Buying Guide Kitchen Knives from the Cooks Friend Company

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Alison, Reading

The service I recieved was first class and you couldn't have been more helpful when I kept changing my mind, you must have patience of a saint and the delivery was very prompt to.
Gillian, The Borders

Such good quality, brilliant stitching rather than printed on. Really happy, thanks HandyMitts!!
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Ordered and delivered just before Easter: Great Service, great product. Left a message and got a call back. Spot On!
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For Sunday Roasts and dinner party cooking the HandyMitts apron is just so useful. Moving from hot oven and pans to general preparation and back again is to much quicker and safer. A fantastic product!!
Karen, Midlands

The knife (Henckels Twin Cermax Santoku knife) arrived in time for my demonstration and was unbelievable.
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The personalised BBQ apron looks great. I can confidently say it is unique to me. Great service as well. Thanks
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I ordered an apron for my husband and had it personalised, the help and quality of service I received was brilliant. I would highly recommend this company, they are extremely friendly, helpful and efficient.
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Henckels Kitchen Knife Ranges

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Guide to Buying and Using a Kitchen Knife

Choosing a Kitchen Knife
Types of Knife - The Right Knife for the Right Job
Construction features of a Forged Knife
How to Recognise a Good Knife
General Differences Between the Steels
Singe Sided and Double Sided Blades
Cleaning your Kitchen Knife
Sharpening your Kitchen Knife
Great Knife Technique Videos

Choosing a Kitchen Knife - (back to top)
Knives are arguably the chef's most essential tool in the kitchen. Whether you are a professional chef or simply enjoy cooking at home it is important to choose a knife which is most suited to your needs. There are many different brands of kitchen knives available, each unique. The Cooks Friend Company stock ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS kitchen knives , widely regarded as the benchmark for high quality knives. When choosing a knife there are many aspects to think about such as suitability for the job in question, handling, comfort, sharpness, durability and obviously cost.

Types of Knife - The Right Knife for the Right Job - (back to top)
There are many different types of kitchen knife. Selecting the right knife for the right job will not only make the job easier but also safer. You will probably want to have a good selection of these in your kitchen. But remember that about 60 –70% of the work is done on one or two knives. Your favourite ones. Whenever you need to use a knife these are usually the ones you pick up first. So rather than buying a set of knives – some of which are either used very infrequently or never used at all, it is best to buy really good knives that you enjoy using all the time and then adding other knives to them as and when you feel the need for a particular size or shape. The usual favourite knives are perhaps a small 5cm or 8cm peeling knife for round vegetables, a 8cm or 10cm paring knife for paring and slicing fruit and vegetables, a 16cm or 18cm utility/slicing knife for general peeling, slicing and carving, a 20cm or 23cm chefs knife for chopping and dicing and a 20cm or 23cm bread knife. Also, a carving knife and carving fork are always a good idea.

Some of the most common knife types.

Name	Typical Usage	Shape
Peeling Knife	The 'birds beak' shape is designed for peeling, cleaning or shaping any fruit or vegetable with a rounded surface. Blade length: 5cm - 6cm
Paring Knife	For peeling, mincing, coring and dicing fruits, vegetables and herbs. Blade length: 8cm - 10cm
Slicing Knife	A versatile knife with a narrow slim blade shaped like a large paring knife, for slicing and mincing shallots, onions and herbs as well as cleaning and cutting vegetables, slicing cheese and trimming fat off meats. This blade should not be used for chopping because the knuckle of the hand holding the knife will stop the back end of the knife edge touching the cutting surface. Blade length: 10cm - 16cm
Chefs Knife	The most essential knife in the serious cook’s kitchen. For coarse or fine chopping, mincing and dicing of virtually every kind of food. The curved edge facilitates a good cutting action with the heel of the blade. Not to be used to chop through bones. Blade length: 16cm - 26cm
Santoku Knife	Asian-style knife with broad blade and especially sharp cutting edge. For the authentic preparation of Oriental food, this all-rounder of the Asian kitchen can be used to prepare meat, fish and vegetables. All Santoku knives should have a fine-polished RAZOR EDGE that gives them their special sharpness. Also an excellent knife for chopping herbs. Blade length: 14cm - 18cm
Bread Knife	Long strong blade with small serrations designed to saw effortlessly through hard crusts without crumbling. Blade length: 20cm - 26cm
Carving Knife	For carving larger cuts of meat. The blade should be thin for slicing but stiff enough to avoid flexing too much. Blade length: 20cm - 26cm
Sandwich Knife	Handy versatile knife with a serrated edge. Can slice even ripe tomatoes thinly without crushing and thinly slice meat and cheese for sandwiches. Blade length: 13cm - 18cm
Filleting Knife	Has a long, thin, flexible blade, usually with a straight cutting edge. For filleting fish or meat cleanly or preparing carpaccio or sushi. Blade length: 18cm
Boning Knife	For de-boning meat, poultry or ham, and trimming fat and sinews. The tapered, pointed blade is for working closely around bones. Blade length: 14cm

