Serious Eats has good product advice. Click and put “knives” in the search box. I love my chef’s knife, but have had it for decades and don’t know what kind it is. https://www.seriouseats.com/search
I'd recommend checking out Knifewear (great online store) and sorting by Western handle, which will get you that heftier feel. For $200USD you can get a great VG10 steel that is a massive upgrade from any mass produced knife like Mac or Global (which are good brands).
I don't think you can go wrong with the Victorinox chef's knife. Holds a nice edge, and has a large, rubber handle that is very grippy. But I guess it depends on what you mean by "hefty."
I concur with this choice. I ha the chef’s knife, a 6” and a 4” paring knife. Love them all, they hold an edge and do everything I’ve ever needed to do.
i'm partial to Chinese chef knives. If that's a shape you're open to, the Dexter brand has heftier handles. I like the carbon steel blades and lighter handles of the $20 knife I got from a Chinese kitchen shop, but Dexter offers heft and stainless blades
Nakiri in general is an underappreciated knife style. I always feel it's niche (might be my friend group), but I do tend to have an outsized appreciation for a good vegetable cleaver.
And it’s good to mention that it doesn’t have a bolster. I have a gifted wusthof which is well made but very difficult to sharpen well because it gets thick at the back of the blade part.
This knife is really, really good (recommended by chefs) and only $80. I’ve had it for a couple of years and it’s just as good as my $$$ handmade Japanese knife. I sharpen both of them with a sharpener from Material, too. https://materialkitchen.com/products/the-8-knife
This is what I mean about the bolster. I use a whetstone and the bolster hits the corner of the stone, making sharpening that last inch or so very tedious. You can see from the light reflecting where I gave up and left it dull. I think it actually came from the factory with that last inch dull too.
If you're feeling bold and have the time and the wrists for it, you can use a bastard mill file to trim the finger guard out of the way of the blade road.
Yeah, a lot of people like the weight. I expected to like it, but I’ve had it for 11 years and I just never got used to it. Over time I noticed that I kept reaching for my 30 dollar Victorinox instead without thinking. Another in a long line of lessons that what works for others may not be for me.
Not what you asked, but this veg cleaver is amazingly sharp, and can do just about anything a chef knife can, once you get used to it. They used to sell for ~$30, but the manufacturer realized how popular they were and jacked up the price
I’m a pro cook and my work and home knives are Misen. The dudes I work with love to spend hundreds on fancy knives but I keep mine sharp and they get the job done.
Misen stuff is way nicer than the price point suggests! You'll never find it in a retail outlet, though. Part of how they manage to be relatively cheap is only doing direct to consumer online sales.
Yeah, Misen is actually my rec for an affordable handle-heavy all-rounder, too. The AUS-10 steel they use is better steel than most other things at that price point, and the geometry is a pretty good compromise between Japanese and western.
You've checked out the cheap ones at the restaurant supply? Good way to find what shapes and sizes work for you.
After trying other lengths and shapes, my favorite is a 6", deep-bellied Wustof chef's with a plastic handle.
for ~$30USD. I am surprised to find that Wustof no longer has anything comparable. I've since switched to other knives, and gave that one away to a friend who needed it.
This is the closest french style chef's knife from Tuo. I'm not sure this is going to be the "greatest knife" you could ever buy, but for the price it holds its edge and cuts well.
The price may suggest these are garbage but my Kiwi cleaver is literally the best $7 I ever spent in my kitchen. I will stand by Kiwi - every knife I've seen is a staple in just about every Asian kitchen
Also I suppose the caveat that I do sharpen all my knives on a stone at home. None of my knives came all that sharp out-of-the-box, but after a touch up they were excellent.
Some people will probably make fun of me for this, but one of my favorite sets is a Cuisinart set that I found at Big Lots, set of I think 5 knives was about $25
Also relevant, though: do you find that you prefer to rock-chop most of the time, or to slice? If you mostly rock chop, you're going to be happiest with a classic German profile with a lot of belly (e.g. Wusthof Classic). If you prefer to slice, you're going to want a flatter profile.
I would recommend the Tojiro DP Gyuto or the K. Sabatier Authentique Cooking series of knives as an affordable home kitchen chef's knife with a hefty feel in the handle.
highly recommend going to a store with lots of knifes and holding them in your hand. Depending how big your hand is and what your grip is like, a knife that I love may not be your favorite.
Last time I was up at the restaurant supply store up by Woodlawn HS, they had a bunch of good cheap ones.
Comments
(Kitchen Aid makes ok everyday knives.)
https://www.dexterrussellcutlery.com/chinese/
https://youtu.be/iooViITRp9M?si=D36OJSvSb01rcS0N
https://www.macknife.com/products/black-friday-2023-professional-series-set-2-pcs-pro-20
(Seriously though, the best knife I've ever used for mincing)
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/cckcleaver2.html
https://nakano-knives.com/products/mito-chef-knife
https://misen.com/collections/knives#single-knives
Wüsthof has a few different lines depending on if you care if it’s forged or stamped, but I think most of them are full-tang.
After trying other lengths and shapes, my favorite is a 6", deep-bellied Wustof chef's with a plastic handle.
https://cutleryandmore.com/products/global-chefs-knife-25474
for ~$30USD. I am surprised to find that Wustof no longer has anything comparable. I've since switched to other knives, and gave that one away to a friend who needed it.
https://www.amazon.com/TUO-Chef-Knife-inch-Professional/dp/B08LN2VB9B
This is the closest french style chef's knife from Tuo. I'm not sure this is going to be the "greatest knife" you could ever buy, but for the price it holds its edge and cuts well.
https://www.amazon.com/Utility-Knives-Cutlery-Kitchen-Stainless/dp/B01D8FN4CY
The price may suggest these are garbage but my Kiwi cleaver is literally the best $7 I ever spent in my kitchen. I will stand by Kiwi - every knife I've seen is a staple in just about every Asian kitchen
exquisitely balanced heavy handled knife avail for $25
After 40 years this chef's knife is one of a few possessions that brings me joy every use. Brazilian high carbon steel, not flimsy Henckels crap
Sells new under Mundial brand
Filet knife above average. Utility knife is just good, not great
Last time I was up at the restaurant supply store up by Woodlawn HS, they had a bunch of good cheap ones.