Are you ready to get serious about cutting things up? Then we need to talk about knives. Choosing knives for your kitchen is an important decision, since there is potential for you to use them every day, whether you’re chopping, peeling, slicing, or dicing. Many chefs are very protective of their knives, as they’re one of the most important tools of their trade and a very personal tool at that—I’ve seen chefs carefully clean, dry, store their knives in a knife roll and take them home after a hectic night in a restaurant kitchen. However, chefs don’t have a million knives—they have a few much-trusted tools that get them through the demands of each day. You might use your knives even more than you use your stove or your cookware, and you’ll have them for a long time, so you’ll want your knives to be comfortable and fit well in your hand, easy to use and maintain, and quite honestly, do what you need them to do—which is to cut accurately and cleanly.
Before we get into matters of how many knives you might need in a well-equipped kitchen, let me tell about some names and terms that you’ll encounter when you’re shopping for knives. Some of these will be very familiar and possibly obvious, and some of them may be new to you.
Alton Brown talks about Shun Knives.
Some Knife Terms
A knife generally has two or three parts. The blade is the front part of the knife, with an edge that you’ll use for cutting—the “spine” is opposite the cutting edge and the “tip” or “point” is the very front of the blade. The “tang” is the part of the knife that carries the handle, so when someone talks about a “full tang” knife, they mean that the metal extends from the tip of the knife to the base. A full tang knife is generally considered to be a stronger knife but a stick tang knife (with a more ergonomic handle) is sometimes more comfortable. I have both full tang and stick tang knives at home—in fact my Shun knives are not full tang because they have a handle of non-porous manmade wood. They are, however, extremely sturdy and comfortable to use, and the handles are bacteria-resistant which is very important in any kitchen.
Knife Construction
When you start shopping for knives, you’ll hear about two main methods of making a knife—stamping and forging. A stamped blade is made with a die or mold, kind of like using a cookie cutter on cookie dough—the process involves stamping out several knives from a piece of steel and then grinding and polishing the knife. A forged knife is made by heating steel, putting it under a drop hammer and shaping the steel with the resulting pressure. The knife is then ground and polished to a fine edge. It is generally thought that a drop-forged knife is a better and sturdier knife, but forging is a more expensive process than stamping.
Shun knives are made a bit differently than other knives—they’re rolled sixteen times in stainless steel and the resulting pattern helps in releasing the food from the knife, enabling a smoother cut. In addition, that process enables Shun to sharpen their knives to a sixteen degree angle, making them the sharpest knives right out of the box.
Types of Steel
High carbon stainless steel is what you’ll find in most high-quality knives. It has a high content of carbon, which is great for the hardness of the blade and retaining a fine edge, and enough chromium to keep the blade looking fantastic. Blades that are made of high carbon stainless steel will sharpen to a fine edge and maintain that edge.
Titanium knife blades actually contain a mix of titanium and carbides. A titanium edge will hold a sharp edge as well as high carbon stainless steel and is lighter than steel. In addition, the metal will not affect the flavor of your food at all. Titanium alloy blades are generally more flexible, so they’re good for decorative cuts.
Ceramic blades contain no metal—they’re made of a ceramic material called zirconium oxide. These blades are very hard and require little to no maintenance of the blade, and they’re a good choice if you’re looking for a lighter knife. However, ceramic knives are not as durable as steel knives (I’ve seen broken ceramic knives) and must be sharpened with diamond tools. Also, you should only use ceramic knives on a cutting board, as they are hard enough to cut your countertop or scratch the glaze of your dinner plates.
Basic Types of Knives
A chef’s knife is at least six inches and as many as twelve inches long. A longer blade can be intimidating, but a chef’s knife is the best knife for chopping and slicing, and using a longer knife will cut down on chopping fatique when you’re working with large amounts of food. You can also use the side of the blade for crushing garlic cloves as well as peppercorns and slices of ginger.
A paring knife will typically be three to four inches long, and you’ll use it for smaller tasks like peeling vegetables or fruit, trimming chicken or other kinds of meat, and cutting pastry dough.
Utility knives are great for those in-between tasks that are not big enough for a chef’s knife and too large for a paring knife—use them to cut up your herbs, and slice meats, cheeses, and sandwiches.
Santoku knives are Asian-style all-purpose knives that are perfect for slicing, chopping, mincing and dicing fruits, vegetables, onions, and herbs, as well as for slicing meats. This is the knife that I use almost daily, and the Shun santoku has been perfect for me. The word “santoku” means “three ways” and indicates that santoku knives are designed for use with fish, meat, and vegetables.
A long serrated knife is great for anything with a crust—like bread and bagels. A serrated knife is also useful for anything that is going to require a back and forth “sawing” motion while you’re cutting.
Boning knives are typically quite narrow and designed to be a little flexible to help you slice meat off of bones. Fillet knives are even more flexible and have a thin blade for cutting the delicate meat of fish.
How Many Knives?
You’ve probably heard some cooking gurus talk about how you really only need two knives. Living simply is a great philosophy, but I can’t live with only two knives! I consistently use three knives at home—a Shun santoku, a Shun paring knife, and a Viking serrated utility knife. (My next knife purchase is going to be a serrated bread knife, not just for bread and bagels, but for anything that requires a back and forth motion, for instance tomatoes, peaches, or apricots.)
I use my Shun santoku for almost everything and I use it almost every day—cutting chicken into strips or chunks, slicing beef for final presentation on the plate or for chili, dicing smoked sausage for omelets, and cutting up vegetables for cooking or for salads. My serrated knife is great for cutting tomatoes and it’s the knife I always grab when I need lemon or lime wedges for mixed drinks or iced tea—you really need a serrated edge for cutting fruit.
In the end your knife selection is going to be a reflection of the way you cook—different blades have different purposes.
To Set or Not to Set
Buying a set can be a good way to start your knife collection, since a set can often be more affordable than purchasing knives on an individual basis. We usually recommend buying a set—for instance you can get a six piece Shun classic set (which includes three knives, a cutlery block, kitchen shears, and a sharpening steel) for a very reasonable price. At some point you may want to add to your set, especially if there’s two of you cooking together in the kitchen. It’s just handy to have two chef’s knives so that you don’t have to trade knives every five minutes.
Most sets will have at least a chef’s knife, a utility knife, and a paring knife.
One reason to purchase knives individually is that you only need one or two knives, or you want a particular knife. I have a friend who has very small hands, so she is only interested in knives that will fit well in her hands, which rules out most of the knife sets that are available. Another reason for buying knives individually is affordability—if you and your kitchen need absolute top of the line cutlery then you may want to purchase knives on an individual basis.
Choosing Wisely
As I always say, your knife selection should be a reflection of what happens in your kitchen but you will also have an intuitive reaction to different brands of knives. When you go shopping for knives, pick them up and see how they feel in your hand. Ask yourself if you like the heft of the knife and whether you’d be able to use it for an extended period of time. You will probably prefer one brand over another and there’s a reason for that—ask enough questions while you’re looking at the knife to figure out your likes and dislikes. And ask enough questions to feel comfortable with your purchase—kitchen knives are an investment in good cooking and they’ll be with you for a long time.
As always, please let us know if we can help you or if you have any questions. Happy cooking!
