billmarsano
New member
My name is Bill Marsano, and I’m going to try your patience here with occasional knife reviews. I’ll focus mostly on knives that have little public profile and may be, in fact, unheard-of. Naturally I’ll cover cheap ones to try to dope out whether they’re a) worth or not worth the money or are b) actual bargains—knives that punch above their weight class and thus give you a little more than you pay for.
I’m 82—old and old school to boot, a no-nonsense crank, codger, coot and geezer. My opinions are my own, based on experience, not press releases. I have been a home cook for about 40 years, and during that time maintained a low-body count, which is to say the kids still speak to me. (Though it would be unwise to mention tuna casserole in any form.)
I’m not for sale. I have no financial connection, direct or indirect, with any maker or marketer of any product I review. I buy the products I review but will accept free, no-strings samples (and will identify those in each review).
Nuff said. Commence au festival!
Pioneer Woman 8” Chef’s Knife
I was looking into canned-tuna prices on the Walmart site when what to my wondering eyes should appear but the Pioneer Woman chef’s knife.
Ree Drummond, Culinary Queen of Pawhuska, Okla. launched herself as the Pioneer woman about a decade ago, extolling the pleasures and challenges of ranch life and the “cowboy-tested, cowboy-approved” recipes she fed her family. Result: astounding success based on a blend of hitting the right note at the right time, abundant skills (she’s also an excellent communicator and a fine photographer) and her winning, unpretentious ways.
Soon enough the Drummond juggernaut, engineered by Walmart, was underway. Pioneer Woman knife sets followed as the night the day. PW cookware? Check. PW tableware? Check. But a PW clothing line? You’re kidding. No. Not kidding. I’ll stick to the knives, thanks.
Embarrassing apology: I'm too dumb to figure out how to get a photo into this piece, so just Google "Pioneer Woman Chef's Knife" and Bob's your uncle.
And here’s the leading edge--Queen Ree’s chef’s knife, an 8-oz, 8.5” job that Walmart sells online for a mere $10.97. Can it possibly be any good? Don’t let the icky teal-colored scales fool you. It’s a very conventional chef’s knife with a long straight section of cutting edge and a half-bolster. It looks like a forged blade, but I think it’s a stamped blade with a welded bolster. Forged blades always taper noticeably from bolster to tip (this ‘distal taper’ means lighter, nimbler, better-balanced blades because there’s less metal upfront (they also taper from spine to edge, and this one does). A home cook, I think, is unlikely to notice the difference; a pro, who uses his knife all shift long, likely will.
It’s made of magnetic stainless steel, but that’s all I can say for certain: there’s no indication of what kind of steel it is. Origin? Probably China, which is heavily into knife-making.) It’s pretty good steel by my reckoning: it passed my Tap Test with ease and showed a Rockwell hardness in the 55 range. It responds well to a few licks of the honing rod or butcher’s steel (STEEL—never ceramic, never diamond dust), applied regularly, after which it will go through newsprint like Conan the Barbarian his foemen. The blade, on the narrow side (1-7/8”), gives just enough knuckle clearance for my medium-sized hand. Fit and finish good; solid handle, awful color.
All in all: a good deal, worth the price and then some, I believe. But you’ll have to it order online: Walmart says it may not have the same item at the same price in stores. Amazon lists it too, but the price is about 40% higher, and it may not be the same knife. Judging by the photo, Amazon’s knife seems identical to Walmart’s, with a glaring exception. Amazon’s photo shows a full bolster. Trust me: you do not want a full bolster. More on this another day.
A ’sister knife’ for the same price is the Pioneer Woman nakiri, a traditional Japanese design that resembles a santoku, but with much less rocker in the edge and a blunt, straight-down tip. Like the chef’s knife, it seems to punch above it weight class. Why did I buy it? Can’t say I need it. Can say I’m a man. Men buy stuff. ©2023 Bill Marsano
-30-
I’m 82—old and old school to boot, a no-nonsense crank, codger, coot and geezer. My opinions are my own, based on experience, not press releases. I have been a home cook for about 40 years, and during that time maintained a low-body count, which is to say the kids still speak to me. (Though it would be unwise to mention tuna casserole in any form.)
I’m not for sale. I have no financial connection, direct or indirect, with any maker or marketer of any product I review. I buy the products I review but will accept free, no-strings samples (and will identify those in each review).
Nuff said. Commence au festival!
Pioneer Woman 8” Chef’s Knife
I was looking into canned-tuna prices on the Walmart site when what to my wondering eyes should appear but the Pioneer Woman chef’s knife.
Ree Drummond, Culinary Queen of Pawhuska, Okla. launched herself as the Pioneer woman about a decade ago, extolling the pleasures and challenges of ranch life and the “cowboy-tested, cowboy-approved” recipes she fed her family. Result: astounding success based on a blend of hitting the right note at the right time, abundant skills (she’s also an excellent communicator and a fine photographer) and her winning, unpretentious ways.
Soon enough the Drummond juggernaut, engineered by Walmart, was underway. Pioneer Woman knife sets followed as the night the day. PW cookware? Check. PW tableware? Check. But a PW clothing line? You’re kidding. No. Not kidding. I’ll stick to the knives, thanks.
Embarrassing apology: I'm too dumb to figure out how to get a photo into this piece, so just Google "Pioneer Woman Chef's Knife" and Bob's your uncle.
And here’s the leading edge--Queen Ree’s chef’s knife, an 8-oz, 8.5” job that Walmart sells online for a mere $10.97. Can it possibly be any good? Don’t let the icky teal-colored scales fool you. It’s a very conventional chef’s knife with a long straight section of cutting edge and a half-bolster. It looks like a forged blade, but I think it’s a stamped blade with a welded bolster. Forged blades always taper noticeably from bolster to tip (this ‘distal taper’ means lighter, nimbler, better-balanced blades because there’s less metal upfront (they also taper from spine to edge, and this one does). A home cook, I think, is unlikely to notice the difference; a pro, who uses his knife all shift long, likely will.
It’s made of magnetic stainless steel, but that’s all I can say for certain: there’s no indication of what kind of steel it is. Origin? Probably China, which is heavily into knife-making.) It’s pretty good steel by my reckoning: it passed my Tap Test with ease and showed a Rockwell hardness in the 55 range. It responds well to a few licks of the honing rod or butcher’s steel (STEEL—never ceramic, never diamond dust), applied regularly, after which it will go through newsprint like Conan the Barbarian his foemen. The blade, on the narrow side (1-7/8”), gives just enough knuckle clearance for my medium-sized hand. Fit and finish good; solid handle, awful color.
All in all: a good deal, worth the price and then some, I believe. But you’ll have to it order online: Walmart says it may not have the same item at the same price in stores. Amazon lists it too, but the price is about 40% higher, and it may not be the same knife. Judging by the photo, Amazon’s knife seems identical to Walmart’s, with a glaring exception. Amazon’s photo shows a full bolster. Trust me: you do not want a full bolster. More on this another day.
A ’sister knife’ for the same price is the Pioneer Woman nakiri, a traditional Japanese design that resembles a santoku, but with much less rocker in the edge and a blunt, straight-down tip. Like the chef’s knife, it seems to punch above it weight class. Why did I buy it? Can’t say I need it. Can say I’m a man. Men buy stuff. ©2023 Bill Marsano
-30-
