What’s in a Knife?
A wise sous chef once told me, nearly 20 years ago — “Mate, make sure your knives are razor-sharp. That way when you cut yourself it will be a clean, straight cut & the surgeon can stitch it quickly and neatly. that way you don’t need to take 3 days off…” He was not joking.
Having cut several of my own fingers with different knives over the years, each with a varying degree of sharpness, I can conclude that in fact, he was correct. Blunt knives make for ugly cuts, long waits in A&E and a lot of pain. In fact, I even stabbed myself in the stomach with a brand new knife once — it was so sharp that I didn’t feel a thing. True story. (Funny anecdote, my wife was questioned about ‘everything being ok at home’ when it happened. She was not impressed).
When you think about it, there is a simple scientific reason behind it — blunt knife = more pressure required to acquire the desired result. The same can be said about knives that aren’t fit for purpose. I don’t want to call them ‘cheap’ knives, as it’s not always the cost of a knife that determines its effectiveness.
Pumpkins and onions are up there with the worst to cut with a knife that is not suitable or razor-sharp. Real-life example: you apply pressure to cut a butternut in half. It doesn’t work, so you hold the knife differently and apply more pressure. Without warning, the bastard pumpkin has parted ways with the chopping board and you’ve managed a beautiful ‘ol slice off your finger.
There is an enormous selection of knives out there and it’s hard to know what you should be looking for when choosing a good set of knives. So that being said, let’s look at what knives you need and what knives are ‘nice to have but not a necessity’.
Where to start?
The budget. These instruments — the good ones at least — are generally not cheap. However, if looked after correctly they can last decades. I’m not recommending you go out and buy the most expensive ones on the market though. You can find some excellent knives at really reasonable prices, which we’ll explore below.
Next, is the age-old question: Japanese or German?
Typically, Japanese knives are lighter and easier to sharpen. Personally, I prefer German knives for their weighted feel which in my opinion makes them feel more sturdy. Having said that though, we have a set of Global knives that we use in our kitchen, similar to this one, and we don’t have a bad thing to say about them.
It’s not always possible to go out and buy a full knife set, but you can start by purchasing knives individually and building up your set over time. To do so, I’ve broken them down into 3 ‘bare essentials’ that you need in your kitchen:
Chef knife —
This is one of the most versatile knives you will have in your kitchen — and it really is a must-have. With its broad blade, it is the undisputed workhorse of the kitchen.
Does the length of the blade matter? Not really. An 8" Chef’s knife is more than sufficient for most tasks you will undertake at home. A larger blade, 10" and upwards, usually requires more skill and confidence and therefore is not a necessity when you’re starting out.
Perfect for —
Cutting meats;
Dicing vegetables;
Breaking down larger cuts.
Not ideal for —
Cleaving meat bones;
Slicing bread;
Smaller precision tasks, such as peeling and mincing.
My suggestions are —
good — Deik, 8-inch Chef’s Knife, under £40
better — Zwilling Henckels, Four Star II 8-inch Chef’s Knife, under £85
best — Kai Shun, 6-inch Chef’s Knife, under £145
Bread knife —
The bread knife or serrated knife would be my second purchase after a chefs knife. Particularly if you are going to be baking anything, as the serrations (or ‘teeth’) allow you to cut through baked goods, such as a cake, with an easy sawing motion. A bread knife prevents you from squashing the item as you don’t apply the amount of pressure you would with a straight-bladed knife.
Perfect for —
Slicing bread (the clue’s in the name!);
Baked goods including cake, flapjacks, muffins etc.
Not ideal for —
Preparing or slicing meat;
Cutting most vegetables.
My suggestions are —
good — Victorinox, Classic 22 cm Bread/Pastry Knife, under £28
better — Kai Wasabi, 23cm Bread Knife, under £55
best — Global G-9, 22cm Bread Knife, under £100
Paring knife —
The paring knife is a small, short-bladed knife used for intricate cutting, peeling and dicing. Another must-have in any kitchen for the many finer jobs as the blades are simple, sharp and precise.
Perfect for —
Peeling and cutting small fruit and vegetables;
Deveining prawns.
Not ideal for —
Preparing or slicing meat, including carving & deboning;
Cutting larger and tougher vegetables, such as pumpkin or other squash;
Slicing bread.
My suggestions are —
good — Sabatier, 8 cm Paring Knife, under £15
better — F.Dick, 9 cm Spirit Paring Knife, under £40
best — Shun, 9cm Classic Paring Knife, under £90
Some of my battle hardened knives…
Lastly, you want to make sure that you’re storing your knives well as it’s one of the ways that you can preserve the blade. For this, I suggest a knife block as the safest way to store your knives, as they won’t scrape or blunt in your cutlery drawer (and can be kept out of reach from little hands).
If you’re in a position to purchase a full knife set, this will usually include 5–7 of the most used knives for a kitchen as well as the knife block and a steel for sharpening your knives. I’ve included some suggestions below:
Under £100 — Sabatier Professional Slotted 5 Piece Knife Block Set
Under £350 — Wüsthof CLASSIC 9 Piece Knife block Set
Under £800 — Global Sai 7 Piece Knife Block Set
To prolong the life of your knives, storing them correctly is one part; another is keeping them sharp — and sharpening them correctly. There’ll be a piece on this to follow, so if you have any questions on this, email us so that we can answer them in the video or blog.
From here, you can expand a little and start to add in more equipment as you become more confident with your cooking (and therefore knives) and may need some extra variety. For example, a small serrated knife, like this one, is one of the most-used knives in our kitchen. So much so, that we have several of them. Watch out for an upcoming blog as I go through some of the other tools we use regularly in our kitchen. For now, happy chopping, slicing and dicing!
