How to Evaluate Chef's Knives
Evaluating chef's knives for your own use is, above all, a highly personal process. It's important to find a knife that feels well-balanced, maintains a sharp edge and cuts food as nicely as expected. It sounds simple, but it may take much time and hands-on testing before you'll figure out exactly what you're looking for in a knife. There's no "perfect knife," and you should steer clear of anyone who tries to tell you otherwise--there's only the knife that's right for you, personally. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Locate local shops in your area that carry chef's knives and allow customers to handle and test them. Specialized kitchenware stores are more likely than general housewares stores to allow you to handle their knives.
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Visit local shops and try out their knives. If possible, don't just hold them in your cutting hand; actually cut some vegetables with them. Some cutlery specialists will allow you to put their knives through their paces with onions, tomatoes, parsley, and other produce.
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Choose your ideal chef's knife based on how the knife feels to you, not how a magazine or website has evaluated it. Magazines may be able to tell you how long a blade will hold its edge, which you can then take into consideration regarding how willing and likely you are to sharpen your knives yourself. However, they'll never be able to replace holding and testing knives yourself, because you're the only one who uses a knife the way you do.
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Tips & Warnings
Old chef's knife wisdom says that knives with forged blades are better than those with stamped ones, and that knife handles with bolsters are better than those without. These same standards might also suggest that a knife with a wood handle is better than one with a composite, stainless steel, or plain plastic handle. While these standards may have held some degree of truth at one point in time, they're no longer true today. With modern advances in knife manufacturing, it's possible to find that your perfect chef's knife has a plastic handle and a stamped blade. That's why there's nothing more important than testing them yourself.
It is possible to have a chef's knife that is too light. You may find that you prefer heavier or lighter chef's knives, but as a rule of thumb, knives under 7 ounces are too light for some basic kitchen tasks.
Don't use price as a gauge of quality. Some knives that cut very well don't cost a lot of money. Additionally, don't assume that the only quality chef's knives are made in Germany. Japanese companies such as Global, Kershaw, and Kyocera have come to the fore in recent years with wonderful, reasonably priced knife collections--including chef's knives. The only true arbiter of a knife's value should be your experience in testing it. From there, you can whittle down your selections based on what your wallet can accommodate.
