In this article, I'll look at some popular knives and discuss what each type of knife is designed for (and some unconventional uses for them).
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The chef's knife is the one knife that is consistently rated as the single most essential in the kitchen. However, if I could only pick one knife to have in the kitchen, it would be a Chinese or Asian cleaver. This knife's sharp edge is thin enough and sharp enough to easily cut and mince food and at the same time strong enough to handle light cleaving jobs. The side of the blade can be used to smash garlic and ginger and the top edge san be used (with care) as a meat tenderizer. The broad blade is often used to move food from the cutting board to the stove. However, due to the overall shape and size of a Chinese Cleaver, there is not as much precision as a chef's knife. Since I have a full compliment of knives, my Chinese cleaver sits on the sidelines waiting for the day when I can only have one knife to use.
Chef's Knife
The most versatile knife in the western kitchen is the chef's knife. It is used for cutting, slicing, chopping, and mincing. The curved blade allows rocking back and forth for fine chopping and mincing. Chef's knives come in blade lengths from 6 to 12 inches. The longer the knife, the more you can cut, but the more difficult it is to control. If you've got small hands (like I do), you may want to stick with the 6 to 8 in. variety. Tina uses a 6 in. while I find the 8 in. allows me to grip the knife just forward of the bolster with my forefinger and thumb without discomfort (the 6 in. is slimmer so the back of the knife digs into the side of my knuckle). If you've got one of these and a board scraper, you won't need or want to use an Asian cleaver.
Santoku
This is the Japanese equivalent of a chef's knife and has been gaining in popularity in Western kitchens. It has a broad blade and a tip that is lower than a chef's tip. Typically made thinner than a chef's knife, it does not have as much structural strength or weight, but is great at all chef's knife functions except for cutting through bone. Many brands now carry santokus, but a few have made poor design decisions (edge is almost flat, tip too low, knife too thick, etc.). The Shun Classic Santoku shown here is probably the best santoku on the market right now. Unfortunately, for left handers, it's a right handed knife (the unique D crosssection handle fits right handers).
Paring Knife
The paring knife is great for working a blade in a small space. Paring apples, cutting fruits, butterflying shrimp, and seeding a jalapeno are just some of the tasks the paring knife is well suited for. The paring knife has a thin blade that makes it easy to manuever while cutting. The sharp tip is also useful for removing potato eyes and other such tasks. In general, a paring knife is simply a miniature chef's knife - designed with the same curves and angles but smaller. This makes switching between the chef's knife and the paring knife a natural action.
Carving Knife (Slicing Knife)
A carving knife's special purpose is to carve poultry, roasts, and hams after they have been cooked.
Carvers typically have points to reach into tight places, but roast beef carvers have blunt ends. Some have hollow recesses along their blades and are referred to as granton or hollow edged or scallops. These air pockets allow for thinner slicing because they prevent meat slices from adhering to the blade. Why use a slicer instead of a chef's knife? Thickness. A carving knife is much thinner, enabling the knife to slice through finely while a thicker knife will wedge and tear the cooked meat once it cuts in too deep.
Bread Knife
A bread knife's job in life is to cut, you guessed it, bread. Many breads have a hard crust which keeps a slicer or chef's knife from digging in and gripping the bread when you start to cut. You can use the tip of the chef's knife to punch a hole where you want to cut and then slice, but what about soft breads? With soft breads, the chef's knife doesn't clip around on the crust, but while you cut into the bread, you compress it instead of slicing clean through. A bread knife solves both problems by providing large serrations that grip the crust and can saw through soft breads without squishing them. This knife is also useful for cutting dense cakes (yellow cakes, pound cakes), but use a fine serrated knife for light cakes (angel food cake).
Utility Knife
This knife is the in-between knife. If you've got a 4 in. paring and a 10 in. chef's, you might want a 6 in. utility knife for all those jobs in between. Sometimes it's also called a tomato knife (usually when it has medium serrations) or a sandwich knife. Since Tina uses a 6 in. chef's knife, I use that instead.
