R.H. Forschner Superblade: 8 inch Chef's Knife Review

I'm a serious cook.  And, like all serious cooks I believe in at least two things:  Serious cookware and serious knives.

To me serious knives have always been either German or French, high carbon forged steel, full tang construction, hefty weight and even heftier price tags.  But.

About a year ago I was taking a tour of the kitchen of one of South Florida's most prestigious hotels.  My host really wanted to impress me so he kept steering me to the to the chef's stations that he thought had the most pizazz.

But I became obsessed with watching their butcher who was dressing full tenderloins of beef.  He worked so smoothly and seemingly so effortlessly it was hypnotic.

After a while he put his knife down.  I noticed immediately that it wasn't a forged knife at all, but a stamped stainless steel knife with the worn logo Superblade on its side.  When I questioned him about it he simply stated "sharpest knife in the world".

We meet again

About a month ago, on one of my forays to Tuesday Morning, I saw a familiar logo, Superblade.  There in a blister pack was not one, but two 8 inch Chef's knives.  On the back of the package it proclaimed:

SUPERBLADE:  Based on food processor technology.

And of course the claim that they are "probably the sharpest knives you can find anywhere, at any price."

The Price?

The packaging indicated a list price of about $30 for the pair of knives.  That is cheap.  But the sale price was $13.65 for the pair, ridiculously cheap!  Anything to think about?

Well actually yeah.  It took me quite a few minutes to make the commitment to put them in the basket.  I mean come on, $6 and change for a good knife?  Even though I had seen one (a carver or a boning knife) in action, I still found it hard to believe.  Okay, so I did buy them.

The testing begins

No sooner than I was in my car I bludgeoned the blister pack open to examine the knives.  Of course the first thing I did was to run my thumb across the cutting edge.  The thin red line of blood corroborated that these were very sharp knives.  If you decide to purchase these knives, skip this test!

Observations

The knives are indeed stamped, rather than forged stainless steel.  And, like most quality food processors they are ground on only one side.

The handles are a very comfortable fit in your hand.  They are made of ergonomically designed Santoprene ( a Monsanto plastic) that resists slipping even when wet.

Their heft is surprisingly similar to that of forged full tang knive, though I have no idea why.  Balance seems close to perfect.  These knives are manufactured for R.H. Forschner in France.  Unusual in an age when so much cutlery and cookware are produced in China

Real world intelligent testing

So, with my bandaged thumb, I decided to put them through some practical use.

I had been boiling up some racks of ribs in my 20 quart stock pot, readying them for an hour of marinading before slow cooking them on the non-heated side of my gas grill.  In order to accommodate the racks it was necessary to cut each in two.

Once on the cutting board, just a gentle swipe of the knife between two ribs virtually separated them completely.  A follow-up swipe completed the job.  The ribs were ready to soak in a giant baggy of my favorite marinade (the subject of another upcoming review).

But how would these knives handle chopping vegetables and herbs?  This is always a superb test of a Chef's Knife.  The results were very impressive.  It handled green onions (scallions) effortlessly making clen precise cuts.  Taking it to herbs it perfomed effortlessly on both rosemary and dill, cutting them cleanly without mangling them at all.  Very impressive.  I was sold.

Another point worth considering is that they are dishwasher-safe

My Viewpoint

After a months worth of heavy-duty usage the knives continue to perform as if they were just purchased.  Will they require sharpening at some time?  I have to guess they will.  Perhaps I'll just take a steel to them.  Or maybe I'll just call my friend the butcher.

Needless to say, that at this price (even the list price), these are knives really worth owning.  I highly recommend them.