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We offer a world class selection of knives at the world's best prices.
We will beat any Canadian competitor price.
We have narrowed down the field of knives to seven brands - all representing
very different styles: Victorinox, K-Sabatier, Grohmann, MAC, GLOBAL, Wusthof,
and Kasumi.
Selecting a knive is all about "feel"... perhaps the best knife for your is only
$40, not $200. Below is a complete guide to understanding the terms used
to describe knives to help you find the best knife for you. You are
welcome to hold and feel any knife we sell... just visit any of our stores.
The Eglinton and Kitchener stores have the largest selections, but we can easily
bring down any knife you request to the Queen store (with no obligation to
purchase).
The Healthy Butcher's Knife Collection
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE PRICELIST
CLICK HERE FOR A
SIDE-BY-SIDE
COMPARISON CHART OF ALL THE KNIVES WE OFFER
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MULTI-KNIFE DISCOUNTS
Not only are our regular prices the best prices around, but the
following additional discounts apply when purchasing more than one knife!!!
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BUY any 2 knives
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GET 5% DISCOUNT
OFF OF TOTAL
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BUY any 3 knives
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GET 7.5% DISCOUNT
OFF OF TOTAL
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BUY any 4 knives
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GET 10% DISCOUNT
OFF OF TOTAL
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BUY any 5 knives
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GET 12.5% DISCOUNT
OFF OF TOTAL
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BUY 6 or more knives
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GET 15% DISCOUNT
OFF OF TOTAL
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*
These discounts apply on regular prices only;
cannot
be combined with any other discount or sale.
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Orders for knives can be placed online by using the
Gift Order Form,
or in-store. If you have questions, email
info@thehealthybutcher.com.
CONTENTS ON THIS PAGE:
Guide to Selecting Knives
Materials and the Rockwell Hardness Scale
Forged vs. Stamped
The Knife Edge - Types and Angles
Blade Shapes for Chefs Knives
Full Tang vs. Partial Tang
The Handle
Bolster
Choosing the Right Knife for the Job
Alright Already - Which Knife Should I Buy?
The Healthy Butcher's Knife Collection
Victorinox
K-Sabatier
Grohmann
MAC
Global
Wusthof
Kasumi
GUIDE TO SELECTING KNIVES
Forged vs. Stamped; Carbon Steel vs. Stainless Steel; “German-style” vs.
“French-style” vs. “Japanese-style”; light vs. heavy; full tang vs. partial
tang; bolster vs. bolsterless; and the list goes on of descriptors used in the
knife industry. In this edition of Live to Eat, we will breakdown the anatomy of
a knife (yes, we butcher’s are always breaking down anatomies) with the goal of
giving you a better understanding of your own knives, or possibly knives you
will purchase in the future (after all, Christmas is approaching). In the last
two years, we have gathered quite a collection of knives for sale at The Healthy
Butcher and after much research and testing, have landed on the following brands
(in order of price): Victorinox, K-Sabatier, Grohmann, MAC, GLOBAL, Wusthof, and
Kasumi. Beside the fact that the prices vary drastically as you progress through
the range, we have selected these knives because they each offer distinctly
different styles. Ultimately, the best knife for you is not necessarily the most
expensive, but the one you are most comfortable wielding.
It is essential to point out that this newsletter does not discuss the most
important part of owning a knife – keeping it sharp – since we’ve already
covered that topic in
Volume 22 - Your Edge (and how to keep it), by Peter Hertzmann (author of
Knife Skills Illustrated).
Materials and The Rockwell Hardness Scale
“There was never a good Knife made of bad Steel.”
- Benjamin Franklin
There are essentially three categories of steel used in knife-making: carbon
steel, stainless steel, and high carbon stainless steel. Carbon steel is quite
often viewed as the best performing steel, as it provides the ability to take on
a very sharp edge with little sharpening effort. The down side to carbon steel
is that it will discolour and rust (remember the knife that Hannibal Lecter
used?). The only carbon steel set of knives we carry are the classic K-Sabatier
(Sabatier Aîné & Perrier) made in Thiers, France.
