Kitchen Utensils: Knives and Knife Sets for Home and Restaurant

A chef knife (usually 18–23 cm) or a santoku handles most work with meat, vegetables and herbs, a paring knife (8–10 cm) is for fine work with fruit and vegetables, and a serrated knife is for bread and foods with a soft crust. A fillet knife has a thin flexible blade for separating fish and meat from the bone. See what hand tools are and how to choose them.

Most kitchen knives are made of stainless steel with a hardness of about 54–58 HRC, while harder steels (58–62 HRC) hold an edge longer but are more brittle. A forged blade is usually stronger and better balanced, while a stamped one is lighter. Read hand tool materials, hardness, coatings and ergonomics.

European knives are usually sharpened at 15–20° per side and Japanese ones at 10–15°. On whetstones, a coarse grit (200–400) restores the edge, a medium grit (1000) sharpens and a fine grit (3000–6000) hones, while manual sharpeners are handy for quick touch-ups. See what is sandpaper grit.

The handle should sit comfortably in the hand and not slip when wet, and the knife balance point should ideally be near the junction of blade and handle. A set makes sense if all the knives will actually be used, and a block or magnetic strip protects the blades. Read how to choose a hand tool set.

Wash knives by hand and dry them immediately, since dishwashers and long soaking dull the blade and damage the handle. Cut on a wooden or plastic board, not on glass or stone. See how to maintain, store and organize hand tools.

A sharp knife is safer than a dull one because it needs less force and does not slip off the food. Keep knives away from children, never try to catch a falling knife, and for large volumes of cutting you can wear cut-resistant gloves. Read how to use hand tools safely and how to choose work gloves.