It might sound sad – and possibly kinky – to say that one of my most satisfying and enduring relationships is with a piece of kitchen equipment, but it’s true.
I bought my eight-inch classic chef’s knife, made by a Japanese company called Global, in 2007, largely because I liked the way it looked and felt in my hands when I picked it up at the store. The whole thing is made of one piece of steel, giving it a unique and sleek appearance. Many other knives extend the blade through the handle, but use wood or composite pieces riveted on to give it form. The Global classic’s handle is hollow, but filled with sand, providing a really nice balance.
I’ve heard good knives described as feeling like they’re an extension of your hand, and this one really does. The rounded handle feels like it was custom-made for my grip. The blade strikes a nice middle ground between the flatter profile sometimes found in Japanese knives, and more curved blades, popular with German and other western manufacturers. This gentle bend means it’s agile and versatile, great for both slicing and chopping. You can draw it through fish or other soft proteins and vegetables, slice back-and-forth through tougher ones like carrots, and rock it to finely chop herbs and garlic. I use it for nearly everything.
Global Classic 8” chef’s knife
$97.94 at Amazon
$99.96 at Sur la Table
It turns out I’m not the only huge fan. The late chef Anthony Bourdain praised the brand’s knives in his book Kitchen Confidential:
“Most of the professionals I know have for years been retiring their Wusthofs and replacing them with the lightweight, easy-to-sharpen and relatively inexpensive vanadium steel Global knives, a very good Japanese product which has – in addition to its many other fine qualities – the added attraction of looking really cool.”
Part of that aesthetic comes from the black dimples on its handle, which add grip. I’ve read people’s complaints online that the handle gets slick when greasy, but I’ve never found this to be so. Or, at least, no more so than other knives: they’re all difficult to grip with a coat of say, olive oil.
The Global classic is not a delicate tool, and has survived both my nonchalant maintenance and occasional negligence. Sometimes I leave it in the sink overnight, and I only sharpen it about once a year. Despite routinely using it to hack through chicken bones, I’ve only managed to impart one permanent scar, chipping off the very tip of my knife when I tried to pry apart two fully frozen-together lamb chops. Through it all – save for the nick – it has remained my faithful companion for nearly 20 years.
Global attributes this durability to its steel, an exclusive alloy called Cromova 18, made from carbon, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium. “Combining these ingredients results in steel that is both soft enough to acquire a sharp edge with basic sharpening equipment and hard enough to maintain a sharp edge for an extended period,” the company claims on its website.
If you don’t want to keep a large battery of knives around, the Global classic eight-inch chef’s knife is an all-rounder I can vouch for after 18 years of use and occasional abuse. It’s large enough to handle tasks requiring a longer blade, like slicing a loaf of sourdough, but still nimble enough for finer work like dispatching the bones in a fish.
It’s also forgiving if you’re not high-maintenance in terms of knife care. Just steer clear of frozen lamb chops.
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Stephen Treffinger is a Brooklyn-based journalist and editor covering design, architecture, tech and travel. He road-tested consumer products since 2005. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Architectural Digest and many others. A world traveler who has visited more than 45 countries and attended design shows in at least seven, he has seen enough stuff to appreciate what is essential and what is merely hype.
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This piece is a part of Guardian US’s Buy it for life series, highlighting durable products built for the long haul. If you’d like to suggest a product that has stood the test of time in your own life, please contact us at thefilter.us@theguardian.com