Stainless steel or surgical stainless steel has less carbon and more chromium in
the alloy. It is very resistant to stains and rust. Plain stainless steel knives
are usually inexpensive, which is fitting since they are usually dull when
purchased and never get any sharper because the steel is not hard enough to
maintain a good edge. Stainless steel is, unfortunately, the material used in
the vast majority of knives on the market. We do not offer any knives in
surgical stainless steel.
Finally, high carbon stainless steel is a combination of the above two worlds
(carbon steel + stainless steel) and is used for the majority of quality knives.
High carbon stainless steel has enough carbon to maintain a good edge, but also
enough chromium to keep it looking clean and shiny. Victorinox, Grohmann, MAC,
GLOBAL, Wusthof, and Kasumi all are made of high carbon stainless steel. Note
however, the term “high carbon stainless steel” is a generic term and the
quality level of the steel composition varies drastically between brands. For
example, the more expensive knives add unique allows like vanadium or molybdenum
to enhance performance.
We should also mention one other material that is popular amongst knife
aficionados – ceramic. Ceramic knives are made of very hard zirconium oxide (or
sometimes zirconium carbide). The blades are so hard that they will maintain a
sharp edge for months or years with no maintenance at all. The down side to
ceramic knives is that they are more brittle than steel and require expensive
sharpening tools.
Most knife marketing brochures will quote the Rockwell hardness of the steel.
The Rockwell hardness scale is a scale based on the indentation hardness of a
material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of
penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to the penetration made
by a preload. In plain English: The higher the Rockwell number, the harder the
steel and the longer it will maintain a sharp edge (and, of course, the harder
it will be to sharpen once it dulls). In general, Japanese knives use harder
steels than their western counterparts. Mainstream inexpensive knives are rated
about 52-54HRC; better quality knives are 54-56HRC; high end knives are anywhere
from 56-61HRC and sometimes even higher. Keep in mind that a difference of one
on the Rockwell Hardness scale is quite significant. Harder knives are usually
more expensive because of their ability to maintain an edge longer and hold a
more acute angle; conversely, one disadvantage is that harder steel is prone to
chipping or breaking. If you happen to drop an average western-style knife,
you’ll probably bend it or dent it; if you happen to drop a Japanese knife the
result will likely be a chip off the tip or even an outright break of the blade.
COMMON MYTHS:
Forged is Better than Stamped;
Full
Tang is Better than Partial Tang;
A Good Knife Needs a Bolster
THE TRUTH: A good kitchen knife need not be forged, nor does it need a full
tang, nor does it need a bolster. Forget what anyone else tells you – it is all
marketing baloney.
Forged vs. Stamped
Forging refers to the manufacturing process and is differentiated to “stamping”,
the more common manufacturing process used today. Stamped knives are stamped out
of, or cut from, sheets of metal using a template of predetermined size and
shape. The process is usually quite quick and less expensive than forging. Most
stamped knives are generally flat and thin, as well as lighter than their forged
counterparts.
A forged knife is an example of blacksmith art. A steel blank, a single piece of
steel, is heated in the forge. The maker then pounds the steel with a hammer,
into the rough shape of a knife. The forged knife is heated again and more
hammering follows. Several cycles of heating, cooling and hammering all serve to
temper the steel and make the forged knife strong and not easily broken.
Finally, the blade is ground from spine to edge, creating a tapered blade. The
K-Sabatier and Wusthof Classic Ikons are the only two lines in our collection
that are fully forged. For a great set of videos illustrating the forging
process, click here to view videos of the K-Sabatier knives being forged in Thiers,
France.
As a general rule, forged knives will be higher quality than stamped knives –
that’s simply because no manufacturer is going to invest in the time, labour and
forging equipment to produce a poor quality forged knife. However, at the high
end stamped knives often outperform forged knives – the MAC, GLOBAL and Kasumi
knives we carry are prime examples. To this end, it is best we talk about thick
vs. thin, and heavy vs. light blades. The fact that stamped knives are usually
thinner than forged knives can produce a blade that effortlessly glides through
meat, vegetables or fruit. The difference is obvious if you were to cut carrots
with a thick forged knife – such as a Sabatier, and a thin stamped knife – such
as a MAC. What you will notice is the forged knife wedges the carrot and causes
the pieces to break off even before the edge of the blade reaches the cutting
board. With a MAC, the blade will effortlessly slice through the carrot without
“breaking” them off.
