind of beater knife that mostly gets abused and then left dirty. I think everyone needs at least some of those knives in the kitchen too right? In that role they're quite alright, but for actual performance look elsewhere.
16 cm slicer / utility knife (classic ikon)
This was actually the most surprising to me in a positive sense. Yes, it's too fat behind the edge like all of them (boo!). Originally bought it as a beater you can just hack at cooked chicken carcasses with and not give a damn, yet I still find myself liking it and using it more in normal prep work more than I expected. Why? Two main reasons:
-The handle is decently sized, making it much more comfy than most affordable yo-handle petties that I've held in my hand.
-The very low profile. This is essentially a 16 cm paring knife, instead of a tiny gyuto like most petties, Making it much more comfortable to still use in-hand. But unlike the 12 cm paring knife it's actually long enough to be usable on a board (push cutting with the tip)... Instead of using both a paring knife and a petty you can just use this and it sorta does everything.
Of course it's not perfect; like everything Wüsthof it has a boring mundane finish, comes with meh edges, has sharp choil and spine, bla bla, and is a fat tubby behind the edge but I still ended up liking this. Might end up thining the hell out of it. Wished someone made proper thin stuff in this profile, with such a decent sized handle.
15 cm curved boning knife or whatever the hell they call it (classic)
I think this is mostly advertised as a boning knife, but I've also seen it being promoted in crappy advertising as 'great for slicing meat'. Yeah. Right. Originally bought it to experiment with the shape for trimming meat.
What can I say; it's crap. It's reasonably thin, but it's just too short for any of the advertised usecases. It's too short for trimming meat, it's pointless for 'cutting steaks' or whatever slicing tasks they were trying to push it for, and only a sadomasochist would want to use something this short as an ersatz chef's knife. Could be an interesting if it came in like 18-20 cm.
It is however quite good as a steak knife or cheese knife! Due to the curve it's easier to use on plates that have rims, where I often find myself poking the heel of petties into the rim. That's about the only thing I'd consider it for, for actual prep it's pointless.
23 cm chef (classic Ikon)
Bought this knowing it'd be an axe, and with the specific intent as making it my new 'abuse knife' for the less glamorous tasks of cutting hard frozen bacon, nuts, chocolate... you know.. all those things you kinda don't want to use a good knife on. That it does; it is indeed an indestructable kitchen axe for all those things you don't want to use a good knife on.
But if you're actually looking for a good knife that actually cuts well, this isn't it.
It manages the surprising combination of being a heavy weight that's a fat piggy behind the edge, yet still has crap food release. It's also so rear heavy that it's essentially the Nicki Menaj of the knife world. That may be true for some of the earlier knives too but on those it doesn't bother me; on this one it does. It balances where the POM meats the bolster in the handle.
The handle itself... if you're using it in hammer grip it's not that bad, and the balance also feels less terrible when used like that. But even then the downward angle starts hurting my wrist after a while. In pinch grip it's just downright uncomfortable, also because the spine and choil are all sharp.
In general it just feels like I'm holding a brick in my hand. Uncomfortable, heavy, clunky, and cuts like crap; it's a wedge monster.
The profile is also... just not good. It's not as bad as the shorter ones (the 20 cm feels like you're cutting with a football since they're nothing but belly), but still... way too much belly and curve. You don't need this much belly to rockchop! I rockchopped fine for years with my Carbonext and IMO even the cheapest entry level J-knives have a better profile even for people who prefer rockchopping.
That's also the most painful thing about this knife. If you're paying full price this comes in at the same pricelevel or higher than entry level J-knives, but is completely outclassed. To put it in perspective: personally I consider the performance gap between the Wüsthof and my humble Carbonexts larger than that between my Carbonexts and my higher end Japanese stuff like Yoshikane, Masamoto, etc.
In hindsight I wished I had just bought something soft and cheap like a Fujiwara FKM instead; I'm sure that'd survive the kitchen torture just as well, without being such a dissapointment. Would probably have also preferred a Victorinox Fibrox in hindsight, even if it looks like crap by comparison. But at least the Fibrox handles aren't uncomfortable, and the profiles are a bit better.
Summing up
9 cm paring knife; alright for something you can abuse on the side but don't expect miracles from it
12 cm paring knife; pointless in-betweener length
16 cm slicer / utility knife; positively surprised, wished someone made a petty with this kind of profile, handle size, but in proper steel and proper thin behind the edge
15 cm curved boning knife; pointless unless you want a steak knife or a cheese knife
23 cm chefs knife; it's alright as a kitchen axe but if you actually want a knife that cuts
Don't worry I'll try to keep this actually short.
Photo down below is mostly to make it easier to get an idea what knife I'm talking about.
Starting from the top:
9 cm and 12 cm paring knives (classic Ikon)
Main reason to buy these (apart from being surprisingly cheap on the sale) was because although you've probably heard me rave about the cutting performance of the dirt cheap Robert Herder paring knives - that normally cost like half as much as these do - you might have also seen me complain about their anemic skinny handles. And these tend to win a lot of 'normie' consumer reviews looking at kitchen knives, so I thought why not.
Well... the handles are indeed a bit of a step up. It's no-maintenance POM and they are indeed larger than the Herder and Opinel, so in that sense the handles are more ergonomical for me. The handles are probably also a little bit larger than you usually find on J-knives this size. But the cutting performance... yeah... sorry... not even in the same ballpark as Robert Herder. Sure, they can cut okay-ish, but they're just noticably thicker behind the edge. Quite similar to the cheap Opinel paring knives (that I also found somewhat underwhelming in cutting performance given how good their folders are ground). Guess I'm spoilt.
