There is a wide variety of kitchen knives available for you to choose from. Some of the different types of knives include chef’s knives, paring knives, carving knives, fillet knives, butchering knives and breadknives. It can be difficult to make a choice with so many different kinds of kitchen cutlery on the market. But do not worry! This article will teach you all about these different types so that you can create a well-rounded set for your kitchen.
Main Parts Of A Kitchen Knife
Handle
The handle of a knife provides a comfortable grip for the user. The handle can be made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic and synthetic rubber. A fixed blade knife will have one piece that forms the handle, whereas a folding knife has a handle that folds open and closed. The tang is the portion of the metal blade that extends into the handle itself.
Tang
The tang is a part of the knife’s blade that extends into the handle. While some knives have no tang (known as “stub” or “rat-tail” knives), most high-quality kitchen knives feature a full tang design. The full-tang design allows for better balance and control. If you’re looking for a good all-purpose kitchen knife, be sure to look for one with a full tang — it will help with precision and cutting control.
Bolster
The bolster is where the handle meets the blade. It adds durability and strength to the knife, and creates an area for your forefinger to rest when you’re using it. The bolster also protects your hand from hitting against the blade during use.
Butt
The butt of the knife is the end of the handle. It is typically thicker and heavier than the blade and it provides a balance to the knife. The butt can be used to open cans, crack nuts, or tenderize meat. Because this section is so thick, it’s not possible to sharpen it like you would the blade.
Heel
The heel is the back of the knife closest to the handle. This portion of the knife is used to cut through tougher objects such as meat with bones, squash, and melon rinds. You can usually tell where a knife’s heel ends by looking for a thick part of the blade that gradually narrows into a point.
Belly
This is the curved portion of the blade, found between the point and heel. It makes cutting through food easier because it allows for rocking motion when cutting.
Blade
The blade is a knife’s most important part. It is the metal section that does the cutting.
The blade of a knife can be made from various types of steel, from high-carbon steel to stainless steel. Stainless steel blades are more rust resistant and easier to care for than high carbon steel. The hardness of the blade is also important; harder blades will keep an edge longer but are more difficult to sharpen.
The shape of a knife’s blade should be determined by its intended use. A Chef’s Knife has an all-purpose blade that’s great for chopping and dicing vegetables or slicing meat, while a Paring Knife has a short, pointed blade that makes it ideal for peeling and paring fruits and vegetables.
Rivets
Where the handle attaches to the blade is called a rivet (or sometimes a pin). A good rivet will be strong enough to keep the handle attached to the blade securely without snapping off during use.
10 Main Types of Kitchen Knives
1. Chef’s Knife
The chef’s knife is a multipurpose tool. It has a wide blade and a thin edge, making it ideal for slicing, dicing and chopping fruits, vegetables and meats. Its versatility makes it an essential tool in every kitchen. This knife should feel comfortable in your hand and have a handle that’s easy to grip to ensure maximum safety and control when you’re working with the blade.
2. Serrated Knife
The serrated knife is designed for cutting breads, pastries, tomatoes and other soft foods that can be easily crushed by other knives. These knives have scalloped edges that are designed to slice through delicate food items without tearing them or crushing them. The serrated knife is also a great choice for cutting through meats with bones or skin.
3. Santoku Knife
A Santoku knife is similar to a chef’s knife but is lighter weight because of its thinner blade. The Santoku knife has a hollow edge that keeps foods from sticking to the blade while you’re cutting them. This type of knife works well for cutting vegetables, meat and fish; however, it isn’t as versatile as the chef’s knife because it doesn’t work well with hard foods such as nuts or plantains.
4. Paring Knife
The paring knife is a small, versatile knife that can be used for a variety of tasks. The most common use is to peel and cut fruit and vegetables, but they can also be used to remove blemishes from produce or to devein shrimp. It is the small blade length that makes it so versatile. The blade length typically ranges from 2 1/2 inches to 4 inches, which is perfect for smaller cutting jobs.
