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Seconded! I have owned several Forschner/Victorinox chef knives and consistently recommend them to friends. (No, they didn't break. One was lost to heat, anothe

Seconded! I have owned several Forschner/Victorinox chef knives and consistently recommend them to friends. (No, they didn't break. One was lost to heat, another I sharpened down toward boning knife territory.) Kitchens without contracts for D-R or whatever often have some floating around. If I'm not mistaken, the 8" is still the house knife at America's Test Kitchen. I also own a Sharpmaker, which I recommend, but don't personally use for chef knives, but for pocket and camping knives. You wouldn't happen to know of an affordable blade with a more French profile that I could recommend? I try to start everyone on a Forschner, but some end up gravitating toward something more like a Sebatier. I'm not aware of a Victorinox-caliber bargain in that sub-category.

jfb 12y ago
My main knife is a Sabatier 12" (can't remember the manufacturer, probably a Thiers-Issard) and I love it. I don't know of a lower cost alternative, but I press carbon steel on everybody.
- batbomb 12y ago
  The K Sabatiers are great value knife. The Stainless isn't quite as hard as the Forschners, but it's close and the price is only modestly more. I'm too scared to deal with high carbon blades because I live in the outer Richmond in SF and everything I own rusts, even the fridge. I just bought a 240mm ohishi VG-5 chefs knife from Bernal Cutlery in SF, and I am enjoying it a lot, but I'm thinking the extra money might not have been worth over a 9" K Sabatier.
  - peterwwillis 12y ago
    If you're super paranoid about rust, apply some mineral oil, fat, silicon, wax, etc to your blade after cleaning and store it in a cool dry place. Worst case even if it does rust, clean the rust off and let it develop a patina, then sharpen to your liking.
    - jfb 12y ago
      And the blade looks fantastic with a bit of a patina to it.
vonmoltke 12y ago
Mercer[1] makes excellent knives, and their chef's knives are pretty much a French profile. I own a Mercer 10" carving knife and a 10" bread knife, and I think all my future knife purchases will be Mercer blades. The Genesis line uses the same steel as Forschner's blades, but IIRC the knives are actually forged in Taiwan and so are 10% - 40% cheaper. Many of their knives have a Granton-edged version as well. The only drawback is that Mercer is a true professional brand and only available from restaurant supply stores. I only discovered the brand when I started shopping at a local one.[2] Fortunately, they have online ordering and ship anywhere in the US. [1] http://www.mercercutlery.com/professional-cutlery http://www.mercercutlery.com/professional-cutlery [2] http://www.acemart.com/index.ep http://www.acemart.com/index.ep
- kemitchell 12y ago
  Thanks for this comment! Alas, the Victorinox itself is being pushed back into restaurant supply, with a less spartan-looking, "consumer-friendly" version replacing it at retail.

jfb 12y ago

My main knife is a Sabatier 12" (can't remember the manufacturer, probably a Thiers-Issard) and I love it. I don't know of a lower cost alternative, but I press carbon steel on everybody.

batbomb 12y ago
The K Sabatiers are great value knife. The Stainless isn't quite as hard as the Forschners, but it's close and the price is only modestly more. I'm too scared to deal with high carbon blades because I live in the outer Richmond in SF and everything I own rusts, even the fridge. I just bought a 240mm ohishi VG-5 chefs knife from Bernal Cutlery in SF, and I am enjoying it a lot, but I'm thinking the extra money might not have been worth over a 9" K Sabatier.
- peterwwillis 12y ago
  If you're super paranoid about rust, apply some mineral oil, fat, silicon, wax, etc to your blade after cleaning and store it in a cool dry place. Worst case even if it does rust, clean the rust off and let it develop a patina, then sharpen to your liking.
  - jfb 12y ago
    And the blade looks fantastic with a bit of a patina to it.

vonmoltke 12y ago

Mercer[1] makes excellent knives, and their chef's knives are pretty much a French profile. I own a Mercer 10" carving knife and a 10" bread knife, and I think all my future knife purchases will be Mercer blades. The Genesis line uses the same steel as Forschner's blades, but IIRC the knives are actually forged in Taiwan and so are 10% - 40% cheaper. Many of their knives have a Granton-edged version as well. The only drawback is that Mercer is a true professional brand and only available from restaurant supply stores. I only discovered the brand when I started shopping at a local one.[2] Fortunately, they have online ordering and ship anywhere in the US. [1] http://www.mercercutlery.com/professional-cutlery http://www.mercercutlery.com/professional-cutlery [2] http://www.acemart.com/index.ep http://www.acemart.com/index.ep

kemitchell 12y ago
Thanks for this comment! Alas, the Victorinox itself is being pushed back into restaurant supply, with a less spartan-looking, "consumer-friendly" version replacing it at retail.