An excellent knife is greater than a device; it’s an extension of your hand. When the Benchmade set arrived, I instantly grabbed the utility knife (which is what I’d name a petty knife), and about 10 minutes later I forgot I used to be holding it (in a great way). The blade was skinny and slid below the flashing on a skirt steak I used to be cleansing with out my having to plan it. My fingers moved and the knife obeyed. An excellent device means that you can function on intuition and expertise that manner.
The handles are snug and well-balanced in opposition to the blade, though I query the knowledge of getting pivot ring holes in a chef’s knife, as they’re extra prone to gather meals and grime than they might in a folding knife. Otherwise, these are handsome, gentle, extremely responsive knives. After a number of months of utilizing them, I discover that about 80 p.c of the time, I nonetheless attain for the 6-inch utility knife.
They maintain an edge remarkably effectively, which suggests much less time spent sharpening. I’ve solely sharpened them twice since I bought them, which is much lower than I sharpened my very own knives in the identical time interval. These appear to carry an edge higher than my Benchmade folding knife. That could also be attributable to Benchmade’s proprietary SelectEdge expertise, which makes use of a 14-degree angle. That will be tough to keep up, however I used a Work Sharp area sharpener ($30 at Amazon, $34 at Work Sharp), which has 20-degree guides, and then simply introduced it right down to 14 from there.
Beginner’s Luck
It’s value noting that, greater than a knife for the fanatic, these are nice knives for the newcomer. They are in some way extra approachable and simpler to work with than lots of the knives in our knife guide. I can’t pin down precisely why that’s, however I’ve noticed it in the remainder of my household.
Thanks to that knife information, I take a look at dozens of knives yearly. All of them reside within the kitchen drawer (I do know, the horror, nevertheless it’s a great stress take a look at). The Benchmade knives are the primary take a look at knives my spouse has ever used often. My youngsters additionally use these knives with out hesitation.
I don’t have a logical rationalization for my household’s willingness to seize these knives. Some of it may be that they’re much less exotic-looking than many knives I take a look at. They seem like most individuals’s thought of chef’s knives. They don’t have a loopy swirling sample within the metal, and they don’t seem like they want hours of care while you’re accomplished with them (as a result of they don’t). But greater than that, there’s simply one thing intangible about them that makes you need to choose them up and use them. Good instruments are inclined to name out to you.
Knife fanatics would possibly roll their eyes at this type of factor, however these knives gained’t make them blissful anyway. They will rightly level out that there are tougher steels on the market. That’s true, although there are two choices for the Benchmade set, both CPM-154 or 440c, the previous being what I examined.
The different large query is whether or not they’re a great worth for the cash. An excellent knife doesn’t should be costly; my favourite knife has no markings on it, and I can’t recall the place it got here from or how a lot it price. For this worth, you could possibly order customized knives, like my fellow cooks did years in the past.
If you realize sufficient about your private style in knives and have the cash to order a customized knife, then that’s what it is best to do. But for everybody else, these Benchmade knives are an incredible alternative. They’re approachable, they’re skinny and gentle, they maintain an edge remarkably effectively, they sharpen simply, and they arrive with a lifetime guarantee.
