If you are looking to invest in a kitchen knife, the number of knives to choose from can quickly become overwhelming. If you aren’t sure of where to put your money, then read along and get our best tips and tricks on how to choose the perfect kitchen knife for your needs and purposes.
In this article, we will guide you through the different types of knives there are to choose from - and then you get our advice on which ones are the right ones for you to invest in.
Here at Gastrotools, we sell a total of nine different knives, so it's no wonder that you might be in doubt about which one suits your needs. But don't worry – once you've read this guide, the choice should be much much easier.
Get a handle on the basics: Which knife should I start with?
You can go a long way with only two knives in the kitchen - as long as they are the right ones... A good chef's knife that can handle approximately 90% of all cutting tasks and a good utility knife that can handle everything else.
When investing in a new kitchen knife, you have to look at what you already have in the kitchen - and what needs you need to cover.
Also consider:
- Do you want to manage with as little equipment as possible?
- Or do you want a knife for every type of task?
If you want as little equipment as possible, a chef's knife like our Gyuto can be the perfect place to start. If you, however, already have a great chef’s knife then you might want to take a look at our Utility knife , which is an efficient and superbly versatile knife for a wide range of tasks in the kitchen.
The material is not unimportant: that is why you should choose a knife forged from a hard steel blend
When you read about the different knives, you will often see mentioned the "hardness" of the steel. We don't need to come up with a long technical explanation here, but essentially, the harder the steel, the longer it stays sharp.
A cheap kitchen knife from your local supermarket will typically have a hardness of around 54-55 HRC. This means that it will become dull after a very short time.
It is the carbon content that makes the difference
A good kitchen knife is made of steel with a high carbon content – an example could be VG-10, which we ourselves use at Gastrotools. The high carbon content means they stay sharp for much longer and require much less maintenance. The hardness is around 60-62 HRC on the Rockwell scale. (The Rockwell scale is an international scale that measures the hardness of materials.)
So why should you choose a kitchen knife with a hard steel blend?
The reason is none of us want to have our knives sharpened all the time - and you avoid that if you go for hard steel knives.
Which knife should you choose? Well… It depends on what you have
If you want to start from scratch with choosing a good knife, then, as I said, you should start with a chef's knife. Chef's knives such as Gyuto or Santoku are good options.
Once you have a good chef's knife, you can expand your collection with a utility knife or a good paring knife.
Once you have the two knives, your next purchases will depend on your needs.
Do you cook a lot of meat? Then you will be happy with a good carving knife that ensures the perfect cut.
Is the need more to split hot buns on Sunday mornings? Then you might find more use in a good bread knife.
If you're contemlating one of each, we've actually made three different package solutions.
The Essential Collection , The Complete Collection and The Ultimate Collection . As the names suggest, they are for different needs.
Before you go… Here’s a bonus tip for when you use your knives
As tempting as it might be to just throw the knives in the dishwasher after a good dinner, please do not!
Although we have gone to great lengths to choose the absolute best materials for our kitchen knives - the truth is that even the best materials wear out over time, and that process is greatly sped up when washing your knives in the dishwasher. So grab the brush yourself and help your knives last a lifetime.
Want to avoid dull knives? - read our ultimate guide on how to take care of your knives→
