I'm not going to claim to be an expert, but I would shop someplace where you can actually pick one up. It is abundantly obvious when you pick up a nice, sturdy knife with good balance.

As for staying sharp - that isn't how knives work. A decent knife sharpener and a steel are just as important as the knives themselves.

I am a Wusthof fanatic.
These are really the best knives in the world.
Get a good quality wusthof and sharpner and your dad
will be so pleased.
~boxer

A good chef knife about $60 and sharpener about $25

Thanks boxer and bill,
I did have a Wusthof cooks knife in my basket as well as the MAC Brand Mighty Chef Knife 8 Inch Blade. Then I found the Friedr Dick 1905 Exclusive Series Chef's Knife and liked that as well. I don't own a decent knife so it gets confusing. I think I might get myself a new knife as well.

heres the MAC http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N5H2XU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=AV5F7TXB2NMR4

Here is a link that might be useful: Wusthof Classic 8-Inch Cook's Knife

My friend who is a chef has this one I linked to at the bottom and swears by it. When he comes to cook at my house he brings it in a special case. It is an awesome tool.

I use wusthof and henckels in my kitchen. They seem to work fine for what I do.

Here is a link that might be useful: MAC knife

F. Dick actually makes quite nice, very well respected knives - at least on the level of Wusthof/Henckels, and many would say better. They are just a good bit less common here in the USA, and sold mostly through restaurant supply and knife professionals, as opposed to department stores etc. The 1905 series is nice because it has a very traditional german profile (see below), but without a huge bolster that gets in the way of future sharpening.

Basically, chef's knives are typically either german profile (lots of belly) or french profile (slimmer/pointier). It's really a matter of personal preference, but people do tend to have a preference. There is also a big split between those who prefer a german type knife like the F. Dick (heavier, thicker blade, steel that is a bit softer so it is easier to sharpen quickly, and more flexible so less likely to chip/snap, but doesn't hold an edge as long) versus a japanese ype knife (lighter, thinner blade, harder steel that is harder to sharpen quickly, and a but more brittle, but holds its edge longer once the edge is there). Japanese knives tend to be french profile, for what it is worth. Right now, the "hot" knives are Japanese or at least Japanese-style, but many still prefer old-school german-style despite that trend.

Knives are very personal, so it really would be best for him to actually try out any knife before you commit...but if that isn't possible, the F. Dick is certainly not a bad choice, especially for the cost. FYI, it is available even a little cheaper at chefknivestogo.com ($76).

I personally like Messermeister for german knives...I would recommend you also look at their 8" "stealth" chef knife in the Meridien Elite or San Moritz Elite lines, but again the F. Dick is a nice choice, and also an unusual one which may count for something.

I clicked the link.

It says the knife has high chrome content prefered by chef's. I doubt that.

It makes it harder to get a sharp edge and harder to keep it.

But it is better protected against rust.

I would start by looking at Fred's Cutlery Forum inside foodieforums.com. Alot of "Knife Forums" are about hunting knives and which blade is best to kill people but Fred's forum is about cooking knives.

First thing is do you want a German broad sword that may crush more than cut?

A carbon steel(read rust prone)French dueling sword that can really hold an edge?

Or a Japanese Wakizashi that could definetly slice and dice but could chip?

Here is a link that might be useful: Fred's Cutlery Forum

Hey thank you all for the info! What I'm thinking is that I should stick with a German knife for the 8" gift and next year do Japanese for the paring and other knives. I'm worried about the blade of a Japanese 8" chef's knife in my dad's kitchen where he may whack off fish heads or go to town on a deer out back. So, I think I'm now very confused on which German made knife (he is not available to test) to get that would also be nice for his wife to chop veggies with. My dad only buys the best for his outdoorsman stuff and although his kitchen knives are dodgy I would like to buy one knife this year that is good quality.
I know what I want (but husband will probably get something from homes goods) I really like the looks and the reviews of the Nenox. Very sexy looking knives lol!

Hm...well for butchering (that is, cutting joints and bones) he really should use a different knife than the one with the true edge he'll be using for fine work. Both need to be sharp, but why risk chipping one's best knife?

