Cooks Knives – Kitchen Knives – Where do you start? The team at Armorica would like you to have the best information available before making your purchase. Our resident knife expert, Bill Brown provided some really useful advice in the Readers Digest recently, on how to look after your knives. This article provides some additional information and will help to provide you with all you need to know to buy the right knives for your needs. From a small paring knife, to a specialist hand-forged sashimi knife, we provide what we believe to be the widest range of specialist and professional quality kitchen knives available today. We are constantly seeking out new knife ranges to add to our selection, so you can rest assured that Armorica will continue to provide you with the best equipment available, helping you to produce restaurant-quality food in the comfort of your own kitchen.

In our opinion, we believe every kitchen should have a core of knives that will perform 90% of the tasks required: chopping, slicing, peeling, mincing etc. These knives are detailed below.

Firstly, a Chef’s knife, so named because it is the most used knife in a kitchen. From chopping onions, to slicing a joint of beef, this knife is extremely versatile and once you become comfortable and proficient with it, you can perform even intricate tasks with poise and ability. Usually around eight inches in length (although some are as big as 12”), the blade is curved to allow a rocking motion to be used, enabling tasks such as chopping to be executed with minimum force.

While looking around you may see a Santoku or Japanese Chefs Knife. These are becoming extremely popular amongst professional chefs. The word “Santoku” translates from the Japanese as “three good things”, a reference to the three cutting tasks it is designed to perform: cutting, slicing, and mincing. Similar in size to a traditional chefs’ knife, they can be used to the same degree and for the same tasks. Usually sold with a scalloped (Granton) edge [see below], many chefs actually prefer the feel of the knife in the hand.

Secondly, you should own a utility knife. As the name suggests, a utility knife is used to carry out a multitude of different tasks. Usually between four and seven inches (10 and 18cm), this knife is essentially a smaller version of the chef’s knife, and is used accordingly i.e. chopping garlic, shallots etc.

A bread knife should also be considered essential to a modern kitchen. A serrated knife, usually around 8-10 inches, this knife is used almost exclusively on baked goods, or those that are hard on the outside, but with a softer interior.

A carving knife is also a good addition to any knife set. Usually around 8 inches (although can be up to 15 inches for more specialist applications), a carving knife is thinner than a chef’s knife, allowing for more accurate and delicate slices.

Finally, if you prepare a lot of meat and fish, a boning or filleting knife would be a prudent investment. With a thin, flexible blade, a boning knife is perfectly suited to de-boning legs of lamb and pork. With practice, the boning knife will become a valued friend. The filleting knife is, on first appearances, very similar to a carving knife. It is only when you begin to use it, you realise its abilities. Extremely flexible, the filleting knife will enable you to buy whole fish and prepare them yourself, saving you money and allowing you to explore the variety of seafood available.

On first appearance, knives would appear to be just a kitchen tool. Nevertheless, there are many different factors in every single knife, from blade material, to edge type, even down to the type of knives available. This section will explain the different variables in knife construction.

Many materials can be used to create blades. The most common and widely available is High Carbon Stainless Steel, which is created with the addition of a varying amount of carbon, and is usually described as the middle option between full carbon steel and stainless steel, able to hold an edge, but without the discolouration seen in full carbon knives.
Laminate blades are an attempt to create a knife with the best properties of steel combined. Usually a harder, more brittle metal is sandwiched between two softer, tougher steels. However due to the many different processes it is not possible to generalise about laminate knives.
Titanium is a relative newcomer to the knife world. Lighter, more flexible, and harder wearing than steel, carbide treated titanium has revolutionised knife design. Our Kasumi Titanium knives are the latest step in metallic knife production.
Ceramic blades are the serious alternative to metallic knives. Usually produced from zirconium dioxide, they are incredibly hard, measuring at 8.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness (compared with 10 for a diamond, and 6.5 for hardened steel). Maintaining an edge for many months, if not years, they can only be sharpened using approved diamond sharpeners, or returning them for a professional service. Care must be taken however, to ensure that chipping of the blade does not occur. Only ever hand wash ceramic knives (and all other knives), and do not use to pierce any items. Kyocera also produce a “black” ceramic knife, which undergoes a second firing process known as sintering, and a technique known as Hot Isostatic Pressing. This knife is harder and more resilient than standard ceramic blades, although the same rules apply.

With all steel knives, they can be forged or stamped. Stamped knives are cut from rolled steel and then ground down and sharpened. Stamped knives lack the hardness brought by the forging process, however they often perform very well. Several companies use stamped knives in their premium ranges, Global being the most well known (With the exception of the GF-range).
Not only is the material used in the blade important, the blade profile itself is integral to its purpose. All knives are ground to create their sharpness, and there are two different techniques: hollow grinding and flat grinding. Hollow ground blades have bevelled edges, which are ground from halfway down the blade, not at the spine. The blade therefore has a thinner blade, but is less durable. Flat ground blades however, when viewed as a cross section, have the profile of a long, thin triangle, which gives excellent performance and durability. All our knives are flat ground, unless otherwise stated.

There are two other types of blade finish, which are not related to the grind: serrated blades and Granton (or scalloped) edged.

Serrated knives have a wavy or toothed running edge. The saw-like blade is ideal for cutting foods that are hard on the outside and soft on the inside, such as bread or tomatoes. A word of warning: serrated knives can only be sharpened on a special sharpener. We have two such sharpeners for sale: the Chantry Sharpener and the Chefs’ Choice for Serrated Knives.

Granton (or scalloped) edging does not in fact refer to the blade edge of the knife. It in fact refers to a number of hollow ovals ground into one or both sides of the blade above the cutting edge. These hollows are designed to help prevent food from sticking to the blade and allow the knife to cut more efficiently. Scalloping is most commonly found on Santoku knives and some slicers.

Many people believe the handle of a knife to be purely of an aesthetic purpose; this however, could not be further from the truth. The handle is an integral part of the knife, and is essential to its efficiency as a cutting tool.

In most peoples’ opinion, wood provides the best grip and is the most attractive. In regular use however, they can become time-consuming to maintain. They do not repel water well and therefore must always be carefully dried in order to prevent cracking or warping. In addition, with wood being naturally porous, some people argue that it can harbour more bacteria than other materials. The Bunmei and Haiku collections are produced with wooden handles.

Stainless steel has fast become an attractive and popular choice for handles. As well as being the most resilient, they also are the most sanitary, both due to the material, and due to the seamless construction methods used. Although steel has a tendency to be slippery when wet, most manufacturers of premium knives make their handles with ridges (Tojiro Supreme) or indentations (Global) in order to increase grip and comfort in usage. The other advantage is with the balance of the knife in the hand. Single piece construction is a feature, unique to all-metal construction. It allows the knife to be perfectly balanced and seamless in its appearance.

A new contender to stainless steel has emerged. Composite handles are made from a variety of materials and they are considered by most to be the best choice because they bring together the appearance and grip of wood, coupled with the hygienic qualities of plastic. The Tojiro Senkou and Henckels Twin Cuisine ranges are a good example of composite handles.

As with all our knives, we strongly advise that you do not use a dishwasher to clean them, and always handwash your knives

We would also advise that with our Asian-style knives, that you should only use a ceramic steel or whetstone to avoid damaging the knives.

Link to BBC Cooks Knives Information

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Should you have any questions that are not answered in this section, please call us on 08456 017 262 or email us at enquiries@armorica.co.uk and we will do our best to answer it fully.