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Equipment & Gear: Chef's Knives Rated
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bkorff
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PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2014 2:00 am    Post subject: Ergo Chef Reply with quote

Has anyone had experience with Ergo Chef Knives. They have a slanted handle with respect to the blade, not straight like most knives. They seem to have a sharp edge and performs well with the tests as described in your study.
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NotachefZ
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:59 am    Post subject: Prejudices prejudices.. tsk tsk tsk.. Reply with quote

Before you diss "what you buy at walmart" too much.. I got this Dec 2008. (I didn't really know knives, but knew enough that you get what you pay for, and that germans make good stuff) These knives felt like real knives, the kind of feel that gives you that sense of precision (that only an engineer understands) and the heft and reassurance that this will do the self-defense job should an intruder in your house surprise you (that only a solider understands). The fillet knife for meat, cutting things with strengh, the santoku for veggies/fine-cuts.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Henckels-12-pc-Cutlery-Set/10670275

Professional S Smile I wish I knew about knives what I learned in the last 3 days when I left these behind in the divorce settlement...

Am now in Europe, I'd buy these for this price in a heartbeat. On a related note, why is it so hard to find places that sell stuff in Europe? (I'm in the EU capital). Henckels website is so crap (epic frustration in finding a local place where i can actually hold their different lines in hand, the first 3 places I checked that were provided by their website as the local dealers do not actually carry henckel stuff), I am about to look at other manufacturer's hoping for some what of a better service experience. On the other hand... their stuff must be good if it sells this well even with a crappy service Wink

Btw, best advice in this thread so far (I am about halfway thru) is the one from the user with the Japanese retired chef step-mother. It convinced me to find a store and hold things before deciding on a brand. Domo arigato.
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Dilbert



Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1304
Location: central PA

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hmmm. does not seem too hard to find - any of these nearby?

Code:

BRICOJOB / Hobby Center Multibois S.A.    Ch de St. Job 594-598

1180 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-3746909
www.bricojob.be
   
COUTELLERIE DU ROI    Passage du Nord 27

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-217 54 94
   
Coutellerie Jamart    Rue de l'hopital 7

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-512 49 62
   
COUTINOX    Rue Gustave Gilson, 140

1090 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-640 30 28
www.coutinox.be
   
Espace Buss-Jadoul    Chaussée de Charleroi, 18

1060 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02 538 14 45
www.bussjadoul.be
   
Espace SPRL S.L. Louis    Chausse d'Ixelles 154

1050 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-511 48 75
   
INNO BRUXELLES    111- 123, Rue Neuve

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-211 21 11
www.inno.be
   
INNO UCCLE    10, Rue de la Bascule

1180 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-345 38 90
www.inno.be
   
INTERNATIONAL HOME OF COOKING    Leopoldstraat 3

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-218 81 20
www.homeofcooking.com
   
Maison Tilquin    Galerie de la Reine 9

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-512 76 63
www.tilquin.be
   
METRO Cash&Carry Brussel    Werkhuizenkaai, 22/23

1000 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02-611 74 00
www.makro.be
   
MMMMH SPRL    Chaussé de Charleroi 92

1060 Bruxelles    Tel.: 02.534 23 40
www.mmmmh.be
   
SPRL HERCULE.W.COM / LE PIANO    Rue de L'ermitage 50 B7

1050 Bruxelles    Tel.: 0495-45 22 23
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NotachefZ
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And therein lies the problem. Its easy to get a list form Henkels' website. It is just utter crap. The first three I looked at on that list provided by Henckels, do not actually sell Henkels.

Look through all of the websites. One doesn't work a all, one is the equivalent of Home&Hardware, one is the equivalent of Costco (doesnt have Henckels, or any premium brand knives, I've been there), one is sort of like a fancy Target.
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JulieHenriksen
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:40 pm    Post subject: Great test! Reply with quote

This is an excellent review of the different popular kitchen knives. I have reviewed the Global and the Victorinox myself, and am happy to see the Global knife scoring this well on the different cuts.

I have seen a few other reviews also discussing the shaft of Global G2, but I find it to be OK and balanced. The design is lovely!
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Giovanni
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't found more realistic reviews and comparison anywhere on the web. Great job!

I'm a fan of Wusthof brand. It's kind of a tradition in my family and even my great grand father had Wusthof knives. I'm sure some of them are 100 years old and he still uses them. I have bought the Wusthof Classic Ikon which is a set of 22 knives and I couldn't be happier about them.
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Valmont
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 1:49 am    Post subject: Test is not good Reply with quote

I'm sorry but this "test" doesn't work. First of all the angle at which these knives are sharpened differs. I could think of more things, but right here, this is what matters the most. I have Wüsthoff Classics, and I resharpened ALL of them myself. Your cutting style matters too. I increasingly move towards the Japanese methods, and this means I will re-shape the edge of my knives once again. Also the balance is relevant to your style. What's good for me might be horrible to others and vice versa. Also the speed at which a person can work SAFELY is relevant to how you want your knife to be.

