The Chef’s Knife is a Chef’s Best Friend
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If there is one thing that a chef should really get used to is that he has to get used to handling the chef’s knife. After all, he will be working with it, so he might as well consider his chef’s knife as his best friend.
There are many chef’s knife manufacturers, and all of them are claiming that they have the most excellent range of chef’s knives. Because of this, choosing the chef’s knife brand then becomes difficult.
So, what are the things that you have to look for when purchasing chef’s knives?
The Quality of the Chef’s Knife’s Steel
The quality of the steel is one of the things that many chefs tend to overlook when purchasing a chef’s knife. After all, a steel is a steel, right? Wrong. The quality of the steel should play a huge role in choosing a chef’s knife. Right now, there are two good choices in chef’s knives if you look at the quality of the steel. You have the Japanese steel as well as the German steel.
The Japanese steel chef’s knife has a thinner blade, so this is much more delicate than the German chef’s knife. Its sharpening angle is about 16 to 18 degree angle, so you can expect that this type of knife is very, very sharp. On the other hand, the German chef’s knife has a thicker blade, so this is sturdier than the Japanese chef’s knife. Its sharpening angle is about 22 degree angle, so not only is this very sturdy but very sharp as well.
It is relatively difficult to sharpen the Japanese chef’s knife as compared to the German one because of its extreme angle and delicateness. Furthermore, the tip of the Japanese chef’s knife is more likely to break off because of the very same reasons given above.
The Quality of the Chef’s Knife’s Handle
Another thing that you have to look at is the quality of the chef’s knifes’ handle. This is very important because you will be doing most of the cutting using your chef’s knife, so you really have to choose one that you will be comfortable using.
One tip when it comes to choosing a chef’s knife based on the handle is to take a look at your hand. If your hand is small, then be sure to purchase a chef’s knife with a thinner and narrower handle. On the other hand, if your hand is big, then be sure to purchase a chef’s knife with a thicker and wider handle.
Remember, the chef’s knife should fit your hand comfortably. Failure to purchase the right chef’s knife can lead to the development of calluses and pressure points due to stiff and tense grip. Also, the wrong kind of chef’s knife’s handle could affect the fluidity of your hand movement, thus, creating incorrect and inaccurate cuts.
The Weight of the Chef’s Knife
The weight of the chef’s knife is another factor that you should consider. However, you should know that the weight talked about here really is not the real “weight” per se of the chef’s knife. In fact, it is chef’s knife’s balance. Its total weight should be evenly distributed all throughout the chef’s knife to give more you more control over it.
The chef’s knife should allow you graceful movements as well as provide fluidity of movement. You should also be able to hold it comfortably in your hand, not tense and stiff. A good chef’s knife should not only be sturdy and sharp but should also be nicely balanced and last for a longer period of time. You should also be able to sharpen it easily.
Image Credit: idealhome.ipcshop.co.uk
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.
A very good short article.
[Reply]
Chef Matthew J.G Reply:
June 26th, 2011 at 7:05 am
Hello Chef Clarence,
Thanks for the positive feedback.
Matthew
[Reply]