Global GF-33 8-1/4-Inch Heavyweight Chef's Knife Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If God's mighty Hands are big enough, He definitely uses the 8 1/4" heavyweight Global. If not He wields a mighty regular 8".
These knives appear at first like Pacific Palisades yuppie display pieces, purchased to never be used, highly crafted but without mind towards function. Nothing could be further from the truth, however; these knives mean business. Built with Japan's modern chefs in mind, they have the balance of a Katana, highest quality steel and a wicked edge. They're suitable in construction and balance for everything from sashimi to butchery.
This heavy knife (Global actually refers to the heavier knives as "forged", probably because their lighter knives have ground hollow handles) can deftly mince shallots or rip apart a chicken in the same breath. The balance is so perfect that it really feels like nothing at all in your hand.
Care and feeding are trickier than a Henckels or a carbon-steel knife; the molybenum/vandium alloy is extremely hard and hard to influence outside of a full grind. I'm using a ceramic finishing stone to hone the edge (which does slip around; a downside of the extremely acute angle of grind), and I expect that I'll have a professional grind it when needed, something I don't do with my Henckels knives.
I'm buying the lighter 8" knife as well, now that I've had my hands on it. I really think that between the two of them there's nothing you can't take down.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Global GF-33 8-1/4-Inch Heavyweight Chef's Knife

The two most innovative features of Global knives are their edge and the way they are balanced. The most important feature of any knife is its edge, and the Global edge is truly its signature. The majority of the Global knives are sharpened or ground on both sides of the blade like western style knives. However, their edges are ground straight to a point rather than beveled resulting in a dramatically sharper knife which stays sharper longer. The edge is so large and prominent that it is easily seen with the naked eye and extends a quarter inch or more up from the tip of the knife. To balance their knives, Global uses a hollow handle which is then filled with just the right amount of sand to create the correct balance. Global uses this method rather than using a full tang and a bolster to balance their knives for two reasons. First, it is a far more precise than using a tang and a bolster. Second, Asian knives typically do not have bolsters, since they only serve as a hindrance to cutting and sharpening.

Click here for more information about Global GF-33 8-1/4-Inch Heavyweight Chef's Knife