Types and purpose of traditional Western (European) knives. Which knife is for what?

A knife is perhaps the most essential item in the kitchen. Many people traditionally use the same knife to cut everything they can get their hands on, complaining that the bread crumbles or that carving a chicken is an adventure. This is understandable, because almost every product requires different knives.

We will conduct a small educational program on the topic of popular species. Information about the knives was provided to us by the online store.

The first and most popular type is universal kitchen knives. They are suitable for cleaning, shredding and cutting almost any food. As mentioned above, the cut quality from a universal knife will not be the same as from a specialized one. It is best to use a utility knife for cutting vegetables or fillets when the final shape of the ingredient is not important.

Characteristics of the utility knife:

- Straight blade of medium width with a pointed end.
- Long straight handle with tapered end.

The chef's knife is used for slicing vegetables, chopping greens, as well as for deboning and butchering meat. It is often chosen instead of the universal one because of the heavier handle, which allows you to cut not only poultry, but also meat, as well as fish. Most often, not one, but three chef's knives are chosen with different length blades (45, 35 and 25 centimeters).

Characteristics of the chef's knife:

- Wide blade from 2 to 4 millimeters.
- The total length is about 50 centimeters.
- Heavy handle with convex bottom. As a rule, the handle is made of non-slip plastic, sometimes of stainless steel.

The best choice for preparing neat snacks is a knife for thin cutting. With this knife, you can make thin slices of meat and fish. This is especially important when preparing dishes where a certain thickness of ingredients is required. Buying a knife for thin cutting is worth it for those who like to cook sushi or rolls.

Characteristics of the knife for thin cutting:

- Narrow and long blade up to 1 mm wide.
- Smooth edge or slight rounding.
- Straight handle with a slight extension at the end.

The bread knife is suitable for evenly cutting baked goods. One of the advantages is that when cutting, crumbs are practically not formed. Moreover, even bakery products with a soft structure do not crumple. Due to the shape of the blade, this knife is well suited for slicing certain fruits, such as pineapples.

Characteristics of a bread knife:

- Serrated blade.
- The same thickness of the blade along the entire length.
- Long and wide handle.

The boning knife is used to cut the loin from the bones. Good deboning knives are especially appreciated in small butcher shops that do not have special machines. In addition, this tool is essential in any cafe or restaurant kitchen. It is recommended to use the boning knife only for its intended purpose and not to use for cutting hard vegetables and fruits or for chopping.

Boning knife features:

— The average thickness of the blade with a sharp narrowing at the end.
- Curved hem.
- straight handle middle length.

A hatchet knife is best suited for cutting bones, cartilage and tendons, as well as for cutting meat and fish into large pieces. It is most often used for cutting carcasses, and a boning knife is already used to separate meat from bones. But keep in mind that even a large hatchet knife is not suitable for chopping large bones, such as beef.

Characteristics of the hatchet knife:

- A short and wide blade with a rounded edge or a small protrusion.
- Straight edge.
- Straight handle with finger grooves in the European version or round pen in Japanese.

You can buy these knives in the TutPosuda online store. The site presents not only classic kitchen knives, but also professional ones that are used in cafes and restaurants. It should be noted that the store has representatives from both well-known European manufacturers and Japanese knives, which must be in the kitchen of a sous chef.

A sharp knife looks like a silvery fish in the chef's hands. Greens in small bulk, meat in juicy layers, bread generously - in slices. A good knife in a confident hand changes the process of cooking. And sometimes it fixes everything. When everything goes wrong, burns and boils away, cuts crookedly or crumbles inappropriately - just change the knife, and a sharply sharpened blade will quickly put things in order.

According to statistics, eight out of ten knives in our kitchens do not meet the basic quality standards for these products. You ask, what should be high-quality knives?

The magic of a sharp knife - cutting performance - is familiar to every chef.

A set of knives in the kitchen is practically a portrait of the hostess, only made of steel with sharp sharpening. A sophisticated culinary specialist collects a collection for all conceivable tasks, a practical woman will choose 3-4 knives and be satisfied. But it must be correct knives.

