German vs Japanese Chef's Knives

[@joeleen702]

I just dove into the rabbit hole of knives today, and after reading so much I realized I don’t need a whole knife set. Now I’m on a mission to find knives that will fit me. Thanks for posting this!

[@cutleryandmore]

@@joeleen702 knife sets are great for those who know they will put them all to use, but for many, some end up collecting dust. The reality is most people only need 2-3 knives. 1) 8-10 inch chefs knife. 2) 5-6 inch utility knife. 3) a bread knife if you bake a lot of bread and need to cut the loaves yourself OR a slicing knife if you like to cook whole cuts like pork loin or various roasts. However, a longer 9-10 inch chefs knife can easily act as a slicer too. This is Brandon from the video, I have 153 knives in my collection, 99% of the time I’m using a utility blade or a chefs knife!

[@joeleen702]

@@cutleryandmore that’s exactly what my last set did. I tended to use only 2 knives. So I threw out the block and some knives that needed to go anyways. I truly need some new ones.

[@joeleen702]

@@cutleryandmorealso, growing up my Dad had his favorite knife and always sharpened it on a whetstone. I never knew any other way. Now I know I understand why my Dad had a love for that 1 knife. 😂 I learned most of my cooking from him!

[@cutleryandmore]

@@joeleen702 that’s an awesome memory to have about your father, you’ll think of him any time you cook. My dad recently gave me his dad’s butchering knives from the 1940’s. Such a cool piece of family history. They are the old school white handled Dexter knives. Whetstones are definitely the way to go, too!

[@rggfishing5234]

I'm deep into kitchen knives. The content and clarity of your presentation is exemplary. This will be very helpful for those looking to buy a chef's knife, or two. I have a collection of several fine Japanese gyutos, and several stainless German chef knives. And other shapes and sizes, as well. I enjoy using my whetstones for maintaining a razor sharp edge. Washing and drying all knives by hand after (and sometimes during) use is just routine. I use my J knives in an informal rotation, depending on the task at hand, so they stay sharp longer. My wife uses only the German knives, and I always keep them sharp for her. Having the proper, quality, super-sharp knife truly brings joy to meal prep. Thanks.

[@cutleryandmore]

Brandon here-thanks so much for the kind words and encouraging feedback. Circulating through knives is fun. I think it helps make prep work even more entertaining. It's also great you're in the habit of rinsing and drying your knives while prepping. I probably do it after each ingredient, depending on how sticky or wet it is.

[@eruiz3116]

I love my Mac’s. Thin behind the edge, hold their edge surprisingly well while still being able to take a beating.(60HRC) 11 hour shifts in a high volume kitchen and I always find myself reaching for my Mac over any other brand in my knife roll.

[@cutleryandmore]

You nailed it-they are workhorse knives! You could compare them to others that are 2-3x the price, and they would perform just as well! Working on a slicing video for the holidays this week, featuring the MAC slicer - it's a BEAST!

[@aymenkrifi6918]

I have a two 8" zwilling pro , major imperfections , bending occurred in one after 2 months gentle use blade profile seem to be all the around mediocre specially for circular motion specially the heel of the blade is low and at a 90° it's digging in the chopping board and bringing the motion into a holt that affects the sliding and propelling of the circ motion,i seem to work alot with the heel of the knife but the way it set up to postion the pinch i causing major blind spot at the heel of the blade , but you don't seem to struggle with any of that with the 10" zwilling pro ,I wonder is that because the blade profile is cramped in 8" and more pronounced in 10" or is it taht you just a skilled cutter? Looking farward to hearing your opinion as I am about to give up on these knives. Thanks

[@cutleryandmore]

@@aymenkrifi6918 this is Brandon from the video - sorry to hear about your experience. I’ve had my 10” pro for over a decade and I’ve never had the issues you’ve experienced. I have an 8-inch that I haven’t used yet, so now I’m going to put it to work and see if I get anything you described. There are certain knives that others love, that I can’t stand. Experience, preference, flow, cutting boards, etc, all play a role. I try and stay objective in these videos so I don’t skew someone one way or another (mostly). Maybe I’ll do a pro 10/8 comparison, with a Wusthof into the mix too.

