The only knife I’ve regretted buying myself was the opposite of this experience. I purchased a thin 3-1/4" Forschner Rosewood paring knife and was continually frustrated by the too short blade. I replaced it with a 4" Shun Classic and still love using this longer one. But maybe it’s because I don’t do a lot of detail/fine paring work?
I don’t know which Henckels chef knife you have, so it might be the solution for you! If not, I’d recommend trying a Forschner/Victorinox knife (either their 6" or 8" chef, or their 7" santoku). I’ve found that they sharpen well and can easily be narrowed to a very fine cutting bevel.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Victorinox knives really are, if not the best knives for the money. Then it certainly is right up with the best.
Outperforms many of the more expensive German forged knives.
The German classics like the heavy, forged Wusthof and Henckels, are extremely popular, but in my opinion they are outliers because they are so heavy and thick, not to mention their extreme rocking profile. The French, the Japanese, and myriad stamped knives adopt a thinner profile, are lighter, and often have more of a straight cutting edge before turning up. I find Victorinox/Forschner in that lighter, straighter camp, which I like, personally. Of course these are all just generalizations and my own impressions. I do, however, have a knife that runs contrary to all of this. My 11 1/2" Nogent Chef’s knife is pretty darned hefty, and its spine starts out as thick as a lot of cleavers. However, it is still light and nimble for its size. Yesterday it cored tomatoes.
By the way. This purchase was absolutely not a regret. It is a second from Bernal. Therefore, I got an amazing deal. The website said carbon, but it sure looks like stainless. I don’t care. It takes and holds a terrific edge with a 600 grit water stone. It can slice fine and thin, but it can also cube a chuck roast in the blink of an eye. Bigger blades make many things so much easier. As a bonus, now my 10" feels like a utility knife.
It’s what Jacques Pepin often uses in his shows.
Yeah, but with his skills Chef Jacques could use a shard of glass and still be soigne. However here he is doing a chicken demo with a nearly thousand dollar knife.
It’s a beauty.
If my knife skills were as sharp (ha) as Pepin’s, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend $1K on one.
And they are not really the traditional German knives either. It is what has developed in large scale industrial production in the last 60-70 years, as people started to request more robust “BIFL”-knives. Softer steel, thicker but basically indestructible. The classic German knives (like Windmühle still makes with the 1922 series, and - in more Japanese patterns - the K-series) were rather thin and extremely good at cutting - just like Japanese knives nowadays, but generally softer to enable regular honing (which allowed them to be used for weeks or months between sharpening, even in commercial environments).
I agree about Parker’s - the long ones are useless to me, but fortunately all my parers have been cheap - Victorinox or Rado, so my “mistakes” haven’t been costly. I had a nice Henckels or Wustof one once around 40 years ago; a guy who was painting my place used it to pry open a can of paint and broke the tip off. He put it back in the knife block. Guess he figured I wouldn’t notice.
I am angry on your behalf.
Interesting insight. Welcome aboard!
Although it was not manufactured in Germany, I had a Brazilian Henckels 8" Chef’s knife about fifty years ago. It was light, carbon steel, partial bolster, and long cutting edge profile. It was a fantastic knife. Sadly, it was fatally wounded by a recalcitrant chicken.
The 1922 series is just a great knife. Outperforms many overhyped Japanese knive. And are just way way better then any mass produced modern stainless German knives
The k series is also a great knife( the carbon) but in my opinion not quite up there with the 1922.
That 1922 9" Chef is totally up my alley.
If you get the chance… I would get one
All it takes is a few clicks!
I’m surprised no one has chimed in yet (or I missed it). Aside from donating, if the knife is really dull and poor quality knife that is not worth salvaging, I will take card board and cut out a piece to wrap the blade and duct tape that thing to ensure it won’t fall off. Because I have a lot of items delivered, boxes are plentiful, and I usually have left over bubble packages or wrap. For double security, I will also use those items if I have them on hand to wrap the knifes again.