How to choose the right kitchen knife

Undoubtedly, even one knife can be handled in the kitchen, as long as it is sharp. There is a mass universal knives- longer and shorter, wider and narrower, made of steel or ceramics. With this knife, you can cut raw fish for sashimi, and baked veal, and vegetables for salad.

But the utility knife is not the only possible choice. If you always use one knife, some operations will simply be difficult to perform. And the knife will have to be sharpened more often than usual. Therefore, the modern hostess keeps a set of knives in the kitchen, which will not disgrace even a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Let's take a look at our collection.

chef's knife

chef's knife- a serious, but peaceful weapon. Wide, medium length (usually about 20 centimeters), with a protruding rear edge of the blade. The shape of the blade is convenient for shredding. You can apply a lot of effort and even chop. The butt can be used for beating meat - its thickness can reach 1-2 millimeters. The protrusion at the back of the blade prevents the hand from hitting the cutting board or table.

Chefs often use these knives as their main tool, doing most of the work with them. The wide blade is very convenient if you collect freshly cut food on it and immediately pour it into the pan. You can crush a clove of garlic or squeeze a lemon to cutting board squeezing juice. Such a knife is often cut in a special manner - resting the point on the board, cut vegetables with small short movements, moving the knife up and down like a guillotine.

The European chef's knife has a Japanese brother - santoku. It is similar in form and purpose, but still slightly different. The santoku has a straighter blade. Which one to choose - European or Japanese? Decide for yourself, we like both.
But we again took a universal knife. And I would like to choose something professional, for different types of products.

To begin with, we will collect meat knives.

meat knives

Let's start with hatchet. This is for bones that can't be easily dealt with, and chopping large chunks of meat. There are wide hatchets in both European and Oriental cuisine.

Farther - deboning knife. The boning knife must be chosen carefully - both the blade and the shape of the handle are important here. It deals only with raw meat, the blade must resist corrosion well, and the handle must not slip in the hand.

Do you have in your collection fillet knife? Not? How do you fillet fish and meat? Slim, flexible and sharp knife essential in the kitchen. In addition to meat and fish, they can cut vegetables and other products, but such a knife is ideal for cutting raw meat and fish.

(!) According to the rules of sanitation, knives and boards for raw and cooked food should be separated. Therefore, the boning and sirloin knives should only be taken out when you start cooking. If you like how the knife "behaves" when cutting other products - choose another one of the same. Or wash your knives very thoroughly when changing foods.

steak knife- a perfect work of art. This knife is already used for cooked meat. Knives with a smooth blade cut steaks of low rareness, a serrated blade is designed for medium and strong steaks. What kind of steaks do you prefer? If your family loves different steaks, you can choose a knife with a combined sharpening - a smooth blade closer to the handle is replaced by sharp teeth.

You can also add to the collection slicer- a knife for thin cutting of ready meat and other products. It is the slicer that cuts the components of sushi and sashimi, as well as the thinnest slices for sandwiches. The slicer should be long, it is designed for cutting in one pass. Pay attention to the bolster - a ledge on the blade near the handle. It protects the hand from slipping. Do you need to cut smoked meats, sausage, cooked meat? Get your slicer.

But enough about the meat. Let's look at knives for other products.

bread knife

Do you remember what it's like to cut a loaf with a crispy crust? When does it crumble, then crumpled under the blade of an ordinary knife? But no - you haven't thought about it for a long time, you have bread knife. It looks like a saw, the teeth of which easily cope with a dense crust and do not crush the bread when cutting. You need to use it in the same way as a saw - do not press, but smoothly draw along the cut line so that the teeth catch on the surface.

cheese knife

Another difficult "client" is cheese. He just falls in love with the blade, sticks to it and interferes with cutting thin slices. The form cheese knife was invented a long time ago - the holes in the blade do not allow the cheese to stick, and the sharp teeth can be used to distribute slices of cheese. The cutting edge can be either smooth or serrated. If you don't have a cheese knife, use a narrow knife - the same slicer, or a knife with air "pockets" - the utility knife blade sometimes has notches that prevent sticking.

vegetable knife

Not enough for completeness vegetable knife. A little hardworking assistant will cut and peel, and clean the eyes out of potatoes. It can be either steel or ceramic. For peeling vegetables, it is better to use a special vegetable peeler - it removes the peel thinner than any knife. For processing large vegetables, a utility knife or Sheva knife is suitable.

