Choosing and purchasing premium quality kitchen-knives is somewhat daunting, considering the fact that, there are so many makers and brands out there operating business. Having a good knife set is must when you are having a penchant for cooking and love trying out varying recipes nearly every day. Unlike bakery knife, kitchen knife set is a mixture of varying knives, primarily meant for chopping and dicing vegetables and meat thus making the culinary process smarter, easier, safer and more enjoyable. Now which set is best, which set is worth investment, which set will last long is something every avid cook should know right before making any purchase. Many of us think that checking the sharpness is enough to determine the best kitchen knives but apart from sharpness there are varying other factors, which help in determining the best kitchen knives. Out there branded and non-branded, both types are making notable business, now it’s up to you to find out the right one for right purpose.
Best Knife Set & Kitchen Knives Reviews
Types of Kitchen Knives
While talking about the types of kitchen knives, there are different kitchen knives you can purchase depending upon the requirement, few of them are discussed below.
- Chef’s Knife: This knife is used widely in kitchen, ranging from chopping splitting to slicing, this knife performs varying duties. The knife is having extended blade, helpful in mincing too. The back of the blade is strong and powerful so that greater pressure can be exerted. Nearly all chef’s knives are having safety bolsters for safety and preventing the knife from slipping. Although smaller and medium sized blades are for regular use but the longer ones are meant for professionals as simple homemakers won’t be able to control them while cutting something in faster pace. These chef knives are having other names with little variation like Santoku Knives.
- Steak Knife: One of the finest of kitchen knives, steak knife comes in variety. While talking about its blade shapes, these knives are having varying shapes like serrated edge, hollow edge, and straight edge. The specialty of these knives, there is no gap between the blade and handle, so it offers seamless cutting experience. While talking about strength and rigidity, these knives are best in performance.
- Paring Knife: Practically these paring knives are meant to skin fruits and those vegetables whose skin is pliable and delicate. So for maintaining precision and accuracy, this knife is optimum in choice. They are available in variety, Bird’s Beak, Chef’s, Clip Point (Granny), Paring/Boning some of its popular variants.
- Boning Knife: The boning knife is meant for separating meat from the flesh and cutting fish precisely, these knives are accessible varying width and the blade curvature offer better control. The boning knives are meant for cutting chicken and pork.
- Bread Knife: The bread knives are meant for cutting loaves, breads, hard and soft crust breads. One of the basic kitchen knives, this knife is like fundamental for all kitchens as cutting loaves are something regular in every kitchen.
- Carving Knife: The carving knife is available in between 20 cm and 38 cm these knives are meant for poultry and meat slicing, their razor sharp edge, balanced structure and ease in handling drive homeowners purchase the knife without giving a second thought. They are varied in shape and structure. Handles are anti slip and these knives are like versatile in application.
- Cleavers: The cleavers are quite similar to boning knives in application. These knives are also meant for chopping the flesh, separating the meat from the bone, slicing thick meat is quite easier with them. These knives used to be Chef’s favorite but for past few years homeowners are also showing great interest in purchasing these knives. The cleavers are having oblong shape, large size and good to be addressed as hand axes. Hacking through bones is easier with these knives and they demand effort to show their merciless butchering feat.
- Electric Knife: Even though electric knives are one of the new inventions but it gained its popularity pretty quiet incredibly. The electric knife demand less effort on the user’s end, gives flawless cutting experience. Precision, accuracy with them is better than normal knives and most importantly, no matter how much you slice and cut, the end result is always satisfying without tiring your hands. The electric knife, even though appears to be little expensive but it is worth investment. Now these knives are versatile in application and for varying other ventures they are used like for wood chopping and metal slicing but for culinary skill, they are also a big hit. These knives are available with and without cord.
Advantages of Kitchen Knives
The best kitchen knives offer more than one advantage.
- Even though maximum of us run behind cheaper knives but nearly all of them outlive their duration quickly, reducing into blunt, rusty piece of metal, destined to be crammed in the drawer for the period until they are sold to scrap mongers.
- Sharp edge is the quality of best kitchen knives. Even though there is no knife accessible, which appears blunt at the onset of purchasing but with passing time cheaper ones lose their sharpness and quickly become blunt.
- Local and cheaper knives are sold at random so their pattern and design do not receive much attention or consideration. However best kitchen knives are ergonomically designed and avid Chef’s do not find it taxing and tiring holding them for longer hours.
Caring & Maintenance Tips for Kitchen Knives
Leaving the kitchen knives in sink is something awful for your knife’s health. No matter how rust proof are they, in contact of water rust and stain is sure to develop. So it is better to wash knives with hot or lukewarm water and drying it briskly. Few companies boast of their creation to be dish washer safe, but putting knives in dish washer is risky as both of them will be affected in the process- the dishwasher and the knife. Hand wash is something best for kitchen knives. Every knife needs little honing and so you can hone your knife right at home, honing sharpen the knife considerably and it’s different from professional whetting. But after few years, when your knife is exhausted and no more sharpness will be perceptible, it is better to sharpen it under professional supervision. With correct sharpening or whetting, it will readily restore its sharpness and will be able to render you quality service for few more years. After use, it is useful to keep the knife in the wooden block it will provide safety and prevent the climate play roughly with the blade.
