A sharp knife is good to find
Just like selecting bacon or sausage on your breakfast sandwich; or wearing boxers or briefs, choosing a chef ’s knife is a very personal decision. This past weekend I was conducting a cooking class when I was asked, out of the blue, what are my favourite chef ’s knives to use. Before the smart aleck retort that was hanging on my tongue: ‘the knives I already own, because I can’t afford any new ones’ spilled out, I paused to think on my answer. For the record, this brief pause for reflection would not have taken place had I been in my own kitchen, proof that even an old chef can be demure in public with sufficient training. But I digress.
Your chef’s knife is the soul of your craft, in many ways. And buying a good chef ’s knife is an investment. The purchase of a small, decent set of knives can be as daunting as a mortgage to a young apprentice cook, so choosing wisely is critical. Chosen properly, the return a good chef’s knife yields in time will certainly make the payment worth it. A good one should last more than 40 years, even with heavy use.
Like many big purchases, we tend to use the resources that surround us. We ask questions, read reviews (the internet has really opened up this arena) and take ‘test drives’. I support all three, and stress the ‘test drive’ as one of the most important factors in choosing a knife is how it feels in your hand. When you loosen your grip, does the knife balance in your hand, or does it roll? Does the knife feel too heavy, or too light? Do your fingers smash against the cutting board while dicing an onion, or are they clear?
For me, the ‘test driving’ took place while I was still at cooking school where the faculty, especially the European chefs, used German knives so there is little wonder why I have a roll filled with Wusthof knives.
The major question today seems to be: Japanese or German knife? This didn’t really exist in my time of choosing as the proliferation of Japanese knives available in North America in those days was really absent. My choices were between Henckel, Wusthof, Messermeister or Sabatier. But as the burgeoning Food Network began to air the original ‘Iron Chef’ (before it morphed into the showy hyperbole it is today) in the late 1990s, Japanese knives began to pour into industry kitchens here.
First Global knives, and then MAC. Now the list of artisanal Japanese knives available is endless: Shun, Iseya, Fujiwara, Miyabi, IttoRyu. Of course, beautifully crafted swords and knives in Japan has been a legacy for many thousands of years, but they are relatively new to North American kitchens.
A very primitive way to differentiate the two styles might be to explain that Japanese knives will be lighter (see balance above). Also, because they are made with very high-grade steel that is typically treated to higher levels of hardness, they can take a keener edge at more acute angles than Western contemporaries, but they will dull more quickly and be a bit trickier to sharpen as a result. German knives will be heavier, and should perform on their edge longer between sharpening.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. Choose your balance. Choose your edge. Just be sure to try your knife before making the investment.
And for those of you, like me, who grew upon late night TV infomercials during the early eighties – the Ginsu 2000, which could slice through a Coke can and then feather through a ripe tomato, is about as Japanese as Mickey Mouse and more likely stamped out of recycled Coke cans somewhere in Minnesota. Caveat Emptor! Ross Midgley moved from P.E.I. to Niagara in 1999. Since then he has held the lead position in several of the region’s top kitchens. He is passionate about his family, all things Niagara and good rock ’n’ roll. He can be reached at chefrmidgley1968@gmail.com.