Babish High-Carbon 1.4116 German Steel Cutlery, 6.5" Santoku Kitchen 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.

I'm a bit of a knife nerd. I'm not gonna be that guy that lists all my knives, but suffice to say this is on the board with some pretty premium cutlery. Here's why I adore this thing:Oh, quick note before starting. Get a sharpener. No kitchen knife stays sharp forever and a sharp knife makes a world of difference. Remember, at the end of the day all a premium knife does is stay sharp longer. If you just get good at sharpening this could be end game. I recommend the King double sided whetstone, and watch the Adam Ragusea sharpening video. And practice!Alright, why I love this knife!- Room For GrowthEven if you upgrade later, this can stay in your collection to ram through joints or hammer through a hard squash when you'd feel bad doing that with your other knives. Or when you just want to do a quick task and put the knife in the dishwasher, you can! No exotic wood handle to shrink or high carbon steel to discolor!- Serious Geometry:This knife is well balanced and it feels great in the hand. There's no heal (where the bolster extends all the way down to the back of the blade) so you can easily sharpen the whole thing with a single whetstone.- Guest-ProofIt lives on the magnet board next all my others. When guests come over who don't know how to treat a knife I can hand them this! It doesn't feel like an insult because it's still a serious knife and I keep it razor sharp so it performs beautifully. But then I can watch them cut a sandwich directly on a stoneware plate without even one tear rolling down my cheek! Just chuck it in the washer, sharpen again, and back it goes.- Excellent DurabilityIt's a soft steel so it doesn't chip and it sharpens easily. Bit of a plus or minus here, but if you have a real knife like this you should also have a sharpener. There's really no task this thing can't do.

This knife is an amazing value and a quality knife by any standard. It exceeded all expectations in terms of its design and quality. It's simple, elegant, and sharp. Fits the hand well and is a joy to use. It's great to see a product exceed expectations and deliver far more value than its price. Great knife.