Something like 4 7/8" Regent Sheffield Stainless England Laser

[hurricanej]

My wife inherited and has been using a "Regent Sheffield Stainless England Laser" 4 7/8" knife for about a dozen years. She likes to use it to cut grapefruit wedges just about daily. I'm in the mind to buy something of a higher quality. Maybe I don't need to, but I want to.

Can y'all recommend some good quality USA manufactured comparable knives we should look at?

Things I don't like about it:

The handle feels lightweight. The handle seems to have the same lightweight feel of a "Victronix Fibrox Forschner" bread knife we own. I know Cutco takes some grief, but I like the heavier weight of the Cutco handles better than this Regent Sheffield black lightweight plastic handle. I like the heavier weight of Cutco handles over the Victronix as well.

The blade metal seems cheapish, but I'm ignorant here. Maybe it's good quality and I just don't know better.

When I (carefully) tug on the blade itself and pull it away from the handle, it moves 1-2 mm back and forth -- enough to give it an audible "click" with each tug out. This contributes to my feeling of less-than-stellar quality.

The blade itself is some kind of serrated cut. We've never sharpened it and it has probably seen daily use over ten years. I don't know how to sharpen serrated blades... I should probably research that. And yes, it goes through the dishwasher. We will put its replacement through the dishwasher as well. Sorry.

I do not believe it is a full tang blade. Not sure the right terminology here.

I'm not entirely sure how to measure the blade. Overall, the knife is roughly 9.5"
The blade is about 4 3/4" or 4 7/8" with the handle taking up the rest of the knife's length (a little over 5").

I don't know if the reason my wife tends to use the knife is because of the blade length, knife weight, blade serrations, blade shape, or just plain emotional attachment. I realize nothing y'all recommend will compete with emotional attachment -- I just want to see what options are available, and maybe learn a little in the process.

I suspect she likes the "point" blade and the serrations for carving up the internal grapefruit wedges. She prepares the grapefruit like that, and then we "scoop" out the fruit wedges with a spoon after lunch.

Thanks for your advice. I've learned much from your postings, and y'all have already cost me a couple hundred dollars

I have a picture, but don't know which image sharing service to use. What works well here? Thanks for this advice as well.

Edit: Guide me to an image FAQ and I'll try to post a picture. What I tried (Dropbox public picture) didn't seem to work well.

-HurricaneJ

 

[KenHash]

H hurricanej
Most folks here use IMGUR. Make a free account and upload your photo.
Use the "Direct Link" option for your photo.
Then here on BF, use the 5th icon from the right at the top of the posting box.
The icon that looks like a picture.
Put in that Direct Link. It will show up here like below.

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

No need to look for high end products. Mercer, Dexter Russell, and Lamson all have relatively low cost good quality serrated and non-serrated utility knives that she would enjoy. Serrated knives like this require a great deal of effort and specialized tools, so it's best to just get a new one.

 

[hurricanej]

Then here on BF, use the 5th icon from the right at the top of the posting box.
The icon that looks like a picture.
Put in that Direct Link. It will show up here like below.

Thanks KenHash. I was failing to use the Direct Link. I think this will work now:

 

[KenHash]

Thanks KenHash. I was failing to use the Direct Link. I think this will work now:

Unless Regent Sheffield still exists and makes those I suspect you will have some difficulty replacing your old knife with one "exactly" like it.
For one, makers have moved away from that style of serration. Brings back memories of the old Ginsu knife commercials on TV. Which might still exist.
But if my memory is still intact, those Ginsus made up for their low end 420j2 steel with that serrated edge.
The standard serrations on Kitchen knives today are the single peak wider scallops, which I believe are probably an improvement over that old style.
Several makers offer such kitchen knives, Henckels International Series forged Premio serrated, Cuisinart C77TR-5SUT, Shun Serrated model DM0722.
There are several others but I don;t see any being made by US makers. I haven;t checked Cutco though, but with their continued use of 440A steel I can't really recommend them.
And two, all these makers now focus on the more widely used straight edged kitchen knives, leaving serrated ones as a minority, or specialized as in bread knives.

 

[hurricanej]

Mercer, Dexter Russell, and Lamson all have relatively low cost good quality serrated and non-serrated utility knives that she would enjoy. Serrated knives like this require a great deal of effort and specialized tools, so it's best to just get a new one.