German knives with good edges cut just fine. :) It's only the dull ones that crush. ;) And why not let the weight of the knife do some of the work? (double wink;;)

But going to town on a deer could mess up the edge of the best knife, and chip the most resiliant one. Maybe he needs a butcher knife, steel and stone first? And a chef's knife next time?

You don't need the weight of a German knife to do the work of cutting when you have a Japanese knife that lets the sharpness of the blade do the cutting.

For hacking a whole chicken or pumpkin I have a Henckles Five Star 8" chef's knife.

I really like the polypropylene handles. Soft,comfortable,and makes the entire knife dishwasher safe. Again, relatively high chrome content prevents rust.

For most work I have a Devin Thomas 240mm Wa-Gyuto AEB-L.

No, of course you don't need the weight. That's what the winks were for. ;) My Wustoff chef's knife is very sharp, however. As Jsceva said, it's easy to hone, and easy to straighten. But that means that it's easy to muck up, just as a brittle blade is easy to chip.

I have an old butcher knife that was my father's. I think it's Chicago cutlery. Nothing special. Excellent for "hacking" apart chickens and pumpkins, and I prefer the scimitarish shape as well for that. That knife also has a good, sharp edge, but it was my father who put it there for me. :) I think it has another few of chickens in it before it needs the stone. :)

After I read this and all the opinions I went to Amazon and ordered the 1905 Friedr. Like most things you will never get a consensus in toto about anything so just go with your first instinct and let the chips fall where they may. It's a darn good knife and since I've been needing a good knife I just ordered it for myself, too! Happy BD to me a little early not till January but whatever!!! You can always return it if it is really not liked. I think your dad will love it!!!

dee et al - it's not a good idea to put knives of this caliber into the dishwasher.

the constant water and detergent will start to break down the edge.

sure it can be done , and one time won't ruin it - but it's not a good habit IMO.

Oh boy I have done a complete turnaround. I'm going over budget (of course) and getting dear ole dad the Konosuke 240 mm wa-gyuto at $185. I'm also putting this on my list. I think this will be a great knife for me as everything I have read says it's easy to sharpen and more.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/ko24wa.html

Here is a link that might be useful: konosuke

Thanks for the heads-up on the Fred's Cutlery Forum. I'm in the market for a knife and finding them very helpful.

There is no one perfect knife. If there was, life would be a lot easier, LOL.

I like Japanese knives, but they do chip. Hit bone often enough, and you'll find out, to your sorrow. That's why the Chinese (who eat a lot more meat) invented cleavers, which have the weight and heft to handle more difficult cutting tasks. Just realize that the knife you showed is a design intended for use as a sushi/sashimi knife, and also for such tasks as cutting a daikon radish in a reverse peel to make a translucent, long sheet (think of a roll of thin paper). It's not meant for chopping motions.

I switched to Lamson for my chef's knife. I use a 10", and also have an 8" Santoku. If your dad is an outdoorsman I'll bet he already has a good boning knife, another necessity.

I stopped using Henckels because they don't stay sharp as long as Wusthof does. But I stopped using Wusthof because I grew to intensely dislike the design of the thicker rear edge (leading down from the bolster). When you sharpen the knife, especially over time, you'll wear away a little of the steel - except for the rear. Eventually my Wusthof had a nice little scallop on the bottom - admittedly it took twenty years, but that's not long in the life of a good knife - so I couldn't cut straight down with the rear of the knife any longer.

The new Wusthof knives have eliminated this bolster edging, but I find the Lamson (used by many chefs - it's sold at most restaurant supply stores) an excellent knife, and much more cost-effective.

As others have said, it isn't the price of the knife, it's the maintenance. Either learn to sharpen your knives on a stone, or buy one of the better-quality electric sharpeners. There's even one specifically for Shun brand knives, which are very good knives if overpriced for appearance's sake.

Well I do hope he likes what I've sent. After talking to his new wife I heard what I knew to be true with dad...good hunting knives for him, bad kitchen knives for her. I think they will both get good use of the wa-guyto... hopefully.