Boning Knife (Fillet Knife)
This thin knife allows you to remove membranes from meat and meat from bones easily. Usually, it is made thin enough for the blade to be a little flexible. Typically, this will be the sharpest knife you own because it will also be the thinnest knife. Use this to cut anything soft that needs fine precision work, but don't cut semi-frozen meat with this blade (use a chef's knife for that). The Victorinox or RH Forschner brand boning knife with Fibrox handle is probably the best boning knife available and is 1/5 the cost of most high end knives. This model goes for $10 and the handle doesn't get slippery when coated with juice and membrane from the poultry you're working on.
Meat Cleaver
This knife is used to hack pieces of meat with bone apart. Usually imprecise due to the amount of force you need to use, the meat cleaver sections meat pretty well. I suggest using a seperate cutting board because you'll probably cut into the board a bit. In western cooking, there will be very little need for this knife because most of the time we trim the meat off the bones. When quartering a chicken, a boning knife is used and we avoid cutting through bone (unless we're doing it Asian style where having slivers of bone is part of the look and feel). Most of the time the butcher handles the bone cutting for us with their rotary and band saws (which produce much cleaner cuts than a meat cleaver).
Steak Knife (Dining Knife)
This is the knife your guests will use to tear cooked meat into bit sized chunks. It's usually best to have large pieces of cooked meat served whole to preserve the juices and have your guests cut them. A steak knife does not cut meat as much as it tears very finely.
What to look for in knives? Here's a short list of stuff people usually tell you what to look for:
- Full tang - The tang is the part of the knife blade that is embedded in the handle. It is not necessary to buy a knife where the tang goes all the way to the back (full tang). Make sure it has at least 3/4 tang though, any less and the balance might feel weird (you don't feel like you're holding the knife; it feels like your holding a handle that's holding the knife...), constant use of over the years could result in loosening of the blade from the handle, or it might just fall out if you use too much force.
- Forged - Stainless steel knifes are generally forged or stamped. Forged knives are typically more durable and are usually thicker (more structural support). I like my chef's knives to be forged and my bread knife to be stamped (because stamped is thin and cheap). You can get all forged, but it will cost more (a nice forged slicer will also be thin, but will be pricey compared to a stamped version). The forged ones are reputed to hold an edge longer as well. I'll take this opportunity to point out that some companies like J.A. Henckels have started to do a composite stamp/forge which they claim makes their knives better than plain forged. Basic metallurgy tells us that it's probably not true, but personally I like the feel of their knives and haven't had any complaints about durability or cutting ability.
- Diamond edges - Some knives advertise "never need sharpening" due to a diamond coated edge (or something like that). I would recommend against these knives because they do eventually get dull and you can't sharpen them. Same with ceramic knives - you have to send them back to the factory for sharpening.
- Serrated edges - Some knives are serrated. That's fine. Some chef's knives are serrated. That's not fine. Serrated knives cut by tearing. This is fine for some foods (breads and cakes) but not for food preparation. A sharp smooth edge works better than a serrated edge - just remember to use a slicing action instead of pushing down through the ingredient (chopping). Remember, we're cutting, not sawing.
So what's the final verdict? Here we go:
Buying 1 knife only
- Either Chinese cleaver or Santoku
Buying 2 knives
- Chef's knife (or Santoku; from now on, I'll just say Chef's knife but I mean either)
- Paring knife
Buying 3 knives
- Chef's knife
- Paring knife
- Carving knife (if you roast) OR bread knife (if you eat a lot of bread)
Buying 4 knives
- Chef's knife
- Paring knife
- Boning knife (unless you don't prepare beef, pork, poultry, or fish)
- Carving knife (if you roast) OR bread knife (if you eat a lot of bread)
How about buying a knife set? It depends. Most of the time knife sets come with one or two good knives and the rest are not so good (that's why they put it in a set). Often you're better off buying the knives individually and as you need them instead of all at one time.
Anyone want to send me a set to test? I haven't had any direct experience with Ronco knives. I've found that
in general Ronco products work (tried their rotisserie, etc.) but aren't the best solution for the job.
For knives, especially, I would recommend not to skimp. It is better to have a couple excellent knives
than to have six okay ones. First make sure the knives fit your hand - do you have big or small hands? Do you always hold it buy the handle or do you choke up the blade a bit?
