Thoughts on this chefs knife

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I know what you mean. For me, a lot depended on how I held the knife too. Once I learned the best grip and how much more control I had, it changed everything.

(Not saying you are holding your knife wrong or anything...I just remember how much my grip mattered when deciding what I was most comfortable with as far as the weight of the knife)

Agree about proper grip, especially important when cutting large quantities... Some knives(like the Global knives) the weight ratio is off making it uncomfortable to use...

Knife technique was jammed down my throat in cooking school, so it thankfully hasn't been an issue...

 

[romeo212000]

Agree about proper grip, especially important when cutting large quantities... Some knives(like the Global knives) the weight ratio is off making it uncomfortable to use...

Knife technique was jammed down my throat in cooking school, so it thankfully hasn't been an issue...

Thing is, with the proper technique you can chop in the docking motion or slice by drawing to you with the same grip and have excellent control.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Thing is, with the proper technique you can chop in the docking motion or slice by drawing to you with the same grip and have excellent control.

True!!! What I'm saying is, try chopping 2 commercial bags of onions without the right technique/grip... Your hand will let you know that you're doing it wrong

 

[romeo212000]

So I bought the Henckels knife and after a couple of weeks with it, here's my impression.

It's obviously a fairly bare bones classic design. It is not super comfortable to use. The edges of the spine are fairly sharp. Not enough to cut you or anything, but enough to let you know if you're getting sloppy in any way with your grip or technique. I guess that's not a bad thing though. Don't get me wrong, it's comfortable enough to be pleasant when cooking dinner for two to four people in the evening, but I don't think I'd want to use this knife to do the massive amount of prep required in a restaurant kitchen.

It's absolutely plenty sharp right out of the package. It's an extremely versatile knife. It seems to perform equally well when tackling heavier duties such as dicing potatoes and chopping other vegetables as it did when thinly slicing garlic, scallions, and tomatoes. It was also better at more delicate tasks like chiffonading basil than I initially anticipated. It is actually very adept at slicing by drawing towards and is quite comfortably to use in this manner. It slices right through chicken and steaks with one motion easily. As a traditional western knife it of course has enough weight to handle heavier chopping by using the rocking motion.

I've only had the knife for about two weeks, but I've used it probably 5 nights each week. Very small sample size but it is holding its edge and sharpness very well. I actually prefer the slightly softer metal of this knife to the harder steels of the Japanese blades because I feel like they're more responsive to honing and less prone to chipping. The blade is actually a little more flexible than I anticipated which I think adds to its versatility.

Bottom line, my amateur opinion is it would be very hard to beat for the money and would be more than adequate for any home cook. I expect this knife to last me several years. I'd be inclined towards something a little more comfortable if I were using it in a professional kitchen. Overall very pleased.