Thanks Dr. Rayeye. I appreciate the practical advice I've seen you give on this forum (in this thread and others).

Unless Regent Sheffield still exists and makes those I suspect you will have some difficulty replacing your old knife with one "exactly" like it.

That's fine. I'm not sure anything can "replace" it (emotional attachment) but there's room enough in the knife block to give the rest of us another option.

Brings back memories of the old Ginsu knife commercials on TV. Which might still exist.

I would hope so - how else could we split watermelon?

For one, makers have moved away from that style of serration.

Fine by me. The whole point of replacing the knife is that I sense there are better ones out there

Several makers offer such kitchen knives, Henckels International Series forged Premio serrated, Cuisinart C77TR-5SUT, Shun Serrated model DM0722.

The Henckels forged Premio serrated 5-inch Utility Knife appeals to me.


Thanks y'all for your help.

 

[roaduck]

I love micro serrated knives because they last for ages and are virtually maintenance-free.
I have larger serrated knives for frozen food etc but these are my faves.
The bottom 4" Opinel inox is brilliant - I`m looking for a 5 inch one with similar teeth - like a thick quality steak knife but with really tiny serrations.
I have budget serrated utility knives but the blades are too thin and the steel ain`t that great.
I have a Global GS-13 (bottom one) - 6 inch serrated but the handle is a bit iffy for me.
The 5" Sabatier is not bad but doesn`t cut as well as these ones above.
If Tojiro did a shorter version of my FG-3400 frozen food knife (above) I`d be delighted because the steel is excellent.
The blue one was out of stock.

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

I have two pretty expensive 6" serrated knives by Shun and Tojiro, with VG10 steel, that have crescents on one side only, making them effectively single bevel knives. It took me years to learn how to steer these knives correctly, not fully understanding why I had to get a left handed version of my Shun. Once I made an adjustment to my stroke, they became favorites. A further advantage I found with these crescent knives was that they could be sharpened on a loaded leather strop--the leather fitting between the striations. That works especially well on the Tojiro, sometimes called a sandwich knife--or ultimate utility--with only 13 crescents.

 

[roaduck]

I totally get you Dr. Rayeye I am naturally right-handed dominant for years and had to retrain myself out of necessity.
I wish I learned to type properly 40 years ago - I`m just a hunt and pecker doing 30 w/pm max.
My girlfriend does 110 w/pm on an IBM model M keyboard - but she can`t sharpen for toffee haha!
When I was a teenager I forced myself to use my left hand more by putting the mouse on the left and in China I learnt how to use thick single bevel deba knives with both hands equally and sharpen with both hands although I`m a bit faster with my right hand haha !
Steering a deba is hard at first but it`s great for pushing the slices to one side once you get the hang of it.
Erm we drive on the left here but not abroad - that helped me get more balanced with hand use; so did playing tenor sax.
I am also a sports remedial and therapeutic masseur so I had to be symmetrical on both sides.
One thing I am slower at though is writing with my left hand; it`s not as neat haha !

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

I'm a dominant lefty--which doesn't matter much with the most inexpensive mass produced kitchen knives--which are machined neutral. Handedness starts to matter as designers focus on the individual, and give a boost to right handed users with both ergonomic handles and asymmetrical edging of double beveled knife--or sharpening only the right side of a single beveled knife.

I never fully "got it" at first, since I started with truly ambidextrous knives, but, when I did, I continued with my left hand, but adjusted my strokes--and how I held the veggies. I now even can use a single beveled deba successfully.

 

[roaduck]

That`s brilliant Dr.Rayeye, well done !

I remember reading that original typewriters had the letters in the ascending alphabet format but typists were too fast on the machines so they rearranged them to QWERTY to slow them down! - typical capitalists haha !

I just got a Prestige Durasharp 5" serrated which is okay and is made of "High quality Japanese steel" but made in China - obviously.
It weighs 78 grams which is just under three ounces and the handle is that sticky rubberised plastic - horrible.
It`s probably something like 420J or something similar.The price was a pittance.
They come with a 10 Year guarantee which is okay.
My two Opinel 4" & 5" serrated trounce it and they`re only cheap knives.
There was loads of these cheapie serrated knives about from the seventies onwards from makes like Kitchen Devils and Tefal in England and Ginsu and Cutco in America.
I think they were for housewives who couldn`t sharpen knives hehe !

