Things to Consider When Choosing a Knife

When you are considering the purchase of expensive cutlery it is important to think through a variety of factors related to the design and construction of the knife. In this way you will ensure selecting a knife you will find useful, effective for your purposes and easy to employ in food preparation and presentation.

Always begin your search for the right knife with the end in mind. In other words, base your search on what you plan to use the knife to do. One of two approaches to this principle is common. For those of you who expect to assemble a large collection of knives, perhaps more than 10, then focusing on a what a knife is specifically designed to do it the route to choose. If you plan to own more than one carving knife, for example, and you are planning an intimate holiday gathering featuring a breast of turkey and a small ham, then choose a medium-sized carving knife that will comfortably handle smaller meat entrees.

The second approach is for those who are looking for a smaller collection of more versatile knives. The key in your selection will be to find knives capable of multi-tasking. In our holiday example this shopper would be better served by choosing a larger carving knife that will certainly handle the turkey breast but will also function well carving an entire 24 pound bird and sectioning a prime rib roast. A large carving knife might also be versatile enough to slice bread and handle some cutting and chopping duties. The home cook who plans the large collection might choose a trio of paring knives including a specialty tool like the bird beak knife, while the generalist cook will opt for one large paring knife that will function reasonably well for all paring tasks. So, know what you want to do and how many blades you want to own in your pursuit of culinary excellence.

The next consideration involves a blend of price and quality. If you have a significant budget then you should shop for higher quality knives, which are usually more expensive. Don’t get this principle backwards and start your search by looking only at pricey cutlery. There is plenty of expensive cutlery that is simply not worth the money. Start by researching which knives are the best in the business and only shop those brands. We invite you to read our two guides that discuss the benefits of owning Cutco knives if they are one of the brands under consideration for you. Cutco cutlery is highly rated by professional testers and every day users and deserves attention. One note: Most professional food preparers will recommend that you buy fewer high quality knives rather than a larger quantity of inferior knives. Make the most of your budget with quality over quantity. In cutlery, quality is determined by the materials used in the knives, the effectiveness of their design, and the type of edge and its durability. Look for knives that excel in this department.

Finally, look for a range of usability factors that will determine whether or not you enjoy working with the cutlery. Features to take into consideration include characteristics like ergonomic handles that are not too large even for smaller hands to use comfortably, full-tang blades that produce better balance and are stronger for more leverage on tougher cuts, and how easy it is to care for the knives.

It is always a good idea to understand the guarantee that comes with the knife or knife set you purchase. The guarantee speaks volumes about the level of the company’s confidence in their products. There are very few cutlery manufacturers that will stand behind their knives with a lifetime guarantee and these companies should go right to the top of your list as you search products you want to enjoy using for a lifetime.

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