How to choose kitchen knife

Not all kitchen knives are the same. Very often, fashion brands sell low-quality knives at a high price, and sometimes you can find a whole set of better quality knives from an unknown manufacturer at a lower price. As the kitchen knives is a contribution you’ll feel every day, it is important that they are high-quality, wear-resistant, with a comfortable handle and a solid blade. So check how to choose kitchen knife.

How to choose kitchen knife offline

Basic set of kitchen knives

Before you go shopping, read our article about how to choose kitchen knife. Then determine what type of knife you need. The selection of knives in stores is wide – any shapes, sizes and materials, for any culinary style and habits.

The basic set of kitchen knives includes:

• Universal knife 13 cm: good for a wide range of products, may be your first knife, as it performs a variety of work;
• Chef knife 20-23 cm: used for cutting, butchering, tenderizing and grinding;
• Vegetable knife 8 cm: used for peeling, slicing and chopping small products (fit in hand);
• Bread knife (serrated): used for bread, cakes, fruits and tomatoes;
• Hatchet: for meat and as a smaller version of a tool for chopping greens; perfect if you often chop large pieces of meat;
• Fillet knife: for cutting fish; worth buying only if you cut fish into fillets yourself;
• Boning knife: used specifically for removing bones from meat;
• Carving knife: used to cut thin slices from a piece of baked meat;
• Knife sharpener or honing steel

Quite often, you can buy a full set of knives of all types. As a rule, buying a set is cheaper than buying knives separately.

Hold them in your hands

When buying knives, be sure to hold them in your hands. If you are going to use some kind of tool, it should perfectly fit your hand. Somebody’s advices will not help; the choice of handle is a very personal issue.

How much steel is in your knife

Pay attention to how much steel is in your knife and how it is located. Pay attention to the places of welding, especially the metal part in the handle. This is the weakest point that often suffers from breakdowns. The perfect knife is made from a solid hardened piece of steel, but this is rare. Cheap knives are usually thin in the metal part, and the handle is made of artificial materials like plastic.

Check the weight of the knife

Check the weight of the knife. A lightweight hatchet is convenient for fast work, while a heavy hatchet will require much more effort to work with light ingredients. However, foods like nuts, ginger, palm sugar and other hard foods are easier to chop with a heavy tool.

Check the balance of the knife

Check the balance of the knife. A quality knife is perfectly balanced, that is, an even weight distribution between the blade and the handle. An old-fashioned way to check the balance is to put the knife in the point of handle and blade connection at a finger length. A properly balanced knife will not fall in that position. Of course, only high-class knives pass this test. Most of the knives just fall, so be careful when doing this test.

What is balancing for? A balanced knife facilitates work and requires less effort when cutting.

Look at the handle

Look at the handle. It should be solid, easy to clean and thoroughly fixed to the blade. For most knives, this is the strongest part, since it is in contact with the pressure that further extends to the blade. If the handle is thin, the material is unknown, surface has welding marks – this is a bad sign. Gaps between the handle and the metal rod inside it not only weaken the knife, but also contribute to the spread of bacteria.

Examine the handle material

Examine the handle material. The handle is made of wood, plastic, hard rubber or other hard materials. Old-fashioned bone handles are not very convenient, as they become brittle over time. We also do not recommend soft wood handles or other soft materials.

Examine the blade and its material

Examine the blade and its material. There is a doubtful opinion that ceramic blade is the best – it can be scalpel sharpened, it keeps sharpness for long and does not rust. However, the basic weakness of ceramics is its extreme fragility. In addition, high-quality ceramic knives are quite expensive.

Quality knives are often made of high-carbon steel that stays sharp for long, however this material requires care to prevent it from rusting.

Stainless steel is the basic material for modern, inexpensive knives, but they quickly become blunt. It makes sense to buy high-carbon stainless steel knives as they do not blunt so soon and do not rust.

Forged knives are better than stamped ones, as forging makes steel harder.

Look at the width of the cutting edge

Look at the width of the cutting edge, the thickness and smoothness of the blade. The best knives have a mirror surface, and the cutting edge should be sharp from the tip to the heel.

Avoid serrated chef knives in standard processes like cutting meat or vegetables, as they may be dangerous. They rather slip on the product than cut it. Use this type of knife only for slicing bread or bread products.

Keep your knives in good condition

Keep your knives in good condition. For quality knives, buy a good honing steel or sharpener. Honing steel can easily tune your knife, but if it is too blunt for a long time, it won’t be enough. Use sharpener to restore the cutting edge or slightly adjust it.

Diamond honing steel is expensive but it will help you make a good sharpening. On the other hand, the wear of a knife is higher and if you sharpen it incorrectly, the blade will become sickle-shaped. Often, people only sharpen the central part of the blade, especially if sharpening is made at high speed. Sharpen slowly by rubbing steel along the entire length of the knife to remove metal evenly.

Do not use stone, glass, steel or ceramic boards for cutting – this can seriously damage the knife and chipped parts of the blade can fall into food. In addition, the knife slides on such boards, and this is unsafe.

Store knives correctly

Store knives correctly. A good storage method is a knife block or a magnet, but the latter should be located out the reach of children. Many chefs simply wrap knives in a solid fabric and bandage them with an elastic band.

Look for your knives

Look for YOUR knives! There is a huge selection and good prices from both manufacturers and official distributors of knives on the Internet. Nevertheless, better hold the knife in your hand before buying online or make sure that you can easily return the knife you didn’t like. Investing in knives is an important investment, since a successful set can serve for 20-30 years. By purchasing high-quality knives, you provide yourself with an easy and enjoyable job in the kitchen for long.

How to choose kitchen knife online or on Amazon

In general, choosing and buying a kitchen knife online is not much different from buying in a regular store. The only difference is that you can not touch it, look at it with your own eyes. It is possible to cut something with it. But you can easily do it, I’ll tell you how.

1. First, you need to look at reviews and knife ratings on Amazon or any other online store. They are usually very clear about the pros and cons of knives. Now Amazon takes these reviews very seriously, so there are no fake or untrue reviews.
2. Secondly, each store has a service such as return of goods. This can be from 14 days to half a year. Depending on the online store and the product. Just pay attention to this. If you do not like the knife, you can always return it.
3. I recommend watching a video about this knife. All you have to do is look up the name of the knife on Youtube.
4. And finally, the main thing. There are many bloggers, and I am one of them, who test and use the knife to tell you about it later. Listen to what they say. There are, of course, fake stories, and you have to be selective here.

Good luck buying a knife. I’d appreciate it if you could buy it from my link to Amazon.