NICE and SHARP

Every Blade Deserves a Nice and Sharp Edge

There is a wide choice of kitchen knives on the market. Whether you are someone who wants to get the preparation of food done as quickly as possible or you are a chef creating a masterpiece, the need for quality knives that are sharp and stay sharp is essential.

Before purchasing any knives, the first thing that you want to ask yourself is, what knives do I need? For most of us, the answer is “just a few”. A few general purpose knives are all that is needed to do most of the work.

You will find that a chef’s knife, small utility knife and a serrated slicer will do just about everything.

Go to a knife store and compare various brands. Use the chef knife for comparison as this is one knife that you definitely should have. Consider the following:

Does it feel right?
Can you get and keep a firm grip on the knife?
Does the knife seem to be balanced correctly and a comfortable weight?
Is the blade length one that you feel you can control?

Once you have narrowed your choices to a few brands, start looking at the details. Understanding how knives are made, the materials and construction, as well as the function of the various parts will help you make the right choice.

MANUFACTURING METHODS

Knives can be stamped or forged. Both methods can produce excellent knives as well as low quality knives

As the name implies, stamped knives are stamped out of a sheet of steel just like you would use a cookie cutter. The blade is then ground down to taper it from the spine to the edge as well as from heel to tip.

The better stamped blade knives can have bolsters or finger guards which were previously only seen on forged knives.

Forged knives are made by heating the steel until it is soft and hammering it into shape. The process tempers the steel and changes the grains of the steel which increases hardness. Forged knifes are usually heavier and less flexible than stamped knives. Whether the knife is stamped or forged should not be a major factor when making a knife selection.

BLADE MATERIAL

Today we can choose between steel or ceramic blades.

Ceramic blades have some advantages over traditional steel cutlery, but also some disadvantages. Ceramic is very hard, very sharp and hold their edge longer than steel. They are also rustproof. However, ceramic knives do not have the flexibility of metal. These knives are primarily for slicing, carving and peeling. They should not be used for heavy chopping, dicing, cutting through bone on frozen foods or hard foods which can break the blade.

There are lots of different steels available today each with slightly different properties. The ones most commonly seen on kitchen knives are:

Stainless Steel
High Carbon Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is produced by adding carbon and special materials to iron. The carbon makes the iron into steel and the additives help protect the steel from rusting.

High carbon stainless steel is also produced by adding carbon to iron and special materials to protect agents rusting. The difference is that high carbon steel has more carbon which makes the steel harder thus will hold an edge better than just stainless steel or carbon steel.

HANDLE

Almost every manufacturer has a slightly different handle ranging from the traditional looking to ultra modern. One of the most important considerations when purchasing a knife is making sure you can get a good firm grip on the handle.

There are 2 different handle alignments to consider, in-line and off-set. In-line is the traditional set up where the top of the handle is in line with the top or spine of the knife blade. The offset handle, sometime referred to as “Deli knives” has the handle raised above the spine giving more clearance under the handle.

The handles of kitchen knives can be made from a number of different materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. You want to pick one that does not get slippery when wet.

Last Updated: Dec-07