# Hollow Edge or Regular Chef's Knife?



## boy hits car

Hi all, found this site recently and it's been very helpful with all my amateur cooking questions.

I'm planning to buy my first good chef's knife. I've narrowed it down to an 8'' chef's knife most likely from Henckel or Wusthof. I need to try them out first before I decide. The question I have is:

I noticed that I can get the 8'' chef's knife with the "gratton" or hollow edge blade, like most of the kind the santoku style knifes have, but with the same blade shape as a regular chef's knife. Is there any reason why I shouldn't get a hollow edged chef's knife? Is there something I should know about them? Are they harder to sharpen? Any input would be great.

This is what I'm talking about:


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## blade55440

The only difference I've noticed on the hollow-grounds is that the food has less tendency to stick, which is the intended purpose. Other than that, everyone I know who has one doesn't have any trouble re-sharpening it or any other problems.


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## kuan

Get a regular edge. Learn to keep it sharp and more important, keep it straight with a steel. The sticking issue is frankly, a non issue.

Make sure you can hack through a chicken leg with heel of the knife. I don't know if the granton edge will hold up.


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## ma facon

I agree with kuan, Go with the traditional chefs knife. Over time you will be adding knives to your collection that fit your style and needs, Start with the basics.:chef:


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## boy hits car

Thanks everyone. I'll go with the regular edge.


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## foodpump

A granton edge is not a hollow ground edge. Hollow grind edges are ground so that the edge is slightly concave, sharpening is slightly easier, but the edge is slightly weaker. Granton edges were originally used ( they've been around for years, nothing "New"...) for sticky dense foods like cheese, smoked salmon, etc. When drawing the blade through, each pocket on the blade has cushion of air, reducing the friction the blade has on the food. While this is good for cheese and smoked salmon, it doesn't do anything for vegtables or fruit.


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## blade55440

Cool...learn something new everyday.

Thanks!


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## dealinhoz

i own a wusthof and henckels hollowedge santoku knife. both are **** sharp and reduce sticking of meat/veggies. BUT.... i've learned that b/c these blades are so much thinner than your regular chef knife, they require MORE sharpening b/c you lose the edge quickly. if you're willing to sharpen it often, then go for it. if not, stick w/ your standard chef knife which will keep its edge and still perform well.


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## boy hits car

Heh, the thread is still going. Well I got the Henckel's Pro "S" 8" chef's knife. My wife got jealous so she went out and used her Christmas gift cards and got a Wuthof's Classic 7" Santuko. I like them both, but it seems like the Santuko knife is noticebly sharper. Let's see which one stays sharper longer.


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## llpfoodie

Hollow ground refers to the knife's cutting edge not the dimples on the blade which are called "grantons".


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## llpfoodie

Incorrect. A hollow ground will last longer and is sharper. It is just thinner than a non hollow ground a sit is concave.


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## millionsknives

llpfoodie said:


> Hollow ground refers to the knife's cutting edge


Huh?


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## foodpump

llpfoodie said:


> Incorrect. A hollow ground will last longer and is sharper. It is just thinner than a non hollow ground a sit is concave.


O.K., how so? I'm referring to both the statement that a hollow grind will last longer, and the statement that a hollow grind is sharper.

Then again, the only hollow grinds I've seen on kitchen knives are on Cutco dreck, and dollar store dreck. Oh, and for some reason ceramic knives too. Maybe I'm missing something?

However, I do regularly put hollow grinds on woodworking tools like chisels and plane irons, it makes honing faster and easier. It does NOT make for a more durable edge and it isn't any sharper, but it makes honing a lot faster.


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## llpfoodie

All-purpose 7-inch *hollow*-*ground* Santoku *knife* for chopping, dicing, and slicing; Blade made .... so edges remain sharp *longer than* even the best high-carbon stainless-steel *knives*.


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## millionsknives

So... you're a bot?


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## Iceman

*LOL.* Another 10-yo thread recycled from the past.

I have two(2) granton-edged knives that I like very much. Why? ... Because they are nice knives. No other reason. They're not any better really, than any others ... I just like them. Just like any other knives ... $800 or $80 ... sharp knives work better than dull knives. Keep your knives sharp and a $9.95 NSF knife will work just fine. A $1200 dull knife works like a piece of junk. My granton-edged knives work fantastically because I keep them sharp ... and I like them.


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## nywoman

Thank you this was very helpful.


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## chocolatefeet

I have both regular and hollow edge, or granton-edge knives. I did not break the bank to buy a starter set of Zwilling JA Henckel Pro S knives to which I have added over time. One of my favorites is a "hooked" parer that sees a good bit of service. I can pare a potato better with that knife than with a vegetable peeler.  Your knives don't have to be outrageously expensive as long as they are well constructed (I opted for a full tang, triple riveted), nicely balanced, and never, ever wash them in the dishwasher.  When cooking, I wash, dry and sharpen my knives immediately after use. That way I never worry about having to deal with a dull blade.


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## joseph vernice

Knife edges explained. Half of you are incorrect in what you are calling "hollow ground".

Hollow ground knives are almost impossible to sharpen at home and must be done professionally. Graton edges (hollow oblong indents) tend to accomplish the task of a true hollow ground AND the knife keeps the edge longer. A true hollow ground edge does not stay sharp as long as the exact same knife with a v-edge because of the smaller angle. It will naturally wear faster, but will hone well.


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## millionsknives

Oh god this thread again.  Why won't it just die?


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## millionsknives

For the record this knife is hollow ground on both sides. See how it is concave and thinner in the middle





  








attachment.php?attachmentid=26646&d=1425503408




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millionsknives


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Jul 25, 2016








Your picture is of edges which don't matter. The edge will get sharpened away in a few sessions whether by a professional sharpener or not.


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## foody518

@Joseph Vernice you can grind the edge bevel of hollow ground knives just fine though the knife will get exceedingly thick in short order.
Grantons are indeed the hollow indents on the sides of the blades. How are you thinking this affects edge retention?


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## rick alan

From the 50's to the 80's and maybe 90's high-end in the US "mostly" meant stamped stainless with a hollow (as in straight razor) edge and a wood handle, sometimes rosewood but more often a polymer impregnated wood made to look something like rosewood.  Some were very thin, I have an 8" slicer that is a mere 1.15mm thick.  Steel was usually soft, with the exception of Deluxe Personna which I believe is 440C and takes a nice edge.  Break the shoulder on the hollow grind and you have a slick cutter.  Some of the Japanese imports were very soft but rather fine grained, typically on the thick side and not nearly enough grinding on the "hollow."

Hollow grinds

FWIW


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## ron wood

Is actually good for spuds which tend to stick, but not a big deal. I have a rather cheap dimpled Santuko , to extract better edge i sharpened it One Bevel.  That can get a bit more results from 'average steel". 

  I have a 12" Forschner slicer ..no dimples.   I'd used the dimpled version in restaurants.... and The plus here is I can do a more acute angle on the stone.  Being a retired cook.. I do not need it often.  a Slicer needs a nice edge.  It does not HACK + wack.   That's a whole other tool.


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## ron wood

Lamson is the only US brand doing quality knives with good steel aside from a few ' hand made (expensive) items.   japan..... you got Hi Tech Steels. That's huge.. and there's Old School  makers who were doing Samurai swords long ago. They are BIG on quality.  Forschner (Swiss) makes good, very affordable knifes.

Short of a closeout sale..... Name Japanese blades are serious $.


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## millionsknives

@Ron Wood Maybe 10 years ago. There are many many options in every price range now. 210mm Tojiro DP is $55 on amazon and victorinox forschner is $45 . It's not that much more for a big jump in quality


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## rick alan

Actually Lamson hasn't been doing well these last few years. Richmond (of all folks) and New West KnifeWorks dropped them because of poor quality work. For Japanese knives there are some very good 210 offerings at just over $100, and exceptional ones under $200, in the 240 range under $150 and $250 respectively.


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## foody518

Didn't they file for bankruptcy a few years ago?


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## rick alan

They got flooded out a year or 2 ago, I think insurance paid for a move to a better building.

http://www.lamsonsharp.com/


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## Luisitomx

chocolatefeet said:


> I have both regular and hollow edge, or granton-edge knives. I did not break the bank to buy a starter set of Zwilling JA Henckel Pro S knives to which I have added over time. One of my favorites is a "hooked" parer that sees a good bit of service. I can pare a potato better with that knife than with a vegetable peeler. Your knives don't have to be outrageously expensive as long as they are well constructed (I opted for a full tang, triple riveted), nicely balanced, and never, ever wash them in the dishwasher. When cooking, I wash, dry and sharpen my knives immediately after use. That way I never worry about having to deal with a dull blade.


 "sharpen my knives immediately after use." Sharpen or hone?


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## foodpump

Sshhh, don't tell anyone, but I do wash my knives in the dishwasher, usually after cutting chicken or other meat. 
That said, Im still alive, employed, and my knives still cut, many of them ancient rosewood handled Victorinox that I bought as an apprentice 35 years ago. Mind you I toss them in a commercial dishwasher, which has a cycle of two minutes, I also toss them in plastic cutlery separators, so they don't bang against anything.


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## chrislehrer

Luisitomx said:


> "sharpen my knives immediately after use." Sharpen or hone?


Hone if they're stainless or normal (Western) carbon. Sharpen if they're seriously hard Japanese carbon and you're kind of OCD.

Full disclosure: at one point a few years ago I spent 3 months where I set my Japanese knives (medium high-end professional carbon knives) on a 10k stone every night after cooking. On the one hand, they were freakishly sharp at all times and I loved everything about it. On the other hand, it was a PITA. Eventually I stopped and have since gotten seriously lazy, only really properly sharpening every few months. They're not as wonderful, but they're still terrific. When I have a special thing coming up -- I expect to be breaking down several big fish, for example -- I completely re-sharpen everything from 1k, or 600 if I think somebody has been ill-treated and needs help.


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