More than you ever wanted to know about kitchen knives
So this week in the TrackersNW Adult Immersion Program, we'll be forging knives (I hope to make two, so Alana & I can make a matching pair of antler-handled knives, heh), so I read over the page reproduced below and found it very informative, logically laid out, and easy to understand and read. Enjoy, :1
from knifeoutlet.com:
More than you ever wanted to know about kitchen knives
Knives are the most important tools in the kitchen. You use them more than you use your cookware or your range. After a half century as a serious cook and many years as a knife dealer and knife skills instructor, I've had enough experience with kitchen cutlery that I thought I would share some basic thoughts with you here. Yes, I think it's probably more than you wanted to know but, if it isn't, then perhaps it will be useful in helping you choose knives for your own kitchen.
Parts of a knife (let's get some terminology out of the way.)
No two kitchen knives are exactly alike but, for the most part, we can divide the knife up into two or three "parts." The front part of the knife is the blade and it has an edge that cuts, a spine that is opposite the edge and (for most knives at least) a tip or point at the front of the blade.
The part of the knife that carries the handle is the tang. Sometimes the tang is the full size of the handle and the handle is actually hard scales that are riveted or otherwise attached to the sides of the tang. Sometimes the tang is narrower than the handle so that the handle can be attached to it and surround it for a more ergonomic feel. Full tangs are usually thought to be stronger and stick tangs are usually thought to provide a more comfortable handle. This is something you should decide for yourself.
Some knives also have a bolster which is a thick section of steel between the blade and the tang. It's purpose is to provide better balance to the knife and to make it heftier. We'll get into bolsters a little more in the next section.
Construction
Basically, there are 3 ways to make a kitchen knife. You can block it, forge it or sinter it. Well you could grind or file one to shape from a steel blank but knives aren't made that way commercially.
Blocked knives are cut from a sheet or roll of steel of constant thickness something like cutting cookies from a dough. The blades are then ground and edged and handles are attached to the tangs. Some blocked knives have a full or partial tang with riveted scales and some have a handle epoxied to a stick tang. These knives never have bolsters. They are light, inexpensive and usually poorly balanced. Examples of these knives in the Knife Outlet product assorment would be the Forschner.
Forged knives are made by heating a steel blank very hot and pounding it into shape with a drop forge machine. The purpose is usually to provide for that thick bolster. It wouldn't be practical or economical to grind the knife from a steel blank thick enough to produce a bolster. Forged knives, then, are made from a single piece of steel in this fashion. An example of forged knives would be the Wusthof Classic series.
Sintered knives are made by fusing together the blade and tang or, sometimes, the blade, bolster and tang to make up a complete knife from the various parts. This is done as an economy measure in some cases since it is less expensive than forging. In other cases it allows for construction that would be impossible without it. An example of sintered knives would be the Global G and GS series. They are sintered from a flat steel blade and a tubular steel handle. It would be impossible to block knives like this and forging would produce a heavy solid handle.
Style
There are basically two styles or philosophies of making kitchen knives. We'll refer to them as Eastern and Western. Eastern style knives such as Japanese made knives like Global are made from harder steel, the blades are significantly thinner, producing a lighter weight knife and the bevel angles are more acute. That means these knives will hold an edge longer (and also take longer to sharpen or steel) and will be sharper, requiring more maintenance. They are wonderful for cutting where accuracy is necessary such as preparing Sushi or making decorative cuts. Western style knives such as European made knives like Wusthof are made from softer steel (less edge holding but easier to maintain) are thicker (heavier) and have more obtuse bevel angles so that they won't get quite as sharp but the edges will be sturdier requiring less maintenance. They are outstanding at chopping, as an example.
We have been talking about knives with similar blade profiles and dimensions such as the standard 8" chef knife. The Japanese also make knives that incorporate a chisel grind (bevel on one side with the other side flat or even concave) and made from sandwiched steels where a hard steel for edge retention is sandwiched between soft steel or even iron to provide better toughness. These knives have traditional Japanese blade shapes like the Yanagi, Deba and Usuba. They do require more care and maintenance but they cut wonderfully. It is hard to compare them to Western style knives but they do an excellent job with Japanese style cooking.
So you must decide between better cutting performance but more required maintenance (Eastern style) or somewhat less performance but easier and less frequent maintenance (Western style.) You must choose between light weight (Eastern style) and heftier, heavier knives (Western style.) Obviously a good cook will be a good cook with either style. It is a matter of preference and priority.
Steel
Basically, kitchen knives are available in three types of steel.
High carbon steel is actually the best performer providing more toughness and the ability to take a very sharp edge with less overall effort. However, high carbon steel is not stain resistant. It can rust and will discolor from use. After much use, high carbon steel kitchen knife blades will actually become black. This discoloration is purely cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the knife in any way. An example of this kind of knife is the Sabatier Au Carbone.
High carbon stainless steel is the best of the stain resistant steels. It has a high content of carbon for hardness and still enough chromium to keep it looking great. High carbon stainless will take a sharp edge and maintain it well. It is the most popular steel type used in high quality kitchen cutlery and most of the cutlery we offer is made of this type of steel. The Japanese knives use an alloy and heat treatment that produces a harder thinner blade requiring more maintenance (Global) and the European knives produce a softer thicker blade requiring less maintenance. Most of the kitchen cutlery we sell would fall into this category
Stainless steel or surgical stainless steel has less carbon and more chromium in the alloy. It is very resistant to rust and stains but not hard enough to maintain the best possible edge. This type of steel is used often in the less expensive cutlery you may find at a local discount department store. You won't find them here. We think the quality and performance of your cutllery is important to good cooking and we don't recommend this kind of knife.
Titanium is actually a matrix of titanium and carbides. Titanium is lighter than steel and more wear resistant. So a titanium alloy can hold an edge as well as steel. The carbides in the alloy allow the blades to be heat treated to a hardness appropriate for cutlery. Titanium imparts no flavor whatsoever to food. The blades are more flexible than steel blades so they aren't a good choice for some applications like decorative cuts but work quite well for boning, fileting, etc.
Ceramic is not a steel at all, of course, but a very hard ceramic material called zirconium oxide. These blades are so hard that they will maintain a sharp edge for months or years with no maintenance at all. Also they cannot impart any "steel" taste to the food. On the negative side, they are more brittle and cannot be used for prying (actually, no kitchen knife should be used for prying) and they require diamond sharpening tools to maintain. Also take note that you should use ceramic knives only on a cutting board. Don't use them as steak knives. They are hard enough to cut the glaze on your dinnerware. Examples of this type of knife are the ceramic bladed Boker and Kyocera knives.
Handles
You can choose between composition handles, wood handles or stainless steel handles. The choice is between the practical maintenance-free nature of composition or stainless and the beauty and luxurious feel of wood. Most professionals choose composition or stainless handles because they require no maintenance and wood handles aren't allowed in most commercial kitchens. Wood handled knives are attractive and work fine in a home kitchen where the cook takes care of the equipment.
Blade Types
The best kitchen knives are flat ground. The blade profile tapers from the thicker spine to the thinner edge in a straight or convex line. They are heavier and tougher than hollow ground blades which have a concave profile.
Serrations are the wavy type of blade edges. The purpose is to keep part of the edge from making contact with the cutting board which dulls edges much faster than the food. We consider this an outstanding feature on bread knives and recommend that your bread knives have it. As long as you keep your edges sharp, plain edges are better for all other kitchen purposes. A well sharpened plain edge knife should slice a ripe tomato cleanly and easily. Serrations are popular in lower priced knives because they will cut better when dull than a plain edge blade. We recommend plain edge blades for people who can and will keep their edges sharp. They provide more accurate and precise cuts as well as being easier or even possible to sharpen. Sharpening serrated edges is impractical because one would need the wheel from the factory with which the serrations were originally ground. It is possible to touch up serrated edges on the back side by honing them lightly. When serrated edges become dull, you should think about replacing them.
Some knives have what is known as a granton edge. You may have seen the large Kullenschliff slicers used to cut prime rib at a buffet. These knives have hollow oval areas ground into the side of the blades. They are used by professional chefs for slicing meat and fish as well as for other purposes. The advantage is that the food being cut with them has less tendency to stick to the side of the blade. They are maintained just like regular edges.
This matrix provides some construction comparisons between some of the lines of knives we sell.
