Knights have swords, racecar drivers have cards, football players have helmets, and Chefs have knives.
But how do you choose a knife? Especially when they can be so expensive? Well let me tell you the first step. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES buy a ten-knife set in a wooden block just because it seems like it is a good idea or deal. Pre-made knife sets are the extended warranty of the kitchen. They are a waste of money and you are paying for something that you will never use.
As a starting chef, you only need 2 knives. You need one knife that is anywhere from 6 to 8 inches long – known as a chef’s knife – and a knife that is anywhere from 2 to 4 inches long – known as a paring knife.
Now to get into the nitty gritty. There are only two things you need to know about all knives, not including their shapes.
The first is forged versus stamped. This refers to the process that moulded the metal of the knife. A stamped knife was made with a sheet of metal going through a machine and getting stamped out like a cookie cutter. These are the cheap, weak and shoddy knives that you can buy a knife set of for $29.95 ( and sometimes they will even try to charge you exorbitant amounts of money, obscene for a stamped knife kit.) The blade becomes dull, the tip chips, and they need to be replaced every couple of months. Even if you have a knife at home that you say is still good, trust me, it is not good, you’ve just gotten used to its shittiness as it slowly lost its quality. A sharp knife is a safe knife, because a dull knife will slide along a hard to cut surface and slide right over your fingers. A sharp knife will move where you want it to move, and cut what you want cut.
So always go with forged knives.
The second thing to know is what the tongue of a knife is. The tongue of a knife is the part of the knife that goes through the handle. A proper knife should have metal all the way from tip to handle and there should be two or more metal circles on the handle. Those circles signify welding of the knife tongue to the handle through and through and are signs of craftsmanship and quality. If your knife does not have a tongue and welds it will quickly separate from the handle and fall off and be trash.
Now there are more qualities to a knife, like steel type, hardness and brands, but to be honest, if you find a forged knife with steel welds (rivets) on the tongue, and it is at a price that you are comfortable with, it is the knife that you want to buy.