The notion that a heavy knife is better than a light knife is also a
misconception. We’re not talking about the weight balance here, just the sheer
weight of the knife. Ultimately you should use what you feel comfortable using.
There’s a reason most Western chefs have moved toward lighter Japanese knives –
using a heavy knife all day every day will often lead to repetitive strain
injuries. Japanese knives are much easier to use for extended periods of time.
For the home chef, again, the important thing is that you feel comfortable with
the knife. Many people enjoy the feel of a heavy forged knife, others don’t –
it’s all personal preference.
Also keep into consideration there are big differences between one companies
stamping process and anothers. Take GLOBAL for example; after stamping the
stainless steel blank into the shape of the blade, the blade is heat-treated at
1000 degrees centigrade, before rapid cooling at minus 80 degrees ("sub-zero
treatment" increases the hardness of the blade), then tempered once again
passing through another heat treatment, which takes approximately four hours.
The whole process yields a different and superior result than the stamping of
less expensive knives, like Victorinox.
Last but not least, the process used to manufacture our most expensive knives –
the Kasumi – is unique and does not fall under the forged or stamped processes
described above. Kasumi knives are made using a traditional Japanese sword
making technique that involves the repeated folding and forging of 32 layers of
steel. Only the middle layer acts as the cutting edge, and it is made using
V-Gold No. 10 stainless steel. V-Gold No. 10 is a high carbon stainless steel
with cobalt, manganese, molybdenum and vanadium for added durability and ease of
sharpening. The layers on both sides of the V-Gold No. 10 core are made by
repeatedly folding together two different types of stainless steel and forge
welding them by hand until you have sixteen exceedingly thin alternating layers.
These sixteen layers are then forge welded to both sides of the V-Gold No. 10
core. We refer to this type of steel as Damascus, and the wavy watermark pattern
on the blade shows the separate layers of steel (not all layers are visible).
The Knife Edge - Grind Types and Angles
The knife edge, or more specifically, the grind of the blade is an important
design consideration – of course, it is the edge that cuts. There are six
typical grinds:
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1. Hollow Ground - a knife blade
which has been ground to create a characteristic concave, beveled edge
along the cutting edge of the knife.
The GLOBAL knives use hollow ground edges.
Since the edge is so thin, it is extremely sharp.
On the downside, the edge is more brittle and dulls easier than a
flat ground edge.
2. Flat ground - Sometimes called
“straight edge” or “V-Edge”, the blade tapers all the way from the spine
to the edge from both sides.
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3. Sabre ground - Similar to a flat ground blade except that the bevel starts at
about the middle of the blade, not the spine. It produces a more lasting edge at
the expense of some cutting ability and is typical of kitchen knives.
4. Chisel ground - The edge is ground only on one side, while the other side is
flat. Chisel ground edges are primarily found on Japanese sushi (or sashimi)
knives, and are extremely thin and sharp. Knives that are chisel ground come in
left and right-handed varieties, depending upon which side is ground.
5. Double bevel or compound bevel – Many knives utilize a secondary bevel at a
more acute angle added to a flat ground or saber ground edge. This back bevel
keeps the section of blade behind the edge thinner which improves cutting
ability. Being less acute at the edge than a single bevel, sharpness is
sacrificed for resilience: such a grind is much less prone to chipping or
rolling than a single bevel blade.
6. Convex ground - Rather than tapering with straight lines to the edge, the taper
is curved, though in the opposite manner to a hollow grind. Such a shape keeps a
lot of metal behind the edge making for a stronger edge while still allowing a
good degree of sharpness. This grind can be used on axes and is sometimes called
an axe grind. As the angle of the taper is constantly changing this type of
grind requires some degree of skill to reproduce on a flat stone. Convex blades
usually need to be made from thicker stock than other blades.
