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Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
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When you buy a knife set, how do you know what knife is for what?
- Thread starter blqin01
- Start date
That's how the makers of the sets get you. Basically, you shouldn't really buy anything (knife or otherwise) unless you know what it is for and think that you need it. That said, if you tell us what knives you have, we can tell you what each one is for.
In the mean time, I'll throw out some general information. Most lay-people believe that the size of the knife you use depends on the size of the thing you're cutting. This isn't broadly true. The knife you use depends on the way you will be using it more than anything else.
Here are the basic European kitchen knives and their uses:
Chef's knife: This is used for cutting things against a cutting board. It will do 90-100% of your cutting needs. Slicing, chopping, dicing, etc. You can get in a pinch by if all you have is a chef's knife. Some sets come with a 5-6" version in addition to a full-sized one (7-10"). Don't bother with the short one.
Paring knife: Paring is the act of cutting something in the air (as opposed to against a cutting board). You can use this for cutting the stem out of a tomato, cutting eyes or dirt out of a potato, for trimming the ends off of carrots or mushrooms, for cutting apart a head of broccoli, etc. A lot of people try to chop with a paring knife. Don't — it's a waste of your time.
Slicing/carving knife: Typically at least as long as a chef's knife, a slicing knife can be used for carving a bird (where cuts will not typically be against a cutting board) or carving a roast (where cuts will typically be against a cutting board).
Bread knife: For cutting bread. You can use other knives for this, but the serrations of a bread knife will help you get through the crust more cleanly and if there are seeds or whole grains in the bread they can screw up the fine edge of a chef's knife.
Utility knife: These come in lengths 4-6". Some people like them for certain tasks, but I find them to be too long to use for paring and too short to make a good slicer. Anything you do with one of these you can do with a chef's knife, a paring knife or a slicing/carving knife.
Boning knife: for cutting meat off of bones, cutting in between bones (such as ribs) or disarticulating joints.
You don't necessarily need to have all of these. For years I had only a chef's knife and a paring knife but I only ever used the chef's knife (despite cooking all of my meals).
There are a variety of videos on youtube that teach basic knife skills. I've seen a lot of them but most of them teach some bad habits. Jamie Oliver, for example, has a fairly good video, but he constantly bangs and scrapes his knife against the cutting board (and also there are some serious design flaws with the knife he's using). I guess this is fine if your knife has axe-like geometry, but it's a bad habit in general. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ44SxiemMs)
This is a great resource for learning about different types of Japanese knives: http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/usetype/all/index.shtml
I don't know of any similar resources for European knives.
- Chris
In the mean time, I'll throw out some general information. Most lay-people believe that the size of the knife you use depends on the size of the thing you're cutting. This isn't broadly true. The knife you use depends on the way you will be using it more than anything else.
Here are the basic European kitchen knives and their uses:
Chef's knife: This is used for cutting things against a cutting board. It will do 90-100% of your cutting needs. Slicing, chopping, dicing, etc. You can get in a pinch by if all you have is a chef's knife. Some sets come with a 5-6" version in addition to a full-sized one (7-10"). Don't bother with the short one.
Paring knife: Paring is the act of cutting something in the air (as opposed to against a cutting board). You can use this for cutting the stem out of a tomato, cutting eyes or dirt out of a potato, for trimming the ends off of carrots or mushrooms, for cutting apart a head of broccoli, etc. A lot of people try to chop with a paring knife. Don't — it's a waste of your time.
Slicing/carving knife: Typically at least as long as a chef's knife, a slicing knife can be used for carving a bird (where cuts will not typically be against a cutting board) or carving a roast (where cuts will typically be against a cutting board).
Bread knife: For cutting bread. You can use other knives for this, but the serrations of a bread knife will help you get through the crust more cleanly and if there are seeds or whole grains in the bread they can screw up the fine edge of a chef's knife.
Utility knife: These come in lengths 4-6". Some people like them for certain tasks, but I find them to be too long to use for paring and too short to make a good slicer. Anything you do with one of these you can do with a chef's knife, a paring knife or a slicing/carving knife.
Boning knife: for cutting meat off of bones, cutting in between bones (such as ribs) or disarticulating joints.
You don't necessarily need to have all of these. For years I had only a chef's knife and a paring knife but I only ever used the chef's knife (despite cooking all of my meals).
There are a variety of videos on youtube that teach basic knife skills. I've seen a lot of them but most of them teach some bad habits. Jamie Oliver, for example, has a fairly good video, but he constantly bangs and scrapes his knife against the cutting board (and also there are some serious design flaws with the knife he's using). I guess this is fine if your knife has axe-like geometry, but it's a bad habit in general. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ44SxiemMs)
This is a great resource for learning about different types of Japanese knives: http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/usetype/all/index.shtml
I don't know of any similar resources for European knives.
- Chris
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2012
- Messages
- 4,499
In my opinion you only need a chef knife and pairing knife for home use.
Hesparus explains its spot on.
me personally, I use a 270mm slicer for everything, chop slice and even perform tasks meant for a pairing knife but if yiu are comfortable with one knife than it can do majority of tasks.