Between the two I noticed I massively favored the 9 cm over the 12... The 12 is in this awkward middle spot where its extra length only makes it more annoying for in-hand stuff like coring strawberries, or cutting pits out of potatoes, but doesn't really bring anything else; it's still awkwardly short for board work. So between the two I'd say 9 cm-10 cm any day of the week. I really wished more Japanese brands would make petties / paring knives in this shorter length; the 12 cm is just a bit too awkward for me.
Although the Herder cuts way better these still see some use. They're basically my 'dirty hands but need something pointy and somewhat sharp right now' kind of beater knife that mostly gets abused and then left dirty. I think everyone needs at least some of those knives in the kitchen too right? In that role they're quite alright, but for actual performance look elsewhere.
16 cm slicer / utility knife (classic ikon)
This was actually the most surprising to me in a positive sense. Yes, it's too fat behind the edge like all of them (boo!). Originally bought it as a beater you can just hack at cooked chicken carcasses with and not give a damn, yet I still find myself liking it and using it more in normal prep work more than I expected. Why? Two main reasons:
-The handle is decently sized, making it much more comfy than most affordable yo-handle petties that I've held in my hand.
-The very low profile. This is essentially a 16 cm paring knife, instead of a tiny gyuto like most petties, Making it much more comfortable to still use in-hand. But unlike the 12 cm paring knife it's actually long enough to be usable on a board (push cutting with the tip)... Instead of using both a paring knife and a petty you can just use this and it sorta does everything.
Of course it's not perfect; like everything Wüsthof it has a boring mundane finish, comes with meh edges, has sharp choil and spine, bla bla, and is a fat tubby behind the edge but I still ended up liking this. Might end up thining the hell out of it. Wished someone made proper thin stuff in this profile, with such a decent sized handle.
15 cm curved boning knife or whatever the hell they call it (classic)
I think this is mostly advertised as a boning knife, but I've also seen it being promoted in crappy advertising as 'great for slicing meat'. Yeah. Right. Originally bought it to experiment with the shape for trimming meat.
What can I say; it's crap. It's reasonably thin, but it's just too short for any of the advertised usecases. It's too short for trimming meat, it's pointless for 'cutting steaks' or whatever slicing tasks they were trying to push it for, and only a sadomasochist would want to use something this short as an ersatz chef's knife. Could be an interesting if it came in like 18-20 cm.
It is however quite good as a steak knife or cheese knife! Due to the curve it's easier to use on plates that have rims, where I often find myself poking the heel of petties into the rim. That's about the only thing I'd consider it for, for actual prep it's pointless.
23 cm chef (classic Ikon)
Bought this knowing it'd be an axe, and with the specific intent as making it my new 'abuse knife' for the less glamorous tasks of cutting hard frozen bacon, nuts, chocolate... you know.. all those things you kinda don't want to use a good knife on. That it does; it is indeed an indestructable kitchen axe for all those things you don't want to use a good knife on.
But if you're actually looking for a good knife that actually cuts well, this isn't it.
It manages the surprising combination of being a heavy weight that's a fat piggy behind the edge, yet still has crap food release. It's also so rear heavy that it's essentially the Nicki Menaj of the knife world. That may be true for some of the earlier knives too but on those it doesn't bother me; on this one it does. It balances where the POM meats the bolster in the handle.
The handle itself... if you're using it in hammer grip it's not that bad, and the balance also feels less terrible when used like that. But even then the downward angle starts hurting my wrist after a while. In pinch grip it's just downright uncomfortable, also because the spine and choil are all sharp.
In general it just feels like I'm holding a brick in my hand. Uncomfortable, heavy, clunky, and cuts like crap; it's a wedge monster.
The profile is also... just not good. It's not as bad as the shorter ones (the 20 cm feels like you're cutting with a football since they're nothing but belly), but still... way too much belly and curve. You don't need this much belly to rockchop! I rockchopped fine for years with my Carbonext and IMO even the cheapest entry level J-knives have a better profile even for people who prefer rockchopping.
That's also the most painful thing about this knife. If you're paying full price this comes in at the same pricelevel or higher than entry level J-knives, but is completely outclassed. To put it in perspective: personally I consider the performance gap between the Wüsthof and my humble Carbonexts larger than that between my Carbonexts and my higher end Japanese stuff like Yoshikane, Masamoto, etc.
In hindsight I wished I had just bought something soft and cheap like a Fujiwara FKM instead; I'm sure that'd survive the kitchen torture just as well, without being such a dissapointment. Would probably have also preferred a Victorinox Fibrox in hindsight, even if it looks like crap by comparison. But at least the Fibrox handles aren't uncomfortable, and the profiles are a bit better.
Summing up
9 cm paring knife; alright for something you can abuse on the side but don't expect miracles from it
12 cm paring knife; pointless in-betweener length
16 cm slicer / utility knife; positively surprised, wished someone made a petty with this kind of profile, handle size, but in proper steel and proper thin behind the edge
15 cm curved boning knife; pointless unless you want a steak knife or a cheese knife
23 cm chefs knife; it's alright as a kitchen axe but if you actually want a knife that cuts