[@aymenkrifi6918]

@cutleryandmore hi brandom thanks a lot for replying. i had a lot of questions about differences in knives and blade profiles, and your videos definitely carry the answers. You seem to be very knowledgeable about knife utilities, and you definitely do a great job explaining them. I previously had a henkels fine edge pro v amazing standard knife that holds a decent edge for some reason, but with limitations, especially at the handle level, I thought by upgrading that would helping elevating my cutting skills, I wouldn't say that made an educated purchase based on my needs , I simply bought good knifes from the zwilling warehouse sale hoping for the best. So I made some pictures and a couple of short videos slicing and dicing different vegetables to send them to zwilling for warranty purposes, I could forward some if that's helpful, thank you for your time and keep up the good work and thebgreat attitudes as I am sure it will pay dividends

[@cutleryandmore]

@@aymenkrifi6918 if you have YT links of the videos, feel free to send them on over and I'll take a look. I appreciate the kind words. I'm not an "expert" in knives since I have much more to learn, but I turned a passion into a way to make a living, so I do my best to learn as much as possible. I've learned so much from the owner of C+M. He's been running the family business since he got out of high school in 2001 and is a wealth of knowledge. My goal is to take what he shares with me, along with my own research, and present it in a way that's not over people's head or, talks down to them. Some of the knife expert videos are so deep it's hard to follow with all terms and technical jargon, so I'm trying to bridge that gap!

[@deivytrajan]

Contact warranty. They will sort you out. Every knife can have issues

[@lucamasserini2974]

Bravo, nice video. You speak very clear and you don't say tons of fake news.

[@cutleryandmore]

thanks so much!!!

[@Capybaras3223]

Love Tojiro DP 🎉

[@paulsaenen199]

Same here, eyeing those japaanes "samurai" blades, finding out that with my mosed used technique, the German knife is best, many thanks, also your honesty, damaging the Wusthoff tip, thanks man!

[@cutleryandmore]

Thank you!

[@ericarafin]

Amazing chef.very informative video.I learn so many things from this video.hope always post that level of content

[@cutleryandmore]

@@ericarafin thanks for the kind words! Is there a video topic you’d like to see in the future?

[@ericarafin]

@@cutleryandmorethanks for reply.anything knife related video 😅

[@heikobutscheid4640]

First time I comment a youtube video... great, great job!!!

[@cutleryandmore]

@@heikobutscheid4640 glad we are the first! Thanks 🙏

[@williamrichards2699]

if u add chapters to the vidoes that would be awesome so people can see which knives you are reviewing

[@cutleryandmore]

@@williamrichards2699 every knife shown is linked in the description - but we will look into adding chapters :)

[@adambriest5257]

as a german chef i swear by japanese blades since my apprenticeship. it probably was the thumb grip that came naturally to me using a santoku design back then. to this day i appreciate the sharpness and beauty of these knifes. yes they need some taking care of but if you do they grow old with you :)

[@cutleryandmore]

@adambriest5257 nailed it - a little TLC and they will be passed onto someone you love eventually!

[@ZWILLINGUSA]

Thank you for sharing 👏

[@cutleryandmore]

thanks for being my first chef's knife! (Chef B)

[@potzen8140]

Very good tutorial. All you said make sence. Now I think twice about my next purchase. I wasn't a freind of sets. My own set is 4 knifes and thats enough for cutting in my homecitchen. What I defitly need is the plancha to collect the goods.

[@cutleryandmore]

@@potzen8140 thank you! 4 knives does the trick 99% of the time, sometimes 100% depending on what folks cook. What was your favorite knife from the video?

[@potzen8140]

@@cutleryandmore I'm not able to decide, for most of my coocking, I use my Santoku of a japanese blacksmith, made from hicarbon steel. It rosts. Also a little japanese pickleknife from KAI and a bigone with teeth for bread from Schwertkrone Solingen. The last is a chinese chefknife, I bought 40 years ago in a asian grochery for 15 DM. Very cheep allthought the steel is soft and too heavy and thick. Such as I didn't have enough money to buy highend knifes. Now the answer to your question, I can't decide between a very good german or Chinese. In your video I would have choosen the one hybrid with Damaskus blade.