We should also mention a term that is quite common today - “Granton edge”. The
Granton edge is named after the Granton knife company in Sheffield, England who
invented it in 1928. A series of divots are ground into the blade, which
alternate on each side of the blade. The divots thin the cutting edge while
maintaining rigidity and also allows for air pockets to reduce friction and
sticking when slicing fruits or vegetables. When Granton's patent expired, other
knife makers began applying the divots on their slicers. The effectiveness of
the divots will depend on their design; many manufacturers apply divots that are
too small as to be effective in reducing the sticking – they should be oval and
at least as long as the circumference of what you are cutting.
If kitchen knives are judged by their cutting ability, then Japanese knives take
the upper hand. The reason is because of the edge angle typically used (see the
sharpening angles in the chart above). Most Western knives are sharpened to
40-50 degrees included angled (that is, 20-25 degrees edge angle on each side).
Conversely, Japanese knives are sharpened to much more acute angles, 20-30
degrees included angle (that is, 10-15 edge angle degrees on each side).
Therefore, Japanese knives cut a lot better. Of course, we’d take a sharp
Western knife over a dull Japanese knife… but the point is, all things being
equal, Japanese knives are a beauty to use.
A natural question that comes up is: Why aren’t the other knives sharpened to
more acute angles? Good question. Well, we can say from personal experience that
we have achieved good results sharpening Victorinox knives to 30 degrees
included angle (15 degrees per side). The main difference is that Japanese
knives generally utilize harder steel, and therefore will maintain an acute
angle for longer. So, it’s not that a cheap knife can’t be sharpened to Japanese
style acute angles, it’s that if the steel is not hard enough, you will need to
sharpen very frequently to maintain that edge. Many Western-style knife
manufacturers have moved to more acute angles – the Wusthof Classic Ikons are a
perfect example. Wusthof moved to a more acute angle with this line of knives
(18 degrees for the Chef knife, 12 degrees for the Santoku) than they typically
have in the past; but at the same time, they introduced a steel with Rockwell
hardness 58 which is in line with Japanese knives.
Lastly, it is important to use the right or sharpener or
sharpening technique to match the knife edge.
In the
side-by-side comparison chart of the knives
we carry, we recommended a
specific sharpener for each line of knives.
Blade Shapes for Chefs Knives
The shape of a chefs knife will vary considerably from region to region, and you
should be aware of the subtle differences because one style might suit your
techniques better than others. “German” style knives tend to have a more curved
section at the front of the blade, which is good for chopping up-and-down in a
rocking motion. “French” style knives are straighter, and more triangular, which
is good for a slicing type of motion where the knife is drawn straight back
toward you.
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“Japanese” style chef knives usually refer to the Santoku style. In
English, Santoku translates to “three virtues” – referring to chopping,
mincing, and dicing. A Santoku has a stubbier tip, is typically shorter
than German or French style, and yields a straighter edge. |
Santoku knives have taken the world by storm and are definitely popular; that
said, we wouldn’t replace a classic 8” chef knife (German or French depending on personal preference) with a Santoku but instead add
it to our collection – they are great for some tasks, and not as effective at
other tasks.
Of course, Japanese-style knives are made by German companies (see the Wusthof
Classic Ikon Santoku – a wonderfully crafted knife), and Japanese manufacturers
make a wide assortment of Western-style knives.
Full Tang vs. Partial Tang
The tang is the part of the knife blade that extends into the handle. It is
sandwiched between the outside layers of the handle, and generally contains
holes where it is riveted to the handle. Many salespeople will tell you that a
full tang is needed for strength – baloney! Try telling that to the samurai
warriors using Katana swords to cut through armor and bones – assembled with
only a partial tang. Sometimes the full tang adds balance to the back of the
knife that is preferred by some people; but that’s merely a personal preference.
The Victorinox Fibrox knives are only ¾-tang and we dare anyone to try to break
these knives.