 

[hurricanej]

For anyone else looking for something similar, we purchased two comparable knives. Here's our take.

What we purchased:

HENCKELS - 16910-131 HENCKELS Forged Premio Serrated Utility Knife, 5-inch, Black/Stainless Steel

Boker Core Professional Tomato Serrated Knife 130845

In the picture below, the original old knife is above the tape measure.
The Boker is the knife in the middle, and the Henckels is the bottom knife.

I thought we would prefer the $90 Boker to the $28 Henckels. The Boker was closer in blade shape and weight. At a $62 premium, I figured the Boker would be the better knife.

"Better" is subjective. It depends on what you are looking for. Y'all already knew this...

My scale weighs in the old Regent Sheffield at 1 pound 3 oz whereas the Boker weighs in at 2 pounds 1 oz. You can see from the tape measure that the blades are similar in size and shape. The Boker cuts through things more easiliy than the Regent, but the Regent has seen a dozen years of abuse whereas both of the other two knives are brand new out of box with a factory sharpness and a few hand washes each.

The cheaper Henckels - made in China - is the heaviest of the three knives, weighing in at 3 pounds 8 oz on my scale. Its blade is a little longer and beefier at the tip. It seemed to cut just as well as the Boker, but I felt more comfortable making cuts with the Henckels.

The problem I had with the Boker was one of muscle memory. I've mostly used handles with rectangular shapes. Every time I tried to pick up the Boker, I fumbled with the oval-shaped handle. I suspect by retraining my grasp and cutting methods that I could overcome it. With time, I might even grow to prefer it now that I've discovered a world of better knives thanks to this and other sites. For now, however, I much prefer the Henckels. It fits my hand and grasp more easily, but this may be due to learned habits. Maybe it depends on the kind of food we are preparing. Those of you working with knives all day may prefer the lighter Boker for less fatigue. The Boker may appeal more to those of you making different cutting motions and grasping the handle differently than I do in order to execute those different cuts. As for me, I honestly fear with my clumsy grasping that I will lose control of the oval Boker handle and cut myself. This might be the mark of an amateur (me) vs. those of you who have learned better or proper ways to cut, slice, or chop.

My wife still prefers her old original knife. As I suspected: emotional attachment. I can't blame her for this. So, she'll reach for her old knife and leave the Henckels for me - except when "her's" is dirty. I may look to see if they have a version made in Germany, but for now, I've spent enough of our budget on these nice additions to our kitchen.

I blind tested my wife and children. They all figured the heavier knife was the more expensive and higher quality knife. I cannot say which one is higher quality, but it was interesting that they all thought the heavier Henckels was more expensive than the lighter Boker.

Thank y'all for your recommendations. I look forward to learning other ways in which our lives can be improved.

 

[roaduck]

All the knives look fine H hurricanej - I`m glad you found some goodies !

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

You've proven to yourself how personal kitchen knife decisions always are--and they sometimes change with use. That's why I rarely recommend a specific knife to anyone.

 

[transmaster]

Good choice, My go to favorite for so many tasks is my Zwilling 5-inch serrated edge utility knife. I agree with you on the handles, some of my Japanese knives have the Japanese with the traditional "Wa" handles. They are OK on smaller knives like a petty, or a paring knife but for a Gyuto, Nakari, or a Usuba I prefer the Western "Yo" handle.

​

 

[transmaster]

That's brilliant Dr.Rayeye, well done I remember reading that original typewriters had the letters in the ascending alphabet format but typists were too fast on the machines so they rearranged them to QWERTY to slow them down! - typical capitalists haha !

You are only partially correct Christopher Latham Sholes the inventor of the typewriter had a problem with his machines jamming at high typing speeds, what that was, was never recorded. So he had his Wife Mary Jane McKinney, and his 3 daughters, Mary Katherine, Elizabeth, and Lillian, Christopher, and Mary Jane had ten children. He tasked his wife and daughters to come up with a letter pattern that would be impossible to type fast on. They developed the QWERTY keyboard. I am a high speed typist. I have typed on old manual machines and they get real wonky above 50 wpm, the return springs are not fast enough, you can't make them stronger because the typing force would be to high.