Chefs knife, how big is too big?

[Foundryman]

Let me start by saying I've made a fair number of kitchen knives to date in differing sizes (I think the count is 11, 4 of which being chefs knives all in the 7"-7 3/4" range). I've recently designed a large chef knife as a gift for my mother and it got me thinking how big is too big?  My mother semi regularly does catering events for her church, cooking for upwards of 40 people several times a year so this knife will get put through it's paces. It's intended for general food prep, slicing meat and rough chopping vegetables.

The knife itself has a 9" blade and overall is 13 3/4".  After sketching the blade up in full size I'm happy with the proportions visually but I'm unsure how it'll actually perform so this afternoon I ground out a prototype in 1095 so I can try it before committing to forging the damascus for the final version. I've come across several pitfalls before such as some of my early blades being too thick to cut well (they behaved more like axes on harder vegetables such as potatoes, carrots etc) and not leaving enough clearance on the handles for your knuckles while chopping but I've never come across size being an issue.

So this brings me to my question, what size do you generally go for on your chef knives and what lead you to that decision? Has anyone had any issues where a blade they've made has just been too large to be comfortable or even practical for general food prep use?

Simon.

[TacticallySharp]

A lot depends on how the user wants to hold it. Go buy a couple 7 to10 chef knives at wally world, and ask her to try them for a few days each. Then based on her anwser make one the mades what she likes. I find that edge needs to start about a 1/4" below the spine, down to about 0° at the cutting edge. I then grind the edge off and create a micro bevel. Then sharpen it on both sides. That has worked for me in the past in 85% of the times.

This one has a 10 inch blade, and a 6.5 inch hand. Plent of space on the handle to safely use it for all cutting need. A country styled with a forced patina to show and aged knife so his clients would see what their eyes said was an old cowboy cooking tool. Great for cutting meat, and veggies with just a cleaning and applying som vegetable oil.

[Foundryman]

She has a 7" chefs knife and a 8" Santoku that she uses a lot but I wanted to give her something different/special, the question was more from a practicality point of view.

I tend to grind my kitchen knives all the way from the spine to 0 for maximum sharpness.

10" is a long blade! Can I ask what the spine thickness is on that one? I try to keep below 3mm (1/8") otherwise the blades just become too heavy and lose the ability to slice cleanly.

[genesaika]

It's all personal preference, I like 8 inch blades, but my friend loves her 10 inch chef knife. I think that for a chef knife 10 inches would be the max, with 6 being the minimum. Now you could make a longer meat chopper, but it would mostly be used more like an axe.

So ya, find out what she likes and make that. It will already be special and, if you do your job right, will be her go to knife.

[sfeile]

If you are going to do different and want to stay around 9 inches for blade length, have you considered something like a Japanese slicer?

Nice length, but not very tall keeping the weight and cutting resistance down.

I just made two and ground as you said you do yours. Right from the spine to nothing. Both are surprisingly light and nimble and cut quite well.  The longer one is 8 inch blade, 1 3/4 at the heel, and 3.2mm thick at the heel. Cuts paper thin slices off a potato and will cleanly cut one in half with no effort.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Knives are very personal items for a cook. I have several great knives, but the one I use the most is one my Dad made from a power hacksaw blade back in the 50's or 60's for my Mom. 8" long blade (20.3 cm), 1.25" (3.2cm)at the widest (towards the tip), .100" (2.5mm)thick at the spine and a 4.625" (11.7 cm) long handle that is a basic rectangular shape in profile and section. The blade angles up from the front of the handle slightly to give finger clearance to the cutting board and is pretty uniform in width up to the more rounded tip - I have seen butcher knives with this profile. For me , it is my go to knife for slicing, dicing, paring, and pretty much anything else I do in the kitchen. With the rounded more blunt style tip it also makes a good spreader. With the handle and blade being similar in width it allows me to use it like a paring knife for peeling, or other close in "small knife" work.

If I can figure out a way to get a picture posted I will. 

[MotoMike]

I have a  6, 7.25, 8.5 and 9.5" Not a chef, but avid home cook.  I find that the 8.5 is my go to despite the 6 being a really fine quality hand made knife.  .  those 4 are all of the gyuto type.  a profile that comes to a fine point is more useful to me. I have found little use for santoku and have relegated it to the unused drawer.   I think experienced chef's tend to like the 240 (9.5) How much room and how bit your cutting board is matters too.  all very personal

 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

This is the basic profile of the knife my Dad made, but he just did a rectangular handle with a rounded butt, and there is an angle between the handle and blade to allow finger clearance to the board.

[Charles R. Stevens]

All depends on what you need...

the Fosters Brothers has a 11 3/4” blade 17” overall its little brother sports a 7 1/2” blade and is 12 1/4” overall. 

Now butchers are another mater all together...

The small one is a nice general purpose knife, and sees a lot of use, tho honestly I can use the larger one with equal dexterity. The larger one comes to its own vs large heads of cabbage, melons, winter squash and such. 

Man 8” Chinese cleaver amazingly enugh serves the same purpose  

Now the English butcher is another animal all together

As is the french style butcher

So as to a 10” being max...

