Kitchen knives (outdated)

This post is outdated.Please find a newer version here.

For some reason, I am fond of kitchen knives. It probably started many years ago when Jasna was so kind to get me my first high-quality chef's knife and I realized how much more pleasant it was to use really good tools. I have obtained many knives since then, but I still keep those first knives around and sharp. Most I still use.

I wrote the text below after I helped prepare food at a company picnic and had to field many questions about knives. I appreciated the questions and uncertainty people faced. Good knives can be very expensive, though one may be surprised to find out that one absolutely does not need to break the bank. The number of options are bewildering, so even finding a starting point tends to be hard. When you find articles and reviews of knives, many people have strong opinions about how a knife should feel, what properties it should have. Not sure any of that contributes to the comfort level when someone is just trying to get some basic information.

Below, I am trying to present a simple story from my personal perspective.
Apologies for formatting issues, copy-paste from Google docs into a blog post had some challenges.

Summary

One really needs 3 knives only:

• Chef’s knife - an all-purpose tool that one uses for almost everything
• My go to knife is a 12-inch Zhen chef knife. It has a nicely curved blade and is supposed to be made of the same VG-10 steel as much pricier Japanese knives. The finish, while not perfect, is good enough, making this knife an incredible value for your hard earned coin.
• Cheaper yet very good is Victorinox 12 inch knife, I also like the 10 inch version
• Fancier options are Global 10 inch chef's knife, or maybe a Shun 10 inch chef's knife
• Paring knife - for finicky jobs
• I use Henckel's 4 inch paring knife, Global 3.5, and Global 4 inch paring knives
• Serrated knife - for bread, pineapple, some vegetables, etc.
• My go-to choice is Victorinox offset bread knife
• A sharpener and a steel are a must
• A super simple sharpener will do for starters, I use it in a pinch
• Japanese waterstones are really the way to go for sharpening and not all that hard to use. You need several stones - see below for more.
• A simple steel works just fine, or one goes with the best of the best

Some people also like a utility knife. The one I have is pretty much a large paring knife, so it gets lots of use. Santoku knives have become very popular lately. I find them too short for cutting anything large. If you do your own butchering, get a boning knife - start with a flex blade for chicken and fish, and use a sturdy blade to butcher larger animals.

One can spend an unlimited amount of money on knives. Order a customized gyuto from a Japanese master and some thousands of dollars later you will have an awesome tool that you may not want to put to daily use.

Size matters

Large knives tend to intimidate people. Try one for a while and you will never go back. My preference is a 12 inch chef's knife, but that does not have to be the case with you.

An enormous, yet so useful knife. Cabbage, watch out!

Technique really matters

It is not hard at all to use a knife properly. It does not take all that much practice either. It is an investment worth making as the experience will be much more satisfying, you will be much faster, and your use of a knife will be much safer. In the days of YouTube, your free lesson is one search away.

Handle and balance

You may hear people be very particular about the handle and the balance. The reality is that one can and does adapt to the tool they have available, especially if you are not using it for 10 hours every day. I have yet to meet a sharp knife I did not learn to enjoy using. Some knives have an asymmetric handle, so knives can be different for left and right handed people.

This being said, knives do feel differently. Chances are you will not notice or not know what the difference means. Even more likely, if a knife is sharp, you will get used to it and will not care.

Hardness matters less

Many web sites cite hardness of the steel on the Rockwell scale. The higher the hardness, the longer your knife will stay sharp. Every knife dulls, though, and the harder the steel, the harder it is to sharpen it. Too me, the ease of sharpening matters more - I don’t chop or slice for 10 hours every day, so the frequency of sharpening will be low in any case.

Best Value

Victorinox knives are in general the best value out there. They are widely used in commercial kitchens for a reason - good quality yet relatively inexpensive. They are dishwasher safe, though Victorinox recommends hand-washing, which is what I do.

I have recently discovered Zhen knives, which I think may be an even better value than Victorinox. Definitely that is the case for the 12 inch chef's knife - the steel is exactly the same VG-10 used in japanese knives. It is reasonably easy to sharpen and holds the edge quite nicely.

I dislike Victorinox paring knives to the point I gave all of mine away. I prefer paring knives to be sturdier.