Hesparus explains its spot on.
me personally, I use a 270mm slicer for everything, chop slice and even perform tasks meant for a pairing knife but if yiu are comfortable with one knife than it can do majority of tasks.
OP: I assumed that your knife set is European knives, but in case it is not or if it contains some Japanese knives, here are the basic Japanese knives:
Gyuto: functionally the same as a European chef's knife, but typically longer, lighter, thinner blade, finer edge, and harder steel.
Santoku: A different style of general-purpose chef's knife. Most people consider these to be far less useful than a gyuto (and I agree).
Nakiri: For chopping soft vegetables and greens.
Petty: This is sort of analogous to the western utility knife, but far more useful. It can be used for some paring functions (its usefulness for this can depend on the length) but the wide heel allows it to be used against a cutting board for small slicing tasks (and occasional chopping).
Sujihiki: a fine meat-slicing knife to be used against a cutting board.
Yanagiba: for slicing raw fish (also against a cutting board).
Deba: for breaking down and filleting fish.
Western deba: basically a heavy gyuto for cutting tough or partially frozen foods and anything else that you wouldn't risk the edge of a nakiri or gyuto on.
FTR-14c: For real. It makes me cringe every time. But besides that, I think his video is pretty good.
- Chris
Gyuto: functionally the same as a European chef's knife, but typically longer, lighter, thinner blade, finer edge, and harder steel.
Santoku: A different style of general-purpose chef's knife. Most people consider these to be far less useful than a gyuto (and I agree).
Nakiri: For chopping soft vegetables and greens.
Petty: This is sort of analogous to the western utility knife, but far more useful. It can be used for some paring functions (its usefulness for this can depend on the length) but the wide heel allows it to be used against a cutting board for small slicing tasks (and occasional chopping).
Sujihiki: a fine meat-slicing knife to be used against a cutting board.
Yanagiba: for slicing raw fish (also against a cutting board).
Deba: for breaking down and filleting fish.
Western deba: basically a heavy gyuto for cutting tough or partially frozen foods and anything else that you wouldn't risk the edge of a nakiri or gyuto on.
FTR-14c: For real. It makes me cringe every time. But besides that, I think his video is pretty good.
- Chris
I only use a paring knife, serrated utility knife, and a 240 or 270mm chef's knife after reading a lot of information by hardcore cooks. Some note that a serrated knife for bread and tomatoes are useful. Of what I do, the paring and chef's knife does about 99.5% of the work.
I've never personally understood some of the tasks certain different knives in a block perform. I once had a set that had a 3-inch "paring knife" and a 4-inch "utility knife"...and for the life of me I did not understand why both were needed. While I could understand the need for a larger meat knife or a boning knife depending on what the user is doing, I cant understand the need for multiple knives which seem to be, more or less, different sized versions of the same knife.
I've never personally understood some of the tasks certain different knives in a block perform. I once had a set that had a 3-inch "paring knife" and a 4-inch "utility knife"...and for the life of me I did not understand why both were needed. While I could understand the need for a larger meat knife or a boning knife depending on what the user is doing, I cant understand the need for multiple knives which seem to be, more or less, different sized versions of the same knife.
I've been alternating between a very generic, cheap Japanese patterned chef's knife and a European style chef's knife that has a very broad blade. More and more I like the Japanese style. The blade on the Japanese style is about an inch wide, the European style is closer to 1 3/4 wide. It's too wide! There's too much material to handle. While I'm sure I could do the same tasks well with it, I feel clumsy with it.
The time is probably coming for me to invest in a high quality Japanese style chef's knife.
The time is probably coming for me to invest in a high quality Japanese style chef's knife.
Peak_oil: If it's only an inch wide, then it's not a chef's knife, japanese or otherwise. Japanese chef knives (gyuto, santoku, kiritsuke, hakata bocho, etc.) are all roughly as wide as european chef's knives. The width allows you to get sufficient knuckle clearance when cutting against a cutting board. Use whatever you like, but what you've got isn't a chef's knife. Do you have a picture of it?
- Chris
- Chris
I own quite a few different kitchen knives but only ever really use 2 of them. There is no formula for this; try them all out and ultimately you'll gravitate to your own favourites. A block full of knives always impresses the ladies and are good decorators in any kitchen anyway! Once you've fixed on a style and length then you can start looking around for Wusthof, Henckels or some of the other outrageous-priced (but worth it) stuff.
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2009
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- 11,409
And a meat cleaver. It mostly depends on whether or not your meat comes all cut up for you already, but I believe whole chickens are cheaper than the parts, and the breast typically needs to be split. I also believe even cutting the joints can blunt your edge if you touch the bone slightly.
Plus you know, your meat cleaver might actually be sharper than any butcher's, as I thought a few times when I noticed a lot of bone pieces with my meat:thumbup:.
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2011
- Messages
- 1,125
kitchen knives are not like silverware, there are no rules about what to use for any job. try all the knives, you will probably find 2 or 3 that feel and work the best. me, i have 2 very sharp paring/utility knives, a veggy cleaver and a meat cleaver. these are what work the best for me. as they say "Your mileage may vary."
the old sailor
the old sailor