How to Select the Best Kitchen Knives for Your Home Kitchen

Whether you're a seasoned home cook or just starting out, having the right kitchen knives can transform your cooking experience. 

A good set of knives isn’t just about aesthetics or price, it’s about functionality, comfort, and durability. But with so many choices out there, how do you know which knives are truly worth investing in?

Here’s a simple guide to help you choose the best kitchen knives for your home kitchen.

1. Understand the Essential Knives

You don’t need a massive set with 20 different blades. Start with these core essentials:

Chef’s Knife (20-25cm): The most versatile knife in your kitchen. Perfect for chopping, dicing, and slicing everything from vegetables to meat.

Paring Knife (7-10cm): Ideal for small, precise tasks like peeling, trimming, and slicing fruit.

Serrated Bread Knife (20-25cm): Perfect for cutting through crusty bread without crushing it.

Utility Knife (12-15cm): A good middle-sized knife for when your chef’s knife feels too large.

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can expand your collection based on your cooking style,  think boning knives, carving knives, or even a cleaver.

2. Choose the Right Blade Material

Different materials offer different benefits:

Stainless Steel: Rust-resistant and low-maintenance, ideal for everyday use.

High-Carbon Steel: Holds a sharp edge longer but can rust if not properly cared for.

Ceramic: Extremely sharp and lightweight, but brittle and can chip easily.

Damascus Steel: A layered, decorative steel known for strength and sharpness, often used in premium knives.

For most home cooks, stainless steel offers the best balance of durability, price, and ease of use.

3. Consider the Handle

Comfort and grip matter. Look for:

Ergonomic Design: A handle that fits comfortably in your hand reduces strain during long prep sessions.

Material: Wood looks beautiful but needs more care; plastic and resin are durable and easier to clean; rubber offers a great grip.

Balance: A well-balanced knife (where the weight of the blade and handle are equal) makes cutting easier and safer.

4. Test Before You Buy (if Possible)

If you can visit a shop in person, try holding different knives. What feels comfortable in one person’s hand might feel awkward in another’s. Don’t be shy about miming chopping motions, this helps you assess grip, balance, and control.

5. Set a Realistic Budget

You don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds for a great knife, but be wary of cheap sets that go dull quickly. Consider investing in fewer, higher-quality knives rather than an expansive set of average ones.

Brands like Victorinox, Wüsthof, Global, and MAC have strong reputations among both home cooks and professionals.

6. Don’t Forget Maintenance

Even the best knife will become useless if not properly maintained.

Use a honing steel regularly to keep the edge aligned.

Have your knives professionally sharpened or learn to do it yourself.

Always hand wash and dry your knives to prevent rust and preserve sharpness.

Store them properly in a knife block, on a magnetic strip, or in a drawer with blade guards.

The best kitchen knives are the ones that make your cooking more efficient, enjoyable, and safe. Take the time to understand your needs, try a few options, and invest in knives that will serve you well for years to come. With the right blades in your kitchen arsenal, you’ll find slicing, dicing and chopping can actually become a pleasure, not a chore.

Looking for Christmas presents for the chef in your life? Good quality knife sets make superb Christmas presents.

NEW Limited Edition Tormek T-1 Florentine Vibrant

With Easter bringing family feasts and roast dinners, having sharp knives is absolutely vital. 

A well-sharpened knife ensures precision when carving roasts, slicing fresh bread and cakes, or prepping vegetables, making cooking smoother, safer, and more enjoyable. 

The NEW Limited Edition Tormek T-1 Florentine Vibrant is the result of an exciting collaboration between Tormek and Florentine Kitchen Knives. 

Featuring a playfully colourful handle designed by Tomer Botner, founder of the Barcelona-based knife-making studio, this edition brings a striking contrast to the sharp, industrial aesthetic of the Tormek T-1 - making it a standout feature in any kitchen.  

Each handle is randomly assembled from a shared colour palette, meaning no two machines are identical - as each one has its own unique "fingerprint." 

RRP £ 370 from shop.tormek.co.uk

And it has an eight-year warranty, too.

Also available in the range - Zinc Gray RRP £335, Carbon Black RRP £335 and Morakniv 1891 RRP £350.

Mastering Advanced Knife Techniques in Your Kitchen

Becoming proficient with advanced knife techniques can elevate your cooking skills and bring a professional touch to your dishes. 

Whether you’re slicing, dicing, or chopping, mastering the art of using a knife not only makes cooking more enjoyable but also improves efficiency and safety. 

