Would You Buy a $400 Chef's Knife?
I used to be a cook, and I understand why someone would. But in my current lifestyle, no.
I have had an set of inexpensive knives for years. Every day before I use them, I sharpen them. Thatās all I need. They work great.
yup I got cheapy ones too and with that sharpener, omg I have to watch I donāt cut off a hand while dealing with my steaks 
my knives scare me some days HA
I havenāt bought a $400 knife, but my two most used knives are Japanese steel. I find the cheap knives donāt hold an edge for very long. And a dull knife is a dangerous knife.
I canāt work without a razor sharp knife now. They say a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one, and I believe it. Iād be more afraid of my knife if I were chopping onions and stuff like you see on tv! Thatās crazy. Another thing that petrifies me is when people use a mandolin with their bare hands. 
I would not; that is way above my price range --unless I was a millionaire, then I might not mind (but I have always budgeted like crazy so hard to know!).
I think itās one of those incremental, non-linear things. A $40 knive is not ātwice as goodā as a $20 one, in general. A $100 knife is likely āsomewhat betterā than the $40 knife, but around the world would often not be worth it. For $400, or $4000, youāre probably truly getting a āfantasticā knife, but the price is increasing by orders of magnitude, and āgiant leapsā while the quality is going up by small increments.
yea, yea, that thing scares me too when I see someone using one and just slicing away with no guardā¦I hear ya on that LOL
I was cutting a steak a bit and just ātappedā ever so lightly on my knuckle area with my knife and I sliced so deep it was crazy and that thing bled and bled forever. I was surprised with the littlest touch I got nailed so bad with my knife. I watch mine now
I got one of these a couple years ago. Winco brand. Excellent ācheapā knife for $16 (and I see that one with a 10 inch blade is still only $16.66 on Amazonā¦). Mine has a 7 inch blade, is really comfortable to use, and the blade is really strong.
Mine had a fearfully sharp factory edge on it, and without even feeling it right away I got the tip of a little finger good with the pointā¦ Circulation checkā¦ 
I bought a small Japanese knife for $140 a couple of years ago. It was sharp, but Iāve had issues with pieces of knife edge chipping off, which is kind of scary considering I might ingest them. My favorite knife is OXO brand and I doubt if it cost much.
In our kitchen we have many brands of knives, both of us are retired Chefs and like a good knife. I would not pay $400 for a knife when there are other excellent blades available for much much less. If you want a quality knife that is razor sharp and holds an edge then Global are good, the only issue is they are harder to sharpen properly. For an everyday knife we love Victorinox knives, these are our favorite for a commercial kitchen as they are thin bladed, durable and replaceable. Thick blades are not to our personal liking, such as many forged German knives, though durable they feel more like a machette than a knife. We like thin blades where possible. The Japanese Gobal is about as thick as we are prepared to go. Mundial are fine for home or commercial kitchens and are a nice forged blade that is not thick or heavy.
There are 7 mid to large knives on our kitchen rack, 2 Mundial, 2 x Victorinox, 1 x Global, 1 x Japanese unbranded & finally a Tramontina (Brazil). The selection constantly evolves over time and buying some at markets, the thick knives were rationalised into storage a month ago.
Definitely agree about Global - good stuff, and Tramontina also (some really good ābudget-pricedā pans from Tramontina as well).
I do think $400 is a lot. Iāve got one Shun (Japanese) knive which I got a good deal on at $165 (list price is $200), and really love it. Thin and impressively sharp, but there is a need to be very aware of not prying with it or risking chipping it on bones, etc. Itās meant for slicing through meat and vegetables, and itās truly masterful at that.
A cheap ($10 or $15) ceramic paring knife is also fun to use - again, just the pure sharpness - but the possibility of chipping or breaking it is real.
You have no idea how much I love this post! Iāve always wanted a great knife or two and spent too much money only to be disappointed. I am definitely going to try a Global and a Victorinox and a Mundial. Any suggestions as to which knife for each brand are welcome. I am by no means a chef. But now that I am all about meat, Iām ready to step up my game. Thanks.
Can anyone recommend a knife used to cut meat, particularly roasts into thinner slices? I was thinking this, but I donāt know anyone who has one: