Reduced-handle chef knives

[Constantin Peters]

I have been seeing knifes like this displayed in stores recently. Unfortunately, a quick search only yielded this one: http://knifenews.com/fini-cutlery-stubby-knife-handle-thinks-youve-been-holding-your-kitchen-knives-all-wrong/ which is also quite cheap. I have seen more upscale versions of the same principle for 300 EUR+.

 

Any of you got experiences with this kind of knife? Also I´d be happy for other resources, links, reviews, shop pages.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Smithy
Corrected title spelling (log)

[Anna N]

Interesting. My first reaction was of course to reject it out of hand. But I’ve never tried it and I’d be very curious. I have not seen any. I still have to wonder if it’s innovation for innovation’s sake or if there is a functional advantage.

[rotuts]

Interesting

 

Im wondering it the ' heel ' cut off on this one 

 

affects the total balance of the knife

 

and not in a goos way.

[Constantin Peters]

Here is one of the more expensive ones I have seen. Unfortunately, the store was closed as it was easter so I could not try it out myself.

 

https://www.kochspass24.de/Messer/Kochmesser/Kochmesser-klein-von-GUeDE--Serie-Alpha--16-cm-Klinge-1638.html?language=de

 

p.s.

 

also found this promo vid 

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Constantin Peters (log)

[rotuts]

the above knife is far more interesting than the first 

[Constantin Peters]

Certainly looks more sexy, haha. Interestingly enough, the second knife I only found by making the search in german. Maybe it is not a trend that has really crossed the pond in a major way, yet.

[Alex]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Interesting. My first reaction was of course to reject it out of hand.

 

I see what you did there.

[Doofa]

On 21/04/2018 at 8:25 PM, Constantin Peters said:

Certainly looks more sexy, haha. Interestingly enough, the second knife I only found by making the search in german. Maybe it is not a trend that has really crossed the pond in a major way, yet.

320 € is not cheap. Lovely knife though, in fact I think I need one. D

[btbyrd]

These knives look stupid. At least the first one's cheap. The second one reminds me of a saying about a fool and her money.

[btbyrd]

Seriously. If you want to blow a ton of money on a fancy knife, there are better options than these things. Güde makes some awesome knives, notably their serrated bread knives. I'm not sure "The Knife" is one of them. And for the money, there are hundreds of Japanese knives I'd rather buy.

Edited April 24, 2018 by btbyrd (log)

[scubadoo97]

On 4/21/2018 at 3:14 PM, Constantin Peters said:

Here is one of the more expensive ones I have seen. Unfortunately, the store was closed as it was easter so I could not try it out myself.

 

https://www.kochspass24.de/Messer/Kochmesser/Kochmesser-klein-von-GUeDE--Serie-Alpha--16-cm-Klinge-1638.html?language=de

 

p.s.

 

also found this promo vid 

 

 

What I like about this knife is there is little chance my thumb will contact the knife heel.   I’ve popped a hole in my thumb many times from just barely touching the heel during food prep.  It’s one of the sharpest points on my knives 

[paulraphael]

For anything requiring precision and a sharp knife, nothing I've used can touch a Japanese Wa handle.

 

For heavier tasks that need a duller, sturdier chef's knife, I prefer a plain old Western handle. The exact handle size and style is unimportant. Two factors that matter: a rounded spine on the knife (so you don't get blisters) and no bolster. Traditional bolsters are stupid. They making proper sharpening impossible. My heavy German knife, which I like in other respects, had a big dumb bolster. I had Dave Martell Grind it down to get it out of the way. If I were buying a heavy knife now, I'd get a Messermeister or any lower-priced Japanese yo-deba (western handled, heavy chef's knives made for abuse). 

 

All these innovative handles look to me like they were created by marketing departments, or by inventors who don't really understand they're making one-trick ponies. 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2018 by paulraphael (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, paulraphael said:

All these innovative handles look to me like they were created by marketing departments, or by inventors who don't really understand they're making one-trick ponies. 

 

Yet strangely that knife reminds me of a Sobakiri.

 

[paulraphael]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Yet strangely that knife reminds me of a Sobakiri.

 

 

Well, sure, that's a one-trick pony by design. No one tries to sell it as a chef's knife.

[btbyrd]

22 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

What I like about this knife is there is little chance my thumb will contact the knife heel.   I’ve popped a hole in my thumb many times from just barely touching the heel during food prep.  It’s one of the sharpest points on my knives 

 

While I won't pretend that this has never happened to me, I won't pretend that it was the knife's fault.

 

But even if it were the knife's fault, the solution is a bolster or a Dremel, not making the blade go directly underneath your hand.

[scubadoo97]

Never the knive's fault.  Purely operator error 

[paulraphael]

7 hours ago, btbyrd said:

 

While I won't pretend that this has never happened to me, I won't pretend that it was the knife's fault.

 

But even if it were the knife's fault, the solution is a bolster or a Dremel, not making the blade go directly underneath your hand.

 

A Dremel would be much better than a bolster. The bolster makes a knife impossible to sharpen properly. I don't understand why they continue to exist in knifeland.