Here, we’ll explore some advanced knife techniques, offer tips on selecting the right knives, and provide guidance on maintaining them to ensure you’re always cutting with precision.

Choosing the Right Knives

Before diving into advanced techniques, it’s essential to have the right tools. Here are a few key knives every kitchen should have:

Chef’s Knife (20-25 cm blade): The workhorse of the kitchen, suitable for most tasks.

Paring Knife (8-10 cm blade): Ideal for peeling and intricate work.

Serrated Knife: Perfect for cutting bread and other items with a hard crust and soft interior.

Boning Knife: Used for deboning meat and fish.

Knife Maintenance

Keeping your knives sharp is crucial for effective and safe cutting. Here’s how to maintain them:

Honing: Regularly hone your knife with a honing steel to realign the blade’s edge.

Sharpening: Use a whetstone, a profession knife sharpener or a professional sharpening service to sharpen your knives periodically.

Proper Storage: Store knives in a knife block, magnetic strip, or in-drawer knife holder to protect the blades and to protect fingers.

Advanced Knife Techniques

Now, let’s delve into some advanced knife techniques that can transform your cooking.

1. Julienne

Julienne is a technique used to cut vegetables into thin, matchstick-sized strips. This method is commonly used for carrots, celery, and peppers.

How to Julienne:

Cut the vegetable into 5 cm long sections.

Trim the sides to create a rectangular shape.

Slice the sections into 3 mm thick slices.

Stack the slices and cut them into thin strips.

2. Brunoise

The brunoise cut is a fine dice, typically used for garnishes or in recipes requiring finely chopped vegetables.

How to Brunoise:

First, julienne the vegetable as described above.

Gather the julienned strips and cut them into small cubes, around 3 mm on each side.

3. Chiffonade

Chiffonade is a technique used for slicing leafy vegetables and herbs into thin ribbons, often used for garnishing.

How to Chiffonade:

Stack the leaves on top of each other.

Roll them tightly into a cigar shape.

Slice the roll thinly to create fine ribbons.

4. Paysanne

The paysanne cut involves slicing vegetables into thin, flat pieces. It’s often used for root vegetables in soups or stews.

How to Paysanne:

Slice the vegetable into rounds or half-rounds.

Cut the rounds into thin slices, about 1-2 mm thick.

5. Oblique Cut

The oblique cut is used for cutting long vegetables like carrots or parsnips into pieces with more surface area, allowing for more even cooking.

How to Oblique Cut:

Hold the vegetable at an angle and make a diagonal cut.

Roll the vegetable a quarter turn and make another diagonal cut.

Repeat this process along the length of the vegetable.

Safety Tips

Mastering knife techniques is not just about precision; it’s also about safety. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Keep Your Knives Sharp: A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one because it requires more force, increasing the risk of slipping.

Use a Stable Cutting Board: Ensure your cutting board is secure. Place a damp cloth underneath it to prevent slipping.

Proper Grip: Hold the knife with a firm grip, and use your other hand to guide the food, keeping your fingers tucked in (the “claw grip”).

Practice Makes Perfect

Becoming proficient with advanced knife techniques takes practice. Start with simple tasks and gradually move to more complex cuts. Don’t rush; take your time to ensure precision and safety.

Conclusion

Mastering advanced knife techniques can significantly enhance your cooking experience and the presentation of your dishes. With the right knives, proper maintenance, and dedicated practice, you can slice, dice, and chop like a professional chef in the comfort of your own kitchen. Embrace the journey of learning and enjoy the art of culinary craftsmanship. Happy cooking!

Incidentally in February we covered the Tormek T-1 kitchen knife sharpener. Here is the link to that post:-

https://thatsfoodanddrink.blogspot.com/2024/02/introducing-new-tormek-t-1-kitchen.html

The Tormek T-1 Knife Sharpener. Three steps to culinary Heaven

No matter what the meat you are going to cook in your oven, a stir fry, a casserole or on your back garden BBQ, one of the first steps you need to take is to ensure that your kitchen knives are up to the job.

However, at this time of year our thoughts turn to cleaning up the Barbecue equipment, checking the gas bottles, the lines, burners, etc. Plus examining the knives you will use.

And then comes selecting the meats you are intending to cook. Steaks, sausages, chicken breasts, sausages, pork and lamb cuts, joints, etc. And what herbs, spices and marinades will you be selecting? 

But isn’t there something else? What about the knives you will be using? They need to be good quality knives and sharp, too.

Although this might seem counterintuitive, cheaper meat cuts are best suited to slow, indirect cooking or smoking, but prime cuts benefit from faster, more direct cooking. 

