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Ponder the type of knives you will need in your kitchen. Knives are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can meet a extensive variety of needs. The cutlery you'll need depends on your cooking style and habits.
• A good basic kit for the average home cook would include:
o An all-purpose utility knife (5 inches) - used for a range of foods as it has many handy uses.
o A chef's knife (7,8-9 inches) - used for chopping, dicing, mincing, and cutting.
o A paring knife (3") - used for peeling, cutting, and trimming small vegetables such as potatoes and onions.
o A serrated bread knife is used for bread, cake, fruit, and tomatoes.
o A cleaver - used for meat and cutting through bone..
o A fillet knife for filleting fish.
o A carving knife for carving roasts, hams and poultry.
o Sharpening steel or knife-honing stone. Electric sharpeners are not recommended.
• You can usually buy a knife set containing most or all of this set. More times than not, it will be cheaper than buying the knives separately.
Shop around for your knives. The internet is a superb source to find good prices on quality brands and many wholesalers have buy-direct websites to get their knives at great prices. Be sure to visit a brick and mortar store to handle the various knives and get a feel for them.
When buying knives, hold each knife in your hand. The grip should be comfortable and sit well in your hand. Be aware that what one person finds comfortable does not necessarily mean it will be comfortable for you, so while advice is helpful, test for yourself.
Look at the steel content in the knife as well as where it is located. Look for any signs of joining or welding, particularly in the hilt of the knife. This is a delicate point in the knife and should be avoided as weak knives are more likely to bend or break at this joining point. The best knives are made from a single piece of steel, hand-forged. These, of course, are more expensive. Cheap knives will be thin with insubstantial hilts and handles covered thickly in plastic.
Feel the weight of the knife. A lightweight knife is good for speed and precision, whereas a heavy knife requires more work when chopping a lot of light ingredients. However, a heavy knife is best for chopping solid foods such as nuts and other harder ingredients.
The balance of the knife. Quality knives tend to have great balance. To test the balance, place your finger at the finger grip at the hilt or blade-end of the handle, holding the knife horizontally with the cutting edge down. A quality, well balanced knife will balance at that point and not fall off your finger.
• A well balanced knife makes cutting easier and requires less effort. It is essentially the leverage point and it has to be at a specific point or it is unbalanced. If you are using the knife a lot for large amounts of ingredients, a balanced knife offers far less strain on the arm.
Look at the hilt of the knife. It should be strong, easy to clean and well joined. It is the most solid part of the knife where the strain of pressing on the handle travels through into the blade. It's not a good sign if it is thin or there is evidence of a weld or join.
What is the handle made of? The handle is often made of wood, plastic, toughened resins and other reinforced materials. Low density or soft woods or other low density materials are not recommended for knife handles.
Maintaining your knives. For a good quality set, also invest in a steel and a sharpening stone. The steel maintains a nice cutting edge, but will not give the knife one if it has gone blunt without a lot of work. Stones will restore an edge or improve an existing cutting edge.
• A diamond steel can cost a lot more, but will give a very fine edge. They also wear the knife down faster so knives can start to take a curved or sickle shape if care is not taken when sharpening. Very often people sharpen the middle of the blade on the steel, which also often happens most when you sharpen it with high speed. (As you see on TV) Take it slowly and evenly down the whole length of the blade, so it wears and sharpens evenly.
• Do not use the knife on stone, glass, steel or ceramic cutting boards or surfaces. This damages the knife and can cause the knife to slip and cause an injury. Bamboo, wood and rigid plastic are the best cutting boards.
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