The Handle
We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that the handle is the most important part of the knife. If you don’t feel comfortable holding a knife than what’s the point of owning it? (even if the blade is the most expensive and “best” available) Handle sizes range from large to small, and shapes range from ergonomic to plain round – it is essential you hold a knife and get a “feel” for it before buying it. For example, Victorinox knives have quite large handles; many women find the handles a little too large and clunky in comparison to the smaller shaped GLOBAL handles. Conversely, larger-handed men often find the GLOBAL’s a little too small. Many materials are used from the classic wood (Rosewood being the most popular), plastic, resin-impregnated wood, and many more. If well maintained, all materials are fine. If you plan on throwing your knife into the dishwasher (which you should never do anyway), then stay away from wood handles for obvious reasons.
Bolster
The bolster is a thick piece of metal that is at the end of the blade, just before the handle. Fully forged knives generally have bolsters that run the height of the blade (See the K-Sabatier). Stamped Knives often have a bolster forged to the knife (as in the piece of metal is forged onto the stamped knife) to add weight – we call that a collar bolster.
Having a full bolster provides a place for fingers to be placed for comfort (when using a pinch grip) and also provides protection from the blade. The disadvantage is that sharpening the knife edge near the bolster is difficult. The Wusthof’s Classic Ikon design is brilliant, the bolster is there for comfort, but does not extend down to the blade so sharpening is easy.
Again – having a bolster or not having one is personal preference and does not in any way indicate poor or good quality.
Choosing The Right Knife For The Job
Just as with the cookware, we would encourage people to avoid purchasing sets and instead purchase individual knives to suit personal needs. You don’t need many knives, so you’re better off buying a select few better knives individually rather than shelling out money for unnecessary sets.
The Essentials
Chef’s Knife – Also called the cook’s knife, it is the most versatile and most used knife in your collection. Most common size is 8”, but lengths range from 6” to 12”. If you have to buy one knife, buy a good chef’s knife and 90% of tasks can be accomplished – from cutting, slicing, chopping and mincing. Of course, a Santoku chef knife is also an all-purpose chef knife – the various styles of chef’s knives are, in essence, interchangeable.
Bread Knife – Serrated edge to cut through, you guessed it – bread. The blade may be straight or slightly curved. The serration also makes this knife appropriate for hard rind fruit.
Utility Knife – A smaller version of the Chef’s Knife, usually 5-to-6 inches, and is your go-to knife to cut fruit or almost anything when it seems pulling out a Chef’s knife is overkill.
Paring Knife – The most common is a 3.5” spear pointed knife, and is used for peeling, slicing small produce, removing stems, and other small precision cutting tasks. A Bird’s Peak paring knife (also called a tourney knife) has an arching blade ideal for both peeling fruits and garnishing tasks.
Specialty Knives
Carving Knife – A thinner blade than a typical Chef Knife and usually slightly flexible. The carving knife works well to slice hot meats such as roast beef or turkey. A carving knife is a fairly essential knife and arguably should be included in the list of Essential Knives above; we didn't simply because a chef knife can substitute for a carving knife if need be.
Slicing Knife – Used to carve roasts, turkey or ham in serving portions. The long, thin blade promotes maximum contact between the food and blade, for producing very thing slices.
Boning Knife – Used to separate meat from the bone with a blade specifically designed to pierce flesh and closely follow the bone.
Fillet Knife – A thin, flexible blade typically 6-11 inches long used for filleting fish.
Cimiter – Ideal for cutting through large muscles.
Cleaver – Heavy and big, a cleaver is used to cut and chop through thick meat and bone.
Steak Knife – duh.
Clam Knife – Slightly sharp edge and rounded tip used to pry open clams.
Oyster Knife – Short, blunt blade used to pry open oyster shells.
Alright already – which knife should I buy?
Many questions must be answered when looking for the knife that is perfect for you. Are you a slicer or a chopper? German knives tend to be curved and are better suited to those who plant the tip of their chefs knife on the board and rock the handle up and down to chop. The French Sabatier shape is much straighter and better used by drawing the blade toward you in a slicing motion. Japanese santoku shapes are rapidly becoming one of the more popular shapes on the market.