I value the effort but currently this exercise is futile. If you even find a budget, retry this tests where all of them having the very same edge, and stick to a single way of cutting, by multiple persons.
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Cutco Rep
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:52 pm    Post subject: Beating the dead horse Reply with quote

Yeah Cutco isn't great for people like you, those who actually like to cook, but they aren't made for you. When we ask "Do you love to cook?", even if they say yes they don't, it's obvious from the fact that they don't know about other brands, the stigma behind Cutco in cooking groups, or even that they have to sharpen their knives with every use, which is exactly why we sell these for them. The knives aren't made for people who actually like to cook, they're made for the average housewife who is too tired, or who doesn't know any better but doesn't care to find out how, to take care of her knives. They're actually our target demographic who we specifically try to sell to, the knives are made for them in mind. Yeah they could get something almost as "good" for a lower price, but again, they're made for people who don't take care of their knives, so they'll just end up having to replace those later, while with these, it doesn't matter how much a beating they take we'll still repair/replace them. Like for instance my aunt never sharpens her knives, I would never recommend or gift her a set of Henckels because that would just be the equivalent of flushing money down the toilet, instead I would just get her Cutco.
And don't even get me started on how most people don't know how to take care of Carbon steel.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:41 pm    Post subject: Even 10 years later--Great idea Reply with quote

Michael, the choice of knives anhd general purpose were so well chosen that they have stood the test of time. The 4 vegetable cutting tasks chosen seemed reasonable. The methodology seemed appropriate, but the results make no sense, appear almost scrambled. I'm not sure what went wrong.

There really is no basis in your results for the inferences you made about best knives: no knives stood out that much. Here's where I think we stand today:

Quality stamped knives like Victorinox (low end) and Mac/Global (high end) are outstanding, but traditional forged German knives (Wustof/Zwilling/Henkles) have remained competitive. Japanese forged knives, especially Kai/Kershaw/Shun, and Miyabi, have both diversified with more product lines, introduced new core materials (VG/MAX and sg/2), and gained more market share. Enthusiast Japanese knives still have determined followers. Only a very few truly new products, like Ken Onion American knives, have appeared.

It has become much more difficult for potential users to see and feel knives before purchase.

Ray
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Guest
Guest





PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:49 pm    Post subject: Global vs Victorinox Reply with quote

There's a whole lot of different opinion online regarding different Chef knives. I've been looking a bit recently at all the Global, Zwilling, Wusthof etc Knives and in general Global seems to be rated as a top-quality knife. Also, the Global Knives and Blocks are really good-looking (see Globals website here: http://www.globalknives.com.au/products-knife-blocks-and-sets for examples). Love it.

On the other hand, Zwilling knives seem to be regarded as good middle-range knives (for example: https://www.amesbury.com.au/zwilling-j-a-henckels-twin-profection-knife-block-7pc-set/), and I know of a few people who've got them and love them.

Not sure what I'd get myself, haven't had much experience with Wusthof although they seem to get some good reviews..
Apparently there's some extremely sharp Japanese forged knives around, have looked at a few different brands, they all seem good.

It's interesting what Ray said about it becoming more and more difficult to see and feel knives before purchase - all seems to be going online and harder to find these sets in the shops I reckon.
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Dilbert



Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1304
Location: central PA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hate to break the practical news - but in fact, in the end, there is precious little difference in any of the reputable/name knife brands.

the first consideration is, and always has been: does it fit your hand and feel comfortable?

note that this is a thing about handle size/shape/material - what kind of steel from Planet X is attached to the handle actually plays no role in that discussion.

"Apparently there's some extremely sharp Japanese forged knives around,"
yup. and after the "out of the box" edge has dulled, who you gonna' call?

if you demand constantly shaving sharp knives, you'll need to learn to sharpen them yourself, or buy 3-4-5-6 sets of knives so you can rotate them to the sharpening service.

my advice is to dump most of the "OH GOD it's the best" posts and go with a knife that fits your hand, and learn to sharpen said knife.
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Meeps
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 2:29 pm    Post subject: Prep chef's opinion Reply with quote

I cut everyday all day. I own macs, tojiros, wustofs and global.
I would give the global away if anyone wanted it.
I only use the wustof for breaking bones.
The macs take a lot of upkeep and cost over $200.

