Customer Reviews

Wusthof Grand Prix 8-Inch Cook's Knife

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Before Christmas of 2001, I knew nothing about professional kitchen knives. Then I heard my parents mention how poorly their old knives were cutting, so I decided to treat them to something really nice for Christmas. After much research, I narrowed my choice down to two companies, Wusthof and Henckels. I read more positive reviews of Wusthof, and liked the look of their knives more, so I bought this knife for them. The following is my review as an (non-chef) educated consumer.

Apparently chef's knives commonly come in 6, 8, and 10-inch varieties. I went with the average of those (the 8-inch) for a combination of good weight and control.

Purely for aesthetics, I went with the grand prix style handle over the classic. If you're curious, grand prix is a modern-looking black handle with a non-slip surface; the classic is wooden with rivets. The actual blade is exactly the same in either style.

Christmas morning, my parents unwrapped the gift. The box the knife comes in is pretty simple, but shows it off nicely. What was their first reaction? "Wow this is beautiful, but it scares us to death!" This knife has some weight to it, and the edge is *extremely* sharp. Unless you are a bladed weapon collector, or a chef, this will probably be the sharpest knife you've ever used.

About a month later, I checked back in with my parents to see if they actually used the thing. They are in love with it! They told me after a month or so of getting used to the weight and sharpness, they now can't live without it. From what I'm told, they use it on everything from vegetables to meats. They tell me it cuts through pretty much anything (except bones obviously, don't try to do that!) like a laser. They tell me the only thing this knife is not good for is tasks that require small details. It is, after all, 8 inches long. So, they've hinted about getting them a smaller Wusthof pairing knife for next Christmas! What have I gotten myself into?

Important: Please be careful with this knife, it's insanely sharp. Don't put it in the dishwasher; wash it by hand. Consider having it professionally sharpened every 4-6 months or so at a kitchen store or knife shop. That way you'll get the longest life out of your knife. Enjoy!

The Wusthof Grand Prix is the knife to own. I don't care what all the other folk's are yammering about (Global, or those new santoku knives, etc) this is the knife to invest in. Unlike the Global (which is a good knife), the Grand Prix feels perfectly balanced in the hand. The blade holds it's edge very well and is easy to maintain with steel and/or stone. The handle, which is made from a synthetic material, is very comfortable to grip and produced to the same quality level as the blade. THIS is the knife most chefs purchase to use in their kitchens. This knife makes me feel like i can out-chop iron chef sakai!

There are really two main competitors in the high-end mainstream kitchen knife market: Henckels and Wusthof. Those who have used both usually have a preference. My preference (and therefore bias you should know about) is for the Wusthofs.

The Wusthof Grand Prix line is a more modern design than the Classic series, with a simple black handle. The balance and grip of these knives are as close to perfect as I have found. For those wondering what benefits a higher priced knife provides, one benefit is that the blade (or tang) is one piece all the way through the handle. This makes the blade much stronger, and less likely to snap.

This particular model, the 8 inch chef's knife, is a great knife. Wusthof offers three sizes of chef's knives, 6, 8 and 10 inch. For most home cooks, I think the 8 inch knife is the best choice. The 6 inch is a bit small for bigger jobs, but the 10 inch is too big for most jobs. While the 8 inch isn't perfect for all uses, if you are only buying one size chef's knife (and most people only buy one), this is the one I would recommend.

I highly recommend the Wusthof 8" chef's knife for most home cooks.

. . . but I did! I can't tell you how awesome these Wustohof Grand Prix knives are, but I'll try. You really need to hold them in your hand, use them on an onion or a stalk of celery, to know the joy of using them. It's almost like your hand becomes part of the blade, like you're slicing and dicing with your mind and your eyes rather than your hands and wrist. I can't believe I made do with that gnarly set of Farberware laser-cut knived fot the past five years (and worse before that). I always thought that any old knife would do--but now I'm spoiled! Yes, they cost a lot of money--but believe me, they are worth it, and you'll want to pamper them (not for what they cost you, but because they DESERVE it!). GET THESE KNIVES--DON'T THINK TWICE. It will be love at first grasp.

