WESTERN SPECIALTY
There are hundreds of specialty kitchen knives on the market. Below are described some of the more common ones.
BREAD KNIFE
This knife is usually serrated, but can be flat. It is long and thin, ranging from 8 to 10 inches long.
CHEESE KNIFE (Hard)
Designed for slicing hard cheese. They are usually relatively thin and sharp so thin slices can easily be cut Most will have a forked tip so they can be used as a serving utensil as well.
CHEESE KNIFE (Parmesan)
Parmesan cheese knives are specially designed for slicing very hard cheeses. They have very short, thick blades that allow the user to put force into the cut without fear of snapping or bending the blade.
CHEESE KNIFE (Soft)
Soft cheese knives are specially designed for slicing soft cheese. The side of the knife is usually cut out to prevent the cheese from sticking.
PEELING (aka BIRD BEAK, or TOUREN KNIFE)
This is a specialized paring knife. It is used to cut decorative garnishes. Used to make tourne cut vegetables which are oblong shaped cut vegetables such as carrots, which looks like a blunt ended football.
TOMATO KNIFE
The serrated edge and thinness of the tomato knife allows you to pierce and slice through the skin of a tomato without tearing the skin or crushing the tomato.
VEGETABLE CLEAVER
Used for chopping up vegetables.