There’s one thing our customers are looking for when they walk through the door of our store, whether in Montreal or Quebec City: The Stay Sharp Experience. To get that, they head to our sales department (or our sharpening department, if we need to take care of their knife) to get expert advice. The question we hear most often is: “What sets a good knife apart from a bad one?” 

The line between the two is quite thin, and it’s not easy to draw—especially when you’re just getting started in this world.


When comparing the production of kitchen knife blades in Japan to that in the rest of the world, the volumes are not the same: (*) 


- Japan: low to moderate (~7.5 million units exported per year);
- China & the rest of the world: massive and overwhelmingly dominant (hundreds of millions of units per year);
- Germany/Switzerland: High (large-scale, highly automated industrial production).


If we put these figures into the context of everyday life, the vast majority of the population has never held a real Japanese knife in their hands. This is a reality I always keep in mind when customers come to see me and look at our wall of knives with interest, yet seem a bit perplexed. I know that feeling very well, because that’s exactly how I felt the first time I walked into Stay Sharp. 

Through research and perseverance, and with an incredible inventory at my disposal, I was gradually able to overcome that shyness and form my own opinion about how I perceived a particular blade, blacksmith, or brand, and thus judge fairly realistically (I think) whether a knife was truly good or not. I always like to say that this opinion is entirely personal, and that one must keep an open and curious mind. My convictions are there to be challenged—or even shattered—when faced with a particular blade. 

So, what I’m about to say in this column is my own personal view. I certainly don’t speak on behalf of my colleagues at Stay Sharp, and I’m sure they’d be happy to share their perspectives if you ask them.


Keep in mind that I’m originally a luthier by trade. When I choose a knife, I consider several specific criteria, which makes the process somewhat similar to the one I use to evaluate a guitar. Whether it’s a professional bias or not, there are a lot of similarities between the two worlds, and I’ll probably come back to that in a future column. 


Here are the five main points I focus on. If any one of them doesn’t meet my expectations, I don’t choose that particular knife. 


- The knife performs well across all four cutting methods (Rocking Motion, Push Cut, Pull Cut, and Tap Chopping);
- Excellent “food release” (the cut food comes away from the knife’s surface more or less easily); 
- Well-balanced (even weight distribution between the handle and the blade, optimal balance point);
- A comfortable grip regardless of the handle profile (Yo or Wa);
- Pleasing to the eye. 


When I joined Stay Sharp, my first task was to test our entire inventory—something I still do today whenever we receive new items. During these tests, I set my personal preferences—in terms of specifications—aside (I’ve always preferred Wa handles, for example). Just because I’m a fan of carbon steel doesn’t mean I’ll dismiss stainless steel, and vice versa. This is the best way for me to determine whether I like a particular knife and whether I can recommend it to customers who might be interested in buying it.


Finally, there’s one point I haven’t mentioned yet, and it turns out to be of crucial importance: the price. 


You should know that during my tests, I always try not to know the price whenever possible... It’s a kind of blind test, designed to avoid any preconceived notions on my part. In my view, the price skews the entire evaluation I conduct as part of my job, but it will be crucial for the customer who walks through our store’s doors. There’s nothing more frustrating than falling in love with a knife without knowing its price, only to realize it costs twice as much as the budget you’d set for yourself. In fact, that’s the first piece of information I share with our customers to avoid any disappointment during the purchasing process. 


(*) Source for production volumes: Fortune Business Insights.