Knife Measurements

[Driver man]

Have a look at Svord knives. I think they are available in the US

[StrawHat]

I get to handle a bunch of knives every day. The most important part of art of any knife is the way it fits your hand. I can sharpen any knife brought to me. I can not turn an uncomfortable handle into something comfortable. Stainless steels have come a long way and high carbon stainless takes and holds an edge as good or better than the old carbon steel blades.

Kevin

[StrawHat]

I’m thinking of investing in a few high quality kitchen (Butcher type)knives. I’m looking exclusively online. I see knives of a certain length, but don’t know if that is blade length or total length. I think it must be blade length, because the handles seem to be the same size.

Also any recommendations on good quality knives? Is Sabatier still considered top quality as they once were? I hear a lot people talking about about Japanese knives. I was hoping to keep the price between $50-100, but am willing to pay more if it makes a big difference.

Thanks

Yes, the dimension is the blade length.

Sabatier is an interesting brand. There are roughly 16 makers that use it. Most are made in France but some are made in China. Do your homework before buying.

Japanese knives are usually made thinner and sharpened to a finer angle than a Western blade. Because they are thinner and less angled they are harder than Western blades. They require a little different handling to prevent damaging the edge. Great knives but different. Shun is a good brand as is Myabi.

Kevin

[StrawHat]

Wusthof and J.A. Henckels are good quality knives with German steel in them.
If you prefer oriental steel, check out Shun.

FYI, Henckels International are not made in Germany. They have been made in Spain (excellent, possibly better than the German knives), Brazil, Thailand and now China.

Kevin

[alamogunr]

When I got married(54 years ago), I had been living in an apartment and had bought a couple of Case knives from the old Alaska Sleeping Bag company. They were both called boning knives but were different. About 25 years ago, I broke down and ordered several individual Henckels knives. These plus the Case knives and several no name paring knives have served well since. The only knives that I've gotten rid of over the years are the cheap knives with cast aluminum handles that school kids used to sell to raise money.

I have never been able to sharpen a knife on a whetstone. I bought a WorkSharp and now I can keep all my knives sharp. Somewhere on this board is a thread recommending WorkSharp. I took their advice.

[PB234]

Good idea is to find a knife store and handle varieties of knives to figure out which are most comfortable for you. Old Hickory is very easy to sharpen as is Chicago Cutlery as others have mentioned. Watching professional butches on YouTube one ofter sees Victorinox being used. None of these are expensive. Look on Ebay for a cheap Old Hickory and figure out if you like the steel and balance. The wood handle works fine, but will not win beauty contests. I find the steel a bit thin on Old Hickory, but the quality of the steel makes me reach for it.

Unless you are mostly cutting thick slabs of meat a Chefs Knife is more versatile than a butcher knife. AN 8 inch chef knife and a paring knife will be a good start and the Victorinox is not expensive either. The flexible bladed ones are excellent for boning meat and I recall as $15 or $20 on Amazon.

Good useable knives need not be expensive. Mostly for the things home cooks cut they are not even optimal. I bought my Old Hickory knives cheap on Ebay and the Chicago Cutlery many years ago. My Victorinox purchased when boning pig's head for stuffed pigs head. Try thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wijM-XI9rn8

[StrawHat]

Another question, how do you know your buying a good steel?

A good steel will straiten the edge of your knife when it goes wobbly after use. Any round round will work but so will the back of another knife. The way I show people how to use a steel is to hold the handle in your non dominant hand, place the end of the steel against your cutting board (an ice pick grip works), move your hand so the steel is at about 45 degrees from horizontal (or vertical), pick up the knife with two fingers by the bolster and your pinky under the handle. Hold the blade vertical and with a sweeping motion (heel to point or opposite) allow the weight of the blade to do all the work. How ever many strokes you take on the one side take the same on the other. Finish with one stroke on each side. No need to push the blade as you are not trying to remove metal from the blade or the steel. You are merely straightening the edge. If you want to remove a little bit of metal get a ceramic rod or to remove a little more metal a diamond coated steel. Anchoring the tip of the steel allows you to better control the angle of the knife edge.

Kevin

[Chill Wills]

Wusthof Knives can be good.

They have two basic lines of knives. The upper quality forged blades only differ in price by handle material. Otherwise the steel is the same. Claimed to be harden to 58.
The lower line of knives uses a stamped blade. Even made of the same steel, it lacks the benefit forged steel has.

My wife and I have some of the forged knives, gifts from the wedding decades ago. They are holding up well. I've thinned down the already thin blades. The area 1/8" by the edge and then resharpened to a target angle of 14 degrees. They are a real joy to use.

If I can keep people from putting them in the dishwasher they hold up well.

[Pinger87]

I invested in a set of Wusthof Grand Prix II knives about a year back. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I've made in a while. They're not the most expensive models Wusthof has available, so it didn't break the bank too much. But they cut like butter and feel great in the hand.