What about cost? There is huge variance in price between different brands, though usually a high quality knife will more than pay for itself over the years. More expensive brands such as J. A. Henckels are made of harder steel which is sharper and maintains its sharpness longer than cheaper knives. These will cut far more easily and last a life time even under rigorous use, washing and sharpening. Usually these makes are designed for optimum balance and comfort, though this is often down to your own preference. However even budget knives come with sharp blades and most are suitable for everyday use at home.

If you are serious about getting the best out of your knives you must also acquire a sharpening steel or whetstone as knives are at their most effective when sharp. A sharp knife needs less effort to cut and makes the job easier and safer. Have a look at the sharpening guide below for more information on this.

Construction features of a Forged Knife - (back to top)
A high-quality forged knife is made from a single piece of high-carbon stainless steel before being tempered, ground and polished and the final application of the cutting edge. Nowadays high-technology is applied to the manufacturing process but many of the final stages are still carried out by hand by skilled craftsmen.

parts of a forged knife The Blade is the most important part of the knife. This is forged from a single piece of steel, before being ground and polished.

The Edge will have been sharpened and honed by hand to produce a very sharp cutting edge.

The Handle may be synthetic or made from stainless steel. In either case it will be ergonomically shaped for comfort and safety.

The Heel is a part of the Handle that assists in providing the control needed for accurate cutting.

The Tang is an extension of the Blade that goes right through the Handle to provide strength and balance.

The Bolster is an integral part of the Blade’s construction and helps to provide balance.

The Finger Guard prevents fingers from coming into contact with the Blade.

How to Recognise a Good Knife - (back to top)
At first glance it is difficult to distinguish a high-quality kitchen knife from an inferior one. But you usually get what you pay for. The essential characteristics are only revealed in regular use. All the kitchen knives that the Cooks Friend Company sell are of the highest possible quality. The main characteristics of a quality kitchen knife:

Precise workmanship: The parts of the knife must have been jointlessly assembled. There is no seam on the transition between bolster and handle. This is particularly important for hygienic reasons. Neither the handle or the blade should have any irregularities, holes or burrs where bacteria could settle.
Surface finish: The blade has a finely ground surface that has first been ground and then refined to get its compressed surface.
Safety: Handle and bolster have been designed to provide a secure grip from which the hand cannot slip. An ergonomically designed handle and the right weight permit safe, tireless use.
Cutting edge retention: A good knife stays sharp for a much longer period of time than a cheap one.
Corrosion resistance: The more finely the surface of the blade is ground and polished , the more resistant to rust it will be. Cheap knives will rust overnight if left damp.
Dishwasher compatibility: Quality knives with synthetic or stainless steel handles can be cleaned in the dish-washer. But it is better for the knives to be cleaned by hand and thus always recommended.

General Differences Between Steels - (back to top)
Most Stainless Steel knives do not hold their edge well unless they have been heat treated or hardened by some other method so that the steel has achieved a Rockwell rating of at least 56 to 58 – anything less than this and the knife will loose its edge fairly quickly. It is also harder to resharpen than High Carbon Steel (both stainless and staining). Basic principle here is that the more Chromium the blade has the harder it is to maintain a good edge. So if buying a Stainless Steel knife look for one that has Molybdenum and Vanadium rather than just Chromium and one that’s been hardened to 58 or more on the HRC scale. General guideline is: the higher the carbon content of the steel, the longer the edge will last and the easier it will be to resharpen.

