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Cost is something that cannot be helped, to paraphrase, your position is your budget. However , keep in mind that a quality knife set will last for longer, perhaps 10 years, while a less expensive knife set will need replacement after perhaps two years. A set will cost between 50 US dollars, and up to a thousand greenbacks or more for a top of the line set.
kitchen knives are usually made of one of the four following materials : stainless-steel, carbon steel, laminated ( mixture of carbon steel and chrome steel ), and ceramic.
The carbon steel knife is 99% iron, and 1% carbon. These knives are prone to rusting, though, and are higher maintenance than stainless steel knives. They are most often sharper though, than chrome steel, though also more bittle. Famous top manufacturers of carbon steel kitchen knives are Sabatier, Kikuichi, and Forshner but these knives are being distcontinued and less common. Hardness on the C scale for Carbon Steel knives is between sixty and 62.
chrome steel contains around 11% chromium, and is very well known as a material used for cutlery manufacturing. Type 420 and 440 stainless-steel is used for cutley, 440 being harder. 440 has a hardness on the C scale of fifty five. Within 440, there are 3 grades of steel utilized in cutlery. Going from more less carbon, and softer, they're a, B, and C.
The famous stainless-steel makers include global and Kasumi among the Japanese makers, and EU makers like Wusthof.
Laminated knive blades will try to create a balance of the properties of carbon steel, and stainless steep by having a sandwitch of the knife materials. Ceramic knives are even sharper than ordinary knives, but they're more brittle. Kyocera and Yoshi knives are among the ceramic knives available on the market.
cook's knife - This is the most vital knife in the knife set and should be used for most general kitchen tasks.
cleaver - this is used to chop and pound food. This is a heavy knife.
Bread knife- this is a special knife that is helpful to chop tomatos, and bread without crushing it.
Filet knife - used to filet fish with a thin and flexible blade.
Paring knife - used to chop or peel tiny fruits and vegetables.
Steak knife - either serrated or straight, these are used on the table for serving steak.
Maintaining carbon steel knives is more time intensive than stainless-steel. After cleaning carbon steel knives, it is suggested to cover them with some vegetable oil, gently, to stop oxidation. Avoid putting knives in the dishwashing machine, with a high variability in temperatures and strong detergents, the steel blade and even the handle can get affected.
The sharpness of the blade may decrease if the knife is dropped in the dishwasher.
when you are done using the knife, clean it right away so that the quality of the blade is maintained. Once the knife is clean, it should be stored in a knife block made of polyurethane, or wood. Make sure to use a cutting board of the same material to protect the blade.
Knives can be sharpened with a sharpening steel which is like a circular rod, or a block of stone called a sharpening stone. Modern electric sharpeners are safe to use on quality knives. When using an electric sharpener, make sure not to grind away too much of the knife. You want to sharpen your knives every three to {{six months.
Victoria is the owner of Wusthof Kitchen Knives page - part of a cool site about kitchen knives
