Advice on Selecting a Kitchen Knife

Before selecting a set of knives, or even just one particular knife, it is important to know the components that go into making a good knife.

Balance

An unbalanced knife is tiring to use, so it is essential that the weight of a knife is evenly distributed along the blade and handle. Make sure you test the knife to see how comfortable it feels; it should almost feel like a natural extension of your hand.

The Tang

Knives are balanced by a tang - a piece of metal extending from the base of the blade through the handle. In heavy bladed knives, the tang should run the full length of the handle. A full-length tang will also give a knife the extra strength required for tough cutting jobs.

The tang should always be securely fixed inside the handle; preferably with rivets. However, you should always make sure that the rivets are completely smooth and lie flush with the surface of the handle, otherwise they may irritate your hand when using the knife.

The Edge

Knife blades are usually ground in one of two ways: taper or hollow ground. Taper ground knives are ground from a single sheet of metal so that they taper smoothly from the spine to the cutting edge. These knives are easy to sharpen and hone to a fine edge.

Hollow-ground blades are recognizable by their profile - a thick blade with a 'hollow' area at the cutting edge. This type of knife provides a very thin and exceptionally sharp edge excellent for slicing, but less so for chopping. Unlike the taper ground blade, the hollow blade knife is not durable enough to withstand higher impact activities and may easily become dull or chipped.

The Blade

Kitchen knives are available in a number of different types of materials:

1. Stainless Steel
   Stainless steel is an alloy of iron and chromium, and although it is resistant to rust and stains, it is too soft to maintain a good edge. Knives with plain stainless steel blades are usually inexpensive; the type usually found in supermarkets or discount stores.
   
   
2. High Carbon Steel
   High carbon steel produces a tough blade that is able to take a very sharp edge. However, it is highly susceptible to staining, especially from foods with a high acid content, such as lemons and tomatoes. Carbon steel will also oxidise - in other words, tarnish or rust. This means that you'll need to take more care of this style of knife, cleaning and drying it immediately after use. If not in daily use, they should be given a light coating of vegetable oil to prevent oxidation.
   
   Examples include Sabatier Au Carbone.
   
   
3. High Carbon Stainless Steel
   High carbon stainless steel has become the standard for knives. It contains a high content of carbon that gives it its hardness, along with trace amounts of chrome, vanadium and molybdenum. High carbon stainless creates a blade that is slightly harder than a carbon steel blade, although not quite as sharp. The edge is often slightly more brittle, which means that extra care must be taken to avoid bones and other hard materials. However, it resists stains and will not oxidise.
   
   Examples include Wusthof Classic, Henckels Professional 'S' series and Global.
   
   
4. Titanium
   Titanium is lighter than steel, more wear resistant and holds its edge longer. A titanium blade is more flexible than steel and is particularly useful for jobs such as boning and filleting.
   
   Examples include Kasumi.
   
   
5. Ceramic
   Ceramic blades are made of zirconium oxide and aluminium oxide. Although they are much more delicate than steel knives, they tend to hold their edge up to 10 times longer with no maintenance at all. However, once the blades have dulled, they must be sharpened by a professional.
   
   Examples include Kyocrea.

The Handle

Handles may be of close-grained hardwood, steel, plastic, fibreglass, rubber or plastic-impregnated wood.