The Different Types of Kitchen Knives and Their Uses

The Different Types of Kitchen Knives and Their Uses

Most cutting tasks in the kitchen are achievable with a good chef’s knife. That said, a blade that's designed specifically for a purpose can bring more ease and precision to the cut. The right knives will encourage you to prep food with confidence and creativity: you'll be free of worries about how best to approach a cut.

This article aims to introduce the most popular types of kitchen knives and the tasks they’re designed to handle in the kitchen. You will learn what to and to not include in your knife set.

Types of Kitchen Knives

1. Chef’s Knife

Also called a cook’s knife, this is the most important blade in your kitchen.

The chef’s knife typically has a broad blade tapering upward to a point, allowing it to rock back and forth for fast mincing. It can be anywhere between 6 and 12 inches long— the size is often chosen with consideration to how big the cook's hands are.

A chef’s knife can be forged or stamped, although the best kitchen knives are usually forged. Because it has to endure frequent use, it usually comes with a full tang— the bottom part of its blade extends to the whole length and width of the knife handle. This ensures better stability and durability than a partial tang. 

2. Santoku Knife

The Santoku knife is a Japanese version of the Western-style chef’s knife. It’s slightly shorter and thinner, and is used in place of the chef’s knife by some cooks, especially those who prefer a smaller, lighter blade.

Santoku means “three virtues”, which are slicing, dicing, and mincing. This knife is an all-rounder and can do almost everything a typical chef’s knife can.

Due to a flat blade, it doesn’t rock on the cutting board. This makes it less suited for when you want to mince herbs, but a better choice for skinny slices of veggies. 

More information about it you can find in our other article placed here.

3. Utility Knife

Measuring between 4 and 7 inches in length, the utility knife is usually used for cutting food that is too small for a chef’s knife.

It’s not great for chopping or slicing large items, but the narrow blade and small tip allows it to handle tasks such as thinner slicing, trimming, and filleting even better than a chef's knife.

4. Kitchen Shears

Though shears are not technically a type of knives, they can be used in place of a knife. Kitchen shears are a pair of scissors with thick and strong blades to handle various food materials. They are useful for snipping herbs, sectioning chicken, preparing shrimp, octopus, and many other cutting tasks. For many home cooks, they are a favorite for slicing pizza.

Some shears designed specifically for fast cutting of green onion or other herbs may have more than one blade. However, the blades on those shears are usually thin and weak. They also take more effort to sharpen than ordinary shears, which themselves are already picky about what type of knife sharpeners work on them.

So there you have it, a quick round-up of the different types of kitchen knives. Which of these knives are in your kitchen? Do you prefer a chef’s knife or a Santoku for general cutting work? Are there any other important knives that you think should be on the list?
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