Which Knife Style Is Superior?
1. An 8- or 10-Inch Chef’s Knife or a 6- to 8-Inch Santoku Knife
doesn’t allow for rocking. Slicing and chopping are the more common movements, and mincing herbs becomes a matter of repeated slicing rather than rocking.
The only way to tell which knives you prefer is to go into a store and try them out.
1. An 8- or 10-Inch Chef’s Knife or a 6- to 8-Inch Santoku Knife
This is my knife. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
Your chef’s knife should be an extension of your hand and so should feel completely natural. When I’m feeling down and I need a bit of physical support, I don’t ask my wife to hold my hand. I don’t rub my dog on his belly.
Nope, I go to my knife and just hold it. We’ve spent a lot of time together. I know her every curve (I just now realized that my knife is female) and exactly how she fits into my hand and likes to be held, and in return, she is supportive, loyal, and wicked sharp.
The chef’s knife is the one you’re going to be using for 95 percent of your cutting tasks, so you’d better make damned sure that you’re comfortable with it, and here’s the
key: forget every review you’ve ever read. Once you get past a certain quality level, no single knife is better than another. That said, there are certain characteristics you can look for, depending on your cooking style, size, and comfort level in the kitchen. Here are a few of my basic recommendations, but let me repeat: only you can decide which knife is best for you. Go to a store, try some out, and mull it over for a day or two. You and your chef’s knife are going to have a long, beautiful, and mutually beneficial relationship. Choose wisely.
Western-Style Chef’s Knives
• For the average cook: The 8- or 10-inch Wüsthof Classic Cook’s Knife (about $140). This was the first decent knife I owned, and I still have it to this day.
• Pros: It’s got a thick spine with plenty of heft, which helps it do a lot of the slicing work for you. It has a curved blade that allows you to rock back and forth for rapid mincing. And there’s plenty of space under the handle for your knuckles when chopping.
• Cons: Some cooks may find it too heavy, and small-handed cooks may find the handle uncomfortably large.
• For the small-handed cook: The Global G-2 8-inch Chef’s Knife (about $120). Stylish and functional.
• Pros: It’s forged from a single piece of metal, meaning that it’s basically indestructible. It has an extremely sharp, precise blade and a well-balanced handle (it’s filled with sand) to help it stay balanced even while in motion.
• Cons: There’s no bolster or heel, so using the blade grip for a long time on this one may irritate your forefinger where it rubs against the spine. And there’s not too much space under the handle when the blade is against your cutting board, so you might end up rapping your knuckles a few times. The all-metal handle can get slippery if it gets messy (though nobody should be cooking in a messy kitchen anyway!). Ideal for vegetarians who want precise veg work and don’t deal with messy meats.
• The best buy option: The 8-inch Victorinox Fibrox Chef’s Knife (about $25). This is a favorite among beginning cooks who aren’t yet sure they want to lay down over $100 for a chef’s knife.
• Pros: It’s very sharp right out of the box, and it’s very light, which some users may like. Grippable handle, and plenty of knuckle space.
• Cons: It has a stamped blade, with no real weight or heft, and it’s difficult to resharpen. Cheap feel and construction—this isn’t a knife designed to last a lifetime. Poor balance can also instill bad habits.
Japanese-Style Chef’s Knives
• For the average cook: The 7-inch Misono UX10 Santoku (about $180). This is my personal favorite. It’s not the first knife I ever felt attachment to, but it’s the first one I ever fell in love with. Would that we never be apart.
• Pros: It’s perfectly balanced, with a very comfortable bolster that makes the blade grip a dream. The blade is
Swedish steel, which is extremely sharpenable and will hold an edge for a long, long time. Although it is designed for slicing and chopping, the blade has a strong-enough curve that you can even do some Western-style rocking with it, giving you the best of both worlds. Strong, sturdy construction, and plenty of heft—a real beauty to behold.
• Cons: Just one: price. It’s not a cheap knife, but considering that it will last you a lifetime, $180 seems fair.
• For the small-handed cook: The 7-inch Wüsthof Classic Hollow Ground Santoku (about $100). I used this knife extensively in restaurants, where precision vegetable slicing was required—so much so that it lost a good centimeter of its width with repeated sharpenings. I grew quite fond of it in the process.
• Pros: Like all top-of-the-line Wüsthof products, it’s impeccably constructed. It has a much more slender blade than Western-style Wüsthofs, so it’s easier to make small, precise cuts and more comfortable for some cooks. The hollow-ground granton edge (with dimples along both sides of the blade) means that foods like potato slices won’t stick to it.
• Cons: It’s not big enough for most really heavy-duty tasks—say, splitting a butternut squash or hacking through a chicken. Luckily, your cleaver will take care of that (see here).
• The best buy option: The MAC Superior 6 ½-inch Santoku (about $75). A favorite among pros and home cooks alike.
• Pros: A very sharp blade, comfortable handle, and easy maneuverability.
• Cons: The blade is tough to sharpen, and at 6½ inches, it’s too small for many kitchen tasks. It’s got neither the heft of the Misono nor the granton edge and solid feel of the Wüsthof, but it’s a great knife by most standards.