Global GF-33 8 1/4-Inch, 21-cm Heavyweight Chef's Knife

If God's mighty Hands are big enough, He definitely uses the 8 1/4" heavyweight Global. If not He wields a mighty regular 8".

These knives appear at first like Pacific Palisades yuppie display pieces, purchased to never be used, highly crafted but without mind towards function. Nothing could be further from the truth, however; these knives mean business. Built with Japan's modern chefs in mind, they have the balance of a Katana, highest quality steel and a wicked edge. They're suitable in construction and balance for everything from sashimi to butchery.

This heavy knife (Global actually refers to the heavier knives as "forged", probably because their lighter knives have ground hollow handles) can deftly mince shallots or rip apart a chicken in the same breath. The balance is so perfect that it really feels like nothing at all in your hand.

Care and feeding are trickier than a Henckels or a carbon-steel knife; the molybenum/vandium alloy is extremely hard and hard to influence outside of a full grind. I'm using a ceramic finishing stone to hone the edge (which does slip around; a downside of the extremely acute angle of grind), and I expect that I'll have a professional grind it when needed, something I don't do with my Henckels knives.

I'm buying the lighter 8" knife as well, now that I've had my hands on it. I really think that between the two of them there's nothing you can't take down.

I bought this knife almost three months ago, and have been nothing but impressed. I am a professional chef and have used this blade almost non-stop since its arrival. Despite daily use and infrequent passes on a global ceramic steel, it still remains near razor sharp. The feel, the balance, the way the blade will hold an edge, everything about this knife is amazing. It has quickly grown to be my favorite knife, surpassing even my ceramic knife which cost me three times as much and hasn't held up nearly as well. Only complaint I have is because of its heavy weight, delicate cutting such as basil julienne (which I do frequently) are exceptionally difficult without bruising the herbs. Its possible to do the job with the knife, but not really what it was designed for either in my opinion. Every knife has its purpose, this is the best general purpose knife ive ever used.

Buy Global GF-33 8 1/4-Inch, 21-cm Heavyweight Chef's Knife Now

I've been a professional chef for almost a decade now, and I've tried dozens of high-end and mid-priced knives including Shun, Calphalon, Henckels, Wusthof, Furi, and plenty of others. This is the best. Hands down. I had previously purchased the G-2 chef's knife and really loved it, but it just wasn't quite beefy enough to take down things like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or cleanly cut through a chicken spine. The extra blade thickness (and weight) at the hilt is a huge advantage for tasks like shredding cabbage for slaw or finely chopping herbs. That being said, the knife is balanced so well it feels like a part of your arm, and is sharper than some of the ceramics out there. the steel is harder than all but the most expensive german lines, but it flexes more than the folded japanese knives. The result? The Global cuts smooth as buttah, stays sharp longer than a Pro-S Henckels, but doesn't chip or crack like a Shun. It's also just a really beautiful and elegantly designed piece of steel. Showroom-quality, as they say. The one real caveat is that you really need a ceramic honer to keep the blade in top form. Standard chrome or diamond steels just don't hold up. I recommend the Wusthof Ceramic Honing Rod. 5 years in, and it hasn't lost a bit of its grit.

Read Best Reviews of Global GF-33 8 1/4-Inch, 21-cm Heavyweight Chef's Knife Here

Invest in this knife (and a good sharpening stone). It is heavy but with experience, that's a good thing. "Let the knife do the work" and all that. I got used to the weight quite quickly.

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I have regularly used German, Swiss, and American steel blades and this Japanese Global puts them all to shame across the board. A bit higher on the price scale than some of it's "competitors" (if you can call them that), but it MORE than makes up for it in performance, durability, ease of use, comfort, and craftsmanship. Hands down the sharpest blade I've ever worked with. I highly recommend that you hone this knife on a soaked wet stone rather than a traditional steel though, as it takes a 10 degree angle on the blade edge, where most every steel is designed for a 40-45 degree edge. Probably the last chef knife I will ever need to buy.

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