Ceramic knives: What if not steel?

And how about ceramic knives? Modern ceramics is present in the kitchen not only in the form of plates and cups. A ceramic knife competes with the sharpest steel, and often wins.

Cutting with these knives is a pleasure. The main thing to remember choosing a ceramic knife- it's still ceramics. Inflexibility and fragility - but at the same time razor sharpness and long work without sharpening. Housewives, accustomed to a ceramic knife, hardly "retrain" to ordinary steel. And keep the knife from hitting hard surface you get used to it very quickly.

Recently, porcelain-titanium knives have begun to appear in kitchens. They are stronger than ceramic knives, and just as incredibly sharp.

Japanese Knives: Adding a touch of Asia to the kitchen

If you want to decorate your kitchen with Japanese exoticism, you can arrange ikebana on the windowsills, hang a scroll with hieroglyphs on the wall and go out to the guests in a kimono. But all this will be unconvincing - until you replace the forks with chopsticks, the chef knife with a deba knife with a wide butt, and the slicer with a yanagiba. Nakiri is suitable for vegetables and salad.

Japanese masters are excellent at working with metal. It is enough to say "katana" - and you imagine the elusive wave of the blade cutting through the bamboo trunk. However, the Japanese kitchen "weapon" is no less menacing and impressive.

Modern Japanese craftsmen make both European and traditional oriental knives. Layered Damascus steel, zirconia ceramics, porcelain titan, a variety of blade and handle designs - the choice is even too wide.

Well, have you already chosen a knife?

Let's be honest - we were inspired Samura knives. Perfect geometry, finely rolled blade, fantastic cutting performance - this is what manufacturers say about their knives.

If you choose Samura knives, the choice is both simplified and complicated. Simplified - because you don't have to compare good and best, all knives are made to high standards, combining Japanese quality and European reliability. It gets more complicated - because you still have to choose, and the Samura collections are so different, and each is good in its own way.

Products Samura- for those who appreciate the knife in the knife, not the status. It is intended for those who are not indifferent to the impression that remains after using the tool.

Samura knives are made to live and cook with pleasure.

However, sometimes we notice that it is inconvenient to perform this or that work with some kind of kitchen knife: for example, it is inconvenient to cut meat with a knife with a short blade or it is inconvenient to use wide knife for peeling potatoes. In this article, we will briefly talk about the main types of kitchen knives and their purpose.

Knife for peeling vegetables. This is usually small knife with a narrow and short blade. Mandatory element such a knife is a sharp tip. With the help of the tip, it is convenient to cut out eyes on potatoes and ponytails on fruits. Some models of knives may have a curved blade and sharpening on the concave side. With this knife, in addition to peeling vegetables, you can use it for curly cutting vegetables and fruits.

Small utility knife. This knife has a narrow blade of medium length. It occupies an intermediate position between a paring knife and a chef's knife. This knife can do everything. Look carefully at your kitchen facilities, for sure there will be a couple of such knives. This type of knife is designed to perform most of the work in the cooking process: cleaning and cutting vegetables, slicing and thinning fish, cutting ready meals into portions.

Chef's knife (or Santoku chef's knife). The main knife in any kitchen is undoubtedly the chef's knife. With proper skill, this knife can do anything. Literally everything. One of the features of this type of knives is the correct weight distribution. The balance of the knife must be chosen in such a way as not only to cut, but also to chop food. There are two main types of chef's knives: the European version with a sharp tip, and the Japanese Santoku knife with a flat cutting edge and perpendicular fullers on the blade. Quite often Santoku has one-sided sharpening.

