I used to think a 20 cm /8” chefs knife was all I would need, then bought a 23 cm Wüsthof Classic Ikon and thought that would be more than enough.
I then worked with these lengths for many years until I - by accident - stumbled upon a 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate chefs knife and its sibling the 26.5 cm carving knife and immediately adapted to their size without any problems whatsoever.
I do think the 30.5 cm chefs knife will be overkill for my small home kitchen, but you never know.
When I later on bought the 23.5 cm Mac Ultimate I thought it felt rather small compared to my 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate.
I still enjoy using my smaller 20 cm chefs knives and my 17/18 cm Santoku and Nakiri, but as you say, I could easily go on with just my 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate Chefs knife and a paring knife.
I am also a fan of larger knifes. But for me the upper limit is 240mm and I would consider 230 perfect for me.
What some never realise is that a 240 can be lighter and feels more nimble when pinch grip is used. Compared to a 20 cm German stainless used with a hammer grib.
And you are absolutely right that when you get used to bigger knives. Its hard to go smaller.
The size of your kitchen should not dictate the upper limit on knife size unless it is so small as to preclude an adequate cutting board. Ingredients needing to be broken down, sliced, chopped, etc. are going to be the same size, save someone with the space and budget to buy sides of beef or whole halibuts. Those would be too big for my kitchen as well, but I would like to be able to get things that way for special occasions and large parties. For day to day, however, I prefer not having to freeze excess. Of course, sometimes portioning and freezing is necessary. Done properly, it does not unduly and adversely affect many things. I recently learned that it actually enhances tofu.
Of course. The reasons frequently given against chef knives longer than 6-8 inches make me shake my head: My hands are too small; longer is too heavy; small people need small cutlery; the tip is too far away; they’re expensive to sharpen… The list goes on…
It’s the cutlery version of “alligator arms” when the check comes.
From R to L, the oyster, the laser chef, the heavy chef, the offset sandwich, and the fillet.
The chefs and sandwich are parts of a larger, matching set I made as demos with stabilized curly koa. The others are bread, skinner, sheep skinner, parers, and a couple turners. There are 6 steak knives I haven’t gotten around to finishing.
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
433
Reviving this older discussion to ask if I scored a deal or fell for Instagrammable sub-quality knives. I got this Material utensil and knife set on deep-discount clearance primarily for the knives, and consider the utensils a bonus upgrade for a few of my more utilitarian pieces. The set was $65 (originally $245 at West Elm outlet, or $350 on the Material website).
TLDR – Do you think I should return the set? What would you do?
Are these knives shit? Redditors caution against them, at least in comparison to high-end brands.
But if I am only using these knives to replace Ikea and Kiwi knives, did I score an upgrade? I have two nice Miyabi Kaizen 8" Gyuto knives that I keep in heavy rotation along with a Zwilling 4-star Friodor paring knife. And I know really nothing about knives. I’m fine with hand washing. I would rather not be sharpening all the time but I don’t do that with these current cheapies anyway (I just don’t use them much b/c they aren’t favorites.)
My husband argues that these Material knives likely won’t keep an edge/stay sharp and that I would have been better off saving up for one or two more high-quality knives. He might be right (damnit). Should I return?
Just to be clear. I have no knowledge of the brand, or there knives at all.
But.
Everything about those knives screams cheap Chinese products. The “Japanese stainless steel” claim, without informing what steel type it actually is. The profile and handle design.
Are they better then your IKEA or Kiwi knives? My guess would be no. But use them and see what you think yourself. I doubt they will kick your miyabi’s of the throne.
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
435
Thank you very much for your reply confirming our suspicions. I am going to return them. Fortunately, I am hopefully able to return them because what was advertised on the outside of the box isn’t what I got on the inside (color/style). Otherwise I would be up a creek.
Knife sets are rarely a good deal. Save the money, find a good knife store that can give some good guidance. Try some knives and find out what you like. One high quality knife, you really like and enjoy can easily fill in for several sets of low quality knives.
So true. I use my Global for almost everything. Best $150 I ever invested (although my sis was supposed to chip in — it was a bday present ‘to myself’).
I love the Kiwis, thought. Yes, you need to sharpen them, but they sharpen quickly/easily and are sharp as hell. I don’t know about those pointy handles. Love the boring Kiwi handles.
I like Dexter Russells and Kiwis. I feel the value of both to be great, since they don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Pricier than Kiwis but in line with Dexter Russell, I have nothing but great things to say about the Nogent style (rat tail tang) knives, from Sabatier and others. Bernal Cutlery often offers them as B stock, imperfect but still fabulous. Until you get into the larger sizes, 11" and up, they are quite light, comparable to many Japanese gyutos. Like Kiwis, they are extremely easy to get quite sharp and stay that way a good while if they are honed regularly. I used to think that parer, bread, and chef knife was the perfect trio. I have concluded that a very sharp chef knife makes the bread knife superfluous. Since I like the symmetry of three knives, I have a seven inch B stock Nogent from Bernal that is getting more and more use, especially in this season of fruits and vegetables. Last night it plowed through a bowl of peaches lickety-split to make cobbler.
