Source
r/Cooking•
Torgoth

Looking for suggestions on a durable, highly rated chefs knife for my brother.

My younger brother is a fantastic chef and someone who I admire a great deal. He has a birthday coming up and as a someone who loves cooking id like him to get a quality chefs knife, something that a student in a high end school would use. He cooks impressive meals on a daily basis and needs something durable and comfortable. Any suggestions? The knife featured in the FAQ didn't seem nice enough and my mother had suggested Swiss army after a staters bros. (an American grocery store and butcher shop) butcher had suggested them.

Thanks guys!

Posted Mar 2, 2016, 3:44 AM UTC

09
HaggarShoes•

The general rule of thumb is to not buy a specialized gift for someone who is an expert in something. You might just ask... as much as a good surprise is worth in terms of gift giving, spending a good amount of money on something that your brother doesn't want might be a gamble not worth taking.

This, assuming that he would have a specific knife in mind.

5
TorgothOP•

He cooks for family and that's it. While he enjoys cooking he is not a professional, he's actually a fire fighter. Thanks for the tips though!

3
Zmgreen8•

http://korin.com/Togiharu-Hammered-Damascus-Gyutou?sc=27&category=280059

Stunning knife and very high quality! My older brother has cooked all over the world and in some amazing restaurants in the US and he has recommended i get my knife from korin. They are affordable but very very well crafted. Plus that texture is sexy.

or the next link for the knife my brother suggested to me... its more practical for everyday use. http://korin.com/Togiharu-G-1-Moly-Gyutou?sc=27&category=17358784

2
wip30ut•

nowadays chef's who're into Japn blades seem to be shying away from VG-10 steel knives like that Togiharu Damascus clad, mainly because they're more prone to chipping than newer steels like AEB-L (Swedish) and Ginsan-ko (Silver 3) or AUS-10. Korin's products are top-notch though. The sushi chef where my parents frequent suggested i pick up Korin's G1 gyuto to learn how to sharpen by hand.

2
CCV21•

Alton Brown has several good tips on looking for knives and taking care of knives.

2
Oneusee•

Buy a voucher, take him shopping. Every hand needs a different knife. It's best to feel them and go from there.

2
g0ing_postal•

This is probably the best approach. I'd appreciate it if someone just bought me a knife, but I'd be concerned unless they knew my current knife set, my cooking style, and my hands intimately. I'd much rather be able to handle and try any knives before buying. I'd love someone forever if they took me knife shopping

1
wip30ut•

if he's in culinary school (or about to apply to one) I'd suggest a German steel knife like Messermeister's Meridian Elite for something gifty. German/American steels are softer than Japanese (or Swedish) so they can butcher primal cuts of meat, slicing around bone & sinew without chipping. Japanese blades are sharper but very delicate, so cartilage & bone will permanently damage the edge... you should only use Japn chef's knives (called gyuto's) and slicers (called suji's) on boneless meats.

Saying that, if your brother already has something hefty like a Henckels or Wusthoff, you can maybe buy him a gyuto for use with produce and boneless proteins. Currently, the popular fuss-free blade on many chef's wish list is Takamura's Migaki HSPS It's made from R2 powdered steel so the edge will last 3 to 4 times longer than other knives. It's very thin & slim & resists both wedging and stickage. The only drawback is that powdered steel knives take much longer to sharpen by hand. If he only has one knife it's no big deal, but for pro chefs with 4 or 5 it can add up to be an additional hour of sharpening (which they don't have).

Speaking of sharpening, only get him a Japn blade if he wants to learn how to sharpen by hand (either freehand with waterstones, or a jig), or you live close to a knife pro who can do hand sharpening, not with a grinder or paper wheel or anything electric. Pro's charge about $15~25 a pop for standard 210mm gyuto's.

1
sean_incali•

Knives are very personal. The handle to hold it, the edge that will hold and bounce off a wooden cutting board, the weight of it, everything about the knife should be to your liking, or you end up not using it.

What knife does he have now?

Affordable chef's knife will be that swiss army or victorinox.

High end knives are things like wusthoff, henckels, global and shun.

I would personally choose shun, since their edges are thinner 15 degrees as opposed to 25 or something for european knives.

But then I have no idea if your little brother will like the feeling of it.

1