The Best Chef's Knife
- Best Overall: MAC MTH-80 Professional Series 8-inch Chef's Knife with Dimples (available at amazon.com)
- Best Tough Workhorses: Wüsthof Classic 8-inch Cook's Knife (available at amazon.com) and J.A. Henckels International Classic 8-inch Chef's Knife (available at zwilling.com)
Like a kitchen knife, a good steak knife needs to be sharp, comfortable in your hand, well-balanced, and sturdy. You don't want to be sawing and tearing away at an expensive, perfectly cooked steak with a flimsy knife. But steak knives need to be pretty, as well.
Steak knives are the only sharp knife that you'll find in a modern kitchen table. You'll want to use a steak knife when you're eating finer meats. Meats such as chicken, steak, and beef need a quality knife to cut correctly. Having the wrong knife can result in a "rough" cut and will make your food harder to eat.
Victorinox offers this 6-piece steak knife value option with a rounded tip for safety versus the traditional “spear-type” steak knife design. These knives are a stamped stainless steel in lieu of the more expensive forged carbon steel knives and have synthetic black plastic handles to maintain hygienic use.
Henckels has a hardness rating of 56-57 Rockwell, but on some collections designed by Bob Kramer (some are Japanese) is 61 Rockwell. Wusthof is rated at 58 Rockwell. The higher the number, the harder the steel so Wusthof is likely to hold its sharpness longer, while Henckels knives will be a little easier to sharpen.
Knives should never go in the dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is very abrasive, and along with the banging around that happens during a wash cycle, will take the sharp edge right off your knife. Always wash knives by hand in the sink with dish soap and water.
Start by holding your serrated knife with the edge of the blade pointed away from your body. Position the ceramic sharpening rod in the serration and attempt to match the angle of the bevel as best as you can. Then, slowly and gently, draw the sharpening rod through the serration.
Our Top Knife Set Picks:
- Best Overall: Wusthof Classic Nine Piece Block Set.
- Best Value: Zyliss Control 16-Piece Forged Stainless Steel Knife Set.
- Best for the Low-Maintenance Cook: Henckels Classic 15-Pc Self-Sharpening Block Set.
- Best Asian Knife Set: Shun Classic 5 Pc Starter Block Set.
Serrated knives can and should be sharpened, but they don't need it very often. A serrated knife's pointed teeth do most of the work. Less friction means the blade stays sharper longer. The characteristics that keep them sharper also make serrated knives more difficult to resharpen.
The best purpose of a serrated knife is for harder materials that require good bite in order to slice through. However, on softer materials, serrations may catch too easily and end up unwinding or unraveling the material rather than actually cutting it.
The Japanese are famous for making the very best chisels, wood planes, saws, swords and knives throughout the ages. Thinner, harder, sharper are the important trio of attributes for an excellent kitchen knife. A Japanese knife has thinner, sharper bevels made of harder steel that keep their edge for longer.
Tips for Sharpening Micro-Serrated Knives
- Find the bevel side.
- Work on the flat side.
- Use a sharpening material that is harder than steel if you can.
- Keep the angle as tight as you can.
- Use light and gentle strokes to sharpen.
- Wear safety gloves to avoid cuts.
- Always feel for burr to know when it is sharp.
Serrated blades excel at slicing cuts where you drag the edge across the food. There's no better example than cutting a loaf of bread. You have to get through the tough outer crust, but you'll smoosh or compress the soft inner part of the bread if you try to make a force cut.
Slicing KnivesWith a more flexible blade than a carving knife, they are used to cut thinner slices of roast, fruits and vegetables. Ideal for: Slicing and carving thin cuts of meat, such as chicken, pork, beef, venison, fish.
Santoku knives or to give them their full name Santoku bocho knives, which translates as 'three uses', are ideal for mincing, dicing and slicing, as they feature a straight edge with a narrow sheep's foot blade. These knives have evolved from the traditional Japanese vegetable knife which has a rectangular blade.
Some owners have complained of rust stains and quickly dulling blades. The Miracle Blades can't compete with the best Wusthof or Henckels blades. But they aren't junk, either. And if you avoid add-ons that can run up the price, you'll get a decent set of knives for a very good price.
Officially, it's pronounced [lah-yole] by the locals but most French speakers will say [la-gwee-ole]. Perhaps a little like the way Houston Street is pronounced [how-ston] in New York City.
To be perfectly frank, JA Henckels International and Chicago Cutlery knives are extremely similar. There are two big differences you're likely to note: one, Chicago Cutlery favors forged knives, while Henckels International makes many stamped lines, and two, Henckels seems to have much better quality control.
Do not put your knife in the dishwasher. If the handle of your Laguiole knife is made of wood or horn, you should never ever put it in the dishwasher. If the handle of your Laguiole is made of paperstone, Plexiglas or ABS, it matters less, since these materials were designed to withstand very high temperatures.
First you sharpen the straight part of your blade using the edge of the stone to guide you. Then, with a circular motion , sharpen the round part of the blade, always using even pressure and keeping the same angle. After sharpening one side of the blade, repeat the same stroke on the other side.
As laguiole designates a type of knife and is not a brand or trade name of cutlery, laguiole knives are manufactured globally. French production is shared between the cutlery hub town of Thiers, and the village of Laguiole: these places have worked together for more than 150 years.
Whether you are an adventurer or a plain Jane/Jack, you need a handy knife. Laguiole knives are the best knives to carry in your pockets. Here are some applications for the Laguiole pocket knives: It can be a handy tool for small tasks like scrapping wood or cutting rope to build shelters when you are out in the wild.
A steak knife is a sharp table knife, used for cutting steak. These often feature serrated blades and wooden handles, and are the only sharp knife commonly found at the modern table. Specialized steak knives emerged in America following World War II.
'Laguiole' is not a brand name or a label, but the name of a small village in the Auvergne region in France. Most "Laguiole" knives are made in France but because the design and name are not trademark protected, they can be manufactured anywhere.
Jean Dubost was the first French cutler to be certified PEFC in 2009. The source of our inspiration is the everyday life, our lifestyles and travel diaries It instills in the Company Jean Dubost a permanent awakening spirit, resolutely turned towards the future and ready to meet new challenges.