Butcher knife or butcher. Butcher knives are rarely used in home kitchens. Their main purpose is cutting a large number meat. Such a knife, as a rule, has a long blade with an extension at the tip. This geometry allows you to perform combined chopping and cutting movements when cutting large pieces of meat. If you regularly cook pork knuckle, feel free to buy such a knife, you will not regret it.

Knife for bread and baking. lovers fresh bread with a crispy crust, a long knife with a wavy blade is sure to come in handy. Such a knife equally well cuts both a hard crust and pulp. With this knife it is very convenient to cut a fresh morning baguette into thin slices.

Cheese knife. Hard cheese lovers should get a special cheese knife. main feature of such a knife lies in micro-serrated sharpening, which confidently cracks down on a hard crust. The blade of such a knife, as a rule, has curly holes that reduce sticking and facilitate the cutting process.

When choosing a knife for the kitchen, pay attention to the type of steel from which it is made. Best for kitchen knives Suitable for medium hard stainless steel. Such steel is easily corrected with a musat or a manual sharpener. When choosing a handle, proceed from how you plan to wash your knives. If you are using dishwasher, choose knives with handles made of hard plastic or other synthetic materials.

Few of us have a choice kitchen utensils so responsibly that before going to the store to study the manufacturers, their reputation, the materials used. As a rule, we come - we look - we feel - we try on - we correlate our budget with the price tag and buy. This also applies to knives: only a professional chef will think about which kitchen knives are better.

And we will evaluate the sharpness of the blade, shape and size - and at the checkout.

But I suddenly wanted to know more about them so that I could make a more intelligent choice next time. But because I'm tired of cursing, trying to thinly slice the cheese or butcher the chicken with anything. The three guns in my arsenal are clearly not enough, you need to figure out what they are in general and how they differ.

Types of kitchen knives

The standard set necessarily contains three main tools:

• cooking,
• universal,
• and for peeling vegetables.

But there are many more varieties. If you meticulously list all the professional kitchen knives in the chef's arsenal, there will be more than a dozen of them. I don’t have such a task, I will list only the main ones - those that can be useful in everyday life, in every home kitchen.

Cooking

This is the main tool of the cook, which is used for many operations:

• cutting meat preparations;
• cuttings of cabbage and greens;
• vegetable shredders, etc.

It is often referred to as the chef's knife.

It is one of the largest: the blade can be up to 30 cm long, although the usual size is 20-22 cm. But the width depends on belonging to one of the species: German or. More about the differences between these two European and Asian forms of performance - a little later, but for now just pictures for clarity.

In Asian cooking culture, there is no such thing as a multifunctional chef's knife - there is a special tool for each operation. In Japanese models, of which there are several hundred varieties, in general, the devil will break his leg.

But the enterprising Japanese created a special santoku chef's knife for Europeans. Experts say that it is the most convenient.

Universal

The next in terms of size and degree of use are universal knives 10-15 cm long with a narrow and thin blade.

Their name speaks for itself: in the absence of special tools, they can do almost everything:

• cut fruits and vegetables;
• chop greens;
• cut into thin slices cheese, sausage, meat.

For cleaning vegetables

These kitchen knives can also be called universal, but they are designed for smaller operations. With a narrow blade with a sharp tip up to 10 cm long, it is convenient not only to peel vegetables, but also to cut them, pick out “eyes”, cut smoked sausage, etc.

Special

In principle, if the instruments described good quality, they are quite enough for everyday home cooking and do-it-yourself table setting. And yet special models make life very easy.

Of these, I would like to highlight the following:

1. Special cleaning knife. It differs from the usual blade with an inwardly curved blade, convenient for peeling round fruits and vegetables.

1. For bread. No matter how sharp your "boss" is, best knives for the kitchen for cutting bread - long, even, with a serrated (wavy) edge.

1. For thin slicing of fish, boiled or baked meat, ham, long blades with a smooth cutting edge and a narrow blade are designed.

