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Review on Zwilling J Henckels 31021 163 Professional by Josh Valentino

Revainrating 5 out of 5

happy as always

I have been using the Pro S line for over 10 years and am very happy with my slowly growing collection. I'm an amateur chef, a professional custom metal fabricator, and have always been a "knife guy" before I could spell a utility knife. This review is primarily about the 6 inch chef's knife, although indirectly it also covers the 10 inch chef's knife and 6 inch utility knife that I've owned for quite some time. Before we get into things, I would like to remind anyone reading this that they definitely want to PERSONALLY hold a knife in their hands before they buy it. A knife is a very personal thing and buying a knife online is like buying a shirt online. The picture may look nice, but it may not suit him. 10 inches is near perfect at least for my hand and cooking style. It's a bit large for recipes that only call for a small onion knife and a clove or two of garlic, but other than that it has many uses. The 6 inch device that I have used and loved for many years just didn't have enough pivot spacing and surface area to crush the garlic so I figured I'd buy a 6 inch cook and it would fill that gap. I usually use a santoku, but I really prefer a full roll. I think Henckels uses the same handle for ALL sizes of Pro S chef's knives because the 6 inch chef is a chunky little bug. The handle is much larger and heavier than a utility knife. Also, the blade is only about 1/4 wider than the Utility. It would be nice if it was a bit wider, but it's enough to allow for ankle clearance and enough room for a good grip. It came with a surprisingly good factory edge (the 10" was too blunt and required a session with a large bench stone). The 6" boss is probably .030" thicker than the utility (I didn't put a mic on it). That is just a reasonable guess) which might be useful given the extra force I can apply with a thick handle.If I were designing a 6" chef it would have a slightly wider blade and 6" handle Other than that, I'm very satisfied. Will be buying more Pro S knives in the future. For anyone interested in the Pro S, here are a few reminders. Have a pair of cheap leather gloves and a bag of steel wool handy. Things have sharp edges where they shouldn't be. Eliminating this very minor problem doesn't take much effort or time. These knives aren't something to boast about (like some people do kitchen knives). Metallurgically, they're nothing special res, they are very traditional and simple in design, let them occupy a quiet place. Clean your kitchen worktop and save your bragging about the cooking you do with it.

Pros
  • great product
Cons
  • something different