My father is a surgeon and a craftsman who likes to do everything himself and spend as little as possible. He appreciates quality but is generally unwilling to go out of his way for things he might otherwise consider ostentatious or luxurious (over the top, you know). In the end, he's kind of a cheapskate, which serves him well enough (he gets awesome stuff at fleamarkets) but he would never think to spend $200+ on one kitchen knife for himself.
That said, I know he would appreciate a great knife to use in the kitchen, and combined with the fact that he would never buy himself one, I'm thinking it would be a great gift for the holidays. I'd want to get him a pairing knife and a chef's knife that
1. Are well crafted and will last a lifetime (with proper treatment & care)
2. Have high performance materials
3. cost less than $400 for the pair
4. Are relatively easy to maintain (no super-finicky rust-prone carbon steels or the like)
Not to take anything away from anyone - you can get literally world class knives for much, much less than that.
First let's start with the slightly more difficult one - the Chef's knife
A lot hinges on the way the knife is used -
a lot of pros use 10" Chef -
but I find that WAY too big -
if there is large surface to cut on - that would be fine.....
Most home food prep prefer 8" Chef.
Even 8" might be too large if one is not already use to it and have been preparing foods with smaller knives.
I was one of those who did a lot of things with a utility knife - until I got an 8" chef -
then the world did open up -
but after years of use I realize that it was still a bit too big -
in the end I now use a 6.5-7" - but I prepare mostly vegetarian with very occasional meats.
So size is very, very important -
Fortunately my recommendation there can be a choice of size -
first the maker - yes, they are "handmade" by a smith -
Shigeki Tanaka (do a search on him) -
he is the second generation Tanaka - his (late) father Kazuki was a well respected knifesmith -
however there are many of the opinion that Shigeki has now surpassed his father.
I can attest from personal experience and usage - and I have had several through my hands and use two of his knives on a daily basis.
OK a caveat - they are obviously Japanese kitchen knives and tend to be thin and light -
and most of the Gyutos are relatively narrow compare to Western chefs.
As long as that is acceptable then - the Tanakas are world beating -
they are literally the best and sharpest knives I have ever owned and used (and I am a obsessive collector and user).
I use a Santoku - I know many are disparaging about Santokus calling them Japanese housewife's knives for tiny kitchens....
and they aren't really "traditional" being a relatively recent design in Japan....
and most people would recommend gyutos instead -
hate to break the news
but gyutos are no more traditional -
but merely the Japanese version of the Western chef!!!!
And remember my comments most gyutos are narrower than Western Chefs -
which makes using the flat for crushing etc - less useful.
Whereas the Santoku is wider (hence my choice)
The line I suggest looking at is his vg10 (core) damascus series -
yes the damascus cladding is more for looks but it also serves a real purpose
of supporting the harder (more brittle) vg10 core which is taken to about 60HRC -
to allow doing things like crushing with the blade flat.
Handles - most of his knives can be had with a simple Western handle or Japanese wa handle -
again this a personal choice - most in the West prefer Western handles because they are used to that style -
I like the Japanese wa handle because it feels better to me and therefore gives me more control.
Santokus are 165mm blades (=6.5")
Gyutos are anything from 180mm (7") to 300mm (~12")
They are NOT expensive for true world class knives -
the Santoku can be had for about $76 shipped, and Gyutos - say the 210mm (8") is about $110....
My Tanaka Santoku with Japanese wa handle -
Tanaka Gyuto with Western handle (not my photo - but 330mate.com - re-hosted)
Tanaka knives can be found at 330mate (eBay or his own site) or metalmaster-ww.com
Paring knife -
again it depends on how one wants to use a paring knife.
Most Japanese Petty knives are really more like a utility knife the most common length is 150mm (6") this is WAY too big for a real paring knife -
and for me even too long for a utility knife -
for a utility knife I have a Shigeki Tanaka 135mm petty that came very poorly cut short (from an original 150mm length) but I worked on it to grind, finish and resharpen -
most people don't wish to do that - but it was worth it to me.......
My re-finished and re-sharpened Tanaka 135mm petty with the 150mm version -
However I can recommend the SETO I-8 135mm "mini Santoku" - this is one of the best utilities (other than that mod'ed 135mm Tanaka)
Finally a real paring knife - it's simple there is only one for me and it's the Chicago Cutlery 102S (not the ones that have an additional P suffix)
no, it is not exotic nor as sharp as my sharper knives -
but it's great for peeling etc and a normal 20 - 22.5deg bevel does just fine -
it's the right size and shape -
I've used this for nearly 30 years and have flirted with Victorinoxes etc all fine knives -
but I favor this one.
Can be found for about $12 shipped.
There, you still have plenty of money to spend on other knives
Sorry to have written a novel -
but I hope it helps.
--
Vincent
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