Thank you in advance to all of you experts who so generously share your time and expertise to help the relatively ignorant (like me) as we go through the process of choosing a knife.
The short version is below. The longer version of the questionnaire is below.
Yellow means it meets the above requirements, at least in terms of the hard metrics. Peach highlighting means that it just misses out on a numerical metric, but is still under consideration. Green is the chef knife that I currently use.
For those who are unable to see the chart above of possible contenders (or eliminated), here’s the list. Everything’s 8” unless specified otherwise.
THE QUESTIONNAIRE
LOCATION
What country are you in? US
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in: Chef’s knife
Are you right or left handed? I’m right-handed, but my son has ambidextrous tendencies (and we intend to have him leaving the house knowing how to cook!)
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Flexible, but primarily used to Western-style handle
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? 6-8”
Do you require a stainless knife? Yes
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? $150, but would prefer to spend much less
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? Home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for: Slicing, mincing, and chopping produce (from garlic and leafy greens to sweet potatoes). May slice and trim some meat or fish.
What knife, if any, are you replacing? The main knife I use is an 8” Sabatier Laguiole (with maybe a salamander or something pictured?) chef knife from a block kit I bought about 15 years ago from a kitchen outlet store going out of business. I think the set of 13 (6 of which were steak knives) originally cost between $130-200. The 8” Sabatier weighs 213g with a wooden handle, full bolster, and full tang. I was also gifted a Victorinox Fibrox chef knife, but I don’t find it comfortable (handle is too large).
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? Pinch grip
What cutting motions do you primarily use? Rocking, walking, slicing
What improvements do you want from your current knife? I would like a lighter knife with a half-bolster (for lightness and ease of using my sharpener) and something that is a “quality” steel (I don’t know if what I have is considered quality or not). I’d like something with a little bit more of a belly also to help with rocking. Also, something that resists stains well is preferred. I’d prefer a knife staying sharper longer, but as I have a Chef’s Choice sharpener, it’s not that big of a deal to sharpen more often.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? Yes, synthetic & wood
Do you sharpen your own knives? I use a Chef’s Choice sharpener, but no whetstones
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? No
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? Minimal (the Chef’s Choice was enough of an investment, but could be talked into something else)
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
The short version is below. The longer version of the questionnaire is below.
- A 6-8” chef’s knife that will rock well, but can still do other motions well
- Prefer a knife where the height of the blade is at least 1.75”
- A knife that weighs less than 7.5 ozs/213g
- A half-bolster with a handle that looks nice (i.e. not like Fibrox or $10 knives from a discount store)
- A hard limit of $150 budget, but preferably significantly lower
- Strong preference for something that will work with a Chef’s Choice electric sharpener
Yellow means it meets the above requirements, at least in terms of the hard metrics. Peach highlighting means that it just misses out on a numerical metric, but is still under consideration. Green is the chef knife that I currently use.
For those who are unable to see the chart above of possible contenders (or eliminated), here’s the list. Everything’s 8” unless specified otherwise.
- Sabatier Laguiole: What I currently own
- Wusthof Legende: 6” ($60) is too short and 8” ($130) is slightly too heavy with a cheap-looking handle for the price
- Zwilling Henckels Pro Traditional Chef Knife 6” ($80): Too heavy (239g) but great blade shape
- Mattio Borrani Bowie: Like the price of the 8” satin ($99) but prefer the weight of the 7” Damascus; blade shape looks really cool/nice
- Boker Core Chef w/walnut handle: $104
- Wusthof Classic Demi-Bolster: $150, though an open stock copy is floating around for $115
- Zwilling Pro Slim: $150, 7”. This just came out but looks like it ticks all the boxes
- Henckels Classic Christopher Kimball: $55, 7” really nice and light, but wish the blade was taller (only 1.6”)
- Yaxell Mon Chef: $80
- Tojiro DP: $86
- Shun Sora Chef: $90
- Wusthof Classif Deba: $100, 7”
- Yaxell Tsuchimon: $100
- Miyabi Evolution: $100
- Miyabi Extra Wide Rocking Knife: 6”, $120
THE QUESTIONNAIRE
LOCATION
What country are you in? US
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in: Chef’s knife
Are you right or left handed? I’m right-handed, but my son has ambidextrous tendencies (and we intend to have him leaving the house knowing how to cook!)
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Flexible, but primarily used to Western-style handle
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? 6-8”
Do you require a stainless knife? Yes
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? $150, but would prefer to spend much less
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? Home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for: Slicing, mincing, and chopping produce (from garlic and leafy greens to sweet potatoes). May slice and trim some meat or fish.
What knife, if any, are you replacing? The main knife I use is an 8” Sabatier Laguiole (with maybe a salamander or something pictured?) chef knife from a block kit I bought about 15 years ago from a kitchen outlet store going out of business. I think the set of 13 (6 of which were steak knives) originally cost between $130-200. The 8” Sabatier weighs 213g with a wooden handle, full bolster, and full tang. I was also gifted a Victorinox Fibrox chef knife, but I don’t find it comfortable (handle is too large).
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? Pinch grip
What cutting motions do you primarily use? Rocking, walking, slicing
What improvements do you want from your current knife? I would like a lighter knife with a half-bolster (for lightness and ease of using my sharpener) and something that is a “quality” steel (I don’t know if what I have is considered quality or not). I’d like something with a little bit more of a belly also to help with rocking. Also, something that resists stains well is preferred. I’d prefer a knife staying sharper longer, but as I have a Chef’s Choice sharpener, it’s not that big of a deal to sharpen more often.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? Yes, synthetic & wood
Do you sharpen your own knives? I use a Chef’s Choice sharpener, but no whetstones
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? No
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? Minimal (the Chef’s Choice was enough of an investment, but could be talked into something else)
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
- Aesthetically I like the appearance of wood or rivets or something that doesn’t look like the handle of a $10 knife from the local discount store. I don’t want to pay $100+ for something that looks similar to the Fibrox handle (my issue with the Wusthof Legende 8”).
- I ordered the 6” Wusthof Pro on which I loved the blade but it felt quite heavy. I also tried the 142g Wusthof 6” Legende, and while I loved the weight of it (though a knife doesn’t need to be that light), I wasn’t a fan of the handle (too long and skinny) and I really wasn’t a fan of the shortness of the blade.
- Since I’m using a Chef’s Choice sharpener, I’m feeling as though I should stick to blades around a 15 degree angle. If I get one of the Japanese knives with 9-12 degree angles, then I either would need to spend more for another sharpener or lose out on some of the benefits of the Japanese knife as it would gradually be resharpened to 15 degrees with my sharpener. But I am open to being convinced to change my opinion.
- I’ve also looked at a number of rocking santokus, but the ones I’ve seen don’t have a mostly flat top to their blades, and I tend to scrape and scoop with my blade (scraping with the top, not the cutting edge).