8' vs 10' chef's knife

Roger

Roger

1,000+ Posts
We've had several discussions about chef's knifes and brands and such, but can someone explain how why or what determined whether they got a 10" versus 8"?
 
I have an 8 and a 10. I use the 10 almost all the time. My 8 gets wasted. Why? because 10 is bigger and better than 8.

Joking aside. I do really have both and enjoy the weight of the larger knife in almost all cutting circumstances.
 
Its about feel. Some think the 10 is too big and hard to handle.
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C'mon guys, he asked a valid serious question.


In answer to the OPs question, I have and use both regularly. While I generally prefer the 10, there are some cutting jobs that the 8 is better suited for. Therefore, the answer is: have both.
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Did I just get chided for having the same answer at you? Have both, but you will use the 10" more. Isn't that basically what I said?
 
I have both. Several of both.

For most purposes, use whatever feels better in your hand.

If you're chopping a lot of parsley the 10" will do a more efficient job.
 
yea hornian,
I checked back on this thread when the admonition had been posted, but your comment had been erased. There was only mine and one other, and I knew that I didn't mean anything bad by what I said, but it could have sounded like it. I was honestly, and seriously trying to answer the OP, which is why I was confused on why I was getting admonished. Now I know it's your fault!
 
OK, I moved my main request over to the Chef's knife thread that popped up around the time of this one.
Since I will not be able test drive (hold) the knife I want to buy, I will need help from you guys.

Why would one need a 10" chef's knife?

My hands are medium-ish (if not a little smaller) in length, but with slim fingers. (I admit, it looks like I've never lifted a finger in my life.) I'm sure that a 10" knife would seem heavy and a bit awkward, but I wanted to know why some people prefer them.
 
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Because sometimes I'm trying to cut through an 8-10" honeydew or cantaloupe and I want a knife that covers the entire melon.

That, or chopping/mincing copious amounts of onions, garlic or herbs and I want the maximum amount steel on the product as possible.

If I have a 12" cutting board and I'm trying to chop 4, 5 or 6 onions in as quick and as efficient manner as possible, I'm getting out a 12-14" blade so I'm not standing there, pumping my arm up and down for 15 mins, looking like one of those retarded tech bell ringers on a bad 3-day meth trip.
 
I have used 8" chef knives more than any other size during my life, but I have used a 10" chef many times for certain tasks. As previously stated, a longer blade is sometimes more efficient depending upon the task.

I personally prefer a 240mm (9.5") Gyuto over a 8" or 10" chef and if I had to choose a single large chef style knife that would be my choice.

Oh yeah, I have a drawer full of Santoku's that I like very much, but that whole "knife of three virtues" thing is a tad overblown. Take on something like a butternut squash with a Santoku and then with a large chef knife and you know what I mean.
 
Largest knife you are comfortable with. 10 inch for me because I like the extra size for most jobs. 8 inch is great too, but I usually grab it because the 10 inch is already dirty.
 
I have a 10" chef's knife that I almost always use instead of my 6" and 8" Santoku knives. I've never figured out what people like so much about the Santoku knives. Maybe it's just that I used chef's knives for so many years before I got a Santoku that the change feels a bit odd.

Regarding the original question, I like the heft of the bigger knife. My wife is small, so she prefers smaller ones (knives).
 
Even though you may not be able to handle the particular knife you want to purchase certainly you could go somewhere and get the feel of something similar. ACE Restaurant supply in Austin, Williams and Sonoma, Bed bath and Beyond, Macy's all probably have 8 and 10 inch knives for you to get a feel of. You really need to have done this to even know what sort of handle you feel fits your hand best.
 
I finally bought a knife!!
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Mundial 5100 Series 8-Inch Chef's Knife, Black
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Amazon Link

Amazon says that it lists in the USA for US$51.00 (AR$189-ish), but Amazon offers it for US$40.80 (AR$151-ish) with FREE SHIPPING. But I bought mine today for AR$113.40 (US$30.50-ish).

I felt the 8" and the 10" and I could see wanting the 10" in the future if I start cutting enough things that I feel are too big (large potatoes into fries, large squash), but for now I think I would go with something that just felt better.

The salesman do a good sales job and I ended up buying one of those metal sharpening rods (AR$40 = US$11.10-ish today at the bank) which I'm not positive I needed. But I had him sharpen up my knife on it before I left the store and I was planning on buying some other knife at a different place and then paying AR$22 to have that done.

I ended up buying a 2 1/2" peeling knife as well:

Mundial 5100 Series 2 1/2-Inch Peeling Knife, Black
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Amazon Link

So that I'll have a peeling knife to peel my apples with when I make some apple chutney in a few weeks.

I'm pretty excited that even with having to pay 5% more for using a credit card, I still only paid AR$219.00 for all 3 items. (US$59-ish) I might have been able to haggle and not paid the 5% because I was buying three items, but I forgot to think about it. Somehow I think I'll live.

I will NOT be letting my roommates use my knives. They can't take care of my non-stick pans. I'm not going to trust them with my knives.

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