[@cutleryandmore]

@@potzen8140 definitely go for a hybrid - one of my favorite hybrids is the Tojiro. For the price, nothing beats the quality. Not sure where you’re from but if not the US (we only ship here) you should be able to find one elsewhere online. Tojiro DP Gyuto.

[@potzen8140]

@cutleryandmore I come from germany

[@rikardskold8247]

Excellent video! I learned a lot and consider having borh German and Western knifes and nowadays you also have Japanise branded knifes as Kai Shun, Yaxel and they are Japanise but have more of a Western design witch i like❤ Thanks!!!

[@cutleryandmore]

Thanks :) You should also check out our Enso knives. They are an in-house line made by Yaxell. The SG2 series is stellar!

[@FlashMan]

Hearing and seeing that tip bend hurt my heart😭. Still, this was very informative video. Thank You.

[@cutleryandmore]

Hahaha yeah, it was a very painful moment! However, it's the reality of cooking, things happen! Fortunately, it was fixed this week. Glad you enjoyed the video. Are there any topics you'd like us to cover in a future video?

[@ChefBrandonAllen]

My poor Wusthof!!!!!!

[@alexandredanis6961]

It's pronounce....Gy-you-to. Gyuto..great info 👍 I really enjoyed the video ✌️

[@robsproducts]

What's your favourite chef knife steel? I've designed a new chef knife and need to choose a steel.

[@deivytrajan]

It depends on personal preference lmao

[@paveldoulov8884]

Японские ножи в большей своей степени для профессионалов. В японской кухне есть блюда из сырого мяса требующие более тонкой нарезки. Так же японцы уделяют огромное внимание срезу. Это традиция.

[@matthewsalazar2143]

My boy Chef Brandon…make it happen my brotha!!!

[@cutleryandmore]

Yeah, we'll keep him around for a while ;)

[@fordhouse8b]

Too bad no consideration was given to French chef knives. The design of gyutos was inspired by western knives, but more so by classic French chef knives.

[@cutleryandmore]

We did just start offering K Sabatier knives (so far we have the Carbon series up on the site but we have some stainless blades with olive wood handles going up soon too!). Good idea for a future video!

[@fordhouse8b]

@@cutleryandmore My K Sabatier 4 inch paring knife is the best paring knife I have ever had. My first one disappeared at work (probably inadvertently swept into a trash can). The slender handle, and the bolster are the features that make it so great, making it suitable both for board work as well as in hand work. I find that with the German brand paring knives, the blade isn’t wide enough to give enough clearance to comfortably work on a cutting board, and with the universally bolster-less Japanese designs, the heel of the paring knife tends to easily poke you when doing work off the board. Maybe it is a bit of a personable preference, but I have always favored a 4 inch paring knife over their shorter counterparts. Do you offer the carbon steel versions as well? Mine is a stainless one, but I have for a long time considered purchasing the carbon version. I have a couple of Swedish carbon steel Misono knives (a 240mm Chef knife and a 300mm slicer, which I love, and have never had any rust problems with) , but I have read a few reviews indicating that the carbon Sabatiers are prone to rusting very easily. I always wondered if those reviews are from people who are simply not used to carbon steel knives, or if the carbon steel used by K Sabatier is more susceptible to rust than some other brands? But bottom line, you should promote the heck out of those K-Sabatier paring knives, they are wonderful, and I love mine.

[@timw911]

Damascus any Damascus is not remotely the strongest blade steel. Its not even close.

[@thethinkingman-]

most scientists agrees that China make the sharpest knifes because they use proper steel so it wont rust

[@cutleryandmore]

@@thethinkingman- we’ve experienced many amazing knives from China, however the rust aspect has nothing to do with the region, but the type of steel that’s used. The high carbon Sentan from China in this video will definitely rust, but the Nexus will not since it’s stainless steel. Any non-stainless steel blade will rust, regardless of where it’s from. We are currently working on a new series from China, with a stainless steel Kurouchi finish - best of both worlds!

[@dimmacommunication]

For us westerners German knives are better, japanese are too delicate.