(4) Knives You Will Ever Need??

[Texas-Hunter]

I was doing some reading online about knives and ran across this Lil gem from Americas Test Kitchen... I know I have more than four blades in my house.. What are your thoughts on this idea?? You can click on any of the images and read up more about this..



CHEF'S KNIFE

Why You Need It: We use this knife for everything from chopping an onion to mincing herbs to butchering a chicken. This one knife, with its pointed tip and slightly curved blade, will handle 90 percent of your kitchen cutting work.



PARING KNIFE

Why You Need It: The small blade of a paring knife allows you more dexterity and precision than a chef's knife can provide. We reach for a paring knife for jobs that require a bit more accuracy and exactitude: coring apples, deveining shrimp, cutting citrus segments, peeling garlic, and more. Its small, pointed tip is also great for testing the tenderness of meat or vegetables.



SERRATED KNIFE

Why You Need It: Also known as a bread knife, this knife features pointed serrations that allow it to glide through crusty breads, bagels, tomato skins, and more to produce neat slices.



SLICING KNIFE

Why You Need It: This knife (also called a carving knife) is specially designed to cut neatly through meat's muscle fibers and connective tissues. No other knife can cut through cooked meat with such precision in a single stroke. Our holiday birds and roasts would be torn to shambles-hardly presentable-without this knife.

[Richtee]

I can't argue, really. As much as I detest serrated blades, they do bread well.

I think they are missing a boner tho. Just saying.

[gmotoman]

I have 5 blades....add a boning knife to that mix please.

[chefrob]

they forgot about the machete...........never know when ya might run into an angry gang of coconuts!

agree with the 5 listed so far but i do enjoy a big chinese veggie cleaver......

[Richtee]

but i do enjoy a big chinese veggie cleaver......

Oh really? Here ya go, big boy....

[eDJ]

Re:

Yes, I agree that a boning knife would be important.



These are usually made with different levels of flexibility and are quite handy in breaking down larger pieces of meat with the bone in. Some have more of a arch than others so they cut easier but for the most part the thin narrow blade makes it a handy knife in the cutlery collection. They can make quick work out of the operation of removing bones.

I'd only add the boning knife to Ken's collection to have a good start
at a kitchen knife collection.

I'd say the Chef's knife, paring knife, and boning knife would do most of the work in fabricating the raw meat & veggies. The carving knife would
then be used to plate up the finished meat for presentation.

[MichChef]

"I think they are missing a boner tho. Just saying." Article musta been written by some old geezer.

And Rob, I use my machete to chop Hubbard Squash into chunks to bake.

[Squirrel]

I have all of those and I agree, there's nothing like a good boner. I have two sizes of cleavers - large and extra large. The other knife I think they are missing is a good fillet knife.

[Richtee]

I have all of those and I agree, there's nothing like a good boner. I have two sizes of cleavers - large and extra large. The other knife I think they are missing is a good fillet knife.

Depending on your boner...

it can be pressed into fillet duty. BUT if you fillet alot..by all means get that thin flexi-blade.

[Snarlingiron]

I have all of those. Plus a Chinese cleaver, and a Santoku. Virtually never use the paring knife. I also have a good boner and since I am a hunter, I have a couple of skinners, Schrade sharp finger, in two sizes. I don't have a Granton slicer, but plan on getting one soon.

[MrZip66]

I got and use all 4 of those. Knowing HOW to use them is a different matter. I also have a prison Shiv at the bottom of my toolbox. I use em all about the same...

[Fishawn]

Been using a filet in place of a boner. Works ok, butt I wood like to get one some day..,.. (Boning knife that is)

I do like a serrated knife for stuff occasionally also.

[MichChef]

A good cheese knife comes in handy too.

[dales133]

I've got stacks of good knives but if I could only have one it would be my Chinese cleaver

[curious aardvark]

I'd throw out the serrated knife.

I make 90% of my own bread and the last thing you want for cutting fresh bread is a serrated knife.

The extra sharp slicing knife makes a much superior bread knife. It cuts cleaner, makes far less crumbs and does not tear fresh bread.
I do have a good serrated knife that came with my sabatier set - do not use it.

I'd also go with a smaller chefs knife and a cleaver - which has got quite a lot of service recently what with deboning chicken drumsticks and lopping off of rabbits feet (the rabbits are already dead).

so large chefs knife, small chefs knife, long slicing knife, small paring knife, cleaver, very very occasionally boning knife.

So that would be 4 I use very regularly and 2 for every now and then.



The biggest lesson I learned about buying knives is simple. Unless you have your very own specialised knife sharpening man (like alton brown) there is no point buying stupidly expensive knives - like my kai shun chefs knife.
Great knife, but without the japanese knife bloke I can only get it about half as sharp as it was when I bought it. Plus the metal is very brittle. The tip lost a fight with our granite sink.
It#sa great knife, just a total bastard to sharpen. The more middle of the road knives are a lot more practical, easier to sharpen and nowhere near as prone to bits breaking off.