I bought this knife with out doing any home work, I just liked the feeling of it in my hand. I then put it throught 4 years plus of using it five days a week, eight hours a day in an industral kitchen. The knife keeps a razor edge, easy to clean, and it's one of the best knives in the kitchen. If you own one kitchen knife, then this is the one you want. The Trident/Wüsthof Grand Prix series is one of the best buys for your money, hands down beating hankels (which suck by the way). Consumers Report did an evaluation on kitchen knifes, and this knife was the #1 knife.

A close friend of mine likes to cook (mostly stir-fry, but, other things as well). However, she had this really worn out, dull knife, with a broken handle being held together by duct tape.

After seeing her try to saw and stab her way through food with that thing, I ordered this for her as a gift. She absolutely loves it, and has reported no problems to me about this knife. It's become her family's "go to" knife in the kitchen for whatever needs cutting - but I would use extra caution in where you store it if you have little ones in your home; that mutha is SHARP.

Certainly something to consider for yourself or a friend / family member who's a cooking person who doesn't have a decent knife to use; I personally thought the price was reasonable for the quality of it. (I also gave her the Wusthof knife / scissor sharpener as well, and she hasn't had any issues with it that I have been made aware of.)

I looked at virtually all the reviews before buying as well as checking out knife at a store in town.

This is a fantastic knife but this review may be moot soon as the Grand Prix line has been replaced by the Grand Prix II line. I own a 10" Cooks knife from the Classic Wusthof line that is roughly 20 years old and this 8" Grand Prix knife has more weight, is better balanced and perhaps even a bit easier to keep razor sharp.

I am very thrilled with the purchase and share a fantastic review for those of you who do not own this knife and have the chance to own it at $50 plus freight. A Great knife and a great deal at $85-$115 from my experience and shopping. Bon Appetit and Keep It Sharp while keeping it safe from young ones and rookies...

The knife arrived in good shape, and it is a joy to use. Pleasing to look at, well balanced, sharp. Because of a sale, I could have bought it for $5 less directly from the dealer if I had known who the dealer was. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have it and use it.

I'm a college student that loves to cook thai,indonesian,french,middle-eastern, etc...and I decided I really need my own knife. At first, like many people, I was going to buy a block set of cheap but fancy looking knives from some department store; I'm glad I didn't do this for two reasons.

One- Why spend money on a bunch of knives you don't use when you can spend it on two great knives. A Chef's Knife and pairing knife is all I seem to need.

Two- Those cheap but fancy looking knives are useless; seriously. I've tried them, I imagine the only difference between the typical department store knives and dollar store knives are that the former look really cool. (slight exageration maybe?)

After doing research it came down to Forschner( the real deal,great price) or Henkels(German made models) or Wusthof. I found this Wusthof Chefs knife for a great price so it was an easy decision. It has the same blade as the classic model.

I strongly suggest to find a way to just try out one of those $100 block set knives first and THEN buy this knife; that way you'll know you made the right decision.

Note: This knife doesn't come in the cardboard sleeves you see at retail stores so don't be surprised by that. Instead is a plain plastic sleeve that Wusthof sends to online retailers (unless the seller was pulling my strings, lol).

Also, J.A. Henkels has a few videos on their website of cutting techniques that I would encourage watching, they probably decrease your chance of cutting yourself by I dunno 50%.

I'm not a professional chef so I simply wanted a great knife in my kitchen. Before the purchase I spent a long time comparing knives and had finally decided between two or three brands. Then when Amazon had a deal on the Wusthof Grand Prix 8" Cook's Knife I hesitated no longer. I had heard how great Wusthof knives were and became a believer myself when I purchased this knife. I've never owned a better/sharper knife.

The Grand Prix Line is also beautifully designed. Personally I like it better than the Grand Prix II which has a slightly curved handle to supposedly have a more ergonomic feel in the hand.

My only advice (besides to buy this knife) is to wash it by hand and use a sharpening steel after each use. This way your knife will retain it's beauty and sharpness for a long long time.