1. Fillet models have a narrow blade, which is very convenient to remove fish or meat fillets from the bones.

1. Boning machines are designed for cutting carcasses, separating meat from bones. They are distinguished by a curved edge and a blade width that varies along the length.

1. For tomatoes. There are two options: with a narrow solid or with a wide perforated canvas, but the edges are in any case serrated. Which is better for tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits with dense skin and tender flesh, you decide - both are good.

1. kitchen hatchet. The instruction recommends using it for cutting large pieces of meat, including raw and frozen, for dismembering joints and other rough work. It has a wide and thick blade.

1. For cutting pizza It is most convenient to use special disc knives.

1. For cheese, there are several varieties of knives designed for different types of cheese.

1. Blade knives similar to the latter with a rounded tip are used for butter.

If you dig really deep, you can find tools for peeling garlic, oysters, slicing noodles, peeling fish, and so on.

Which knives are better to buy for the kitchen depends on culinary preferences and the dishes that we cook most often. Many of them are interchangeable, so I think it makes no sense to get a complete set, most of which will lie idle.

But this concerns only the form and purpose. But there are also such parameters as the material for the manufacture of the handle and blade, the angle of sharpening, the possibility of self-editing.

The best manufacturers of kitchen knives

It is unrealistic to list all manufacturers from all countries, so I narrow the circle to the most eminent ones. True, I must warn you: it’s better not to look into the catalog for the faint of heart, since the price of one knife can be compared with the cost of a cast-iron bridge span.

So, the two main European "schools" for the production of kitchen knives have already been mentioned above. But this does not mean that all production is concentrated only in Germany and France. They are in different countries, but the most famous ones are still in Europe.

Namely:

1. Germany –Gude, Wusthof, Fissler, Zwilling J.A. Henckels;

1. UK - Robert Welch;

1. France - Tarrerias, Bonjean, De Buyer, Sabatier;

1. Spain - Arcos;

1. Italy - Del Ben.

There are no complaints about the quality of these brands: the products are made mainly from anti-corrosion molybdenum-vanadium steel, have high hardness cutting edge(up to 58 units) and has a double-sided sharpening with an angle of 20 degrees.

AT Asian region Japan's palm. These are Tamahagane, Yaxell, Hattori, Tojiro.

I have already said that in order not to get lost in their assortment, you need to be Japanese, or at least a great connoisseur and connoisseur of oriental cuisine. But the Japanese work not only for themselves, but also produce good knives for the kitchen in the usual design for us.

However, there are still differences:

• The edge of the "Japanese" has a sharper sharpening angle;
• Moreover, sharpening is one-sided, which requires getting used to such tools. By the way, when buying, you need to pay attention to the side of sharpening - it happens for both right-handers and left-handers;

• The canvas is made from damask;
• The edge hardness often exceeds 60 units, so these knives are much less likely to dull, but they require a special diamond tool to sharpen them. Whereas European products are perfectly corrected with a musat or a sharpener.

A large set of such knives is available only to wealthy people or professional chefs, for whom they are a tool for making money. But even mere mortals can afford one good utility or chef's knife.

As for other models, you can purchase simpler options. Before choosing a knife for the kitchen, you only need to make sure that it is made of a material that is resistant to moisture, alkalis and acids.

These include:

• Stainless steel;
• Zirconia ceramics;

• titanium alloy;
• Teflon coated steel.

The material and especially the shape of the handle also matter. It is important that it fits comfortably in the hand and allows you to comfortably do the work.

Conclusion

The best kitchen knives are those that last a long time and are easy to use. Of all the species listed, I would add to mine standard set knife for cutting meat, peeling vegetables and cutting bread. Well, maybe even cheese.

But we also eat very traditionally. And you can watch the video in this article and decide which models will be in demand in your family.

And if there are any questions or a desire to speak on the topic, welcome to the comments.

Choosing a kitchen knife for professional chefs is a whole science with its own terminology, secrets and rules - after all, for them the knife is almost an extension of the hand. We, the townsfolk, understand all the intricacies of this science and have full set tools are not necessary, but everyone can learn to distinguish good kitchen knives from bad ones and correctly compose their “chef's three”.