Just wanted to point out that jkom51 is incorrect on all points about that Japanese knife you pictured. That knife is the Japanese equivalent of the European chefs knife. It's a general purpose kitchen knife. Sushi and sashimi use a longer narrower blade and paper thin roll carving like a daikon is a more rectangular blade with much less of a belly. Although it is possible with this knife, it's more challenging. I think your dad will love that knife. Just make sure you know left hand or right, because those knives are usually only beveled on one side.

after discovering japanese knives i honestly can't understand the allure of german knives. try out a SHUN knife and your life will be forever transformed. the ken onion series are my favorite; well balanced and ergonomic. you absolutely can't go wrong. and once you use one you will kick yourself for not trying them sooner.

I have nothing against Japanese knives, but Kateskouros, I have tried Shun and didn't like it. Different people have different druthers. You're right on saying to try, because how can you know if you don't try? Once tried, however, people will have different reasons for liking different things and make varying choices and have differing experiences.

Plllog, oh how right you are! For a person like me who doesn't really have any knifes of recognizable names or quality, I want to try them all. After ready endless reviews and such for dads gift I could see how easy it would be to become a knife collector. I'm going to pay a lot more attention to the ole knives at estate and garage sales from now on too. Really though, I just need a good multipurpose knife as I am mainly a pasta sauce, soup stew sort.

JTerrilynn, yes, one good knife that suits you can do an awful lot of your tasks. I use my 8" chef's for so much! Good idea about the estate sales. If you practice up and get good at sharpening and straightening the edges you could rescue some gems.

My Wustoff chef's knife is very sharp

I doubt that you would make that claim if you have worked with a Devin Thomas AEB-L. Or any really high quality and very sharp Japanese/Japanese style knife.

That is why the double winks have little context for me.

Just to throw out another suggestion, here is a link to a knife that feels like it was made for my hand. You may want to try gripping a knife that has a handle shaped like this, just to see. This steel formula is easy to sharpen, too.

(Diego, I've not had a chance to handle that Devin Thomas; sure would like to try it. What do you sue to hone and sharpen it?)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kramer Carbon Steel

I meant "use."

For knife lovers: when we were married in 1970, a friend gave us a Henckels knife for a wedding gift. I found out later that it's "bad luck" to give/get a knife as a wedding present. I'm glad Mary didn't know that because it's still my go-to knife. I know it looks fancier to give a block with a bunch of knives, but I rather have the one really good knife. And phooey on the bad luck thing, a good knife is an excellent gift.

Well, you're right. I've only tried the Shuns and a Kuhn Japanese style (Swiss?) and those were testers. Didn't like 'em. Didn't like the way they felt in my hand. Didn't like the way they felt when they hit the board. Didn't have a problem with the edge. Didn't find it particularly more impressive than anything I own. For me, an edge on my chef's knife that's sharp enough to slice through anything without pressure is really sharp. Really sharp as opposed to not sharp (which I abhor). I don't doubt that the knife you suggested may be sharper than mine, but mine are sharp enough for all tasks, so they're really sharp, not sort of sharp. I even cut up some veg with my old butcher knife because it was out, and it did just fine because it's been honed within an inch of its life. :) I don't have to have surgical blades, but I really really really hate nicks and chips and don't mind having to straighten my edge occasionally.

I don't know why so many of y'all are so pulled out of shape when someone has a differing opinion. I never said the Japanese blades weren't good. Just that I prefer my German one. I didn't even say anyone else should join me in that preference, just explained why I liked what I liked to provide information.

There isn't a single right answer folks, and errant snobbery isn't useful. On the market are some really bad knives that won't hold an edge and which are too flimsy to steel because the steel itself will push them out of true. Those are the blades y'all should be condemning.

"It makes it harder to get a sharp edge and harder to keep it."

Harder steel normally makes an edge last longer, especially in soft material like most food.

It is harder to sharpen, but just requires a quick touch up most of the time.

Kitchendetective, the knife you posted looks like it would be very comfortable in the hand. Looks like the handle is a bit bigger around? I'm laughing a little to myself picturing my husband coming across my gift list with a $300 knife on it. When I first started looking for my dad I thought I could get a "best" chef's knife for around $100. When I told my husband I was spending that amount on dads gift for one knife he thought that very extravagant and made huffing sounds. I think I will forget to mention how much I ended up spending.