# Best Chef and Paring Knives for each price point - For Buy it for life community



## maximus3 (May 31, 2014)

Hello!

Im coming from the r/bifl reddit community where we look for and share the best and toughest stuff around the planet that will last a long time, and we need your nelp!

We are creating a list for the best chef and paring knives for each price point. And not just great knives, but knives that will last a long time, with proper care of course. All ideas greatly appreciated!

*Chef Knives*

High - 3 choices

Mid - 3 choices

Low - 3 choices

*Paring Knives*

High - 3 choices

Mid - 3 choices

Low - 3 choices

What we have come up with so far:

$$$ 150+

Misono UX10 Santoku 180

Misono UX10 Gyutou 200

Shun TDM0707 Premier Chef's Knife, 10-Inch 220

Mac Knife Ultimate French Chef's Knife, 9-Inch

$$ 50-150

Suisin High Carbon Steel Gyutou 100

WÜSTHOF CLASSIC 8- OR 10-INCH 120

Wusthof Classic Hollow-Ground Santoku

Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife 72

Wusthof Classic Ikon 8-Inch 120

Shun DM0718 Classic 7-Inch 110

Global G-2 - 8 inch

$ (25-50)

Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8 Inch

Mac Knife Chef Series Chef's Knife, 7-1/4-Inch

J.A. Henckels International Classic 8-Inch Stainless-Steel Chef's Knife

Global G-2 - 8 inch

Victorinox fibrox - around 55$

Kyocera Revolution Series 7-Inch


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The Forschner Fibrox  line will dominate the least expensive knives. Their chef, bread and paring knives test well and are inexpensive.

A little up from there in the 8" chef's knife, the Ikea Slitbar vg10 blade is a surprising value at $49.99 US. Fit and Finish won't be as good as the Forschners, but it performs better.


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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## maximus3 (May 31, 2014)

This is usually the case with most things, personal preference does play a big part. However, there are usually some items which stand out for their versatility and quality. If it comes down to preference i would love to hear your favorites.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Like Phatch, I don't think the Victorinox knives can be beat for bang-for-buck, and although I didn't know Phatch shops at Ikea, I too have bought their knives and really can't complain about value or performance.

Here's the thing about knives in in my opinion:

They are a tool, just a hunk of steel with a sharp edge. I use them all day, every day for well over 30 years now. The food doesn't know or care what brand of knife cuts it, it just has to be sharp.

Another way of looking at it is this way:

-The professional has the tools s/he *needs*

-The hobbyist has the tools s/he* wants.*

In my case, I need a workhorse, one that takes abuse and can be sharpened with a minimum of fuss or time. I also need a knife that doesn't cost a whole lot, because I lend my knives out to employees and they invariably abuse them or loose them. If I insist they bring their own knives, there's a 50% chance that the knife will be a p.o.s. that will take far too long to put a decent edge on, or one that is so heavily serrated, that it leaves deep gouges/scars on the food that is being cut with it.


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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## maximus3 (May 31, 2014)

tweakz said:


> Check out the different types of steels that can be used on just Jknives and note that different ones are going to appeal to different people. A more useful guide would incorporate edge retention, typical maintenance, how sharp it can get, stain and rust resistance, NSF approval, ergonomics, handle (I personally don't want a Wa handle on a Chef's knife), safety features (I love the curve at the heal of my Victorinox) , blade geometry, Granton edge, balance, F&F. All these factors are rated different for different people. I know if I told my sisters that I could shave with the knives I've got; they'd be afraid to use them! I could rock chop fine with a ~$10 Farberware Pro Forged Chef's knife which can hold it's inferior edge fine (but will never shave), but my Tojiro DP F-808 cuts too far into the cutting board and is far more brittle to rock chop with ( I may need a harder cutting board that it won't sink so far into ). No simple list is going to be near as good as someone who knows their $hit. If I buy another Jknife: I'll probably buy from this guy in the video because someone like him could tell me what knife would properly suit me:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you Tweakz for the video, so taking into account all these things you mentioned would be some overall great knives you would recommend.

Even though it is very dependent on personal opinion and preference, there have to be some go-to knives in each price point, some all-round knives that would be be great for the average user who doesn't really know all there is to know about knives.


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## grande (May 14, 2014)

There's a lot of different knives out there, but if you just shop at williams sonoma and macy's, you might not know there are brands besides shun, wusthof, global, and henckels. That doesnt make them the best, just the best distributed. And if someone doesn't know the ins and outs of using a knife, it wont matter which one they have.
Look at it this way; i'm a big dude, and i love my ten inch wustohf. Some people like smaller knives because they have small hands. They don't like my knife because it feels like a machete to them, and their tiny knives feel like pocket knives to me. Some people swear by santokus, but i dont like em. And if something happened to my wustohf, i wouldnt replace it with a new one. Why? Because the handles are different, and i cant find one i like.
Like tweakz said, any properly maintained knife will last for a long time. I love victorinox, i've used mercers, shuns, globals. In the end the biggest deciding point for me is which one feels right in my hand.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

If I were to buy one of each as a BIF knife I'd buy the HHH 240 Production Gyuto - $200 right now as a prebuy. http://hhhcustomknives.com/product/240mm-aeb-l-gyutochef-knife/

And a Delbert Ealy "new style" paring knife @ $120 http://ealyknives.com/ OR the Shun Classic 4" parer.

The HHH and Ealy are USA made both are AEB-L and both are amazing performing knives. The Shun is a San-Mai with VG-10 core.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

I can't understand the Poll. There's only one possible answer there.

I also can't understand the $150+ range. That includes custom made knives worth hundreds.

All in all, i can't understand what you need so we can help you.


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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## maximus3 (May 31, 2014)

ordo said:


> I can't understand the Poll. There's only one possible answer there.
> 
> I also can't understand the $150+ range. That includes custom made knives worth hundreds.
> 
> All in all, i can't understand what you need so we can help you.


Im not a knife expert, i just went online and saw these names listed so i assumed they are great knives in my list. What would be better price ranges?

Im pretty much looking for the most durable and versatile knives for each price point. Without getting into the detail and all that there is to know about knives, just some great overall knives for each price point.


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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## maximus3 (May 31, 2014)

tweakz said:


> Durable comes in 3 flavors: Edge retention, how brittle / malleable it is, and how inert or non reactive it is; and that just the cutting edge part of it. -There is no one fits all.


Based on edge retention, what are the best options?


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## tweakz (May 10, 2014)

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