I wouldn't worry about getting a set that looks symmetrical and identical, my set contains a variety of different handles and brands depending on the application.
Some recommendations:
Mundial is a good lower cost professional knife set. If you don't have the money for the higher quality knives, Mundial knives are a great option for durability and usability.
Forschner (Victorinox) is even lower in cost. The knives are stamped but serve extremely well under abuse and are low cost enough to replace in the future. This is a favorite in many food service industries.
Shun These are probably my favorite knives so far. The quality, sharpness, and look of the knives are amazing. Great if you are right handed - not so great for lefties. Their sets are pretty good, but you'll have to consider if you need every knife in the set or you are better off piecing your personal set together over time.
J.A. Henckels is the high end line of Heckels knives available. There is also a Henckels International line which for the cost conscious. Keep in mind the Henckels International line is not the same quality as the J.A. Henckels knives. (Note: These knifes are composed of multiple types of metals and not traditional forged. Some believe it weakens the knife, some say it makes the knives better. I can't tell the difference, but I will say that the Four Star handles fit my hand better than any other knife line so that is why my main knife is a Four Star 8-Inch Chef's Knife.
Wusthof is a line very close in quality to Henckels. Some say they are better, some say they are worse. In my opinion, I would rate both the same quality level. These knives are traditional forged from a single piece of steel (which is what sets them apart from Henckels). Take your pick (or buy Shun).
I take my knives out to be sharpened by a professional. My knives don't need sharpening often enough that I get in enough practice to be happy with my results. I used to sharpen my Buck, Swiss Army, and Leatherman knives fairly often, but since I've become less outdoorsy, I've fallen out of the habit. Electric sharpeners will grind away steel indiscriminantly - sure it will be sharp, but not as sharp as if you got a pro to do it for you. Anyway home sharpeners don't come with the eyes or experience of a professional sharpener.
Honing is a different matter. Hone before every use or once a week if you don't use your knives very often. (If once a week is too often for you, then once a month or whenever you can get yourself to hone the knife.) Honing is a difficult subject to describe so I'll have to post a separate article on this topic with pictures.
Basically, you make a motion along the steel as if you are cutting a shaving off of it while moving the knife from bolster to tip. Repeat several times and do the same for the other side of the knife. Then start over with the first side and repeat less and less until you do one stroke on each side.
The Spyderco set is nice, in that each stone is triangular, so you can do serrated knives easily, as well as shears/scissors, pocket knives, etc. where you have a tighter space to work with.
The prices really vary. Best I've found is Walmart.
PLEASE people, PLEASE do not under any circumstances scrape things off the cutting board with your knife blade. Use the back of the knife. Depending on how often you do something like this you can get another couple of months between sharpenings if you just take care of the blade.
It's the small things that pit and destroy your knife. The edge is why you have the knife, do everything you can to protect it.
I recommend investing a couple of dollars in a metal board scraper (or bench scraper or bash & chomp or dough cutter or dough blade). Excellent for scraping stuff up off the board and it doesn't have a sharp edge threatening to hurt you as you carry food to the pot or bowl. Also bashes garlic, cuts pastry dough and a acts as a ruler.
They really are the best cutlery in the world.
Chicago Cutlery: Made in China, if you have any look and see
Henkel's: Only second best
Cutco produts are hand made in the United States. This means they may cost a little more, but you get what you pay for. They're made of surgical grade steel. They have full tang handles. The Double D edge means they'l never need sharpening.
The handles are not only ergonomic (so well designed to fit the hand that even handicapped people who can't normally use a knife can use these), but they are beautiful as well. The Cutco Homemaker set is on display in the National Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
On top of that they have the forever garuntee. Not "lifetime" or "lifetime of the owner." Forever; as long as the company still exists. Even if the knives are damaged from missuse (ie; opening paint cans) the company will replace the knife at no cost. One woman's house burned down with her homemaker set inside, and the company replaced the entire set.
I'm not just saying this to sell them. I used to, but I absolutely hated the job. But, I still love the knives and regularly use mine. I was well educated during my training and these really are the best knives in the world.
