[Ongoing] Kitchen Knives Questions & Answers | wow, quite a...

[Ongoing] Kitchen Knives Questions & Answers

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Drop+Cooking

Dec 4, 2017

As a professional, the handle is a real dealbreaker. A hard plastic handle means bad calluses in the making. Sturdy rivets that won't work loose are rare. A bolster that allows both a solid handle grip and a pinch grip on top for precision chopping is a necessity. I like a flat spine for scraping, but that's just a personal preference.

Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138What kind of handle materials do you find better suited to long hours of work?

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BirdofPrey

Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138The first thing I do whenever I get a knife is round off the spine of the blade where it meets the handle. A LOT of the calluses come from the edges of the knife where you grab it,and that's an aspect that most knife manufacturers don't care about and many knife makers don't know about.

BirdofPrey

Dec 5, 2017

AngryAccountantPersonally, I don't find a difference in comfort based on the material (though better materials will last the test of time and survive any damage better). What's important is shape. First of all, avoid any of those molded handles since they encourage you to grip the handle too far down and interfere with a proper pinch grip for finer work making the knife very fatiguing to use. A good knife handle is more oval in shape, though the really expensive ones are often more of a rounded triangle which can be comfortable, but only in the hand they were shaped for (nearly all are right handed knives), and the difference is MUCH less than the boxy handles on cheaper knives.

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Rgconner

Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138I have knives with d-shaped Ho wood. Keep them oiled so they don't splinter.
I have spent hours prepping veggies with them, as much as 6 to 8 hrs at a time while helping out at a holiday kitchen. I find with a very sharp knife and well balanced knife I don't have to grip the knife so hard, I can hold it loosely and press with only the force needed to cut.

Dec 5, 2017

AngryAccountantThis will get me kicked out of Knife Purist Club, but I love my Victorinox Fibrox. Just got some olivewood handles from Messermeister (no rivets!!!!) and so far, they are very comfortable.

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Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138I wasn't knockin the Fibrox! It's a fantastic knife hitting way above its price point. Got a link for the handles?

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Dec 5, 2017

AngryAccountantHere's the Messermeister Olivas: https://www.messermeister.com/german-cutlery/oliva-elite/

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Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138Oh man olivewood handles are pretty... I'm just terrified my girlfriend might try to put it in the dishwasher and destroy it overnight. She's not to be trusted with knives, hah.

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Dec 5, 2017

AngryAccountantYeah, we had to have "the talk" when we got married. She only uses her Chicago Cutlery until she proves she can handle the good stuff.

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Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138That seems like cruel and unusual punishment, Chicago Cutlery? The stuff Paula Deen puts her name on?

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Dec 5, 2017

AngryAccountantShe compensates by having me do the cooking.

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Dec 5, 2017

ChefMitch1138Fibrox actually is well-regarded among professionals (at least according to forums :) )

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harrisonh

Mar 26, 2018

Dzerhwe do not "highly regard victorinox for actual day to day use unless we're working a BBQ event. Vickies WERE used by working kitchens as the "house" knife (owned by the company) because they were cheap, reliable and no one cared if they got thrown out by accident. We consider them only good for a "quickie" when we don't have time to get a "real" knife.The stupid ATK video has made every home cook THINK that they are "highly regarded"
In really most of us despise them because they are what we had to sharpen 2-3 times a week when we were comis. IF we forgot our knife roll, we had to hone them a dozen times a day which slowed us down from what we needed to do.
Vickies are NOT bad knives. I've still got at least a half dozen for BBQ or for personal pot lucks I might go to. But now because of that stupid video they're actually targeted for theft. Now days there are objectively FAR better knives, at the same price point OR LESS in terms of design, blade material, handle material, ergonomics, etc
I'd HIGHLY recommend Mercer genesis, mercer millennia, mercer renaissance, messermeister park plaza, dexter icut pro, and wusthof pro over a Vickie. But IF you stay Vickie, the swiss classic have slightly better handles than the fiberox and of course the Vickie rosewood and Vickie forged are FAR better than the fiberox or the swiss classic.

