I had no idea that so much thought goes in to choosing new knives. Have you ever used someone else’s knife? It’s weird isn’t it? You get used to the feel of your own knives and get to know what type of construction suits you. There are quite a few things to consider when you are choosing knives…

A knife is made up of three parts:

The blade

This is the front part of the knife, with an edge that cuts and an opposite edge, the spine.

The tang

The part of the knife that carries the handle. Sometimes the tang is the whole length of the knife, with the two sides of the handle riveted to either side of it.

The tang can be narrower than the handle, so that the handle can be attached to it. Full tangs are considered to give stronger knives, while stick tangs are considered to provide a more comfortable handle.

The handle

There is a choice between composition, wooden or stainless steel handles. Choose composition or stainless handles, for low/no maintenance practicality, or opt for the warm, beautiful feel of wood. In a professional kitchen, wood is not allowed but is fine in the normal home kitchen.

Some knives also have a bolster which is a thick section of steel between the blade and the tang. It’s purpose is to provide better balance to the knife and to make it heftier.

There are three ways to make a kitchen knife:

Blocked

Blocked knives are cut out from a sheet or roll of steel, like cutting out biscuits from rolled-out dough. The blades are ground and given an edge, then handles are attached to the tangs. Blocked knives do not have bolsters. They are light, inexpensive and can be poorly balanced.

Forged

A steel blank is heated until very hot and then it is pounded into shape with a drop forge machine. Forged knives have bolsters and it would not be practical or economical to grind the knife from a steel blank thick enough to produce a bolster. So, forged knives are made in this way from a single piece of steel.

Sintered

The blade and tang, or the blade, bolster and tang are fused together to create a whole knife. This is a less expensive method than forging and provides a way to make knives, impossible any other way - a flat steel blade can be sintered to a tubular steel handle - it would be impossible to block knives this way and forging would create a solid heavy handle.

There are two styles to consider:

Eastern

Made from harder steel, the blades are significantly thinner and create a lighter weight knife with bevelled angles which are more acute. Eastern style knives will hold an edge for longer and will be sharper, but they take longer to sharpen or steel, so require more maintenance. Where accuracy is necessary, these knives are perfect, for example, preparing Sushi or when you want to slice very thinly.

Western

Western style knives are made from softer steel which is thicker and therefore creates a heavier knife. They also have more obtuse bevelled angles and won’t be quite as sharp, although their edges are sturdier and require less maintenance. These knives are great for chopping.

There are a whole variety of knives fit for all sorts of different tasks; below is a selection of knives most commonly used by the home cook.

Chef’s knife Ideal for slicing, chopping, dicing and mincing
Carving knife For carving meat and poultry into consistent slices without binding
Bread knife With a serrated blade for cutting items like bread and salami, that have a hard crust and soft interior
Boning knife For trimming meat, poultry and fish from hard to reach places
Paring knife For peeling and dicing fruits and vegetables
Utility knife For slicing and dicing vegetables, fruit and hard cheeses
Sharpening steel For honing knives before and after use

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