This is one of the first global knives I bought. I loved it the first time I held it in my hands. What impressed me most was the perfect balance, the lightweight, and the sharpness. However, what may be perfect for me may not be perfect for you. I'd recommend anyone who is shopping for cutlery to go to a store and try how the knife feels in your hands before buying. And if you can borrow from a friend to try, that's even better.
Having used this knife for several years now, my initial impressions haven't changed. This is still my favorite knife for most tasks. I maintain it regularly with a steel and it is as sharp as it ever was. I have found though that for certain tasks like cutting slits into an onion for dicing or cutting root vegetables, I do prefer a heavier knife (that's why I bought another forged global knife), but that is just personal preference. All in all, a great general purpose kitchen knife.
I have been a keen amateur chef for more than 30 years. I was given a full set of Sabatier chef's knives as a wedding present and have been using them since 1970. I had recently decided that 30+ years of sharpening had taken their toll on the Sabatiers and that new knives were called for but what should I buy?
At heart I am a traditionalist and the appearance of the Global range had put me off them. Fortunately I recently read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential and noted his ringing endorsement of the Global range. I decided to buy the 8-inch chef's knife to see how I got on with it. I have never looked back!
Despite its rather unconventional look, the knife has excellent ergonomic design. It is well balanced, readily gripped when wet and astoundingly sharp. TMOT, you are unlikely ever to meet a sharper knife. Hold a sheet of paper from the top with one hand out in front of you and then cut downwards with the other this knife readily cuts the paper without it being tensioned. That is what we mean by a sharp knife.
As noted in the Amazon description, the knife's handle is fairly small. My hand is a medium male hand about 3.25 inches or 8.5 cm across its back. The knife is an excellent fit for my hand and could probably accommodate a hand upto 4 inches or 10 cm across the back. However, I have seen some chefs with meaty hands that might find this knife a less than perfect fit. The knife is fairly light it weighs 5.5 ounces or 160 grammes.
In all I am well satisfied with this purchase and shall go on to replace all my Sabatiers with the Global equivalents. Oh yes and if you haven't yet read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, buy that too but be careful not to cut yourself when you start laughing thinking about some of the things he has to say about professional cooks...
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I've been a German knife snob for years. But this 8-inch chef's knife by Japan's Global is the finest blade I've ever owned. Period.
Maybe it's not as easy to sharpen as a Wustof or a Henckel, but then again, it holds its edge ten times longer.
I've spent ten years and hundreds (and hundreds and hundreds!) of dollars collecting German steel. Global is so good that it has me thinking of starting all over again.
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This knife amazed me when I took it out of the box. I lightly dragged my thumb across the edge and felt some of my skin shave off, and looked closely at the edge to see flakes of my skin on either side of the blade. I tested it out on a tomato eagerly and it fell through it like falling through air. You cannot feel any friction whatsoever as the knife goes through the food. This knife is well worth the money, and really for a knife of such quality, its not that expensive.
It is lightweight and all one full piece of steel, which means all food can be washed from it without sticking in any cracks or seams, as well as rigid durability. The steel its made of, apparently "Cromova 15", shines in my eyes like the first time I got it every time it is washed, and repels water, so the juices from various foods drip away to help prevent slices of food sticking to the side of the blade.
I gave this knife four stars, because unfortunately, the edge will start to deteriorate after about 3-400 strokes to the board. And it is exceptionally difficult to sharpen due to the strange edge these knives have had put on them at the factory, BUT if you regularly stroke it across a mediocre steel once or twice on each side after a few uses the edge will remain factory sharp for quite a long time. This knife will make all your foodie friends jealous. I left mine at work for about 4 days whilst I was gone, and the head chef (who readily agrees it is the sharpest knife in the kitchen) used it heavily, disregarding his wuhstof collection. I came back and he had not honed the edge, so it had deteriorated well beyond repair to its original condition. Make sure you keep it sharp and treat it like family, and this knife will treat you better than any knife I have used, and I own Shun, Whustof, Henckels 5-star, Sabatier, and other various brands. I am sold on global.
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So... you want to buy a nice knife for the kitchen, but aren't quite sure what's best? The truth is, there is no "best" knife as everyone hopes for. The idea is finding a knife that feels right in your hand, is sharp, stays sharp, and is easy to re-sharpen and hone.
If you're looking for a heavy knife that uses its own weight to crush through everything in its path, keep looking. Global knives are extremely light. That's the number one complaint I hear from my coworkers as to what they don't like about my knife. But the blade of this knife is very thin and holds an edge better than any other knife I've seen. So when I'm cutting an entire five gallon bucket of carrots for crudités, the knife glides right through the last carrot as smoothly and evenly as it did the first carrot. I rarely ever sharpen this knife, and I use my honing steel once a day at the beginning of my 10-12 hour shift. And despite this, everyone who touches my knife is always amazed by how sharp the blade is. For me, low maintenance is a blessing. Who doesn't love that?
The second complaint I hear a lot is the grip. Many firmly believe that the stylish metal grip becomes slippery when wet or combined with a little grease or fat from the food that is being cut. Sure, that's true. But first off, what knife handle doesn't get slippery when fat or grease is involved. That's what fat and grease does. It makes things slippery. Second, your knife hand should be holding the knife, not the food. If you put the knife down to handle the food, you should be washing your hands. Now dry them off and there's no worries, right? That complaint never made any sense to me.
My best recommendation to anyone looking for a good knife is that you first go somewhere that allows you to take a few different knives for a "test drive". Just chop a few things and see how it feels in your hand. If you live in a place where that is out of the question, then just keep in mind what qualities best fit your needs, and I wish you the best of luck with your selection. If this is the knife you choose, I know you won't be disappointed.
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Those who have read my other reviews know I've been a Ginsu knife fan for decades. However, there have been ties I have tried normal "grownup" knives and though they were good and well thought out products from reputable and well thought of manufacturers I still grabbed for the Ginsus when it came time to make dinner. I guess I was not ready for a grownup knife.
