TYPES OF KNIVES

KNIVES
What are knives?
A knife (plural knives) is a tool with a cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with most having a
handle. Some types of knives are used as utensils, including knives used at the dining table (e.g., butter knives
and steak knives) and knives used in the kitchen (e.g., paring knife, bread knife, cleaver).
KITCHEN KNIVES
Knives typically used for preparing and cooking food. Under kitchen knives, we have:

CHEFS KNIFE
This is the most commonly used knife. It is used for chopping, slicing, precision cutting, crushing and carving.
The most practical and commonly used size is 25 cm however smaller versions with the same basic shape are
extremely useful. It is essential to master the 25 cm size before using a smaller Chef's knife.

CLEAVER
The traditional European cleaver is a thick and heavy blade with the edge set at a broad angle. They are
generally not cheap and most chefs would find little use for these. Cleavers are designed to force their way
through bones like an axe. Because they often leave bone splinters a better alternative for bone cutting is a
saw.

CHINESE CLEAVER
While these are not part of the traditional chef's outfit, they are extremely useful and versatile. Knives like
these have been part of European tradition the short deep knife of Portuguese and Spanish chefs has a very
similar pattern and has a curved blade suited to fine chopping.
A big advantage of these knives is that they have a large blade area which is excellent for lifting and carrying
whilst you work.
Chinese cleavers are available in a variety of sizes and weights, both in stainless and carbon steel of good
quality. They are well suited to any chopping process but are very useful for slicing and precision cuts such as
julienne and chopping herbs.

BONING KNIFE
This knife has a thin pointed blade about 12cm long. The blade and especially the tip must be very sharp. The
blade can either be stiff or may have some flexibility. Some boning knives have a straight blade, while others
angle upwards. The choice of blade flexibility and angle is personal.
This knife is used for separating meat and connective tissue from bones during butchering and trimming. The
tip of the knife does most of the work. The boning knife is generally held reversed in the hand and extra care
must be taken to keep the knife pointed away from your body
TYPES OF KNIVES
PARING KNIFE
Pronounced 'pearing', this small knife with a blade about 7 cm long has many uses. It can be used for peeling
and trimming, cutting and turning, garnishes and creative work, including fruit and vegetable carving.
Paring knives are often accidentally lost or thrown away, so there is no need to purchase the most expensive
brand. Inexpensive but good quality paring knives are available with brightly coloured plastic handles that help
to prevent misplacing them.

TURNING KNIFE
This knife is the same size as a paring knife and may be used for many of the same jobs. However, as it has a
curved blade it is most suited to shaping vegetables by turning.
Turning knives are easily lost or accidentally thrown away, so there is no need to purchase the most expensive
brand. Inexpensive but good quality turning knives are available with brightly coloured plastic handles which
may prevent misplacing them.

PALETTE KNIFE
The palette knife or spatula is neither sharp nor generally used for cutting. There are two common forms: one
is a straight broad blade with a rounded end and the other is the same except that there is a double bend or
crank in the blade. The straight blade is used principally for lifting, shaping and scraping.
In addition to the uses listed for the straight blade, the cranked palette knife is also used for spreading and
shaping on a flat surface, and lifting where access would be difficult without the crank. The cranked palette
knife comes in a variety of widths and shapes according to its primary purpose, e.g. cake slice.

CARVING KNIFE
The carving knife is a long, thin, narrow blade with a sharply pointed tip which can slice and separate meat
from bone. There is generally no depth in the blade as the cut is directed to slicing a standing piece of meat,
rather than cutting down through the meat to a cutting surface.
The carving knife will generally be used in conjunction with a carving fork. Carving is always used with cooked
meat and, as it is often used in a service area, a carving knife should be both clean and well cared for.

HAM SLICER
The ham slicer has a long, thin blade with a rounded end. There is no depth in the blade as this knife is
principally designed to remove thin slices of ham from the bone. This knife may also be used for any fine
slicing, including slicing smoked salmon or fish for sashimi.

FILLETING KNIVES
Fish filleting knives are very similar to boning knives in pattern and shape although for dealing with larger fish
a longer blade may be an advantage. If you do a lot of work with fish and seafood then this knife is a must.
Choose a knife with a slip resistant handle that will be comfortable in your hand.
TYPES OF KNIVES
MEAT SAW
If you are carrying out any kind of butchery involved in bone cutting, the meat saw is a very useful tool.
However, meat saws are not cheap and as butchers will prepare almost any specified cut to order it is hard to
justify buying one if you are not working in butchery.
Meat saws have a thin, flexible blade held under tension on a metal frame. It is essential to fully dismantle the
blades after use and ensure that all parts are cleaned, sanitised and reassembled after drying.

CHEESE KNIVES
A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require
different knives, according primarily to hardness; most often "cheese knife" refers to a knife designed
for soft cheese.
Two kinds of Cheese Knives:
1. SOFT CHEESE KNIVES
Soft cheeses require a sharp knife. As these cheeses are often sticky, a cheese knife will be serrated
and often have holes to prevent sticking.

Soft cheese knives are designed to deal with the stickiness of soft cheese. When the cheese does not
stick to the blade, it allows for pieces of cheese to be presented more attractively, with crisper shapes
compared to cheese cut with standard knives.
2. HARD CHEESE KNIVES
Hard cheeses instead require a tough blade, which will not be damaged by the hard cheese.
TABLE KNIVES
A table knife is an item of cutlery with a single cutting edge, and a blunt end - part of a table setting. Table
knives are typically of moderate sharpness only, designed to cut prepared and cooked food.
Under Table Knives, we have:

BUTTER KNIVES
In common usage, a butter knife may refer to any non-serrated table knife designed with a dull edge and
rounded point; formal cutlery patterns make a distinction between such a place knife (or table knife) and a
butter knife. In this usage, a butter knife (or master butter knife) is a sharp-pointed, dull-edged knife, often
with a sabre shape, used only to serve out pats of butter from a central butter dish to individual diners' plates.

STEAK KNIVES
A steak knife is a sharp table knife, used for cutting steak. These often feature serrated blades and wooden
handles, and are the only sharp knife commonly found at the modern table.

OYSTER KNIVES
Has a short, thick blade for prying open oyster shells and other hard shellfish.