Joyce J
23 January 2023
We will explain the things you need to look for when choosing quality kitchen knives.
Just as there are a lot of different types of knives, there are a lot of different ways to look at quality kitchen knives.
It’s not just what they do; it’s how they do it (which is a tough thing to tell from the outside) and how well they do it (which is easier to gauge).
A good knife should be light, strong and easy to use. It should be well-made, with a long lifespan, good edge retention and an aesthetic that matches your kitchen. It should be durable, easy to clean and have a good feel when you use it.
With all this in mind, we have put together some guidelines for shopping for quality kitchen knives:
The most important things to look for are:
- Light weight – with the heavier the knife, the higher its mass – this means that it will cut through more food while maintaining its sharpness.
- Sharpness – with a sharp blade you can force your food into small spaces easily and efficiently so you don’t have to spend as much time prepping. A sharp blade is also better at cutting through tougher fibres such as chicken skin or fish fillets (and even bones) than an average knife which cuts on an angle as though it were butter.
So take extra care when buying one with a blade too thin or too thick (e.g., too thin means that the thin edge may bend under pressure whereas too thick means that the thick edge will bend when pressure is applied). And remember: if your knives aren’t working well because they lack strength or sharpness then you need to let them go back and get something better!
- Weight – take into account both the weight of the knife itself (i.e., less weight = easier grip which equals reduced fatigue on your hands = more effective use of your power) and how much weight you need in terms of balance, stability and control over your tool (more often than not heavier tools require more care in balance, stability and control).
- Material – The type of steel used determines how much resistance there is between the cutting edge and other parts of the knife such as handles or blades on other knives. Steel also affects performance; softer steel will require less effort but can leave marks on food which can result in stains being visible afterwards even through plastic plates or wraps such as parchment paper . Harder steels are generally more resistant to wear but are also harder so damage may occur faster.
What to look for in quality kitchen knives
Having a knife that can cut through butter and cheese (or anything else you might want to throw at it) is a useful thing. You don’t just have to have one, of course. A high quality knife will be able to cut hard things like wood and plastic, but also will be able to handle softer things like vegetables and meat.
A question that many people ask when they are choosing knives is: “What is the best price for quality kitchen knives?” The answer to this question about knives depends on what you are looking for.
You might be looking for a cheap set of kitchen knives, or maybe you just want some good quality kitchen knives that won’t break any time soon. In either case, it would probably be best to read our post on making an informed decision before you buy your first set of knives.
Sharpness
If you want to buy kitchen knives, you need to be aware that they can vary greatly in their sharpness.
The best knives are usually made from the finest materials possible. They are also produced with a lot of attention to detail, so that the blade is extremely sharp and stays sharp for very long periods of time.
The knife industry has seen a lot of change in recent years, and so we thought it would be worth writing about what to look for when choosing quality kitchen knives.
Edge retention
The edge retention of a knife is essentially how much the edge will last. A well-made knife will have an edge that is consistently retained, like that of a razor or a pair of scissors.
A dull knife can be sharpened. A duller one can be sharpened less frequently (due to friction).
A long, thin blade will look and feel cooler than a short, thick one because it looks and feels lighter. But most importantly, a good quality kitchen knife should be able to cut food without effort (i.e. without moving your thumb). It should also provide you with enough control over the food you are cutting to prevent accidental cuts that could lead to food poisoning or even death.
The blades on all knives should fit tightly into the handles and not fall out accidentally; this prevents you from accidentally biting your tongue when you are trying to cut something small like an egg. More importantly though, it prevents you from cutting yourself — especially if you have small children who may not understand what they are doing while they are in your kitchen!
So what makes a good quality kitchen knife?
There are some obvious factors:
1) The blade shape is important; ideally it should be long in order to cut through food very efficiently but short enough so as not to get in the way when cutting smaller items like herbs or fruit; there shouldn’t be any tacks sticking up at the back of the knife for instance (which means that when cooking over an open flame, heat gets concentrated into one area).
There needs to be enough space between each blade so that there is no interference between them as you move them around without burning yourself on either side of the cooking surface (which leads to more accidents than just using too-short blades).
2) The edge needs to be sharp enough for cutting but not too sharp (so it doesn’t cut your fingers off), and this is also known as “edge retention” which means how much effort it takes to sharpen it again (this is different from “sharpness” which simply refers to how quickly you can sharpen it again after use).
Some knives require different techniques depending on what kind of task they are best suited for — this could include straightening something by running the blade under warm water before transferring it onto another surface or slicing paper into strips with a particular technique (these knives have more “retention” than some other types though so need much less practice).
