How do you tell the difference between a good knife and a bad knife?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “dbad knife“
About Evelyn
Written by: Evelyn
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How do you tell the difference between a good knife and a bad knife?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “dbad knife“
About Evelyn
This question has many layers. It is relatively easy to describe what differentiates a good knife from a bad knife. It is almost impossible to tell wether a knife is good or bad before you buy it except by asking peers. And even with the knowledge of what makes a good knife and information you get from other people, it is hard to decide wether a certain knife will be good for your intended purpose. You might have an idea what and how you want to use a knife, and it might turn out that you were totally wrong.
A good knife has a proper or exceedingly well fit and finish, handling and heat treatment for its price point. Heat treatment is the important thing here. It defines the core qualities of the blade: Its ability to get an edge (ease of sharpening), hold it (edge retention) and its hardiness (durability). You can have a high quality steel like a CPM S35VN, if it is not heat treated properly, it might even become too brittle to take and hold a good edge. Or too soft, and it will take a good edge, but loose it when you look at it the wrong way.
What you are going for is balance point of ease of sharpening, edge retention of a working sharpness and robustness a blade can provide. That sweet spot is highly subjective. For example, I have some knives made of various kinds of stainless steel that I am barely able to sharpen properly. It does not bother me much, because I have a good professional knife sharpening service in town. You might be looking for a knife that is easy to sharpen and edge retention and/or corrosion resistance is only of secondary concern to you.
Long story short: There is no general answer of what makes a good knife for you.
Wanbasion Black Stainless Steel Knife Set, Sharp Kitchen Knife
The most important characteristic of a good knife is that it is made from good steel and is properly heat treated.
A well made knife will have good fit and finish, but that says nothing about the metallurgy of the blade. I’ve seen many well-crafted knives made from crap steel, and crudely made knives with excellent blades.
Unfortunately you can’t tell the quality of the steel and heat treating before you buy it and use it for a while. If it is good, it will take a sharp edge and keep that edge under use. If it’s bad, it won’t.
Without testing it yourself, you pretty much have to rely on the reputation of the knifemaker.
Chicago Cutlery Belden 15 Piece Premium Kitchen Knife
Look for the steel used. If it says only “stainless” or “surgical stainless”, it’s low-end stuff. If a company is using quality steel, they’ll probably advertise exactly what it is. Some dealers, like AG Russell, list the steel type in every product description.
Check for side-to-side blade play when the knife is open. That’s a big one for me.
Look closely at the “fit and finish.” Look for gaps, parts that aren’t lined up quite right, sloppy work, etc. Here’s a good comparison photo displaying fit and finish. Which one would you prefer?
“Walk and talk.” Does the knife open smoothly or does it feel gritty, rough, or too tight or loose? On locking folders, the lock should engage with a crisp ‘snap’.
Don’t judge a knife by it’s brand, price, or country of origin.
Hope this helps. Not a complete criteria list by any means, but I think it’ll be a good start for you.
Authentic XYJ Since 1986,Outstanding Ancient Forging,6.7 Inch Full Tang
As a general rule, price is going to be a good indicator. A cheap knife is probably a cheaply made knife. Of course, you can run across good deals on good knives, so it pays to have some idea about what knives usually go for. You can always google a particular knife to find the MSRP. As far as actually examining a knife, look at fit and finish, the way the knife feels in your hand. I tend to avoid gaudy, showy knives, partly because I prefer working knives, partly because the time spent making a shiny knife should be spent making solid, useable knife. How a sharp a new knife is means little. You can put a razor edge on any old piece of metal, but you can’t go cutting up a lot of stuff to see how well it holds that edge before you buy it. Again, you can usually google a particular knife and read customer reviews.
Amazon Basics 14-Piece Kitchen Knife Block Set, High-Carbon
A good knife sharpens fairly easily and keeps it’s edge. It is durable with a well made handle that feels comfortable in the hand. They usually are more expensive because quality costs.
Bad knives don’t get as sharp, lose the edge easily and are difficult to give a really good edge. They aren’t durable and the handles are flimsy and won’t last. They are and should be, cheaper.
Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA24S 7.1in S.S. Folding Knife with 3.1in
If the knife is good for whatever purpose I want it for, then I would call it a good knife. I know that the price, the type of steel and all such have influence on whether the knife is seen as good by others, but what they think is not important here.
The knife needs to be good for ME, not them, and it need to pit a purpose for me, not them. Thus, that may make what I call a good knife a bad one in their view and vice versa.
Like a lot of people I can appreciate good looking knives, and quality is often visible in some way. What makes the difference is not what things look like or made off, but what you can afford or not afford.
So, if the knife can do what I want it to do, and does so at an affordable price, then I may well regard as a good knife what someone else sees as junk. Good and bad are often in the eye of the user and beholder.
imarku Japanese Chef Knife – Pro Kitchen Knife 8 Inch Chef’s Knives
It is difficult, but here is what I’ve noticed for kitchen knives:
Serrated and not a bread knife: not good
Polished blade: not good
Brand sold at County Fairs by a guy with a boom mic: not good
Sold only as a set: not good
Specifies type of steel: good
High price alone doesn’t tell you much. I have two pocket knives: an Opinel and a Japanese friction folder. They are very inexpensive ($10 and $20 respectively), but use carbon steel blades (can rust) and they can be sharpened to shave hair on my arm and stay sharp….very good, very inexpensive. I bought a Vitorinox Fibrox chefs knife for my daughter. Crappy molded handle and a stamped, high quality steel blade. It is again inexpensive ($35-ish) but does a good job.
Pocket knives are harder to nail down. If it is a brand name, it is probably at least OK. If it is less than $20, it is probably not great.
Spring Assisted Knife – Pocket Folding Knife – Military Style