Briefly about the main

If you dive into short course you don’t want to choose knives and you only need one quality knife multi-purpose, we offer the following solutions:

• Best choice for man: the so-called "chef's knife" (chef knife, French knife) made of stainless steel 20-25 cm long (universal length - 21 cm or 8 inches). With this tool, you can do 80% of all work: cut, butcher, chop, chop, beat off. Manufacturers: the most expensive and best - the old brands Wusthof and Zwilling J.A. Henckels (pictured below), medium price category- "Victorinox" and "Arcos", from the budget ones - quite worthy "Tramontina" (pictured below) and "Opinel".

• Best choice for woman: overwhelming number female hands best fit universal "kitchen" length 13-16 cm (or 5-6 inches). This knife is a cross between a classic chef knife and a slicer, and it does a great job with most types of work.

Manufacturers: top - all the same Wusthof, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, as well as F.Dick, Shun, etc., of the middle price category - "Victorinox" and "Arcos", from the budget ones - quite worthy kitchen knives "Tramontina", Trupperware or "Opinel" made of carbon steel (in the photo below, model No. 102 with a 10 cm blade).

Opinel, model no. 102, 10 cm

• A set of basic knives "kitchen three": a kitchen or cook's troika is a set of three knives that are most often used at home. As a rule, this is:

1. chef knife general use- since this is the most important knife in the kitchen, we will consider the question of how to choose the right quality copy below in more detail;
2. Serrator for cutting bread, as well as puff cakes, vegetables, fruits 20-26 cm long - the knife has a serrated blade and looks a bit like a saw. He perfectly cuts bread, preventing it from creasing, delicately cuts the skin of tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables with a thin skin. It is not worth spending a lot of money on buying such a knife, the main thing is to find one so that the teeth of the serrated blade are not too large or too small. The average size teeth has, for example, this model of Victorinox, but it will not be difficult to find more affordable analogues.

1. Knife for peeling vegetables, chopping garlic and other "small" work 8-10 cm (3-4 inches) long - it does not make sense to spend a lot of money on buying this knife, so take the one that you like appearance and price.

Some more useful information

How to choose the right chef's knife that will last you long years read in the next chapter or watch the video clip of the authoritative enthusiast and specialist Andrey Kozlovsky.

8 Tips to Know Before Buying a Chef Knife

First, let's formulate General requirements to good kitchen knives:

• The blade stays sharp for a long time;
• The knife easily and quickly cuts products;
• The handle fits comfortably in the hand and does not slip.

How to understand which kitchen knife meets this requirement, and which does not? Here are 8 tips for choosing a versatile cooking tool.

1. Assess your old knife

The concept of " good knife” is somewhat subjective, because while one person may like a knife, another person may find the same tool inappropriate for his cutting style. Therefore, first you need to understand and formulate for yourself what you like and dislike in the old instrument.

• The disadvantages may be the following: too heavy / light weight, too long / short blade, the blade quickly becomes dull or rusty, the butt rubs the finger during long cutting, the handle or the cut itself is not very convenient, for example, the knife does not completely cut the food when shredding, etc. .d.

2. Choose the type of steel

The ability of a knife to stay sharp for a long time depends on the type and quality of steel from which the blade is made. Kitchen knives are made from the finest different types steel, but most often it is:

1. Stainless steel (Stainless Steel) is the most common material, which is more suitable for the modern average user. Stainless steel quickly dulls (stainless steel kitchen knives are usually straightened once every 1-1.5 months), but it does not require special care;
2. Carbon steel (Carbon knife) - this alloy cuts better due to its hardness, the blade remains sharp for a long time, but at the same time it is more fragile, quickly rusts, reacts to acids and is covered with patina, therefore it requires special care and careful handling. But many professional chefs prefer this type of steel. On the next photo you can see what a new carbon steel knife looks like and a darkened knife covered with a patina, which, by the way, does not affect the quality of the cut, but rather makes the blade more hygienic and, in our opinion, nobler in appearance.