My Tojiros edge lasts a week at a 9-11° angle. I can put a scalpel edge on it in 1minute.

Not just for the price am i rating the tojiros the best. They outperform all other knives in my extensive collection once honed, except! The aus 10 yoshihiro series.

I have been testing this knife against my tojiros for the last 4 months. Exceptional edge retention. It's as sharp as my missono carbon dragon series and my vg-10 tojiros.

I recommend the tojiro to kitchen pros. Of them all my favorite is the tojiro dp. I can bounce it off pots and not spend time worrying that my precious $200 mac got a scratch on it. I can hone it sharper, faster than any macs.

I'm finding that the aus10 steel and the vg10 steel both outperform all other knives in real world use. The yoshihiro is about $150 as compared with the nenox/nenohi $1150 aus10 knives.

In conclusion, after 1000s of gallons of mir piox, thousands of scallions sliced thin for garnish, thousands of gallons of diced potatoes i would never pay for the expensive knives knowing that i can buy a 10.5 in gyuto from either Tojiro or yoshihiro for less that 180 bucks
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Cheffer
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Personally, although the Global knives feel great in the hand and hold their sharpness for a long time. The Victorinox chef knives feel really natural and also hold their sharpness, so I tend to go for these. It really is about personal opinion, I guess.
I get mine here as they have only the top ranges:
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote Delete this post

I didnt wade through 25 pages, mostly commenting on original test.

Honestly, comparing factory edges is pretty meaningless. Instead of having consistency of sharpening by one person, talented or not, , you have bunch different factory sharpening systems, usually some kind of machine of course. They dont hire Ole Joe to sit there with his whetstone hand sharpening each and every one.

Further most knives come new with less than optimal edge. Usually a wide shallow edge cause that will stand up to abuse the longest. Yea they know most people are clueless on how to sharpen a knife and many treat knives as disposable. It gets dull, toss it. Dishwashers, cutting on glass or steel pans or other hard surfaces, all par for the course for the clueless.

There are of course some knives at low end made of such cheap scrap stainless that they are what I call "gummy steel". These are royal PITA to get a sharp edge and it wont last long if you do. But most knives even cheap as $15 can be sharpened easily and usually far better than they came new out of package. Are they going to hold their edge for five years of banging them on random rocks and tree stumps like some exotic super hard steel? No, of course not. But if well sharpened and blade ONLY TOUCHES FOOD OR HARDWOOD CUTTING BOARD, then can stay sharp for MONTHS. Seriously paying beaucoup bucks to avoid sharpening a knife every six month is silly. A knife used to cut FOOD in home kitchen, its not going to do brain surgery. But of course this assumes you know how to properly sharpen a knife.

Knife sharpening has become sort of hobby to me and I mostly sharpen on a small inexpensive belt sander using zirconia belts. Nothing at all wrong with whetstones of course, just slower. Though quality of whetstones makes a difference. And however you sharpen, technique is everything.

Anyway I am sucker for any used dull junk knife, to see what I can do with it. Recently bought a $1 box of junk knives (somebody had cleaned out kitchen drawer by looks of it) Couple interesting gimmicky "as seen on tv" knives. Yes I got pretty good edge on the tv copper coated holey knife that never needs sharpening.... guessing better than it came from factory. But most interesting was a stamped Farberware chef knife and matching paring knife. This says CHINA and it must be older as it had serious heft to it. I think modern ones are much lighter weight. Blunt instrument. Had sort of a skandi type edge at bottom, but otherwise no taper whatsoever. I sharpened the edge. Fine if cutting something very shallow, but Johnny cracked carrots when it got beyond that quarter inch bevel.

So I thinned blade, not as much as I would have liked since asking lot of my little belt sander to remove that much metal. Still night and day, cuts much easier. So decided on my own experiment, use it daily and yes I chop raw veggies twice a day with it. To see how long the edge lasts when treated well (only touches food and maple cutting board and hand washed). Two weeks and still as sharp as ever. No way to ever know but obviously some kind of 420 (or equivalent) steel. I would guess 420-J2, but maybe bit more carbon content since edge is holding. I would guess at this point with showing no signs of dullness , it will at minimum go a month. If still sharp at end of month, then push that to 3 to 6 month. Dont get me wrong, I dont suggest anybody go out and buy one of these. Its not a great knife or even a good knife, especially as it came from factory. But for $1 its an interesting experiment. And it was fairly easy to sharpen, so if I had to, yea I could live with it long term. I would try to find some way to thin/taper blade more, but its ok as it is right now. Its sharp, it has some heft , and it cuts food.
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