Chef's Knives

[Napoleon]

"Mundial" is Brazilian.

I bought their "Premium" level (RED PACKAGING) that also says "Gourmet" on the packaging. It is the "5000 Series".

My chef's knife says:

FORGED/NO STAIN
X45 Cr Mo 14

On one side of the MUNDIAL name on the blade and then

BRAZIL
5110-8
ZE

Under that as you get to the handle. I think the "8" stands for "8 inch", because on my PEELING knife

It has: FORGED/NO STAIN (without the X45... stuff) on the tip side of the "MUNDIAL" name on the blade and then

BRAZIL
5141-2 1/2
ZT

Above the handle.

For this level, it says "Under normal conditions, this Mundial product is lifetime guaranteed against any defects in materials or craftmanship".

The top level of Tratamonte was MORE expensive and had a 25 year guarantee. (Not that you will probably be using this 25 years from now.)

The sales guy asked if I was studying to be a chef and there was a slight pause and when he read that I wasn't going to say "Yes" immediately he said "or are you just interested in cooking" (or something like that). So this seems to be close to a top level, if not top level, yet affordable... when compared to the German makes.

This link talks about what the "X45 Cr Mo 14" means.

http://www.cookswares.com/discussions/honing.asp

German knife producers pioneered the high carbon stainless steel so that a knife's metal would be (a) hard enough to hold an edge, (b) flexible, (c) soft enough to hone and sharpen, and (d) resist rust and corrosion. The formula for German stainless steel is as follows:

X 45 Cr Mo V 15 or X 50 Cr Mo V 15


X means stainless.
45 or 50 means .45% or .50% carbon.
Cr Mo V means the total percentage of chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium, namely 15%.

 

[RWS]

Very interesting, N. Thanks.

 

[Napoleon]

LASTLY:

I did NOT go to another store after I went to Todo Bazar. I felt that I was getting what I wanted and didn't feel like spending 2 more hours to be more confused and to maybe save AR$5-AR$10. (That's not good value for your time.)

There are definitely other stores that sell Wustoff & Henkels in BsAs and they might be the same or a tad bit stronger steel. I'm not a chef, I just like cooking, so having a knife that holds it's sharpness for ~30-40 hours could mean a month or two for me. Maybe more. For a chef, it could be half a week.

There are also stores that sell the "VERY HIGH CARBON" knives:

2) Very High Carbon Stainless Steel: Shun Chef'sChoice MAC Global

If I were loaded, I'd buy one of those, but they're out of my price range.

I feel like I a got a very solid product (maybe on par with the classic German knives) at a very good price. I have no doubt it will serve me well.

My honing steel is also made by MUNDIAL. These steel items are supposed to be HARDER than the knife and the fact that it was made by the same company (thus they would know how strong the knife was) was what the salesman used to try to get me to buy it... and it worked.

PS- You're not supposed to touch it with your hands. I guess it has something to do with the oils on your hands.