Personally, I use a two sided ceramic sharpener (Spyderco's Double Stuff) and a steel hone. But, I find sharpening relaxing, and doing it that way takes at least a half hour.
For the best quick edge, on straight or serrated, Spyderco makes a set of oval crock sticks - Model Galley V. They are 12"long, enough to sharpen just about any knife, and easy: just pull down, one stroke on one side, one oh the other. About a dozen strokes and it's wicked sharp.
If you can find a set, well worth the purchase.
-Rich
As far as sharpening goes, I prefer to get mine done professionally. They know what they're doing, and if you sharpen too often you won't have much of a knife left after a while. Hone your knives every day you use them.
http://www.chefsresource.com/globknivcomv.html
As a side note, any woodworkers out there would be wise to check out their selection of woodworking tools as well. Japanese chisels are oh so sharp.
http://www.ameritech.net/users/knives/Juranitch1977Feb.htm
Regarding bread knives, I find that they're also great for sawing at some frozen items, such as the block of mirepoix that I keep in the freezer.
Hattori HD Series:
www.japanesechefsknife.com
Shun:
premiumknives.com
for the best of the best, read these high quality kitchen knife forums:
ubbthreads cutlery
knifeforums.com
You know, guys, I was thinking of making some rope and leather soup, garnished with penny bits - maybe I should buy some of these knives...
Seriously though - Cutco is more marketing than substance. I don't know a single serious cook (and I know many professional chefs) who use these things, and don't know any serious knife people who don't throw up a little when the subject comes up.
Don't drink the Kool Aid.
Shun and Global are great knives from Japan that keep a good edge and sharpen up well. Henkels and Wusthof are good, but expensive and heavy. Go into a professional kitchen and you'll see lots of Forschner and Victorinox knives - they're real workhorses.
In short - learn how to use a knive correctly (there are lots of online resources), learn how to sharpen it (again - online) or find a professional sharpener, and buy quality stuff.
KnifeForums.com has lots of information about knives and sharpening - kitchen knives included. EGullet is a fantastic cooking resource with lots of information on knives, keeping them sharp and how to use them for common tasks in the kitchen.
One addition to the knives mentioned would be an offset handle serrated knife - they're great for stuff like pineapple or tomatoes.
Have fun!
ths thing can take a finger or two off in a secound so be careful.
as for sharpinging.. i use a steel and have it sharpened by a pro every 6 mounths. do not skip this step if you want the knife to last. i would also recomend going to a good butcher and have him show you how to use a steel corectly! my parents owned a butcher shop whan i was a child and thats where i learned
Anthony Bourdain, in Kitchen Confidential, swears by Global. From what I can tell from friends who have them, they're excellent. However, my problem is that the all-metal handle can become slippery and cause problems. Some people love their modern look. I hate it.
Bobby Flay, on his webpage, recommends either Kershaw or Viking. He uses the former, but says that their extreme ("scary") sharpness can be extremely dangerous for home cooks who have never, say read Pepin's Complete Techniques or the CIA's knife skills book.
Alton Brown recommends Kershaw, but his opinion can't really be trusted since he's paid to be their spokesman.
Cutco...?
Chicago Cutlery...?
For the home consumer there are three brands to know.
Global.
Wusthof.
Henckels.
Its really that simple.
I personnaly prefer the Global knives...light, winners of many a competition on "sharpness" and look so much cooler than the competition.
But not to cast the other two in a bad light. They're both brands with a strong history and who offer high level knives.
Global.
Wusthof.
Henckels."
Are you kidding me? First of all you forgot Shun in your list of decent, yet inferior knives. The VG10 Steel in the Shun and Global is superior to the German Wusthof & Henckles, but even still Shun and Global are at the bottom of the food chain as far as quality knives go. We can do better, I'll show you:
These are SOME of the brands that the Home Consumer should know:
Tojiro
Hattori
Nenox
Masamoto
Suisin
Dojo
Misono
Ryusen
Masahiro
Glestain
MAC
Hiromoto
Ittosai Kotetsu
Watanabe
Takeda
Carter
Where to research:
http://www.knifeforums.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=Kitchen
http://216.91.137.210/ubbthreads/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/cutlery/
(If you are wondering about Cutco, well it is a standing JOKE on these forums. Take a look)
Where to buy:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/
http://www.korin.com/
http://www.epicureanedge.com/
http://watanabeblade.com/english/
http://shop.niimi.okayama.jp/kajiya/en/top_e.html
Take a look:
Knife Forums Thread
Seems like everyone thinks they are a joke. Especially if they are really a step down from Globals and Wusthofs which are still only mediocre knives.
