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Welcome to: our quick guide to kitchen knives…The essential kitchen tool used for chopping, cutting, slicing and spreading food or ingredients. Usually with a sharp metal blade and fitted handle, available in assorted shapes and sizes depending upon the task for which they are required. Chefs knives are produced using various types of steel depending upon quality and intended use. Western knives generally have a double barrelled cutting edge, aiding strength and sharpness. Asian knives are manufactured using a harder steel and have a wedge shaped single cutting edge. Examples of knives include; boning, canelle, carving, cleaver, cooks, filleting, palette, paring, and serrated. Bolster This separates the blade from the handle and only a feature of forged knives. A thick band of steel between the handle and the heel. The bolster is used to help balance the knife as well as acting as a hand guard, preventing the hand from slipping across the blade.
Butt This is the end of the handle, shaped to fit the hand.
Edge The sharpened business end of the knife, extending from the heel to the tip.
Handle Sometimes referred to as the scales, this provides the gripping surface.
Heel The heel is the rear section of the blade, often the thickest part of the blade and used to cut items when more force is required. It includes the depth between the bolster and the cutting edge, helping prevent knuckles from knocking when cutting.
Point Used as a piercing tool.
Spine This is the top unsharpened section of the blade.
Tang This is the metal section of the blade extending from the blade into the handle and providing support, weight, durability and balance.
Tip This forms the front quarter of the blade, the workhorse of most knives.
Boning Knife A long rigid narrow bladed knife with a curved edge leading to a sharp point; usually 9-15cm in length. Ideal for boning and preparing meat and poultry. Also known as a boner.
Bread Knife A long bladed short handled knife with a sharp serrated cutting edge, used for slicing bread.
Butcher’s Knife A large heavy duty kitchen knife with a thick handle and rounded tip, used for cutting and preparing raw meat.
Canelle Knife A small kitchen utensil, similar to a zester, with a single “v” shaped blade running horizontally across it. Used to remove fine strips of zest from citrus fruits, or to create decorative effects on vegetables. Derived from the French word canneler meaning ‘to groove’ or ‘flute’.
Carver A large long bladed knife, either serrated or straight, and used for slicing cooked meats. Usually used together with a heavy two pronged, thick handled carving fork.
 Ceramic Steel These sharpening tools are made from porcelain and give an extremely sharp edge. More often used with Asian knives especially those from Japan which use a much harder steel. Ceramic steels give a sharper angled cutting edge and are often used after the blade has been run over a diamond steel.
Chinese Cleaver A kitchen knife with a large flat rectangular blade and a short, often wooden, handle. An excellent all-in-one knife suitable for chopping, crushing, slicing and scooping. Traditionally a small round hole is located towards the front and top of the blade; this aids the removal of the knife from large cuts of meat, as well as hanging from a hook.
Cooks Knife A general purpose knife with a long triangular blade and a slightly curved cutting edge; available in lengths between 15-30cm. Also known a chefs knife.
 Diamond Steel These sharpening tools have a coating of finely crushed diamonds, giving a rough edge. They offer fast and precise sharpening and do not require the same skill as a traditional steel or whetstone. Knives sharpened with a diamond steel are best then finished with a ceramic steel, so giving a far sharper and finer edge.
Fillet Knife A long flexible bladed knife, usually around 20cm in length, ideal for preparing raw fish, fruit and vegetables.
 Fluted Blade Sometimes referred to as scalloped, the indentations along the blade create small air pockets, preventing food from clinging to the blade while cutting.
Forged Knife This is a knife produced when a single steel bar is heated and shaped using a drop hammer. This compresses the steel under immense pressure, forming the knives basic shape. Next it undergoes a grinding and honing process, forming the final shape and edge.  Forged knives have a thicker and heavier blade than stamped knives, with a bolster between the heel and handle. They are stronger, better balanced with no weak points. More expensive than stamped knives
Hachoir A two handled twin bladed kitchen knife, crescent shaped and used in a rocking motion for chopping. Used especially for preparing herbs and salad vegetables. See also under ‘mezzaluna’.
Ice-Tempered Blade A process producing an extremely strong and durable blade able of holding a finely sharpened edge. The heated blade is quenched in sub-zero temperature water before being honed.
Mezzaluna A two handled single bladed knife with a curved edge, used in a rocking motion for chopping herbs, leaf vegetables and salads. See also under ‘hachoir’. An Italian word translating as ‘half moon’.
Palette Knife A thin flexible bladed knife with blunt edges and a rounded end. Available in various sizes and used for turning and transferring foods, or for spreading decorative icings, sauces, etc. A utensil regarded as indispensable by many chefs.
Paring Knife Similar to a cooks knife but with a shorter blade between 6-9cm in length. A universal knife offering excellent control; ideal for cutting cheeses, fruit, meat and vegetables.
Plastic Handles Moulded plastic handles are now the most popular type of handle, especially being used on commercial colour coded knives. Less expensive chefs knives will have plastic handles. They are easy to clean and maintain, but can crack or weaken when exposed to extreme temperature changes.
Sashimi Knife A long thin bladed Japanese knife specifically designed for preparing fish.
 Serrated Edge The downward peaks of this wavy blade do most of the cutting, meaning the troughs in between remain sharp. These blades rarely require sharpening.
Serrated Knife A strong straight bladed knife with a serrated cutting edge slices easily through foods. Available in various lengths from 13-30cm; with shorter versions being used for fruits and vegetables, while the longer knifes are used for bread and cakes.
Stamped Knife These knives have a blade formed using a hydraulic press fitted with a template. This guide then cuts the desired blade shape out of a flat piece of steel, like a cookie cutter. The cut blade blanks are then sharpened using a grinding and honing process. Stamped knives have thinner and lighter blades when compared to forged knives. They have no bolster. Are not usually as balanced as forged knives, but are less expensive than forged knives.
Steel A long solid rod of coarse-textured steel, with a handle at one end and a blunt pointed tip at the other. Used to sharpen kitchen knives by running the blade along the steel at a 45 degree angle. These are the commonest type of sharpening tool but require some skill to work correctly.
 Steel Handles Stainless steel handles are virtually maintenance-free, being extremely durable and easy to clean. A very large or heavy knife with a stainless steel blade will likely be better balanced than a similarly sized wood or plastic handled knife. However, stainless steel handles do not provide a very good "grip" and can become slippery when wet
Straight Edge The most common blade type having no scalloped or serrated edge, especially used on universal knives.
 Whetstone These are basically a ceramic block which produces a razor sharp edge when used correctly. The whetstone is soaked in water for 10 minutes prior to use, with precise control of the blades edge being achieved by the use of a guide rail. Available in coarse, medium and fine with the latter providing the sharpest edge. A coarse stone can be used to repair dull, chipped or damaged blades.
 Wooden Handles Wood handled kitchen knives were once common place but have fallen out of favour, mainly due to concerns over food safety. Wooden handled knives are prone to damage, are porous so trapping bacteria and can easily absorb strong odours. They are however considered attractive and comfortable to use.
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