At first glance you might think, what’s going on with this weird looking knife that costs more than a hundred bucks? Also, I know that Global knives have been panned by more than a few pro chefs as well as Cook’s Illustrated.

However, I’ve been using this particular Global 8-Inch Vegetable Knife for almost a decade now. With a blade made of molybdenum/vanadium stainless steel seamlessly connected to a stainless steel dimpled molded handle, it’s very different than your average knife. First off, that metal handle may take some getting used to, but for me I find it’s a perfect fit. I’ve got smaller than average hands, and I’ve heard that their knife handles are actually quite a bit smaller than many European style handled knives.

In any case, it’s a snap to chop up vegetables and pretty much anything else. You’ll want to switch to a different knife for meats or for when you need a point on the blade, though. The blade comes extremely sharp - it’s apparently ground differently than other knives, at more of an acute angle? It’s also fairly thin and streamlined.

One issue is that they don’t recommend sharpening with a standard metal steel sharpener. They recommend a ceramic sharpener along with a ceramic or synthetic whetstone. Actually, they sell a sharpening “rail guide” that has the whetstones positioned at the exact angle so you get it right - and I’d recommend getting that device so that you don’t mess up the edge (not cheap - it’ll run you about $30).

Still, this is probably the best all around knife we’ve ever used in our house.