As Iron Chef Masahiru Morimoto said «Perhaps the most personal tools in my kitchen are my knives». Of all the Iron chefs, I respect Morimoto
the most, since he's pretty much the only one using really nice knives on Iron Chef show. Not only his Nenohis are very good knives, but they're also custom made for him. Obviously
not everyone needs or can afford such a knife, but for a chef of his statue those are a must I think. At least it shows how much attention he is paying to his primary tools. I
don't necessarily agree with his choice of knives, despite being very popular there are better knives out there and at a cheaper price too, but the fact itself is worth of respect.
Without any doubts the problem of choosing the best kitchen knife bothers a lot of people. At least judging by the number of the emails I get regarding the
kitchen knives. Which brand is the best, and what is the best kitchen knife, and so on. Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no the best kitchen knife ever made. Just like
field knives :) There is no one do it all knife that will accomplish all cutting equally well. No magic steel, no magic design, no other miracles can achieve that goal.
So, one has to live with it. On the other hand it ain't that bad, you have a reason and motive to get more than one knife. Isn't that wonderful? With only one knife life would be
so boring. Anyhow, jokes aside, one knife won't cut, literally. You can get things done using single knife, but most likely that one won't last too long, will cost you time, nerves
and may be a few unintended cuts and stitches too.
I'll quote Morimoto again, «Yet a great knife doesn't make a great chef». So, in the end that is you and your knife. Not even the best knife in the world will make up for the lack of skills and probably in really bad case it'll be easier to lop off your fingertip(s) with a really sharp knife than a dull junker from the flea market. Therefore, be careful and learn how to use your knives. On the positive side, when you know how to use your knives it's so much easier and cutting becomes fun rather than a boring chore. Besides, small cuts from very sharp knives heal much faster than resulting ripped flesh wounds from a dull knife. Trust me on that one.
The following is the list important points one should consider when choosing the kitchen knife, sorted by importance. That of course is strictly IMHO(In My Humble Opinion) and as you can guess is the result of personal research for kitchen knives for years, numerous email conversations with knife makers, chefs and knife enthusiasts, plus answering numerous emails asking various questions regarding the subject of this article.
Thanks and Credits
- I would like to thank everyone who shared the information and I would also like to thank those who were asking many questions during past years, those questions made me realize how much I still had to learn and pushed me to research and learn more, getting better and better knives in process and becoming a better knife user in the kitchen myself :).Prev - Contents Next - Budget & Maintenance
Last updated - 05/19/19