Recommend me a chef's knife

how can you own a knife but not a steel?

Not a big fan of Global, no backstop on the handle means that they feel less secure when chopping at speed.

Bit design led, I think.

depends how you hold it, I hold it like a pen between my first finger and middle finger (yes I hold a pen wrong) just in front of the handle. So it's perfect for me because of the smooth curve.

My brother's a chef. He says Global or Gustav are good.

Something extra pointy if doing lots of fish.

I've got a lovely £80 Gustav Emil Ern Solingen steel 8" cooks knife that I can never really find a reason to use. Dirt cheap Sabatiers from Sainsbury's FTW

Not a big fan of Global, no backstop on the handle means that they feel less secure when chopping at speed.

Bit design led, I think.

They are nicely balanced but feel too light in my hands, I like a heavier knife

I've got a lovely £80 Gustav Emil Ern Solingen steel 8" cooks knife that I can never really find a reason to use. Dirt cheap Sabatiers from Sainsbury's FTW

The dirt cheap Sabatiers from sainsbos do a good job for me but you need to look after them and sharpen them well. I use my granddads old whet stone and its like a razor. In fact, to a certain extent you can get away with using most cheap knives if you have proper sharpening facilities and don't mind doing it fairly often.

That's exactly the problem- knife has an edge that can split the atom, cut tomato in half, blunt.

how can you own a knife but not a steel?

I own a Global from my days as a chef but don't own a steel. Daft yes, because it's blunt now, but when sharp they're lethal bits of gear.

I used to work in a posh fish and chip restaurant and the head chef had a set of ancient (almost as old as he was, and he was about a million) Sabatier carbon steel knives that needed oiling every day otherwise they'd rust. Apparently they can be sharpened more sharply (grammar?!?) than stainless knives. Plus anything you have to oil is cool. I suggest you get some of those.

Anyway, as it turns out, there's Sabatier and then there's Sabatier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier) - it's just a generic name; like how loads of cheeses are called parmesan but only the proper one is called parmigiano-reggiano.

I agree with Dammit about the Global knives being awkward for not having a backstop. I think they're ugly too.

In fact, to a certain extent you can get away with using most cheap knives if you have proper sharpening facilities and don't mind doing it fairly often.

This is quite true. But once you loose the edge it's almost impossible to get back.

In work I use really shitty colour coded knives that get sharpened professionally every other day. I'd never take my nice knives into work.

At home I use Global, my favorite being my GF-33.

In the past I managed to get away with the cheapest supermarket knives but I'd sharpen on a stone then a steel then a strop. They kept their edge for one meal but were quite usable for a week. Repeat...

Got bored with that. Would love to treat myself to a good blade one day but have too many bike things that need buying.

i loved it when they came back from the sharpener's and they left the edge with an inward curve near the handle

at work I just spend 30 seconds with a steel then it's good for the morning's chopping. Repeat every day. At my previous restaurant we had a massive stone for sharpening the knives and the edge lasted for weeks.

i loved it when they came back from the sharpener's and they left the edge with an inward curve near the handle

pricks

We often hand back knives to The Knife Sharpening Guy with massive chips and buckles.

Retribution.

Wusthof is the way to go. Ive used them for years, in fact the same exact knife for years, this one to be exact. Great for vegetables and fish as it has a scalloped blade

CLASSIC IKON Santoku - 4172 / 14 cm (5")

It was around £70 and as long as you look after it and sharpen it regularly it will last you a lifetime

I've never used one with a scalloped blade, how do they like being sharpened?

Very well actually. I just use a fine grain steel to sharpen it regularly. You gotta keep them sharp and not let them get dull, soon as they get dull it can be a bitch to bring back to sharpness.

Thats in the set 6 piece set from costco, I'm not 100% whether they still do it, I hope so I've been meaning to get it for a while.

yep, they still do, I might be going to costco next week Tuesday, let me know if you interested.

I have 5 Global knifes like them but not crazy for them, Victorinox is my budget favourite with chunky handle, love Kyocera but they might feel to light in hand for some.
Tojiro are sick and I think that was best gift I ever received! shame on the price... I would love to replace all my knives with them.

and obviously sabatier - love them

Just gonna put it out there, I hate global knives. the handles are so so uncomfortable and they arent weighted properly so the blades seem very nose heavy

yeah but you're not really chucking the nose around when chopping, more the back of the blade near the handle.

i just dont like!

Globals are ok, but lose their edge easily. This means you need to sharpen them more often. To sharpen the edge, you don't use a steel: this just conditions the edge and removes burring. You need a proper sharpening stone, and you need to learn how to use it (or you will fuck your knife completely). Ceramic wheel sharpeners are a good alternative if you don't want to learn.

If you want a decent knife, I'd recommend a visit to the Japanese Knife Company (shops in Soho and Marylebone). Amazing range. You really haven't experienced sharp till you've drawn your finger across the edges on display in the shop.

This would be a good starting point in your quest:

http://www.japaneseknifecompany.com/KNIVES/LAMINATEDSTEEL/JKC63LAYERDAMASCUS/GYUTO210MM/tabid/255/Default.aspx

They also run courses in sharpening your knives. Very Zen.

^hipster tax

been through a few globals, don't like the blanace or the handle.
mrs.myth's choice is a good compromise between ranges. had the same for 3 years, recommend

i was given one of these as a gift.
it's brilliant
http://www.johnlewis.com/230486486/Product.aspx