Top 5 makers

Nice list :)

I would put 3 of yours on my list.
However I don't have a knife from one of them. My list would be:

1. Burke and Devin
3. Tsourkan
4. Carter
5. Rader and Kramer (Have no knife from either of them, but would love to get one).
 
I could easily put in Rader instead of one of the others.
The only knives I have on my list are by Rodrigue - 240mm Gyuto & 285mm Suji. Awesome knives.
I put my name on the Kramer list over 5 years ago. I should have bought one 26 years ago when a 10 inch Chefs knife was $350.00.... I still have the brochure Bob sent me.
 
somber said:
You're kidding, right? Are we talking knifemakers here or people that can put together a pretty knife handle/saya?
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Please enlighten us with your top 5 kitchen knife makers. Are you a Pro or a "knife nut" ?
 
I wouldn't limit my list to 5, but most mentioned belong on some kind of "top" list today, methinks. The only one that I cannot attest to is Bloodroot as I don't know enough about them. Kramer is in another class altogether because of what you have to pay for his name, like Loveless. Of the mere mortals (and in this case, not that mortal) I would put Bill Burke at the top.
 
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Some of my favorites:
1. Delbert Ealy
2. Bob Kramer
3. Randy Haas

I don't have a knife from any of these guys, but I would love to.
 
A couple to watch are Mike Davis and Salem Straub.
My top 5 US makers would be;
Bill Burke
David Lisch
Michael Rader
Aaron Wilburn
Devin Thomas
 
I can't really contribute here, but I'm learning a lot, thanks guys!

However, I do notice a bit of bias for western makers so far. I am really wondering who you guys think are the absolute pinnacle makers in Japan itself? I've always been interested in Japanese smiths.
 
I have a few Japanese knives that I really like - a custom Ikkanshi Tadatsuna 255mm Western Gyuto & also a 240mm Shigefusa Western Gyuto.
 
I truly respect and admire japanese smiths, they have indeed made great kitchen knives over the past century.
They have perfected profiles and geometry, however what does not impress me is their steel and handles.

Ive tried a lot of knives from japan, and some of them are regarded as top makers, ie Shigefusa. Compared to the western smiths they are not raising their bars any more. While western smiths use different types of steel and HT, the japanese makers do what they have done for a long time.

For me japanse styled knives made by western smiths are indeed better.
Western makers also put more effort in making a decent handle :)

But so far, just a handful makers can make a great kitchen knife :)
 
This sounds like a status-seeking, handle-pretty pissing contest...from my time at Per Se in NYC, I've used Wustof...no problem, the choice of many working chefs who have no time to B.S. about who's the best knife maker.
 
In fact, the whole "Chef" thing is blown out of proportion..TV chefs be damned. Look at Paula Deen, are you kidding me? I really don't even like the word "chef" any more. Let's call it "professional cook"; sounds better, eh? Everyone needs to get off their high horse and return to earth.
 
If you cant feel the difference between Wustof and a carter, you have no need for a better knife. Some people dont know if they are driving a toyota or a ferrari, and its impossible to tell them the difference :) I feel this way with you about knives ChefRichie.

Its like serving wine, you probably serve it in a coffe cop cause you wont notice the difference between that and a Riedel :)
 
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