best type of knife as a gift to a chef?

[Guiltyspark]

I have a cousing who is getting into cooking and i was wondering what the best type/size knife would be the most useful to her.

Also what steel would be the most appropriate.

[Frosty]

Sharp? What kind of chefery is she getting into? A sushi chef uses a different kind of blade, long thin and flexible while a souse chef will be using cleavers, slicers choppers, etc. Personally I have a number of knives I use all the time but while I don't own one and can't for the life of me recall the name San something, meaning three virtues, I really like the Japanese knives. Straight edges curved spine, plenty of knuckle room under the choil. They feel very comfortable on the cutting board and provide excellent control.

Frosty the Lucky.


Mod note: perhaps a Santoku ?

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Frosty is right. For cooks a knife is a very personal item. You may offer to make her one in the style that she wants. The knife I use the most is an 8" one that my Dad made from a power hacksaw blade back in the 50's-60's for my Mom. If you go to the Chow.com forums there are pages of knife knerd discussions-they get far too deep into it than I care to. The knife my Dad made gets used to chop, slice, peel, and pretty much anything else I need to do in the kitchen. Most would not use it for everything I do, but it feels good in my hand, and I have learned to control it for my applications. Peeling a kiwi fruit is done close to the handle, while cutting meat is done more with the end. The middle gets used for chopping.

As for steel, I would say a good carbon steel. I don't mind a little patina on my knife.

[rockstar.esq]

Personally I love Santoku patterns since they get the knuckles off the cutting board. The traditional French Chef knife is popular with many schools. I use asian style cleavers because I like using them to transfer food from the board. Plus a large flat area works awesomely for crushing things like garlic or ginger.

Don't forget that handle's can change the feel immensely. I don't know of any professional chefs that hold a kitchen knife like a saber grip. Most choke up on the blade. A well shaped handle can reduce strain.

[mattm82]

Hi Guiltyspark,

I was a professional chef/cook for around 10years before getting fed up with it and heading in other directions, but here's some info you may find useful.

As mentioned above Santoku blades are a good all-rounder, but don't have a good point for piercing so not much good for breaking down/butchering meat, piercing whole pumpkins etc etc and if she is doing formal training she'll be doing all that. Still a good option though.

A French style chef knife would be my pick for a starting knife. For a store bought knife Globals are my pick. The forge line (GF) are heavier, thicker and more robust, but cost more. The standard (G) series are much finer blades, great for slicing and the lighter weight means less arm and wrist fatigue with prolonged work.

A more budget option are the vitrinox, which are good workhorses. Wustof Tridents are good but I only like the classic series.

If she is only a slight girl I would recommend a 16cm chef knife but if she has some decent arm strength the 20-21 cm knife will be her go-to knife 80% of the time. She needs to remember that learning the skills to handle chef knives professionally is a slow process and the longer the blade the less control she'll have.

There are so many choices these days that she'll just have to try some and find what she likes, and she'll end up with a ridiculous collection if she's anything like me. Good luck to you making a choice.