One TV show that actually uses good knives is Iron Chef. The Nenox S series prominently show up there. Check em out:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/NenoxS1.html
Benchmade Kitchen Knives
If you have any questions I would ask them there and people who know knives will be glad to help you research.
Quote from thread linked above:
"They are nice knives that are very expensive. They are visual art and carry the benchmade name which seems to fit their business goal. People who know nothing about kitchen knives can buy these and get a good using kitchen knife that has huge visual appeal with the benchmade name.
The same quality and performance can be found elsewhere cheaper."
I suggest that you go to decent knife store and test them out personally. As some one already said on here. Make sure you don't have sharp edges on the back (i.e. Global) that are uncomfortable on your palm and fingers.
Get a decent grip? Remember how those oils and fish moistures make things slippery. I like wooden handles just for this reason.
My personal favorites, I have tested quite a few over the years so these are the once I still use:
Victorinox - Built like an ol' 240 Volvo. Basic, good metal and sturdy. Yes it's the same company that makes the legendary Swiss Army knife. =)
Mac - My pick for situations that need sharpness, precision and agility. Pricey but worth every penny. Hand crafted parts, top notch finish. Just the best I ever handled this far.
Neither brand has style points worth a empty calm shell. Then again I am way to practical to think about that for my tools, for me it's the end result that counts. =)
Globals are excellent knives but not the absolute best. Please do not be so ignorant. Just a few stainless knives that I find superior:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/HDSeries.html
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/KDSeries.html
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/NenoxS1.html
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/UX10Series.html
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/PowderedHighSpeedToolSteelSeries.html
the list goes on...
knifemerchant is a great website but as you can see I prefer japanesechefsknife.com for their selection, service and prices!
The absolute best knife that I own:
[330mm Blue Steel Yanagiba handmade by Shinichi Watanabe]
also, the sharp corner of the chinese cleaver nearest to you is very useful and powerful. It can do things like splitting up a coconut. chinese cleave rulez
also, the sharp corner of the chinese cleaver nearest to you is very useful and powerful. It can do things like splitting up a coconut. chinese cleave rulez
What kind of chinese cleaver do you use?
A lot of chinese cleavers are actually thinner than your average chef's knife. When you start talking about splitting cocunuts I am beginning to think that you are using one that is meant for bones, rather than the light vegetable and meat cleaver that is the replacement for a chef's knife.
Take a look at some real Chinese Cleavers:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html
I'm currently eyeing the Suien Chinese Cleaver for $128...sweet knife and good price....
I googled these and noticed a full bolster on some lines...no thanks...can't sharpen as well at the heel and shortens the life of the blade...I'd avoid cheap knives like these at all costs...
How do you sharpen them? By what criteria do you deem them to hold an edge and take one easily?
I have been pondering a better knife for a while. I've used a Henckels 4-star chef's knife for many many years and been quite happy with it. I manged to snap 10mm off the tip of it a few weeks ago (misusing it of course on only partially thawed beef, sigh...my bad) and I'm thinking of upgrading. I like the Misono (for a chef's knife) the best so far. Anyone have one? Used one? Know anything about them? (440 series since I can get sharper with high-carbon but my occasional laziness will result in rust). Hattori looks out of control, especially pricewise, and their damascus-clad blade looks like more of a marketing gimmick than really useful.
I haven't found any sources for the 'blue paper steel' knives and some good performers for very good slicers (both for sushi and other general slicing tasks, such as Peking Duck or similar).