But why spend good money on quality T-Bone, Rump and Sirloin steak, take the time to season and rest it well, and then find out that your knives are blunt and you make a real pig’s ear (pun intended!) out of trying to carve or slice it up for your guests. Also using blunt knives can be a danger to the poor soul wielding them.

So, how can you guard against this? How can you make certain you always have the not perfectly sharpened knife to slice your meat to perfection?

Choose the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener. Why? Because the Tormek T-1 is the first proper knife sharpener to offer professional results for the home cook or back garden BBQ master who is hosting a BBQ for friends and family members.

Tormek has a cool half century of expertise in tool sharpening for woodworkers and over 35 years in knife sharpening equipment for commercial kitchens. 

The Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener is the first, premium kitchen knife sharpener for the home chef or cook and is available in New Carbon Black.

In use you will find it to be simple to operate, efficient, clean and silent. And it can expertly and precisely sharpen any length of knife blade.

This is because it is based on their innovative sharpening system carefully developed for professional kitchens.

Your Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener will effortlessly deliver you a razor-sharp, durable cutting edge and you’ll be pleased to learn that the angle won’t dull after every use.

And you don’t have to employ half-remembered DIY skills when your Tormek T1 arrives, as the beautifully sleek industrial designed device arrives fully assembled has a genuine solid oak handle, a stunningly gorgeous Carbon Black powder-coated zinc body, a special diamond grinding wheel and a composite honing wheel, too!

It comes in Carbon black or Zinc Grey.

You can learn more about the unique three step knife sharpening process and order it here: https://rb.gy/kl1f6e

It comes with complete  instructions on how to use and maintain it and furthermore, it’s made in Sweden and has an eight year warranty. This video will show you all you need to know:-

Introducing the new Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener

Basically, this is professional level cutting-edge sharpness for the home kitchen.

Ask any top chef and they'll tell you knife maintenance and care is one of the most important and vital tasks in a professional kitchen. And the same applies at home, too. After all, what's the point in having excellent knives if you’re not going to invest in their upkeep? If you had a top-of-the-range Maserati car, you'd not try to tinker with it yourself, would you? So why take the same risk with your kitchen knives?

Most conventional methods don't sharpen the knife properly but align a weighted edge or sharpen only parts of the edge. That’s fine for basic maintenance, but after a while you'll notice that you're not getting the same sharpness as previously.

Tormek is introducing the first real knife sharpener for the home chef.  

Tormek has 50 years of expertise in tool sharpening for woodworkers. The NEW Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener is the first professional, premium quality kitchen knife sharpener designed for the home. 

It's quick to use, easy to operate and is clean and quiet. It precisely sharpens blades 12 - 60mm high and up to 5mm thick, with an unlimited length. 

Based on the innovative sharpening system developed for professional kitchens, the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener effortlessly delivers a razor-sharp cutting edge and a durable angle that won’t dull after every use.

Blades remain sharper for longer

The Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener has a sleek industrial design and comes fully assembled with a solid oak handle, powder-coated zinc body, diamond grinding wheel and a composite honing wheel. The method consists of three steps:

Set preferred bevel angle

You can choose any angle between 8 and 22 degrees. However, 15 degrees is a good angle to start with if you are unsure. A small angle will cut more easily, while a large angle will give a stronger edge.

Sharpens on both sides

The fine-grained diamond grinding wheel sharpens all types of steel including ceramic knives, to professional sharpness levels. The low-speed means there’s minimal steel wear.

Insert the clean, dry knife into the guide. Follow the shape of the knife and apply only gentle pressure. A magnet in the patented guide collects the steel particles keeping the grinding wheel clean.

Hone to an expert, razor-sharp finish

Moisten the honing wheel using a damp paper towel to reduce friction and remove the burr* and polish both sides of the knife on the honing wheel. Ensure the honing wheel rotates away from the edge.

(*After sharpening, a ‘burr’ is created which needs to be honed off to obtain a sharp and durable edge.)

Unlike some alternatives, the Tormek T-1 sharpens the entire bevel of the knife, not just the outer edge, and because the bevels can be sharpened separately, there’s the option to set different edge angles on each side of the blade, or sharpen just one side, which is particularly useful for more advanced knives.

It's designed and built to last, comes with an eight-year warranty. But they do advise that you store it  safely in a dry place.

Whether you’re looking for the perfect knife sharpener for yourself or hunting down the ideal gift for a foodie friend or family member, the NEW Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener (RRP £330), is available from https://shop.tormek.com/en-gb

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