[Foundryman]

Thanks for the feedback guys, it's given me a lot to think about.

That 17" chefs knife is a beast Charles! The Chinese cleaver is cool too, something I'd like to try out sometime and I love the patina on your knives, it really gives them character.

The rounded tip is an interesting idea, and at 2.5mm thick I can understand why you love it, it must cut like a laser. My go to paring knife has a very similar handle to what you describe and it sure is comfortable to use and indexes to your hand nicely.

Funny that you should mention the Japanese slicer, it's already on my list of future projects though I honestly think it would end up only being used as a carving knife. I made a nakiri last year with a chisel grind and in terms of sharpness it's by far the best performing blade I've made though I couldn't get on with it when it came to dicing onions because of the lack of a pointed tip held it back.

My 1095 prototype came out of the tempering oven last night so i'll hopefully get it finished up today and go from there. 

[Marc1]

I remember watching some pictures of chinese chefs holding knifes the size of cricket bats more useful for a prop in a horror movie than to actually work with them. 

I don't remember any of the butchers working in the abattoir I used to do maintenance for, using anything bigger than 8". 

Sure, a kitchen is not an abattoir, but to the original question ... I think 10" blade is plenty for any kitchen duty.  

[lyuv]

I do a lot of cooking (not professionaly), and have used variety of blades. So I know what works for me:

The common recommendation for a chef style knife is 200mm (8"), and that's what I used for many years. I found that longer (gyuto or chef) are rarely needed. Liket for initial chopping of large cabbage. The rest of the time, the large blade is inconvenience, and it's weight and large momentum are a strain on my wrist.

On the other hand, I recently forged a 175mm (7") Bunka style knife, and find I hardly use any of my other knives. It's nimble, and a better chopper. I found that most of my cutting is either hard cutting (like carrots) or fine cutting (like onion). Shorter blade is better for both.

Also consider the weight distribution in the blade - commertial (long) blades are very thin forward of the middle. I don't have the skill to forge/grind that thin, so my blades are more forward heavy. How thin can you get? 

My hands are bigger and stronger than most females, so I think your mother would be comfortable with no more than 7".

If she mainly chopps vegetables - I strongly reccomend a Bunka style. otherwise - a Gyuto.

[Charles R. Stevens]

YouTube “Yan can cook” for a guy who knows how to use a cleaver. These are not meat cleavers but are basically a large chef broken off.

[Nobody Special]

My go to is an 11" blade french style chef's knife. A lot depends on what you cut and your style of cutting. French chef's knives have a flatter bottom, and you sort of push them across what you cut. German chef's knives are more curved, and you sort of rock it a bit more, cutting through your vegetables.

For vegetables, I like a longer french style, 9 to 11 inches, or for some cuts of meat, but it starts to get too big if you're using it as a multiuse tool for a lot of butchering or cutting joints or such if space is tight, I end up going to something like a butcher's knife or slicer. 

Some like the japanese nakiri can be much shorter, but they're kind of thin and you just go straight down with them instead of pushing or pulling as you cut., so they're a lot thinner, which means you can't really use them for heavy cuts on meat. Like I said, depends on style and technique. Some people jump around, some use one or two knives for almost everything.

[Foundryman]

12 hours ago, lyuv said:

Also consider the weight distribution in the blade - commertial (long) blades are very thin forward of the middle. I don't have the skill to forge/grind that thin, so my blades are more forward heavy. How thin can you get? 

My hands are bigger and stronger than most females, so I think your mother would be comfortable with no more than 7".

If she mainly chopps vegetables - I strongly reccomend a Bunka style. otherwise - a Gyuto.

I finish ground and polished my prototype blade today and it's 2.25mm~ at the heel tapering down towards the tip, so fairly thin I guess. I'd say that it's actually lighter and thinner than her current Santoku knife, though I doubt the blade weight would be an issue anyway, my mum grew up carrying 50lb sacks of coal in my grandad's hardware store so she's stronger than most I'd guess.

I guess that means the chefs knives I generally make are German style with more curved blades, I certainly use more of a rocking motion than a push cut during food prep. I'm glad I asked the question now, thank you for sharing your knowledge guys, it's very much appreciated!

[bigfootnampa]

Here’s my view.  I use a knife with a 10” blade for slicing up bread, lettuce heads, watermelon, cantaloupe, bacon, etcetera.  I use one with a 7 1/2” blade for most everything else.  Even though it’s used less often, I have a disproportionate affection for the larger blade!  I think your mother will love to have a 9” blade!  You might also think about making or buying a good knife roll for her if she often cooks at the church or elsewhere outside her own kitchen.  

[Joël Mercier]

We've got all kinds of answers . It's mostly personal preference and technique. IMHO a 8"gyuto style is the best all around and a 6-7" santoku is best for veggies(if you use the right technique). 

23 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

This is the basic profile of the knife my Dad made, but he just did a rectangular handle with a rounded butt, and there is an angle between the handle and blade to allow finger clearance to the board.

This is a butcher's knife

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Correct Joel, and it is my go to knife in the kitchen. I use it for everything from peeling , and trimming fruits and veggies like a paring knife to heavy slicing, dicing, and chopping. Dad did a good job on it.