How much maintenance are you willing to put in for your knives? Will you hone your knife with each use? Will you handwash? Do you feel that the appearance is a primary factor? Carbon steel blades will discolor with use and require frequent sharpening, but they will reward those with the patience to care for them properly and care about performance rather than appearance.
If you haven’t already realized this, than sorry to disappoint you - there is no “the best kitchen knife ever made”. Nor is there one “do it all knife that will accomplish all cutting equally well” or magic steel or magic design.
The Healthy Butcher's Knife Collection
For a complete pricelist of all the knives we offer, click here.
For a side-by-side comparison chart of the knives we carry, click here.
The following is more information on each brand of knife we carry.
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World-renowned Kasumi Damascus knives made in
traditional Samurai sword-making technique. |
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Kasumi knives are produced by Sumikama Cutlery in Seki, Japan. Sumikama Cutlery specializes in
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producing knives from the most advanced materials with the most advanced
manufacturing techniques.
Producing the Kasumi V-Gold No. 10 Damascus Pattern Knives requires tremendous experience and knowledge in order to be able to achieve the full benefit of the different stainless steels that are used.
These knives are made from 33 layers of stainless steel. Only the middle layer acts as the cutting edge, and it is made using V-Gold No. 10 stainless steel. V-Gold No. 10 is a high carbon stainless steel with cobalt, manganese, molybdenum and vanadium for added durability and ease of sharpening. V-Gold No. 10 is a high quality steel developed exclusively for knives and scissors. The addition of cobalt to this steel requires special tempering in order to maximize the full benefit of this steel. Sumikama's technique for this special tempering is a closely guarded secret.
The layers on both sides of the V-Gold No. 10 core are made by repeatedly folding together two different types of stainless steel and forge welding them by hand until you have sixteen exceedingly thin alternating layers. These sixteen layers are then forge welded to both sides of the V-Gold No. 10 core.
The edge on a Kasumi knife is beveled like a western style knife. However, the bevel is much larger than the bevel on a European or American brand. This larger bevel creates a sharper edge. Kasumi knives do not have a bolster. They do have a stainless steel ferrule that is forge welded to the blade to ensure that food particles do not become trapped between the blade and the handle. They also have a full tang. The handle is made from multiple layers of wood impregnated with a plastic resin. The handle is riveted to the tang.
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The Wusthof Classic Ikon knives represent our
top-end forged line of knives. |
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The German Wusthof knives are among the most highly rated knives in the
world by both professional and consumer magazines. |
Wusthof knives are
produced from only the finest select materials, precision forged from a
single piece of high-carbon no-stain steel. It takes more than 40 major
manufacturing steps from forging to tempering, grindling and polishing
until the final cutting edge is applied.
Wusthof makes four forged lines, and we have selected the Classic IKON
series to carry in our stores. The Classic IKON are sort of a hybrid
between all 4 forged lines. You get the same superb materials, blade
shapes, fit, finish and overall quality that the timeless Classic line
represents, but you ALSO get the more contemporary Japanese-knife
inspired bolsterless design (no chunk of metal coming down from the
handle to the edge of the blade at the heel of the blade), and a bold
and yet very comfortable handle style. The bolsterless design is
generally a bit lighter, easier to sharpen, and the blade at the heel
isn't obstucted in any way. The handle style, if you ask us, is pretty
reminiscent of another knife brand (Shun), so now you can have that
handle style if you like it, but in a more affordable and all-around
better knife (the Shun is pretty, but in our opinion overpriced and the
Wusthof represents a better overall balance of performance and ease of
maintenance). The Wusthofs are serious knives, for a lifetime of serious
work, and serious fun.
Link to
Official Wusthof Website - CLASSIC IKON Knives
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The Japanese knife that is the choice for
countless chefs worldwide. |
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MAC knives have become the choice for countless chefs around the world
because of their legendary razor-like edges and light weight. |
These Japanese knives are higher on the Rockwell Hardness scale (HRC
57-61) than any other knives we carry... meaning they will stay sharper, longer.
