Sharp beats expensive
A blunt knife is slower, more tiring, produces worse cuts and is more dangerous — it slides off food instead of biting into it, and it takes force to push through, which is exactly when hands slip.
A £25 knife that is genuinely sharp outperforms a £200 knife that has not been touched in two years, every time. So if you are choosing between spending on a knife and spending on a way to sharpen it, sharpen first.
Most people have never used a properly sharp knife and are surprised by how little effort a tomato takes.
Choosing one
- Length
- 20cm (8 inches) is the standard and suits most people. 15cm is easier to control if you have smaller hands or a small board; 25cm is for people who cut a lot and have the space.
- Weight and balance
- Entirely personal. Hold it before you buy if you can — a knife that feels wrong in the hand will not be used.
- Steel
- German steel is softer, tougher and easier to sharpen but blunts sooner. Japanese steel is harder, holds an edge much longer and chips more easily. Neither is better; they are different maintenance regimes.
- Forged or stamped
- Forged knives are heavier and usually have a bolster; stamped ones are lighter and cheaper. Both can be excellent.
- Full tang
- The steel running through the whole handle. Worth having for durability, though not essential.
- What not to buy
- A block set. You will use two of the knives and pay for eight, and the block ones are usually the cheapest quality the maker offers.
The three knives that are actually enough
- A chef's knife, for everything from onions to a chicken.
- A paring knife, for anything done in the hand rather than on a board.
- A serrated bread knife, for bread and tomatoes and anything with a skin harder than its interior.
- A boning knife, a filleting knife and a cleaver are all genuinely useful if you do those jobs. Most people do not.
Looking after it
- Never put it in the dishwasher. Heat, detergent and knocking against other things all damage the edge and can warp the handle.
- Wash and dry it immediately after use, by hand.
- Store it on a magnetic strip, in a block, or in a blade guard. A drawer full of loose knives blunts every one of them.
- Hone it regularly with a steel — every few uses. Honing straightens a rolled edge; it does not remove metal and it is not sharpening.
- Sharpen it occasionally — a few times a year for domestic use — on a whetstone, with a pull-through, or by a professional service. A whetstone gives the best result and takes practice.
- Use a wooden or plastic board. Glass, granite, marble and ceramic boards destroy an edge in a handful of cuts.
Common questions
Japanese or German?
Japanese if you will maintain it carefully and want maximum sharpness. German if you want something forgiving that survives being treated as a tool. Both are fine.
Are pull-through sharpeners bad?
They are far better than a blunt knife and worse than a whetstone. They remove metal aggressively and set a fixed angle. For most kitchens they are a reasonable compromise.
Do I need a santoku?
It is a chef's knife with a different profile — flatter, shorter, no pointed tip for rocking. A matter of preference rather than a second tool.
How often should I sharpen?
When it stops slicing a tomato skin under its own weight. For most home cooks, two to four times a year, with honing in between.
Try this next
- How to use a chef's knife grip, the claw, and the three cuts
- Chopping board what to cut on
- Onion the thing you will cut most