I picked up a chinese cleaver of no name in chinatown right after I damaged my Henckels, and I'm very happy with it so far. Only $25, the store owner claimed that 'all the restaurant chefs here in chinatown use this one, it is the best you can get' (at least that's what my friend who was translating the mandarin for me said). I dunno, I haven't had it long enough to really judge the edge staying power, but it is a very surprisingly good knife for such an incredibly cheap price.
BTW, I am in no particular hurry to get the chef's knife since the cleaver definitely rules. It is as good or better than the 10" chef's knife for every task except those that require the full length, and have the smashing and scooping abilities as a plus. Maybe I should just get the slicer and be done with it...
Have you been to these yet?
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showforum.php?fid/26/
http://216.91.137.210/ubbthreads/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/cutlery
I promise you that you won't find a better place to research and talk about kitchen cutlery than the two forums listed above. If you like this forum then the "In the Kitchen" section of knifeforums.com will blow you away. It's an outstanding community of highly experienced knifenuts!
Have you considered the Misono UX10 series? It is a favorite among knifenuts. Better performance than the 440 series...
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/UX10Series.html
Regarding the Hattori HD, the Damascus clad blade is solely for aesthetics. I wouldn’t consider it a marketing gimmick as it does look very pretty. Prices aren’t crazy unless you are looking at the KD line which is a whole different ballpark. I don’t know many people who have spent a grand on a chef’s knife…
http://watanabeblade.com/english/
http://www.dento.gr.jp/takedahamono/e-kajiya/e_index.html
Murray Carter - see forums listed above to find out about this American maker as I don't have a website
Is it a CCK (Chan Chi Kee)? If so, the store owner was right. They are the best cleavers for anywhere near their price range. I picked one up in Chinatown for $32. It is the KF1301 240mm Small Slicer (100mm width). The one to get is the KF1101 240mm Kitchen Slicer (125mm width) but I couldn't find it...
Obviously, better cleavers can be had for much more ($130+).
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/ChineseCleaver.html
Here is a great thread about CCK cleavers:
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/693545/post/693545/
The CCK product line:
http://www.chanchikee.com/ChineseKnives.html
Serrated knives are not necessarily bad in a chef's knife (though I don't like them, for reasons I will state later.)
And serrated knifes do indeed tear, as you say, but they also pierce, slice and saw, depending on the pattern.
Why are some knives serrated?
1) Serration makes the edge longer. The edge is no longer a nearly straight line, but wiggly. And like the coastline of Nova Scotia, a wiggly line is much longer than a straight line with the same endpoints. If wear is evenly distributed (which is a bad assumption, as we will see) then there is more edge to receive that wear, and the edge stays sharper longer. Hence, the "blades that last forever" claims (and those "diamond" blades you mention are not coated with diamond, they are simply serrated in a pattern that they call "diamond-sharpened" or they use diamonds to create the edge.)
2) Serration creates tiny teeth or, depending on the serration pattern, bumps that project out further on the edge, and valleys that recede back into the blade. The points of the teeth become wear points that receive the brunt of the wear, allowing the sides of the teeth and the valleys to remain sharp. Those areas of the blade remain sharp for a considerable time, since they are protected by the points.
3) The points of the teeth, even though they receive lots of wear, can still remain relatively sharp for a long time, simply because they are the points. In engineering terms, they have a small local radius (the definition of sharpness) and it would take a lot of wear to make that radius so large that they cannot function. As an analogy, imagine the point of a pin. How dull would that point have to become before it would stop functioning as a pin? Lots.
4) Depending on the shape of the teeth and the slicing action used, the sides of the teeth may be presented to the material in a skewed manner, the way a craftsman may turn a hand plane slightly left or right to make planing easier. The reason he or she does that is that by doing so, the bevel on the edge presented to the wood becomes effectively longer, making the blade edge effectively thinner and sharper. So cutting becomes easier.
5) Again, depending on the tooth pattern, some serrated knives also saw, i.e., make a cut by actually removing some of the material. The teeth cut off tiny bits of the material and carry them away. You can see the principle used in woodsaws. Most serrated knives are not designed to function this way, but some do. I have used knifes that left a fine powder of whatever I was cutting, like sawdust, on the cutting