We carry a selection of three lines - the Superior, Chef, and Professional
Series - all of which provide slightly different styles of Japanese knives.
To top it all off, the price point for MAC knives is incredibly low considering
the quality. At least one of the MAC knives should make it into your
collection... one slice with a MAC knife and you will know why we say this.
The MSK-65 Santoku (pictured above) is by far our best-selling santoku knife... perhaps the best selling Japanese Santoku in the world.
Link to
Official MAC Website - We offer all MAC Knives and stock the Professional
Series, Chef Series, and Superior Series.
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Revolutionary design combines Italian design,
German durability, and Japanese precision. |
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Global perfected the concept of crafting a knife from a single piece of
steel |
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- from the tip of the blade to the butt of the handle - all from one
piece of the finest high carbon stainless steel. The Global knife blade
utilizes Cromova 18 stainless steel, ice tempered and hardened to a Rockwell HRC
56-58. The knife edge is hollow ground (see above), making it extremely
sharp. The handles are filled with sand for weight balance.
Link to
Official Global Website
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The Localvore's
Choice!
The Grohmann Forged line of knives represent our
mid-priced (but still top quality!) line of knives. And they are
made in Canada!
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Grohmann Knives Limited is a Canadian success story. |
YUP, that’s right – be a proud Canadian and use knives made right here
at home! Grohmann is a small family business (currently
about 25 employees) with a world-wide reputation for high quality knives
at great prices! The story of Grohmann dates back to before the second
World War, when a commercial buyer from Quebec traveled once a year to a
factory in Sudetenland, then a German region of Czechoslovakia, to buy
pocket knives.
Every year the buyer would urge Grohmann the production
manager at the plant, to come to Canada, promising him help to get
started. Mr. Grohmann would always decline as he was happy in his own
country, but after the war, the political situation grew desperate and
in 1949 Rudolph Grohmann accepted the offer. Today, anyone who knows
their knives knows Grohmann!
Grohmann Kitchen Knives are made from fine quality Hi-Carbon stainless steel, heat treated to give it a hardness of 54-56 Rockwell C. This superior steel hardness maintains a keen cutting edge at all times thereby making all your cutting work more enjoyable.
We carry their Full-Tang line (meaning the steel extends completely through the
handle) with Xtra water-resistant wood handles. The handles are made of layers
of natural hardwoods impregnated with resin, so you get the beauty of wood and a
high gloss finish that is resistant to the corrosive affects of water.
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The Classic
Choice!
We are very proud to offer these classic knives at unbelievably low
prices.
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The Sabatier knives are forged from a single mass of CARBON steel with |
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a Rockwell 54-56 HRC, tempered, ground and polished crosswise to produce
a high-quality tool, great cutting power, cutting hardness and balance.
Carbon-Steel knives have exceptional cutting power, but unlike stainless steel,
they will discolour... which is really what gives them that classic look.
Once you see these knives you will fall in love. |
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The Victorinox knives represent our work horses. These are our least expensive knives, but don't let the prices fool you - we would venture to say that more professional butchers and chefs use these knives than any other brand.
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High in the picturesque Swiss Alps, the fourth generation of the Elsener family continues the tradition of multi-tools (the original Swiss Army knives) and quality cutlery started by Charles and Victoria
Elsener in 1884. We carry the Fibrox line of Victorinox knives which has won awards from America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated magazine.
These are serious knives with a great
blade and a comfortable handle. Victorinox feature blades that are made of high carbon no-stain steel, with a Rockwell hardness of 54-58, and a taper ground beveled edge.
What we have always found with the Victorinox knives is that although they do
not stay sharp for as long as a much more expensive knives with harder steel,
they do take remarkably sharp edges. So, with simple maintenance (like
swiping it through an OziTech sharpener every so often), these knives will be a
beauty to use.
The knives are thicker on top, while the edge is thinner and extremely sharp. Victorinox professional and kitchen knives are conical ground along the full length of the blade and crosswise. This results in a wider break point with less risk of the blade breaking. All blades are additionally highly polished for better cutting performance.
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