Home cooks love the high-end kitchen knives that are valued by pro chefs
By TONY WHITNEY
Ask any professional chef to identify his or her most valued kitchen tool and the answer will most likely be “a good knife.” The classic eight-inch or 12-inch knife with a broad, ultra-sharp blade and secure-grip handle is the most versatile tool in a professional kitchen.
A high-quality knife can be used for everything from chopping and slicing to filleting. Chefs select their primary knives with almost obsessive care and just about all choose a product from Japan or Germany, though there are some fine knives made in other areas of the world.
Japanese bladesmiths have been toiling at their craft for almost 800 years and much of this artisanship has been centered around Japan’s steel-making city of Seki, in the central part of the country. Today, most major Japanese cutlerymanufacturers are based in the Seki area, and ancient forging skills once applied to swords are still used to produce high-end kitchen knives.
Hand-forged and exquisitely decorated Japanese-crafted knives can cost as much as $5,000 but such pieces are regarded more as works of art than tools. Most fine knives hover in the $300–$400 range and are often discounted in price.
Seki-based Miyabi produces a wide range of high-quality knives, which are used and endorsed by TV’s Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Blade materials include distinctive tsuchime hammered finishes that echo the hand-forged Japanese swords of history. There’s even a Morimoto Edition of a Miyabi chef’s knife, which combines Japanese blade forms with Western balance and handle styling for a unique “east-meets-west” knife design. Beautifully finished and comfortable-to-grasp handles are produced in a variety of traditional and exotic materials, including linen Micarta, birchwood and cocobolo pakkawood. Linen Micarta is an excellent handle material and is made by combining fabric with thermosetting plastic, fibreglass or carbon fibre.
Hattori is another respected name among Japanese knife producers, and the company produces a wide range of products for a variety of tasks. Much of the initial design and development work is carried out by Ichiro Hattori, a knifemaker who, though in his late seventies, is happy to tackle blade-grinding and polishing. The company produces some blades in 63-layer Damascus steel, the production of which is challenging and time-consuming. Although such knives are expensive, production is almost always oversold,making them difficult to obtain. Linen Micarta is a favoured handle material at Hattori, but buyers can also choose such woods as cocobolo, magnolia, ebony or quince.
Shun knives from Japan are widely available and many come with distinctive Damascus-patterned blades and hammered finishes. These handcrafted knives combine function with an almost artistic appeal. Shun uses a high-grade steel claimed to provide outstanding edge retention. A variety of handles is available in the Shun range, including linen Micarta and several hardwoods.
On the other side of the world, Seki has its equivalent in the German city of Solingen, south of the Ruhr Valley. Long known as the “city of blades,” Solingen produces about 90 per cent of all knives made in Germany. Knife-making history in the area predates that of Japan, and blacksmithing sites around the city are said to date back 2,000 years. The popular and affordable J.A. Henckels knife range is produced there.
One of Solingen’s premier manufacturers of cutlery is Zwilling, a company that is especially active in the medium-to-high-end chefs’ knives market. Zwilling has been partnered with Henckels since 1731, so there’s lots of experience to draw on.
The Pro Chef range from Zwilling includes high-quality six-inch to 12-inch knives that have heft enough for heavy cuts but are also easy to use for light work. The curved blade is useful when a rocking cut is needed. The handle on this knife is a composite material with traditional three-rivet attachment points.
Zwilling’s Bob Kramer Euroline stainless steel knives are popular with both professional and amateur chefs. The Damascus Collection uses special high-strength steel that’s also used to produce razor blades, so optimum sharpness is assured. Alternating layers of nickel and stainless steel (50 in all) create a unique Damascus pattern on the blade. The favoured handle material for Zwilling’s Euroline products is an ergonomically shaped soft-touch synthetic resin. Although these knives are designed in Germany, they are manufactured in Seki; it’s a fascinating example of international cooperation between two cities famed for the same product.
When buying high-end chefs’ knives, there are some key things to remember to keep them in top shape. As any chef will tell you, sharpness is critical for top performance, and a blunt knife is a dangerous knife. If you decide on one of the sharpening rigs that kitchen stores sell, make sure that it matches your particular knife. Because of cutting-edge angle variations, not all sharpeners are compatible with all knives.
And one last warning: Never put a high-quality knife in a dishwasher. Always clean it by hand, and both blade and handle will give many years of service. High-quality chefs’ knives can give reliable service for decades if they’re looked after.
