Kitchen knives can be a confusing subject. What’s the best use for each knife and do you really need each one? This Ultimate Kitchen Knife Guide and Infographic will help with those decision. The most common knives are chef’s, utility, kitchen, santoku, slicing/carving, paring, boning/filet, cleaver, and bread knife. Handles, blade material and edges all make a difference in how knives are used.
Which Kitchen Knife to use? Types of kitchen knives and uses for each
Chef’s knife: Multi-purpose with wide, triangular black and curved belly for easy rocking motion. 8-inch blade is most popular. Best used for chopping, slicing, mincing and dicing.
Utility knife: Versatile with narrower blade than a chef’s knife. Can have a straight or serrated edge. Best used for cutting tomato, soft meats or crusted bread.
Kitchen knife: Versatile with straight back edge and gentle curve close to tip. Best used for cutting meats, vegetables or fruits.
Santoku knife: Multi-purpose with a slightly curved edge for efficient mincing. Often lighter, thinner and sharper than Western-style knives. Best used for scooping, crushing or thin cut meat.
Slicing knife: Very long blade for carving large pieces of meat. Has a sharp straight edge to prevent juices from escaping meats.
Carving knife: Similar to a slicing knife but with a slight serrated edge. Creates a rougher cut.
Pairing knife: Small knife for intricate cuts. Very short and sharp blade. Best used for mincing, peeling, coring, and removing spots on fruits and vegetables.
Boning/Filet knife: Blade is usually flexible for intricate meat cutting. Has long and narrow blade that curves up at the tip. Contours to bone, cartilage, and skin. Best used for removing meat from bone or fish from skin, timing fat, and cutting through tendons.
Cleaver: Large rectangular blade with sharp edge. Heavy duty cutting and chopping. Best used for splitting poultry, disjoining meats, cutting through ribs, smashing onions or garlic and scooping.
Bread knife: Cuts bread or delicate items with tough crusts or skins. Serrated blade that creates frequencies for easier cutting. Best used for crusted bread or fruits and vegetables with outer skin.
Types of kitchen knife blade edges
- Serrated or wavy edge: Have teeth along edge that allow greater pressure to be applied while cutting. Usually a thin blade that can cut through hard crusts or tough skins.
- Straight edge: This edge can be sharpened with sharpening steel to a razor-sharp edge. Makes precise and clean cuts.
- Granton edge: Has hollowed-out grooves on the sides of the blade, which helps prevent food from sticking while cutting.
Knife blade materials and how to maintain knives
Blades are made from carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium or ceramic.
- Carbon steel blades: Clean with soap and water, dry then lightly oil. It can tarnish easily.
- Stainless steel blades: Don’t ever soak and make sure to dry off after cleaning. High-grade steel can rust.
- Titanium or ceramic blades: Easier to maintain. Scrub with hot soapy water, dry with a towel on a drying rack. These blades do not rust.
Ultimate Kitchen Knife Guide infographic:
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Information in this guide and the infographic first appeared on http://www.fix.com/blog/kitchen-knife-guide/ and are posted here with permission.
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matthew, thanks for this great article. i’ve been working on an infographic for knives. but yours is so much better than mine! wow.
This has got to be one of the best infographics on Knives I’ve ever seen!
So many great little takeaways… Some obvious since you point them out like the avoid verticle knife blocks, so simple but I’d never thought of it like that and never considered it when selecting new purchases.
Thank you
Great guide, thanks for sharing this! Over the years I’ve realized that I really only use 2 knives on a regular basis – my chef’s knife and pairing knife. And then occasionally my bread knife. The other knives I use pretty seldom and so don’t bother spending much money on them. Instead I put the money towards buying quality versions of my two workhorse knives and that has made all the difference.
I’m pretty much the same way Kimberly, but it’s good to have knowledge and options. The main go-to’s that I invested in are my chef and fillet knife.
What a terrific guide! I remember how much research I did, years ago, when selecting my own knives. There’s so much to consider, to make sure you’re really getting the tools you need and that they’ll continue to perform well for years to come! This is such a handy reference – definitely pinning to share!
Good point. I have an average set and finally bought my first nice chef knife. It’s not one of the crazy expensive ones but still so much better! Now I need to get more of these varieties. Thanks Shelley!
What a great knife guide! I must admit that I use my santoku knives (one small and one large) with a granton edge for basically everything. I do think I should find a good bread and paring knife that I like though for the jobs that just aren’t quite right for the santoku.
Thanks Meg! I admit I don’t have a santoku knife but want to get one. I use my 8 inch chefs knife or a fillet for most things. Plus the bread knife comes in handy too!