A friend of mine was in the market for a new chef knife. The first one his wife wanted to cherish and asked me for thoughts, which gave me my little stage time to nerd out. And I thought… hell, might as well share my thoughts here as well.
So, a couple things to consider when you’re choosing a knife. For now, I’m going to exclude most of my commentary on how to take care of knives (i.e. wash, knife cloth, sharpening on whetstones, etc.).
- How do you cut? Up/down or rolling motions?
- What will you cut most of the time?
- How often will you use the knife? Daily? Or for special occasions?
- How important is knife control to you? Do you like letting gravity “do the work”?
Given your answers to the above questions, it’s easier to then figure out if German or Japanese steel is better for you, the heat treatment/HRC, full tang or hidden tang, and so on.
So let’s take this one by one.
If you cut up and down, Eastern/Japanese knife shapes may serve you better as they have straighter edges. Western/German knives have more curvature along the knife’s edge, which is useful if you cut in a rowing motion.
In general, full tang (meaning the metal of the blade extends all the way to the back of the handle) means you’re controlling the knife more. Whereas hidden tang (the metal of the blade extends partway through the handle) is more front-weighted, and more popular among chefs who “let the knife do the work.”
If you’re cutting veggies and fruits or in general softer material, knives with higher HRC (Rockwell Hardness C-scale) where higher means the metal is cooled faster, are better. And in general, allows for thinner knives and more precise cuts. Think sushi knives. Personally, I think an HRC of 58 is good enough for regular use. But some prefer 59+. The upside is that they retain their edge longer. The downside is they chip more easily then lower HRC numbers (cooled more slowly when making the knife). Lower HRC knives are better for cutting bones and hard material. They tend to dent (softer metal) rather than chip. Think meat cleavers.
If you’re using a knife regularly, say at least 3-4 times per week, I’d recommend going stainless steel (which is what most people prefer anyway) instead of carbon steel. The latter rusts easily (or patinas easily, the layer of rust that develops on the outside of low alloy high carbon knives). Also easier to upkeep with repeated washes. Do dry with a cloth instead of letting them air dry though. Knife oil helps, but is not mandatory on stainless steel knives. For presentation or special occasion purposes, aka to show off, a lot of people prefer the looks of high carbon steel knives.
In general, you can get a great starter knife for $80-200. Up to $500 if you want to splurge. But anything north of that is really the premium you’re willing to pay for each artisan.
Photo by Takafumi Yamashita on Unsplash
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