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Chef's Knife

post #1 of 12
2/9/09 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Currently I use a chinese cleaver for almost all by chopping and cutting. It does a great job with all that I use it for. However, I now want to get a chef's knife so I can do much more accurate cuts. What is the length I should look for in a general purpose chef's knife? Another question is can I get a good japanese made western style chef's knife for ~ $50. I am personally not a fan of a santoku.
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post #2 of 12
2/9/09 at 5:36pm
Lengths vary by preference. I think a lot of people are drawn to the smaller (6") chefs knives because they think the bigger knives are "too big" for what they use a knife for.

I use an 8" primarly (though I wouldn't mind a nice 6" just to have around) and there really isn't anything that it is too big for...It gets used for things as small as garlic.
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post #3 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:00pm
10". Once you try that, well ... I will let others finish the joke.

Seriously, it is a better length. You really lose no precision.

The traditional length of a Japanese gyuto is 240mm (about 9 3/8").
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post #4 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
10". Once you try that, well ... I will let others finish the joke.

Seriously, it is a better length. You really lose no precision.

The traditional length of a Japanese gyuto is 240mm (about 9 3/8").

I went from 8" to a 240mm with no trouble at all, but it's a bit intimidating at first.

As far as recs for your price point, I'd suggest either Tojiro DP or Togiharo from Korin.com.
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post #5 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:09pm
From growing up I didn't know knives besides chinese cleavers existed lol...my mother did any kind of cutting imaginable with that old cleaver.
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post #6 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:15pm
I've stuck to 8", but Manton may yet convince me to size up.
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post #7 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:44pm
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Originally Posted by DocHolliday View Post
I've stuck to 8", but Manton may yet convince me to size up.

I once read that the proper size knife should match the length of your penis...

Hope the surgery goes well
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post #8 of 12
2/9/09 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas View Post
I went from 8" to a 240mm with no trouble at all, but it's a bit intimidating at first.

As far as recs for your price point, I'd suggest either Tojiro DP or Togiharo from Korin.com.

Just bought the tojiro DP right after christmas from Korin. It's excellent.
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post #9 of 12
2/9/09 at 7:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PolePosition View Post
From growing up I didn't know knives besides chinese cleavers existed lol...my mother did any kind of cutting imaginable with that old cleaver.

I do boning, slicing, chopping, mincing, smashing, peeling, carving all on this one blade. And the best thing of all, it's made in America by Dexter-Russell and costed me $25. Almost of the chinese restaurants I know use this brand because it's better then any stuff imported from China.
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post #10 of 12
2/12/09 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas View Post
I went from 8" to a 240mm with no trouble at all, but it's a bit intimidating at first. As far as recs for your price point, I'd suggest either Tojiro DP or Togiharo from Korin.com.
I don't really have anything to add except to second Thomas' recommendations. You may need to stretch you budget to $65 or so depending on the size you decide to go with. I like my 240mm Gyutos but you will need a fairly large cutting board to be comfortable.
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post #11 of 12
2/12/09 at 6:31pm
There are many new inexpensive forged steel knives out. I have a $40 Mundial 8" and I have been using it for about 7 years. It's excellent. You can go to places like Target, Wal Mart and try the forged ones out. Of course, the situation you want to avoid is buying a $40 knife now and buying a better $100 knife later because you don't like the first one.

The standard budget answer is the Cook's Illustrated favorite, Forschner/Victorinox Chef knife. It's about $30.00 and very nice, I have handled it. Heavier and better-balanced than any stamped steel knife you have seen.
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post #12 of 12
2/12/09 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarmac View Post
There are many new inexpensive forged steel knives out. I have a $40 Mundial 8" and I have been using it for about 7 years. It's excellent. You can go to places like Target, Wal Mart and try the forged ones out. Of course, the situation you want to avoid is buying a $40 knife now and buying a better $100 knife later because you don't like the first one.

The standard budget answer is the Cook's Illustrated favorite, Forschner/Victorinox Chef knife. It's about $30.00 and very nice, I have handled it. Heavier and better-balanced than any stamped steel knife you have seen.


I trying to focus on Japanese Gyutos because I find the proportions to be better for me. The blade is less curved then a traditional french chef's knife but not as flat as a santoku. The issue is with a chinese cleaver is that blade is almost completely flat. This makes the blade ideal for chopping but less so for slicing. I used french chef's knife but since my whole life I have gotten used to the chopping method with a chinese cleaver, the technique for using a traditional french knife is a bit different. A gyuto I find is the best option in-between a chinese cleaver and a french chef's knife.
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