How To Find Best Kitchen Knives
Kitchen Knives are available in local stores as well as online shops. Buying them is not a challenging venture. However challenging is the selection of the best among best. Before selecting a particular type, you need to determine few aspects like:
- Weight: Few have an idea that weighty knives are best and few believe that the lighter the knives the easier is cutting, so kitchen knives should be purchased which are not heavy to carry.
- Balance: Balance is what a user need about his knife as consistent cutting and delicate peeling may appear heavy when there is notable balancing problem. So you have to find out, if the butt of the knife appears weighty or not or if the blade is unduly weighty.
- Size: Now size does matter, and chef knife without having right size is not worth calling a chef knife at all. The knife becomes resourceful and versatile in application when it is having right size.
- Body of the knife: Right after considering all these factors the body of the knife should also be reviewed. Starting from its heel to handle, bolster to spine, edge to sharpness everything should be checked properly.
Below 5 Best Kitchen Knives Are Reviewed
[easyazon_link identifier=”B000638D32″ locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”icamerarev006-20″ cart=”n” localize=”n” popups=”n”]Victorinox Fibrox 8 Inch Chef’s Knife:[/easyazon_link]
Victorinox had its name in making beautiful, sturdy and sharp army knives but their culinary items are also worth buying. Today with their gastronomic collection none will even assert that they are lagging back in competition when it is about making kitchen knife. This particular 8-inch multipurpose chef’s knife bear the stamp of excellence. The steel is high carbon, meant for providing finest sharpness. The conical shape is best in providing optimum chopping power. The handle is Patented 2-inch Fibrox, which speaks for better grip, slip resistance, extra comfort and easier holding. The knife is made in Switzerland and hand washing is recommended. The knife comes with lifetime warranty. Light in weight this knife is excellent a choice for amateur as well as professionals.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B000QCPNWM” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”icamerarev006-20″ cart=”n” localize=”n” popups=”n”]Victorinox Fibrox 7 Inch Granton Edge Santoku Knife:[/easyazon_link]
Out and out professional in appearance, this Santoku Knife is having cleaver surface. So if you are looking for paper-thin slices and precision in cutting and chopping, this knife is an excellent choice for you. The knife is having excellent edge which readily thwarts food from sticking to the blade surface. The blade is made of high carbon steel, which offers highest sharpness, and its edge retention is the direct outcome of cold rolled steel process. The blade is ice tempered, so definitely you will be dealing with one sturdy metal all set to give you pleasurable cutting experience offering you maximum ease and zero error in cutting and mincing. The knife is having no bolster so one can use the full body while cutting a thick meat piece. The handle is well textured, slip resistant so there is no way it will fling in air, the design is perfect ergonomically, so no issue with balancing and comfort. The knife has sharpness that incredibly continues for prolong time period so no need of frequent sharpening but little honing is required occasionally.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00005MEGH” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”icamerarev006-20″ cart=”n” localize=”n” popups=”n”]Wusthof Classic 3-1/2-Inch Paring Knife:[/easyazon_link]
This knife is having pointed blade and best in chopping and peeling vegetable. For varying kinds of small cutting errands, this particular kitchen knife is outstanding. Made of high carbon stainless steel, this knife is forged not stamped and hand honed for enhanced sharpness. As the word ‘classic’ suggests this knife is traditional in style and making, the handle comes triple riveted so there is no possibility of getting it flung in the air when pressure is exerted. The sharpness is razor sharp and the knife is dishwasher safe. The knife is best for mincing and filleting and also finest for steak slicing. The knife is responsive and balanced and its shorter structure offers incredible balance points. This knife helps cooks to cut almost anything without making compromise at any point.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B0000Y7KNQ” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”icamerarev006-20″ cart=”n” localize=”n” popups=”n”]Shun DM0706 Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife:[/easyazon_link]
The Shun Chef Knife is versatile, responsive, safe and with right weight, balance, this knife is something best to use when it is about chopping, mincing and slicing. It comes with 8-inch blade made of VG-10 stainless steel, having incredible high-carbon stainless steel layers. The layered surface is having all in all 32 layers, definitely sounds overstated but this is what makes the knife best in market. The knife is incredibly rust-proof. While talking about the butt or handle of this knife, great in making and unlike other knives this one is dishwasher safe and offers life time warranty. Budget friendly, durable this knife is must for all kitchen types.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00005OL44″ locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”icamerarev006-20″ cart=”n” localize=”n” popups=”n”]Global G-2 – 8 inch, 20cm Chef’s Knife:[/easyazon_link]
Light in weight, easy in movement, sharp in slicing the knife is like a reliable assistant of all cooking enthusiast. The metal body is prepared with state-of-the-art molybdenum/vanadium stainless steel. The edge of the knife is having incredible serration that continues extraordinarily for longer time period. The handle of the knife offers tighter grip, that incredible dimpled surface offers safe grip. The handle is slip resistant and hardly demands extra pressure, so slicing, chopping is something untiring a venture with this knife. There is no chance for tip breaking as this knife is quite strong in manufacturing but if it receives bigger dent or develops any type of deficiency, the company is committed to change it readily.
Conclusion:
Having the best kitchen knives is always beneficial. Although they are little high in expense but the service they provide all throughout, is something worth paying for.