It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible, so I chose some products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.

People ask me about my knives all the time. They wonder if they are special kinds of knives. They are not all that expensive. More important is that I keep them sharp and that they are comfortable in my hand.

chop buchu

I’ve used many kinds of knives over the years but these days I use a 8¼ inch Sanelli chef’s knife in all of my videos, and for all my home cooking. I like the weight and I like the grippy handle, which makes chopping easier. Sanelli makes a lot of different knives, including these awesome scissors!

I bought it in Bowery Kitchen Supply in Chelsea Market in New York City (now closed) for around $45.

knives

On the right is one made by Henckels, It’s a good knife but I don’t think they make them anymore. I bought it at Kitchen Stuff Plus in Toronto for around $30.

On the left is one is a Korean knife that I bought at PAT Korean market in Toronto for around $12. Korean kitchen knives often have a little plate on the bottom that is perfect for crushing things, especially garlic.

It’s looking worn out! I must be stronger than I thought.

Posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008. Last updated on November 14, 2023.
Tagged as , , , , ,

17 Comments:

  1. Yoonminfan1990 Ocean Springs, MS joined 4/19 & has 3 comments
    Posted April 28th, 2019 at 10:05 am | or create a profile.

    Hey Maangchi, I have a question. Where did you get the knife from your intro? I’d like to buy one. It looks AMAZING!

  2. OhioMu Lancaster, OH joined 1/18 & has 3 comments
    Posted February 4th, 2018 at 1:40 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi,
    Sometime when you have time, can you please do a short video on how you care for your chef’s knife. I love my new Sanelli knife but I have no idea how to sharpen it, how long you should go between sharpenings, what kinds of cutting boards will dull your knife faster, how you store it, and things like that. This is the first time I have owned a nice knife and I want to take the best care of it. Thanks for your time :0)

  3. Sulehma joined 10/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted October 21st, 2015 at 12:46 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi :D
    I’ve watched ALL your Youtube videos and because of your cooking
    i have been cooking Korean food, and using the Korean ingredients and i love
    it.
    So my question is, in almost all your videos the knife you use has a green handle
    where did you purchase it?

    Thanks Maangchi <3
    " Let Me Taste it <3 <3 <3"
    Love You Maangchi & Thanks (:

  4. mdeniss London joined 9/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted February 20th, 2012 at 9:21 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi,

    I seen in your video https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi you are using Sanelli Chef’s Knife with green handle.

    I thinking to buy one, it is relatively cheap knife, and i d like to know your opinion on this knife. are you happy with it ?

    What size it is? 21 cm or 25 cm ?

    Thanks
    Maxim

  5. Kayla Baltimore, Maryland joined 11/10 & has 21 comments
    Posted December 31st, 2010 at 5:40 pm | or create a profile.

    The one on the left looks like a santoku-style knife, my personal favorite for multitasking. There’s one at the Korean grocer that I go to that looks similar, though it doesn’t have the little masher at the end. Fortunately, it’s also cheap ($15, I think). I could spend all my money on good knives, I swear. I’m very picky about them.

  6. blessedfin& has 1 comment
    Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 am | or create a profile.

    hi Maangchi ! :)
    following you on you tube and really loves the Korean food..
    and loves ur knife to the max !
    want to ask you whether the Korean knife has a special name?
    or is there any specification of the knife ? I don’t live in USA, so hopefully I can manage to find it in the cutlery shop.
    thx..:)

  7. perry
    Posted July 26th, 2009 at 5:25 pm | or create a profile.

    hey maanchi. i have one more question what brand is the knife you have i want to try and find one,Thanks!!!!

  8. Anonymous
    Posted July 26th, 2009 at 7:53 am | or create a profile.

    thanks!!! :)

  9. perry& has 1 comment
    Posted July 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm | or create a profile.

    hi maangchi!! I was wondering if you can find the knife with the steal pounder on the bottom on the internet anywhere thanks!

  10. Michael& has 2 comments
    Posted May 26th, 2009 at 5:46 pm | or create a profile.

    well……you know……your name does mean HAMMER IN ENGLISH!!! LOL

  11. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments
    Posted September 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm | or create a profile.

    Binyol,
    Wow you noticed I went back to my old cutting board.

    When I moved down to New York from Toronto, I brought as many cooking utensils as I could. : )

  12. Binyol& has 1 comment
    Posted September 2nd, 2008 at 7:40 am | or create a profile.

    Hi maangchi!! i really like your cooking videos that you posted in youtube…they are very useful!! i learn to make some yummy kimchi from them..i really like your knife, the one with the steel handle..it seems very comfy and awww–very sharp. hehehe…oh yeah, i really like your chopping board too. i noticed that when it was the first time you moved to your new house, you didn’t use it–when you were making those eggs side dishes. But just now, after i saw you making your hwaedupbap, i see it again…i envy your chopping board since mine is super small (around 20×25 cm).hiks..luckily, i have a granite island table to put and sometime to cut things..^^ hope my mom won’t find any scratches on it…hehehe

Leave a Reply

You must create a profile and be logged in to post a comment.