If you spend much time in the kitchen, then you probably have a gleaming arsenal of knives. But if you could only have one, which knife would it be? The cooks at Q&A network Stack Exchange provide some tips on what to look for when selecting the holy grail of general purpose cutlery.
kiamlaluno Asks:
If I want to buy a good multi-purpose chef's knife, which characteristics should I look for?
hobodave Answers:
One of the most important things is a full tang. The tang is an extension of the metal of the blade into the handle. In knives with a full tang it goes all the way through the handle. This improves stability, control, and durability. Cheaper knives with partial tangs will have the handle break off over time.
In a chef's knife you want a blade from 8 to 10 inches long, whichever is more comfortable.
You can also either get a forged or stamped blade. I suggest reading this article on the differences. To summarize, forged blades are softer, easier to sharpen, heavier, and have a bolster. Stamped blades are sharper, harder to sharpen, lighter, and have a welded on bolster if any. With current manufacturing processes forged is not necessarily better than stamped. You should make your own decisions. All crap knives are stamped, but not all stamped knives are crap.
This brings me to one of the most important points: It must feel good in your hand. Don't buy an expensive knife just because it's expensive, or you recognize the name. Go to a store that will let you use the knife, Williams-Sonoma is one that will do this. If you can, bring a carrot in your pocket and actually cut that in the store.
Adam Shiemke Answers:
Consider stainless vs. high carbon steel: Stainless knives are nice because the edges might be more stable because they won't rust and tarnish. They can be dishwasher safe (as long as some care is taken so they don't bang into other things), and are a bit more durable.
High-carbon steel is better at keeping an edge because the steel is harder. The edge will remain sharp for more cuts than the stainless. The downside is that the steel can corrode if lots of acidic things are cut, or the knife is not cleaned after use. Stainless is considered more difficult to sharpen properly than steel, but you probably shouldn't sharpen your own knife anyhow (honing, on the other hand, you can and should do).
Some manufacturers make a laminated blade, in an attempt to balance the benefits of both. I've only seen this in Japanese knives that are fairly expensive, but it seems a good idea: a thin sheet of very hard steel is sandwiched between a pair of soft stainless pieces. The hard steel is too brittle to make a blade from, but keeps an edge very well. The stainless adds strength to the knife, and keeps everything shiny.
Blade shape: Knives come in a wide range of shapes, from a blade that barely extends down from the handle to the large rounded (Japanese-inspired) shapes with a flat blade. This is a matter of personal preference. I do a lot of chopping, so I prefer a flatter, wider blade that gives my knuckles some clearance over the board while chopping.
I find the scalloping along the blade, which is fashionable these days, to be unnecessary, but others seem to disagree on this. I don't slice enough delicate things to notice any effects.
Other Notes: Knives come in hundreds of shapes and sizes. For a chef's knife, you probably want a 8-10" blade, no serration (that is important), and it must be comfortable in your hand. I have known people who do most of their cutting with a large Chinese-style vegetable cleaver, and they are perfectly able to do anything I could do with an agile 8" chefs knife.
For a good quality knife, you want to avoid stamped blades. Stamped blades are usually thinner, made of cheaper steel, and are more flexible. Forged blades are heavier, more durable, and easier to sharpen. The knife sets sold for $10 at Walmart are stamped and suck. Avoid them. A forged blade will be thick on the dull edge, and will taper more or less uniformly to the bevel of the cutting edge.
If you plan to put the knife in a dishwasher (not recommended?they get banged into other things in the dishwasher, dishwasher detergents damage non-stainless steel), get one with a plastic handle. Wood doesn't like dishwashers.
You will want a honing steel. This is used to correct the edge (it bends a bit during use, the steel straightens it out). They are usually rods of hard steel with a handle.
Here is my favorite cheap knife. Only $30 and it is awesome.
bill weaver Answers:
Besides a good sharp blade and a solid comfortable grip, your preference for heavier vs. lighter blades will determine your choice.
That said, over the years CooksIllustrated / America's Test Kitchen has reviewed knives and consistently recommended the inexpensive Victorinox (Victorinox Forschner) Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, particularly if the question is "what one knife should I buy?" Top-quality at a bargain price.
Even when reviewing more expensive "innovative" chef's knives, they still found little to justify the additional cost. Reviews of hybrid chef's knives produced some standouts, for a cost. The final results are on the pay side of their site, but you can get the jist of it from the free articles.
What to look for? From the reviews:
- We want one that's versatile enough to handle almost any cutting task, whether it's mincing delicate herbs or cutting through meat and bones. We want a sharp blade that slices easily, without requiring a lot of force. We want a comfortable handle that doesn't hurt our hands or get slippery when wet or greasy.
- A good handle should virtually disappear in your grip, making the knife the oft-cited "extension of your hand."
Find more answers at the original post here. See more questions like this at Seasoned Advice, the cooking site at Stack Exchange. And of course, feel free to ask your own.
Illustration by Sean Gallagher.
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