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Equipment & Gear: Chef's Knives Rated
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Ruth
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:00 am    Post subject: MAC Knives Reply with quote

I have had a set of the original Mac knive since the Mid 70's. They are the best knives I have ever found and they require minimal sharpening on the special ceramic stones they have. I just purchases some new "better" Mac Knives and my husband promptly cut off the fat pad portion of his finger requiring a trip to the emergency room. REALLY Sharp knives - right out of the box.
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Jim
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 8:02 am    Post subject: Ergonomics Reply with quote

Excellent review, Michael. I am wondering if you can add more comments about the feel of the different knives. For example, how they balanced (tip-heavy, neutral, handle-heavy), the ergonomics of the handles (size, feel of material, shape), and the curvature and width of the blades as it affect use (for example, the wider more pronounced belly of the German/Swiss brands versus the narrower straighter profile on most of the Japanese blades). While it's true that preference on each of these is a personal matter, some description and comparison here between the different knives will nevertheless be very valuable.

Also, I didn't follow your comment about the "shallow taper" to the Global's blade. Are you referring to the curvature of its blade? However, the MAC's don't look any more curved; in fact, the MTH-80 seems to an almost flat cutting edge (like a santoku).
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CUTCO Owner
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:16 pm    Post subject: French Chef Knife Reply with quote

Though I am a very satisfied owner of CUTCO knives, I am not surprised by the results of your testing. The French Chef knife is the one CUTCO knife in my set that I do not particularly care to use. Unlike most other CUTCO knives, the French Chef does not have a Double-D edge. As a result, it requires regular sharpening.

In a previous comment, someone stated that the CUTCO knife
Quote:
is supposed to never need sharpening.
That is not true. CUTCO's forever sharpness guarantee only states that
Quote:
CUTCO knives with the Double-D edge will remain sharp for many years, but after extended use they may need resharpening. For resharpening of Double-D or straight-edged knives, send them along with a return shipping and handling fee of $5.00 (1-3 items) or $8.00 (4 or more items) to... CUTCO...
(http://www.cutco.com/jsp/customer/guarantee.jsp)

As an owner of CUTCO knives, I know that my straight-edged knives need regular sharpening. I did not purchase my set because I need a top performing Chef's knife. I purchased my set because the CUTCO steak and carving knives (with Double-D edges) cut well and are a pleasure for me to use.
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Torq
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:40 am    Post subject: Hang on a bit ... Reply with quote

Good test, one thing though. You said that you'd steeled them all prior to testing, to realign the edge. I hope that doesn't mean you steeled the japanese knives as well? That's rarely a good idea. If you did, I sure hope you used a ceramic steel ...
/Torq
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

why should one not steel a mac knife? just bout two chef knives from mac, a diamond steel and a japanese water stone for sharpening it. all from a very reputable chef store in NYC. Please tell me what to do if you have correct information please.
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jagstyle



Joined: 08 Aug 2005
Posts: 45
Location: CA

PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:02 am    Post subject: Steels Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
why should one not steel a mac knife? just bout two chef knives from mac, a diamond steel and a japanese water stone for sharpening it. all from a very reputable chef store in NYC. Please tell me what to do if you have correct information please.


On hard Japanese blades I would only use glass smooth or very fine ceramic steels like the ones found here:

http://www.handamerican.com/steel3.html

With coarsely textured steels one has a very high risk of damaging a hard Japanese blade...

Personally I have avoided steels and use my highest grit polishing stone (8000) or flatbed leather hone to bring an edge back to life.

If the diamond steel you bought is very fine and is not harsh on the edge then I think you will be in good shape. I would advise using as little pressure as possible when using the steel. The weight of the knife is more than enough...
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was a big Forschner Victorinox fan for many years. However, I grew tired of sharpening them after every major usage. Several years ago, I found a deal on Wusthof Grand Prix knives overseas and purchased a set. Believe me, the factory edge on these knives was not up to par. Sharpening them made a major difference in their performance immediately. However, I had to get use to the heft of the Grand Prix's verses the Victorinox's light weight. About a year ago, I purchased a Henckels Four Star Multi-edge 8" chef's knife. The blade has a 3" wavy edge section about a third of the way back from the tip. This knife was razor sharp right out of the box and the larger handle was more to my liking. I still have yet to sharpen this knife, I just steel it before each use. The wavy edge really is a great feature in that I can cut with the tip, slice easily with the wavy edge portion and chop with the rear portion. So I would suggest, as others already have, that you have all these knives sharpened and test again. You might also test utilizing others in order to analize handle shape and weight preferences. I am very happy to have found your article.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could someone comment on ways to find a good knife sharpener? I don't have any friends in around me that have sent anything to a knife sharpener before.
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Howard



Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 64

PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
Could someone comment on ways to find a good knife sharpener? I don't have any friends in around me that have sent anything to a knife sharpener before.

Get some good stones and learn how to do it yourself. It's a very rewarding skill.

http://users.ameritech.net/knives/ward.htm

That should get you started. Of course, if you don't want to do it freehand, or if you want to start off with a guide, there are several good sharpening systems available, the premier being the EdgePro Apex or Pro model.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find this site has a couple of options for sharpeners and blade care. http://www.eknives.com/knife-sharpeners.html
Solid products and prices, and a few options depending on your need and skill
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Sandra Mostacci
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I very much appreciate this article, it is one of the better knife comparisons that I have come across.

Having said that, I do have a criticsm. It is not a fair comparison to compare knives with a factory edge. Some manufactuorers intentionally leave the knive a little blunt for safety in transportation. You cannot get a like-for-like comparison with a factory edge because you can't know that they all have comparably sharp (or blunt) edges out of the factory.

I own a couple of Whustof knives and the difference between factory edge and newly sharpened is night and day. They are one company that has a policy of keeping the knives rather blunt and I did have cutting issues with them out of the factory.

I don't agree with the authors assertion that people reading this article and buying knives at this price are the sort of people who use the knives with a factory edge. I think most people reading this article are likely to be rather geeky about their knives.

To me, a good knife is also about how it performs over time and how well it does re-sharpen over and over again. Though I do appreciate the difficulty of defining and measuring this attribute. At a minimum I would love to see what would happen if all these knives where taken to a reputable knife sharper and the tests re-done.

The favourite knife was also the only knife to be bevelled. I wonder if that was the difference? Anyone got any thoughts on that?
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Keith Chisholm
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 4:21 pm    Post subject: Knife Review Comments Reply with quote

Unsure I just visited this site for the first and loved it. However, I was really surprised at how low you rated the Henckel Pro-S. I have been using Henckel Four Star knives for going on seven years now and as a previous comment mentioned I can split hairs with them and I have never done anything other than steel the knives and I do not do that very often. I'll keep my mind open though and check out some of those knives you rated high including the MAC MTH-80.
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Gregory
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:10 pm    Post subject: Knife Review Reply with quote

What most people want to do is complain. They didn't bother to take the time and spend the money to conduct this exhaustive test.

That said, however, the best advice one can give for knife selection is: choose one that feels best in your hand. It is 100% subjective. It does you no benefit to buy a top rated knife that causes blisters.

All knives will get the job done. Over time how you treat the knife is up to you.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are testing knives for engineers, you should add the Furi brand to you tests: http://furitechnics.com.au/

The company is run by engineers and the knives are designed by engineers, they consistently rate highly in reviews, I have two and they are the most comfortable and best performing knives I have ever used.
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A Kitchen Enthusiast
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 9:26 pm    Post subject: A woman's perspective Reply with quote

I enjoyed your article, and was amused that the Global came out on top, because that is the brand I am a fan of. It is DEFINITELY an individual thing to choose a knife, because as a left-handed woman, I find some knives waaaay too heavy, or difficult to grip (Shun's handle is made for right-handed people).

As an aside for the Anonymous Reader who bought a diamond steel, go easy on that blade. Diamond steels do more than just realign the blade. They will sharpen/take away matter when you rub the blade against them. Some knives can't be sharpened by a regular steel, so I'm not saying they steered you wrong, it's just a little trickier with a diamond/ceramic steel to accomplish what you need. And you will only ruin any blade if you don't know how to hold it at a proper angle to sharpen/hone it. So get some education, because it definitely is a worthwhile skill to acquire. Happy sharpening!
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