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Mar 26, 2018

harrisonhThanks for the info. "...But now because of that stupid video they're actually targeted for theft. ..." - haven't seen the video, but sounds funny. May there is bright side to it, may be your more expensive but less known knives are safer now :)

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harrisonh

Mar 31, 2018

DzerhWusthof isn't exactly less known. nor is mercer, nor is dexter. nor is messermeister. But yes, many if not most professional kitchens are moving away, not just because of cost, but mostly because of quality and because of theft. And most of the knives I have mentioned are the same price OR LESS. you obviously have never been to culinary school or worked in a kitchen. and again, vickies are NOT bad knives. they're just not as good as the video claims they are, unless in your kitchen 54-56 is harder than 56-58, or unless in your kitchen that cookie cutter planar knives are as lasercut and welded or unless in your kitchen hard plastic is as good as santoprene or pom

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Mar 31, 2018

harrisonhAs I said I haven't seen the video so I have no idea what are you referencing to. As I said I got "highly regarded" impression from reading forums. I was interested in Japanese cutlery at that time and wanted some perspective from professional cooks. It was a while ago and I was kind of surprised how many times fibrox was recommended as the budget option. I rarely cook. I just love knives. Obviously I'm not using knives enough myself to warrant advice to people that literally live by cutting. And most of my knives way above discussed price point and I'm pretty sure quite impractical for a professional.

harrisonh

Apr 2, 2018

Dzerhif you want to see the biggest load of shart on youtube, you'd be entertained. And when people mention highly regarded on forums, what is the skill and expertise of the people involved? (including most of the people at massdrop).
I'm a working professional, and we do use "beater" knives" as well as top end knives. Vickies are great "beater" knives". I've got a half dozen or so left. But most working cooks also use high quality knives. I've got a few by Murray carter, one by ken Reeves, and a half dozen by several ABS Masters and ABS Journeymen. I've got several dozen by certified "Master of Traditional Arts", I've got tons of high VALUE production knives (such as Miyabi Kaizen, TojiroSG2, Yaxell Super gou, Shun Elite, Shun Hiro, etc) and high VALUE hand made knives. Yes, we DO actually use those. Yes, I agree with you that for certain tasks, a high end or even a high value knife might be impractical, but in genera,l we DO use our knives. I've sold carters for MORE than I've purchased them for and handmade Onions for more than I purchased them for. And yes, they were sold as used. I have never owned a handmade Kramer (but have some of the Henckels Kramers) IF I had a Kramer, I'd probably keep it as a "drawer queen" and just let it go up in value every single year.
the knives mentioned are all objectively better knives than Vickie at about the same price point (or LESS). If you are shopping for a Vickie, you're not looking at a high end knife, you're looking for value. So quality for price was the reason for mentioning the other knives. NONE of those knives are "lesser known" to a cook or to a chef.
I'm glad you share this passion! If you do, you'd know that vickies don't warrant passion (one way OR the other), but a passion for veracity, truth, not misleading people should be considered a noble thing, whether it be about politicians, televangelists, lawyers, teenagers, or about Lisa McManus (the video presenter), and by extension America's Test Kitchen. They're liars. Just ask any real cook that's worked a line or ask a real chef what we think of the video, and all the gullible people that are piggybacking off of it. Some moron whose never cooked before sees that video, then goes onto a forum bragging about how great they are.
I have checked out massdrop only recently. Seen some very nice outdoor folders, but as far as kitchen knives. I've seen one good knife, only to find out the people that owns the company that subcontracts them out to be woefully ignorant of metal. All they do is own the marketing company, they are not the people that physically make the knives. I've seen a lot of great polls about some pretty good knives, but none of them are ones that would do a mass purchase so I'm wondering what the poll is for. I know I'm new, but I don't get why they have those.
I'm thinking of picking up one of the SG2 spyderco's . Looks like a great price. the Ferrum Forge ones look pretty nice too.

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Apr 2, 2018

harrisonhwow, quite a collection you got yourself. I'was thinking about SG2 Endura too... Question, from your professional experience with kitchen knives, setting aside aesthetics and just from pure performance point of view, as a chef's knife - what would you prefer? - good mass produced knife at around $250-300 - good custom made at around $600-650 Thank you.

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