[EDG]

That handle angle is preferred by professional meat cutters.
The "Bearded Butchers" on the internet use those knives made by Victorinox. They do not use high dollar expensive knives. They use knives until the blades are too skinny to work without bending. If you want more expensive knives you can do the research. To me the Old Hickory knives have proved to be hard enough. I have one that is about 50 or 60 years old left by my grandmother and it is much harder than cheap modern stainless knives by Farberware.

One thing you will find with kitchen knives is they may have a different edge than knives used by meat cutters. A meat cutter may use a 20 degree to 24 degree edge because he is cutting meat and he may hit bone now and then. He will have to hit his blade with a steel to bring the edge back.
Some kitchen knives are used or should be used to cut vegetables ONLY. Those knives are sharpened to a very thin edge of 15-18 degrees or so.
They will cut veggies like tomatoes easily but should not be used on meat since the meat(especially frozen meat) and especially bone will dull the thin edge.
A Santuku for example is a chef knife that usually has a thin edge and used only for cutting up vegetables and kitchen prep. I regularly use one for dicing onions and slicing tomatoes. . Victorinox for example has a line of kitchen knives intended for chef or cooks. These knives probably have a thinner edge than the Victorinox professional knives intended for professional meat cutters.
The Victorinox Santoku knife is is a much better knife with harder steel than my Farberware el cheapo knife that came in a gift set.
Good kitchen knives can be purchased for under $40 to $50 each. Good meat cutters knives should be under $40 unless you are buying a large knife. There is no reason to pay more for a knife used to cut steaks or onions than you would pay for a decent hunting knife.

It looks like a lot of the newer knives have a handle on an angle to the blade. Is that for better ergonomics?

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m considering a Wüsthof TR4596-7/20 Classic Ikon. It seems this brand has different price/quality levels. What level of quality is the Ikon line?

[alamogunr]

I’m considering a Wüsthof TR4596-7/20 Classic Ikon. It seems this brand has different price/quality levels. What level of quality is the Ikon line?

From what I can see here, it is the top of the line. At least what this company carries. Kind of hard to determine really. I'm not very knowledgeable about kitchen knives so someone else should answer your question.

https://tinyurl.com/y2yj8z7y

[StrawHat]

One of the better lines in their series. We have the Blackwood Ikon version and prefer it to the Classic Ikon. The Blackwood has a slightly heavier handle which shifts the balance closer to my wife’s hand giving a bit more control to the user.

The Ikon line is a hybrid of Western and Japanese styles. The spine is thinner and the bevel is more refined than a Western blade but not as fine as a Japanese knife. They take and hold a great edge. A proper steel will increase time between sharpening.

Kevin

[pietro]

When you touch them up, is that with a steel or stone?

Steel

[Chill Wills]

From what I can see here, it is the top of the line. At least what this company carries. Kind of hard to determine really. I'm not very knowledgeable about kitchen knives so someone else should answer your question.

https://tinyurl.com/y2yj8z7y

This might answer your question.
Copied from a description of their knife making:
"What’s important to remember about Wusthof is that all the various lines (forged, that is) share the same manufacturing process, the same forged blade at their core. But they are customized into a spread of styles that distinguish themselves from each other by their handles and their balance and feel. So if you’re in the mood to splurge and spend $200 on an Ikon chef knife with a Blackwood handle (a gorgeous knife), please understand that the extra money you’re spending is going to the handle and the feel, not to the engineering of the blade. And understand that a Wusthof Classic chef’s (which costs $70 less) should slice through a carrot just as effortlessly as the Ikon Blackwood, hold it’s edge just as well, have just as long a life cycle. The same is true for the Classic Ikon, the Grand Prix II, et al. The blades should all perform similarly. "

[Milsurp Junkie]

That is not a steel. That is a pull through carbide sharpener. They work, but take more steel off the blade than either a whetstone or a proper steel. It also tends to yank out sections of the blade by tearing. Not recommended for long term use.

[samari46]

Have a few of the Old Hickory knives I bought close to 30 years ago. Run them over a couple stones to sharpen them and away they go. Found a couple in the garage and decided to regrind one into a more utiliarian shape. Most are butcher, bread and carving knives. Slowly ground one into what would be a smaller butcher style. That and plenty of water to cool the blade. Couple coarse stones to refine the cutting edge then using an assortment of stones which are only used for sharpening and ended up with a fine edge. The rest I sharpened and gave to the wife. Frank

[Big Wes]

Take a look at https://www.opinel-usa.com

[AZ Pete]

Victorinox Fibrox professional chef's knives; used to be known in the US as R.H. Forschner, but are the same thing:

https://www.victorinox.com/us/en/Pro...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have had a set of R. H. Forschner knives since 1977. Still going strong.

[gumbo333]

Cutco are very good, Sears Flame Freeze and Ecko Flint are good stainless knives that are not hard to keep sharp.