One Good Knife

By Kevin Grzyb in Food on Dec 31, 2004 2:57PM

Chicagoist loves good food whether it’s eating out or cooking at home and one key to home cooking like a pro is the right tools. Stores and infomercials will try to sell you every gadget under the sun, but the one tool you need in your kitchen is one good knife.

Chicagoist recommends getting a cook’s knife to start. There is no single best knife, the best knife for you is the one that fits you best and feels best in your hand. Buying a knife is like buying a pair of shoes, you need to be there and try it on for size; someone else can’t do it for you. I’m 6’4” with a hand that can palm a basketball and my cook’s knife is a Wusthof-Trident ‘Grand Prix’ with an 8” blade. Cook’s knives come in different length, commonly between 6”-10”. This is a European style cook’s knife, made in Germany from a single piece of high carbon stainless steel. In the past few years, many professional chefs, and slowly more and more home cooks are getting into the Asian style cook’s knives from companies like Kershaw or Global, which are crafted using the same process as samurai swords, which, honestly, just adds to their cool factor.

When you’re testing out knives, you want to look and feel for several different things. Balance is a key, when you hold the knife in your hand, it should feel centered and comfortable. Heft is also important to consider, you want a knife that has a comfortable weight in your hand, sturdy but not too heavy. There’s also the grip, it should fit well in your hand and the handle itself should be solid and firmly attached to the blade. If you go to a store like Sur La Table they have a selection of different manufacturers and styles of knives that you can try for feel and staff that can show you how to hone and care for your new knife.

So, if you’ve got Christmas presents to return for store credit or gift certificates to use up, get yourself one good knife. Happy New Year.