Construction
This is an important consideration and I think it is one of the first things most people fail to consider when buying a knife. It’s an important part of the experience, so you want something that will provide you with a good experience.
There are many good knives, but some are better than others, and in this post we will look at the things that you need to look for when choosing quality kitchen knives.
I have used some of these knives myself and they all have different qualities (some more durable than others), but I think they all have a few things in common: They should be able to do their job reasonably well: sharpness isn’t everything;
They should be affordable: getting a knife for $10-20/knife isn’t always worth it and for heavy users it isn’t always necessary.
They should be easy to use: There is nothing worse than having to hunt around for your knife after everything has been cut. If you take the time to learn how to use your knife, at least once, you will really appreciate its performance and how easy it is. What makes a good knife?
First of all, let’s look at what makes a very good knife. The obvious thing would be sharpness – if it’s too dull then it’s pointless. But that’s not enough – there are also other factors like ergonomics (how easily you can use your knife) and ease of maintenance (can you change blade before every use). Here are some factors I look out for in the quality kitchen knives I own:
- Sharpness
Sharpness isn’t just about being able to cut something with it – sharpness comes down to surface area: how much force does your blade transmit past each edge? Is there enough surface area where the tip creates friction? Do you want something that slices through butter like butter or does your butter do better on its own?
- Durability
I’ve owned this particular set of knives for three years now. They were originally purchased by my wife as Christmas presents from her cousin who was from Japan and saw them on sale at Williams Sonoma because he believed she would never buy anything else if he gave them as gifts because she loved them so much (a little bit ironic because she rarely uses her knives!). Over time she fell out of love with them but still kept them because they were such great quality and lasted so long! That
Weight and balance
Weight and balance are the two most important factors in choosing the best kitchen knives. With more and more cooks making the switch from using a meat cleaver to using a sharpening stone, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of kitchen knives available on the market. While these knives may be good for some tasks, there are many other ways to sharpen your knives:
-You can use a fine steel (for finer edges)
-You can use a whetstone (a coarse stone with grits between 400 and 1000 grit)
-You can use a waterstone (a coarse stone with grits between 1000 and 6000 grit)
-You can use a ceramic stones (with grits between 2500 and 8000 grit)
I’m sure you have noticed that there is no single kitchen knife that will suit all chef jobs.
Comfort
So many kitchen tasks require one-handed use, either because of the necessity to use utensils while standing or simply being more comfortable with it. The blade is the only part of your kitchen knife that is not under your control, so you want it to feel comfortable in your hands as you perform these tasks.
There are two ways of doing this: 1) using a knife that feels good when you use it and 2) using a knife that feels good when you hold it. Really cheap knives can be very uncomfortable due to the weight and thickness of the material (and the poor manufacturing process). These knives are made for people who are really slow in their tying of knots and really fast on their way through them.
As we have seen above, comfort does not just come from materials; it comes from design too. If a chef’s knife or sharpening steel was designed with comfort in mind, then chances are there will be no issues with long term use (unless you accidentally catch your finger on something sharp).
The lack of material weight also makes for easier placement in the hand – so if you can’t place your hand around the handle without having to reach up into a drawer, then you have an issue. You will have to consider all these factors before buying any kitchen knives at all, but if you do buy some cheap ones, make sure they don’t get too uncomfortable!
Conclusion
Our main recommendation for kitchen knives is that they should be comfortable to hold and easy to use. The quality of the knife’s overall feel, and its performance in terms of sharpness, ease of use and overall appearance is also important.
These three factors can all be considered together, but we find that in practice they are best evaluated separately.
A knife with a good balance between these three factors will most likely outperform other knives of similar price range.
When it comes to design and weight, both these factors are very important — a knife with a balanced weight will feel more comfortable to use, while a heavier-weight knife may be less likely to cut something hard or difficult. We tend not to look for weight-to-size ratios; we prefer a balance between size (it should fit your hand well) and weight (it should feel light).
The balance between the other two factors is less clear-cut; we have found different knives perform better in different applications (handling dry herbs vs chopping vegetables), so it’s important that you spend time experimenting before buying them all!
The ultimate test for comfort is the selection process itself: if you are not happy with your choice, you are unlikely to settle on it from then on. For example:
If you have never used an electric stove before, start by setting up the controls on a gas stove; this is how you get used to the process of cooking by rotating the dials/knobs etc.. After some trial and error you will probably find that this process becomes second nature after a while — you may want to consider purchasing an electric stove once you get used to it (we didn’t even think about this when we were first starting out!).
The same principle works for kitchen knives: if you don’t like a particular knife in the store or at home — don’t buy it! You can always try one or two more before making your final purchase — just make sure that once again it fits your hands well!