The awesome offset bread knife

Here are some options:

• The 10 inch chef knife is your basic workhorse. Their new series has a reportedly better handle and is more expensive, but still very affordable. If you want to try a really large knife, the 12 inch chef knife from Zhen is definitely the way to go, it is the most used knife in our kitchen.
• My go-to bread/serrated knife is Victorinox offset bread knife, and their 10.25 inch serrated knife is excellent.
• I use the 4-inch paring knife by Henckels an awful lot, somehow I find good use for that extra inch, and it does not seem to get in a way. The 3 inch paring knife by Henckels is also great, very sturdy and strong. Each has advantages so it’s hard to recommend one over another. I think I am leaning towards having both.
• For a utility knife, I use the 7-inch serrated (wavy edge) chef’s knife. It is a superb tomato knife, and is useful beyond that. Victorinox also has a 6 inch option, or just use a 6 inch chef’s knife.

If you want to get a block, this one from Victorinox will give you every knife that you can ever dream of using.

Going a bit fancy

Going fancier will give you some improvement at a significant price hike. Personally, I believe this is a waste of money unless you are a knife nut like me. 

So pretty

You also get knives that start looking like pieces of art that you and your guests will marvel at. Here are some suggestions if you feel like splurging:

• 10 inch chef knife by Global remains my favorite even though I splurged on the 12-inch forged version. The one drawback of the 12 inch version is that the curved part of the blade is very short, which makes it excellent for cutting large things, but less good on a smaller scale. A slightly heavier equivalent to the 10-inch Global is the 10 inch chef knife by Shun, or you can try a lightweight 10 inch chef knife by MAC. There are many Japanese companies that are in this class, like a 10.5 inch gyuto by Torijo, or gyuto by Yoshihiro. I find Korin a nice web site for window shopping.
• The 8 inch bread knife by Global leaves any bread knife I have ever used far in the dust, but it’s serrated edge is a bit too brutal for general use. The 10 inch bread knife by Wusthof is awesome, a little sturdier than the Victorinox equivalent, and also 3-4 times the price. I get refreshingly lots of use from my 15+ years old Henckel’s 8 inch bread knife that is a bit more maneuverable and is great for slicing a pineapple and hard cheese. I would get that one in addition to the 10 inch Victorinox or Wusthof. While have never tried the  Kai/Shun bread knife, I assume it is very good.
• 3.5 inch paring knife by Global may be my top choice for a paring knife, though the 4-inch Henckels is right up there.
• I find the 4 1/2 inch utility knife from by Global increasingly useful for smallish jobs, or as a tomato knife. I used to use an 8-inch chef knife from Global as a utility knife as it is pretty small. This one is pretty nice, too - the thin blade is kind of neat.

Really fancy

A knife made by a Japanese master sets you back several thousand dollars, and you will acquire a true piece of art. Consider making a charitable donation instead.

Knife sharpening

I have been fiddling with knife sharpening tools for quite some time, trying to find a way to take shortcuts. At the end, I decided to bite the bullet and use japanese waterstones, which are the ultimate in knife sharpening and allow you to get knives as sharp or sharper than new. Using the waterstones is not hard, and there are plenty of YouTube videos explaining the process. The whole thing does take some time and is a bit messy: One needs to soak the stones for at least 10 minutes, and for several hours if at all possible. One needs to remember that paper towels had been invented, and use them to collect the sludge that will form and that is key to sharpening. Finally, one needs a steady hand to maintain the angle, and patience to enjoy the meditative experience of sliding your knife up and down the stone.

For a complete set, one needs about 3 stones: A coarse one, 250 grit or so for emergency situations when you nick a blade. A medium one, 1000 grit, and a finer one, 4000 grit is common. If you like your blade polished - not really necessary for kitchen knives, then you go to higher grits, 8000 or more. Going even further, one would finish the process with a strop. My setup doesn’t have a coarse stone given that my blades are in a good shape. Here is what I have used for a long time:

• stone holder
• 1000 grit King stone. King is a good value brand of waterstones. No need to spend much more on Global or other knife-brand high-markup stones.
• 4000 grit Norton waterstone. Norton is another solid brand.

I got a pair of sharpening rails to learn the angle, but I do not use them any more as I find them cumbersome. Because I am a knife geek I have since migrated to a set of Shapton ceramic stones and sometimes I break out a strop for the final touch.

Maintenance

• You need a honing steel to align the edge after use. F. Dick makes the very best your money can probably buy, but you will get good use out of any decent steel, like this one from Henckels, for example.
• In a pinch I admit I use this little gadget which works surprisingly well, just touch the knife with a honing steel after your have it sharpened and you are good for a short while. Then sharpen the knife properly as the edge is barely passable and will not last for long.