Babish High-Carbon 1.4116 German Steel Cutlery, 4pk Forged Kitchen Steak Knife

A couple of things to get out of the way first. I am not a trained chef. I am not a professional cook. I am not a cutlery or forging expert. I'm not going to bore anyone at parties with my knowledge of metallurgy or knife-making. My primitive intellect doesn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures. Any knowledge I really have comes from watching YouTube videos, experimenting with recipes, and failing or succeeding over several decades in the kitchen. I did discover somewhat early on that unlike golf where I can buy the most expensive clubs sold, I will still be a pretty bad golfer, in the kitchen, good tools can help even a bad cook be a better cook. I also have a brother in law who is a trained and (formerly) professional chef, who has complimented me on numerous occasions for having good quality cook and prep-ware.That out of the way, I am rating this knife entirely on its own merits, price point, etc. My five-star rating is for a $18 knife (which it was when I bought it, though I've noticed the price fluctuates a little bit). Certainly anything I say about it might vary if it were a $150 knife. It is not. So take that into account.I have been a fan of Andrew Rea's cooking videos for quite a long time, and when he started selling products, I wanted to support him. I have a few things from the Babish line, including the tiny whisks (HIGHLY recommended, you'll be surprised by how much you use them), the small prep bowl (again, extremely useful), and the iron trivet, which I bought because it sort of looks like me and that's fun. But one thing I really love is knives. Knives make me sort of starry-eyed, and I love having a new one. In fact, I have many more than I really need. Especially if you ask my wife. I bought this sort of as a low-risk bet, more than a real need for it. I was curious. I wanted to know how a $18 knife would hold up. Worst case, I figured, is I would hate it and donate it to a nephew or something. I didn't.Most of my knives are forged and made in Germany. They are typically Messermeister, Wustoff, or Zwilling. Not the most expensive knives you can buy for sure, but definitely above average. Before I got married, I had a block of Chicago Cutlery knives, which got the job done, but they were kind of cheap stamped-steel rigs. Decent for college knives, but not awesome. I only say this to give you an idea of what I'm comparing this to. I do not have wildly expensive professional cutlery, but I do have nice stuff.I honestly expected this to be a pretty below average knife, but perhaps probably okay for the price. Like a Target special. When it arrived, I was more impressed with it than I expected to be. It's well packaged, a nice weight, pretty well balanced, and sharp. The handle is comfortable and it looks nice. Nothing about it screams loudly that it doesn't belong with its much more expensive German counterparts. The shape is unique, and pretty cool. Especially if you're only looking to have a couple, two or three, knives in your collection. It's become one of my go-to knives for vegetables, chopping, etc. I used it tonight on a tri-tip and it slices meat competently as well. I always hand-wash my knives, so I can't say whether it holds up to machine washing, or how well. Don't put your knives in the dishwasher. Come on.I do not know the metal composition, nor do I care all that much. For the price, I'm guessing it's probably a lower-grade steel, but that's fine. I also don't know how long it will hold an edge over the long-term, but two months later, a couple of passes on a ceramic steel and it's still going strong. I assume it's full tang. It feels like it is, but if it's not, again, I'm not sure I care. The construction is all at least average. Even my chef brother-in-law was reasonably impressed with it, and his knives, I'm pretty certain, were forged in the fires of Mount Doom by ancient trolls, or something.I would possibly buy more Babish knives, but then I'd probably have to get a divorce. Because I don't know where I'd store them, along with the scores of other knives I have that I don't display or use. But if these were the only knives I had, I think they'd be fine. I'd be perfectly okay gifting these to someone just starting to build their culinary skills and collection. Again, if this was $150, I may feel differently about it, but it's not, and I do not. For the price, this checks all the boxes for me.

These are not the best knives on the market and I think that’s kind of the point. These are good quality functional knives that are a great starting point for someone. They come surprisingly sharp so handle with care right out of the box. The 3 pack (chef, bread, pairing) is perfect to get started cooking, or if you just have a smaller kitchen and don’t want to store a one block on the counter. The handles feel nice and the full tang design paired with good steel means you don’t have to worry about the blade snapping off like so many other knives in this process bracket. The knife roll is a great addition as it provides a safe storage option so no one is reaching into a drawer and coming out with a cut hand.

By Bill Marsano, independent product tester and home cook. Anyone interested in value for money should consider this knife for its high quality, Japanese style (although it’s made in China) and impressively low price. I bought one for myself and another, later, as a gift. Both arrived very sharp out of the box and have stood up well to use by conscientious home cooks. (I have since bought and been pleased by Babish’s “Clef” and Santoku.) All are made from 1.4116 stainless steel, one of the cutlery industry's standard steels because of its stain-resistance, durability and ease of cleaning and honing. Edge retention is very good—treated well, the knives will stay sharp far longer that ‘bargain’ blades made of softer steel. Please note: a couple of fear-mongering reviews claim that the knife is dangerous because it is so sharp and has no bolster. This is ignorant nonsense. First, if you have used only very dull knives, you will need to go slowly with this or any other sharp knife. Second, the heel (back end) of the blade is perpendicular to the cutting edge, so your hand cannot slide forward onto the cutting edge--period. Bolsters may aid balance or be relics of earlier forging technology, but they are in no way safety features. No Japanese knives have bolsters because they interfere with sharpening and prevent use of the pull-cut technique. (Zwilling, Wusthof and other leading brands offer both bolster and no-bolster models). To keep your knife sharp, use a “steel” or “butcher’s steel” (a.k.a. “honing rod”). A good steel (not ceramic or diamond-coated but all steel) will cost more than the knife (See Amazon’s 12” Zwillings) but will save many times its cost (and inconvenience) in professional sharpening. Learn to use it from your butcher and some online videos, and use it OFTEN.—Mr. Marsano steels his knives after every use. None has ever been sharpened and some are a decade old. He uses only no-bolster knives and still has all the fingers he was born with.