NICE and SHARP

Every Blade Deserves a Nice and Sharp Edge

These are the traditional style knives used by most Americans and Europeans. These knives are generally not task or food specific like the western specialty knife.

BONING KNIFE	Remove the bones from poultry or meat
BUTCHER KNIFE	Cutting large chunks of meat and slicing steaks
CARVING KNIFE	Used to slice meat in one pass of the blade
CHEF'S KNIFE	General purpose kitchen knife
CLEAVER	For cutting bones and splitting chicken
COOK KNIFE	Another name for Chef's knife
FILET KNIFE	Used for filleting fish and chicken.
FLUTING KNIFE	Used for small tasks such as decorating and peeling.
PARING KNIFE	Used for tasks like peeling and coring
SLICING KNIFE	Used to slice meat in one pass of the blade
TRIMMING KNIFE	Mini boning knife
UTILITY KNIFE	General purpose knife with a narrower blade

A stiff boning knife is better for boning beef while a more flexible one is better on poultry. The narrow blade makes it easy to get into small spaces and remove the bones off poultry or meat.

BUTCHER KNIFE

Medium to heavy duty blade between 6 and 12 inches long curving up slightly at the end. Used for cutting large hunks of meat and slicing steaks.

CARVING / SLICING KNIFE

Carving Knife

Long and thin, this knife is use is for slicing meats such as roasts, poultry and ham into very thin slices with one pass of the blade. The more flexibility / thinner the knife, the thinner slices that can be cut.

CHEF'S / COOK KNIFE

Chef's Knife

Used for slicing, dicing and chopping. The blade is slightly curved to allow rocking the knife on the cutting board.

CLEAVER

Cleaver

The thick heavy blade of the cleaver is for cutting bones and splitting chicken and ribs. The cleaver's thick edge is designed so it will not chip easily.

FILET KNIFE

Filet Knife

These are flexible knives having a long thin narrow blade, similar to a boning knife. These knives are used for filleting fish and chicken. They are designed to remove the meat from around the bones. The blade ranges from 6 to 11 inches, allowing them to move easily along the backbone and under the skin of fish.

FLUTING KNIFE

These have a small blade that is very straight. Fluting knives are ideal for small tasks such as decorating and peeling.

PARING KNIFE

Used for tasks like peeling and coring. If you are only buying a few knives, consider the longer paring knife as it can also be used as a utility knife for light chopping and boning chicken. It is a small utility / all purpose knife.

TRIMMING KNIFE

Usually about 2 to 3 inches long, a trimming knife has a small, curved blade that is shaped somewhat like a boning knife. Trimming knives are ideal for small tasks such as decorating and peeling

UTILITY KNIFE

Utility Knife

General purpose knife with a narrower blade ranging from 4 to 7 inches long. Can be used for a variety of jobs. Used for cutting and slicing fruits and vegetables as well as light chopping.

Last Updated: Dec-07