Style Steel Construction Handle Features Global Eastern Hard H.C. Stainless Sintered Stainless Kai Shun Eastern Hard H.C. stainless Forged - Partial Tang Micarta Sabatier Grand Chef Western H.C. Stainless Forged - Full Tang Composition Forged Sabatier Au Carbone Western Carbon Steel Forged - Full Tang Composition Forged F. Dick Eurocut Western H.C. Stainless Blocked - Partial Tang Composition F. Dick Premier Western H.C. Stainless Forged - Full Tang Composition Forged Global G and GS Eastern H.C. Stainless Sintered Henckels Professional S Western H.C. Stainless Sintered - Full Tang Composition HenckelsFive Star Western H.C. Stainless Sintered - Partial Tang Composition Wusthof Classic Western H.C. Stainless Forged - Full Tang Composition Forged Wusthof Culinar Western H.C. Stainless Forged - Partial Tang Stainless Forged Kyocera Ceramic Eastern Ceramic N/A Wood or plastic Boker Ceramic Eastern Ceramic N/A Composition Boker Titanium Western Titanium/Carbide Blocked - Partial Tang Composition Forschner Western H.C. Stainless Blocked - Partial Tang Wood
Types of kitchen knives
Lets attack this subject by dividing kitchen knives into three basic cutting actions - chopping, striking or slicing. Then we'll divide the slicers again between those that are used against a cutting board and those that are not.
Chopping or dicing or mincing is usually done by rocking the knife like a lever with the front of the blade as a fulcrum. The food is then pushed under the rear part of the blade where it is cut. This is the purview of the chef's knife and every cook should have one and learn to use it properly. The chef's knife has a wide blade to allow the cook to control it with the other hand as it rocks up and down. It is the basic kitchen knife and the one that most cooks use more often than other types.
Striking knives used in a manner that looks like the way one would use a club. The most common striking knife is the cleaver and it is used to sever bones and joints in meat preparation. The chef's knife is sometimes used as a striking knife to mince food using short choppy strokes with both hands holding the knife.
All other knives are slicing knives. For the most part, they are used in a back and forth fashion, sometimes against a cutting board and sometimes not. The basic slicers that are not used against cutting boards are the parer, the filet knife and the boning knife.
The parer is usually held in one hand while the food to be cut is held in the other. The parer then can peel or make decorative cuts or it can be used in countless ways. It can even be used against a cutting board but usually is not.
The filet knife is used to free fish filets from the skeleton and skin. It has a thin blade and is often flexible. We won't go into a treatise on using the filet knife but if you filet fish you'll find one very handy.
The boning knife is used to separate poultry from it's carcass. It is used in short slicing strokes as legs are separated from body or breasts are removed from the skeleton. If you buy your poultry in pieces, then you won't need one. If you plan to bone poultry yourself, the boning knife makes it easier and faster. Did I mention that Martin Yan can bone a chicken with a big Chinese cleaver in less than 20 seconds? It just goes to show you what someone with excellent knife skills can do. You and I would do better with a boning knife.
The rest of the slicers are usually used against the cutting board. They can be long slicers and carvers, short utility knives, serrated tomato or bread knives or sausage knives and on and on. Basically, they all have relatively narrow blades so that food will have less of a tendency to stick. Which ones you need are a matter of your cooking style and knife skills.
What do you need to have in your kitchen? I think you need at least one chopping knife (chef's knife) one parer and one slicer. The slicer could be a bread knife, as an example, which can cut more than just bread. Generally, you want the slicer to have a longer blade than the food you are cutting os a longer slicer is probably more useful than a shorter one if you will only have one. Specialy knives like the filet and boning knives or cleavers are only good to have if you do this kind of cutting.
So there are some things to think about. There is no right or wrong in choosing a knife. It is a matter of personal preference and feel. I tell my customers all the time that I can cook with cheap cookware. I have to watch it more closely but I can do it. I can't prepare food properly with cheap knives, though. Knives, as I said at the beginning, are the most important tools in the kitchen. We have tested and recommend all the kitchen knives you see on the web site. We know all of them can get the job done. The better balanced ones will get the job done with more accuracy and comfort. Those with the best blades and high quality steel with take and hold an edge longer. If you prefer hefty knives, the bolstered models will feel better to you, if you prefer light knives, then something else is the answer. Let us know if you have questions. Good cooking.