The use of a good chef knife is highly important in the kitchen. The comfort in hand, sharpness of blade, how long the blade stays sharp, and the balance in the hand are the right criteria. These are my opinions only, and may not apply to how they are used by another.
Whether you choose a Japanese blue steel chef’s knife or one made of a different material this knife will handle close to ninety percent of your cutting. One that has an eight to ten inch blade is perfect to get the job done and provide you with plenty of great ways to cut food in the kitchen. This is the perfect knife for chopping and dicing, but not for skinning meat or vegetables, there are other knives for that purpose.
Wusthof Classic 8 inch chef knife
I have had the Wusthof chef knife for 14 years. The first important thing about Wusthof Classic is that the handles are resin, and not wood. I am constantly cutting and chopping and washing the knives, though never in the dishwasher. Wood handles get dry and need oil, just a fact of life. I look for ease. This was a point in favor of Wusthof. Wusthof uses high carbon steel, which holds a sharp edge far longer than blades with a lower carbon content. With a little work, the knife keeps a good sharp edge and works perfectly. The Wusthof chef knife has better weight than any knife I had held before, also a solid point in its favor. It is relatively well balanced and has a full tang, meaning the steel extends the entire length of the knife, into the handle, where it is riveted in place.
Cutco 9.25 inch chef knife
About 3 years ago I bought the Cutco chef knife. First, it is far longer than most other chef knives. This is good when I am chopping a larger quantity of food, but generally it is just long. I am less accustomed to the length, so that is a minus. The weight or heft of the knife is light in comparison to the Wusthof Classic chef knife. It looks nice, but is less balanced in my hand. It does have full tang and the handles are riveted in place. It is a sharp knife, but the company wants it shipped to them for sharpening. This is nice, in the sense that one knows it will be sharpened properly. It is an aggravation to have to take the knife somewhere else. All in all not a bad knife, but not my first choice or recommendation.
Wusthof Grand Prix 7 inch Santoku
In 1998 the Wusthof Classic line did not have a Santoku knife, so I got the Grand Prix Santoku. It does not suit me well, though I use it occasionally. The Santoku blade has little wells cut into the blade, for the purpose of easy release of foods when chopping foods or carving meats. The Grand Prix line does not have the good weight of the Classic line, does not have full tang, and the blade has a straighter edge. For straight down chopping, this works fine. I do a lot of rocker chopping, using the tip of the knife as a pivot and coming down again and again. The Wusthof Grand Prix Santoku does not function well for this application.