Advantages of Laminated Steel
The primary advantage of having a blade made from laminated steel is that having soft outer layers with a very hard central core means that the edge will last longer before blunting and is a lot easier to resharpen. Laminated, layered and folded steels generally have a High Carbon central core, which forms the cutting edge and so will hold their sharpness as long as a single layer blade made of the same steel. However, as the outer layers (the 2 sides of the blade) are soft stainless steel they are much, much easier to resharpen. As a result we can make the central core much harder than if the blade were constructed from a steel of the same hardness because it is still easy to resharpen.

Single Sided and Double Sided Blades - (back to top)
Single sided blades are sharpened on one side only, whilst double sided ones are sharpened on both sides. Traditional Japanese knives are single sided. This allows a finer slice and lifts the slice off the food being cut. Resharpening requires a different method or the use of a specialist sharpener. Resharpening these knives is very easy and a razor edge sharp enough to shave with !! can be very easily achieved.

Cleaning your Kitchen Knife - (back to top)
Hygiene is very important in the kitchen and thankfully knives are simple to clean. Most knives are dishwasher safe, but normally this is not necessary as your knife can be cleaned by thoroughly wiping each side of the blade. Cleaning can be made easier if you choose a knife which has a smooth join between blade and handle as this will help avoid a build up of dirt.

Sharpening your Kitchen Knife - (back to top)
Using a sharpening stone is probably the best method for sharpening most knives, although it is a bit time consuming. A sharpening steel can be used in between stone sharpening or in place of it if you prefer.

Using a Sharpening Stone

The best degree of pre-honing is achieved when a little flash appears on the edge (fig. 4), this is subsequently smoothed off.

Take the stone out of the wooden box.
Soak the stone in lukewarm water for a few minutes.
Replace the stone into the lower part of the wooden box, place it on a non-slip worktop and make certain that the surface is level.
Draw and push the knife on both sides across the stone (fig. 2 + 3) with tip first - a pile of three coins gives you approximately the correct angle (fig. 1).

Note: make sure the stone always stays wet and do not remove the paste as it helps sliding.

Knives with a one-sided edge should be placed fairly flat upon the stone and sharpened applying this angle. (fig. 6)
Repeat the process with the dark brown (smooth) side of the stone. (fig. 5)
Check the result via a cutting test with a sheet of paper.
When the knife has reached the desired degree of sharpness, remove the grinding paste by washing the knife under the tap and dry it carefully with a towel.
Clean the stone and let it dry completely before you put it back into the wooden box.
If the stone drops it might be damaged.
Whenever the surface of the stone gets uneven, use fine sandpaper and water to re-smoothen the stone.

Using a Sharpening Steel

If you prefer the quick and easy, use a sharpening steel. To sharpen a knife, the steel must have a hardness factor greater than the knife to be sharpened; with a Rockwell hardness factor of 66 degrees all our sharpening steels are harder than even super hard Henckels FRIODUR, ice-hardened blades. The steel should be magnetic to hold small particles removed from the knife blade.
There are three main types of sharpening steel:

Chromium-plated stainless steel- Sharpening steels with a chromium-plated, grooved surface deliver a fine re-sharpening result and are relatively immune to damages.
Ceramic blade - Sharpening rods with a ceramics blade sharpen gently and carefully. However, the ceramic blade is sensitive to shock. A fall can easily damage it.
Diamond coated stainless steel - Sharpening steels with a diamond coating of the blade deliver a particularly fine re-sharpening result. The average life span is shorter, though, because the coating tends to wear off over time.

To use a sharpening steel follow these steps:

Holding the steel in one hand and the knife in the other, place the heel of the blade (the cutting edge nearest the knife handle) near the tip of the sharpening steel. The cutting edge should be at an angle of approximately 20 degrees to the steel.
Pull the cutting edge down across the sharpening still in a slight arc holding the same angle.
Repeat this action with the other side of the cutting edge on the other side of the steel.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 five to ten times or until no burrs remain on the edge, always alternating the left and right side of the cutting edge.

Speed is not of the essence. However it is very important to maintain the same angle and to sharpen the full length of the cutting edge each time.

A few tips to prevent premature loss of sharpness:

Never use any hard cutting surface like china, metal, marble or granite.
Best clean your valuable knives by hand - if you put them in the dishwasher the blades could get damaged by other items.
Never use your knives for other purposes than they are intended for - i.e. do not use them for opening cans or as a tool.