Slice of Life
Consider weight, price, and performance when choosing the best knife
By Jon Hart
Faced with a fresh tomato, I’ve always pulled out the hand-me-down Chicago Cutlery chef’s knife that I’ve used without hesitation for the past 10 years. So trusted was this friend, I failed to notice that its slice had gradually devolved from a once-perfect glide into messy surgery: first, puncturing the tomato’s skin with the knife’s tip, and then hacking the fruit’s flesh apart. With the summer harvest ahead of me, I realized it was time for an update. In this age of ultra-luxe kitchens with stoves and refrigerators that require mortgages of their own, the knife is sometimes overlooked, yet it’s the most important item in a cook’s arsenal.
Wow. That’s is a REALLY nice selection of knives you’ve got going on there. I use the Kershaw Leek series myself, which has a pretty fine edge to it, but, just, wow.
Nice primer on kitchen knives. I agree that they can be easily overlooked, but are extremely important for anyone who actually wants to enjoy cooking. Not only do you want to find a quality kitchen knife (be it German, Japanese or what have you) but you also want to select a sharpener. Good steel will hold an edge but everything dulls eventually. I would recommend a Spyderco Sharpmaker if you want to safely and easily maintain your knives without spending a lot of money on sharpening stones that are difficult to use.
And Kingsley, while the Kershaw Leek is a nice knife, I don’t find it particularly practical for kitchen use. Here is a good kershaw leek review that you may enjoy.