Chef’s Knife – Workhorse of the Kitchen

Kitchen cutlery is a necessity for even the most occasional chef. There are dozens of choices. Length. Style. Material. How can you decide what to buy? Before committing to the purchase of a cutlery set, is there one particular kitchen knife that most experts will agree is a necessity for every kitchen? In this case the answer is yes, and that one must-have kitchen knife is the Chef’s Knife.

The chef’s knife is the workhorse of the kitchen. The go-to food preparation tool that you will use every time you prepare a meal. Chef knives come in blade lengths from 5 to 12 inches. Professional chefs prefer the 8 inch blade length which seems to provide the most versatility and “balance”. Keep in mind that most professional chefs are male and the 8″ blade may be a tad hefty for the more diminutive cook. Don’t worry. There are excellent quality 6″ chef knives too.

The shape of the chef’s knife is what makes it so versatile. Alton Brown’s Angled 8-Inch Chef’s Knife is an innovative design but follows the basic principles of every good chef’s knife. The tip is pointed and just flexible enough to cut around bones. The wide blade is designed for chopping, slicing and mincing vegetable bunches. The better designed chef’s knives are slightly rounded towards the tip so that you can use a continuous rocking motion for chopping. The heel is thick and tough and can be used like a cleaver for chopping through bone or for splitting a raw turnip. The wide, flat part of the blade is used for smashing garlic. Even the non-cutting edge has a function and can be used to tenderize cutlets.

Celebrity TV chefs including Rachael Ray and Ming Tsai have helped propel the santoku, a Japanese style chef knife with a curved spine and dimples to prevent food from sticking to the knife as you slice.

High quality chef’s knives are made from high-carbon stainless steel, which can be sharpened to a razor’s edge and which is easy to keep clean without rusting. The very best chef’s knives are forged – individually hammered from a single piece of steel. Quality chef’s knives are also stamped or punched out of sheet steel. You can tell a forged knife from a stamped knife by the hump or shoulder on the forging where the blade meets the handle. Henckels has a third method and welds layers together, much in the tradition of the Samurai sword. Forged knives are heavier and are generally reputed to have better feel and balance. Forged chef’s knives are the most expensive ($75 to $100+) but if not sorely abused a forged chef’s knife will last for decades.

Handles are 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the blade. They are made from wood or hard composites. The most important handle characteristic is how it feels in your hand. Professional chefs have a strong preference for handles that are riveted through the blade. If nothing else the rivets impart a sense of strength and permanence.

Heft or weight is important. You want the heaviest chef’s knife that you can work with without discomfort. If this seems counterintuitive consider that the heftier the knife the more gravity contributes to the work. A light chef’s knife requires more work from you to chop through a thick parsley bunch or to pound out a cutlet.