The Best Chefs Knife: Why Spend The Money When Other Knives Are So Cheap?
Just What Is The Best Chefs Knife?
Without a doubt a great chef’s knife will quickly become the most used knife in your collection. You will use it nearly every time you cook and will begin to loathe sub-par knives. When you first start the shopping process however, you may be taken aback by the fact that the “best chefs knife” is often “a really expensive knife.”
So why should you pay a lot of money for something as seemingly simple as a knife? First and foremost is sharpness and longevity. High quality knifes are extremely sharp and simply hold their edge longer. They are made from much higher grades of materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel, a hybrid or laminate of both metals or even ceramic. Sometimes, you do have to spend money to get good quality.
How are top chef’s knives made?
The process to produce the best chefs knife is much more labor-intensive than lower quality knives. A process called hot-forging utilizes a multiple of steps requiring highly skilled labor. Raw steel is heated to a very high temperature and shaped to form the blade. After forging, the blade is ground and sharpened using various trade-secret processes, including a process called differential sharpening. This allows for a variety of sharpness along the length of the blade.
A forged knife is usually full-tang, which just means the metal in the knife extends from the very tip of the blade all the way to the base of the handle. This allows for great stability and balance and also ensures the longevity of the knife.
It is so often said that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one. If this doesn’t make sense then consider the amount of force necessary to cut an object. With an extremely dull knife considerable pressure must be applied and this increases the potential for slips and mistakes. Balance is another factor that can ensure safety, and the top knife manufacturers use high tech methods to make sure the weight is distributed evenly.
Just tell me what the best one is, already!
The truth is, there is no single “best chef’s knife.” Everyone is different and the trick is in finding the one knife that feels right in your hand, is sharp and stays sharp. Before you purchase any knife, you should get an idea of what your needs are and how it will be used. If you have small hands, then a lighter knife may be the one for you. However, this is not always the case. We have seen petit women who swear by heavy German Wüsthof’s and burly chefs that fall in love with a Japanese Global.
The most important thing is that the weight of the knife should be evenly balanced. You hold the knife with your hand wrapped around the handle, but your thumb and forefinger are on the blade just below the bolster. This may feel unusual at first to the novice, but this position gives you the most control.
Overall, the prices might seem a bit high when you first start to shop. However, when you think about the durability of a particular high-quality knife when compared to less expensive, lesser quality ones you can see why ultimately it is worth the extra money. A cheaper knife will dull, slip, and eventually break over time meaning that it will have to be replaced. You just might as well get a better knife.
Summary and how we can help
With so many brands such as Wüsthof-Trident, Kershaw Shun, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Cutco, Kyocera, MAC, etc it can seem a bit daunting to choose the right one. That’s what The Best Chefs Knife was launched to do. We sort through reviews online so you don’t have to and can just get on with your cooking. Take care of these knives and they will last a lifetime and return you many times over your original investment.
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