5. Utility Knife
The utility knife has a blade that is typically 5 inches to 7 inches long, making it longer than the paring knife but shorter than the chef’s knife. It is designed for more general purpose use than the paring knife, but not as heavy duty as the chef’s knife. It can be used anywhere from slicing and cutting sandwiches to cutting up small pieces of poultry or meat. If you are into cooking and don’t have a big budget for your knives, this can be a good place to start when purchasing your kitchen knives.
6. Fillet Knife
A fillet knife’s blade is longer and thinner than a boning knife’s, allowing it to cut through the skin of a fish without damaging the meat. This knife is unusually flexible, which allows it to follow the contours of a fish or other meat. The blade may be straight or gently curved. The handle is smaller than that of a boning knife, so that the hand can move smoothly along the length of the blade for precise cuts.
7. Vegetable Cleaver
This type of knife is also known as a Chinese cleaver and it is used primarily for cutting vegetables, but also for boning meats and chopping through small bones. These knives have rectangular blades which can be either straight or curved with a wide spine. The blade will have a thickness of between 2 and 8 millimeters.
8. Bread Knife
The bread knife has a serrated edge so that it will cut cleanly through the crust of bread without crushing the inside of the loaf. It can be used to slice any food with a hard outside crust such as cakes or pies and soft insides such as tomatoes, melons or sausages. A good bread knife should have deep serrations over its entire length so that it does not need to be sawed back and forth to cut through food.
9. Boning Knife
A boning knife is a type of knife that is used to cut meat off bones. The blade is curved and has a pointed tip so it can get into tight places around bones and joints. Boning knives are also used to take skin off different types of meats. Although they are not used every single day, they are very useful during butchering or when preparing roasts.
10. Carving Knife
A carving knife is a long, narrow, slender knife that is designed to slice thin cuts of meat, including poultry, roasts, hams, and other large cooked meats. A carving knife generally has a blade which is 20 cm (8 inches) in length and less than 2.5 cm (1 inch) in width.
The carving knife is designed to slice thin cuts of meat, whereas the much thicker cleaver is used for cutting through bone and sinew.
Carving knives may be serrated or smooth edge. While smooth edge knives are sharpened identically to kitchen knives with a V-shaped blade cross-section, serrated knives have a rounded or flattened edge cross-section and are sharpened by honing only the flat sides of the tip.
How to Store Knives Safely
There are many ways to store knives safely. How you store them depends on space, the number of knives, and what you’re comfortable with. The most important thing is that they are stored safely.
Choose a wooden, plastic, or soft rubber knife block.
Knife blocks are a great way to store your knives safely because they keep your knives separated from each other and prevent damage to the blades. To use a knife block, simply insert the blade into the correct slot within the block.
Look for knife blocks that have slots large enough to fit your largest knife. Be aware that some knife blocks have openings that are only wide enough to fit thin paring knives.
Most knife blocks hold between 5 and 15 knives. If you have many more than 15 knives, consider purchasing multiple knife blocks so that there is room for all of them.
Hang your knives on a magnetic strip.
This is a great way to display your knives while also keeping them safe. Buy a magnetic strip or bar and adhere it to a wall or inside your cabinet door. Place the knives on the strip with the blades facing in. The handles will be displayed for easy grabbing. If you have no children in your home, this is an easy and convenient method for knife storage.
Place your knives in a drawer specially designed for that purpose.
These drawers have slots that hold each knife individually. They keep all of the blades facing down so no one can get cut when opening or closing the drawer. They may be more expensive than other methods of storage, but they are attractive and will go well with any decorating scheme you have going on in your kitchen.
Place them in a plastic knife roll or guard.
If you frequently travel with your knives to cookouts or family gatherings, it’s important that you protect your knives during transport. A plastic knife guard or roll protects the edge from damage during transport and keeps fingers safe when opening the bag or case.
Conclusion
Frequently, people will purchase a kitchen knife and then use it as a utility knife. But it is not the best choice for this job because there are many different types of kitchen knives. If you are going to do any cooking at all, you will most likely have a number of kitchen knives in your collection.
Each one has its own uses and functions better than the others at jobs other than just cutting or slicing. Be sure that you know and understand the difference between all of these knives before you decide on what you are going to purchase and try to use them the best way they can be used.