• Is it worth buying Ceramic knives? In our opinion, this is only an addition to basic set steel knives - although they remain sharp for a long time, their blades are too fragile, and if they do become dull, then it will be almost impossible to sharpen them at home. However, it makes sense to buy inexpensive ceramic knives that can be changed periodically.

3. How to inspect blades

• So that you can chop well, cutting vegetables / fruits to the end, and also in order to save the main part of the cutting edge when chopping bones, choose a knife with an open heel, that is, when the blade is sharpened from the tip to the very heel of the bolster. On the other hand, most chef knives come with a closed heel, and it doesn't get in the way of many. The photo below shows two types of chef's knife - with a closed and open heel.

open heel bolster

with closed heel bolster

• The thicker the blade, the better;
• The blade of a good chef should be smooth, and for high-quality stainless steel knives, it should be mirror-like;
• Pay attention to the quality of the butt processing - it must be smoothed so that your finger does not callus during long cutting.

4. Inspection of the handle

• The highest quality tools are forged from a single piece of steel that runs through the entire knife, from the tip to the end of the handle. Thus, part of the steel is inside the handle between two plates. This fragment is called a full shank. If the steel does not go all the way to the end of the handle, then it is called a half shank. Full shank tools are better balanced, which is a real indicator of quality, but they are significantly more expensive.

• The knife handle must be solid, tightly welded, strong - at the joints of the parts there should not be the slightest gaps and traces of welding. A poorly welded handle will loosen over time, and the cut of the knife will become less effective due to a decrease in the force of pressure on it, moreover, dirt will begin to collect at the joints of the handle.
• Also note that the material must not be slippery or become slippery due to oil getting on the handle.
• As for the material of the linings, plastic, wood or rubber are most often used today. Perhaps plastic, a composite of plastic and wood, as well as hard rubber are the best options.

5. Balance test

If you want to buy a new high-quality knife, then try using the example of the old chef (if you have one) to understand what kind of knife balance you need - with a heavier handle, with a heavier blade, or with a balanced blade and handle. It is believed that a balanced knife is more convenient to use, and yet, this is a very individual indicator. And, unfortunately, a balanced knife is not so easy to find even among expensive items. To test the knife, you need to put the knife with a bolster on your finger as shown in the photo below and try to “catch” the balance. If the knife does not fall, then most likely it is a great specimen. (be careful, keep in mind that an inexpensive knife will fall off immediately).

6. How long should the blade be?

• How more hand cooks, topics larger size blades he can afford, and vice versa than less hand- the smaller the tool should be, although this, of course, is not a rule, but rather a recommendation for non-professional cooks;
• Small kitchen knives are safer, but large ones can cut more food at a time;
• Keep in mind that the blade length of European knives is most often measured in inches. Chefs are typically 8, 10 and 12 inches long.

7. Japanese or European?

Chef knives are divided into three groups: Japanese, European (Western) and knives made in Japan, but adapted to the “European”. In this photo you can see the difference between a hybrid (Misono) and a typical Euro chef from Henckels.

• At home, it is preferable to have a chef of the European (Western) type, since it is much more convenient for them to chop vegetables or, for example, butcher a chicken because of the rounded shape of the cutting edge and the blade sharpened on both sides.
• Traditional Japanese knives are more suitable for true connoisseurs of knife art and hobbyists. Japanese cuisine. The classic “Japanese” has a one-sided sharpening of the blade, a very thick butt, the shape of the cutting edge is almost straight, and it can only be sharpened on water stones. The main way to work with it is vertical movements, that is, practically cutting. In general, this tool cannot be called a generalist.
• But another category of Japanese knives, that is, Western-style hybrid knives, have gained popularity all over the world and are valued for very high quality steel that keeps sharpening for a long time. But they have one big minus - it's still the same demanding care. The most famous Japanese knives are made by Misono (pictured above) and Shun.

If you are interested in the topic of Japanese knives, we suggest you watch a video review of a European chef and a Western-style Japanese hybrid.