Knives 101: What to Have and How to Keep Them

About author / Lauren Braun Costello

The competent cook; food stylist; cooking instructor; graduate French Culinary Institute. To die for dish? Maple glazed bacon wrapped roast turkey. Yep, bacon wrapped.

If there were room in the world for only one kitchen tool it undoubtedly would be the knife. Conceptually, knives have been around for at least two million years, dating back to a time when a sharp-edged stone or jagged seashell was a hot commodity. With the onset of the Iron Age only a few thousand years ago, the sharp, strong metallic blade was born.

Knives come in all shapes and sizes, crafted for a plethora of uses ranging from chopping to slicing. If you are a cheese connoisseur or a fisherman, for example, you may have a series of special knives for specific foods or tasks. But there are really just a few universally essential knives that every cook should have.

The Chef’s or Cook’s Knife
This is the most indispensable culinary tool in both home and professional kitchens. Its primary function is to chop by being held at the handle and rocked back and forth on the cutting board. The blade size can range from 5” to 14” (the 8” knife is the most pervasive and versatile). Irrespective of size, the blade should be heavy with a straight edge. It is far better to have one high-quality chef’s knife than half a dozen low-quality knives of varying shapes and sizes. This knife will do more than chop – it will carve, slice, bone and butcher, if need be.

The Paring Knife
The paring knife looks like a chef’s knife, but very small (typically about 3”). It can be used to slice garlic, scrape the skin off a carrot in place of a peeler, or cut eyes from a potato. Wherever the chef’s knife is just too big for the job, the paring knife will do.

The Bread Knife
The home kitchen must have one knife with a long, serrated blade that can cut through foods both crispy and delicate without crushing them. Bread knife blades resemble woodworking tools and are to be used with the same saw-like motion.

There are dozens more knives available, such as filleting knives, butcher knives, cleavers, slicers, oyster knives, and grapefruit knives, to name a few. But quantity and variety are not critical to successful results in the kitchen. The quality and sharpness of the blades, on the other hand, are key.

The importance of using only a sharp knife cannot be overstated. Suzen O'Rourke, Executive Chef and Owner of Cooking by the Book, one of New York's premier private cooking schools, stresses this point before every cooking lesson. "With a dull knife you have to exert yourself," she says, "which can be dangerous because you may slip and cut yourself. A sharp knife will do the work for you."

Every home cook should have a tool to straighten and sharpen a knife after each use. Whether it is a steel, stone, or electric knife sharpener, a honing tool will help maintain the investment of a good knife by realigning a knife’s edge. Cooks who use their knives frequently should have them professionally sharpened once a year.

Be sure never to put a knife in the dishwasher, as the heat will destroy the blade over time. Wash knives by hand with warm water and soap, and dry them immediately and thoroughly with a cloth or rag. Avoid scraping the knife against the cutting board repeatedly to pick up the last bits of chopping; turn the knife on its back and use that flat edge to scrape instead. If knives are used and maintained properly, they will last a lifetime.

For more information on knives with a listing of products and types, see “The New Cooks’ Catalogue: The Definitive Guide to Cooking Equipment” (published by Alfred A. Knopf).