Cutlery Sets

What is Cutlery

Cutlery is basically just about anything that you can cut with. Cutlery, therefore, encompasses kitchen knives, outdoorsman knives, scissors, shears, and personal grooming implements like nail scissors and clippers. Flatware like knives, forks, and spoons and their accompanying accessories can also be classified as cutlery. However, most often knives such as those used for cooking in a kitchen come to mind.

Basic Knives for the Kitchen

We think you need at least one chopping knife (chef's knife), one paring knife, and one slicer. The chef’s knife is for chopping and mincing. If you prefer hefty knives, the bolstered models will feel better to you, if you prefer light knives, then something else is the answer. Chef’s knives are very popular since they are so versatile. The paring knife is best for fruits and small vegetables, peeling, and intricate work. In a pinch a paring knife can be used to fillet. Paring knives have a straight edge, a blunt tip and are smaller than most other knives. The slicer could be a bread knife, as an example, which can cut more than just bread. The slicer has a thin blade with a serrated edge making it perfect for slicing through hard to soft surfaces as found with foods like bread, pineapple, and melons.

What Comes In a Cutlery Set

Some basic kitchen knife sets may include several highly used knives like the chef’s knife, paring knife, bread knife, utility knife and possibly a slicing knife or pair of shears. The specific number and type of knives that come in each set may vary but most sets will contain a chef’s knife, a paring knife, a bread knife, and a slicing knife, as these are the most widely used knives. They may also include some steak knives as well if the set is a primary kitchen set. Many of these sets will come with a wooden storage block or tray. Many of these knives will come with a storage block, box, bag or other accessory to protect and keep them in when not in use. A more complete set will have more knives in more sizes and types. To select the set that is right for your needs you must think about how often and for what purposes you will use the set.

Knife Blocks

Knife Blocks

Knife Blocks come in many shapes, sizes and materials to match any kitchen décor and use. Knife blocks, like the magnetic knife strip and sheaths are one way to properly store your knives.

It is important to take good care of kitchen knives since they can last for years if they are properly maintained. By using a knife block, cooks can ensure that blades are not damaged by being knocked around.

It is also important to ensure that knives fit all the way into a knife block; if part of a blade protrudes, it can be very unsafe.

If you are purchasing a block for your countertop, remember to get one with feet so that the block will not sit in puddles of sauces, grease, or other spills. A basic knife block simply consists of a piece of wood with slots of varying sizes to insert knives securely. The knife block can also prevent warping of blades while they are stored, and it makes knives convenient and easy to access.

A knife block can also be a great safety tool, as it gets knives out of drawers and off of counters and into an organized location.

Knife Block Safety and Design

For people who are especially concerned about safety, some knife blocks have child locks which need to be opened before a knife can be removed. These locks also prevent knives from falling during earthquakes, and they ensure that curious pets cannot injure themselves on knives either.

Some kitchen suppliers also sell blocks which can fit into drawers, which can be convenient in a kitchen with limited space. This can also be safer, as the drawer can lock or tightly latch to prevent unauthorized access.

Cooks who prefer a leaner design can purchase magnetic strips which are designed to mount to walls or cabinets; the magnet holds knives against the strip and they can quickly be removed when they are needed. The block may be designed to sit on the counter, or mount to the kitchen wall.

Such knife blocks can also be built into kitchen cabinets or kitchen islands. Other materials may be used as well, although wood is a good choice because it will not nick blades as they are inserted.

Edge Up Edge Down

How do you store the knives in your knife block? Do you store them cutting edge up or cutting edge down?

I believe in edge up knife storage. With many knife blocks being made of materials other than wood nicking of blades is much more prevalent. I have knives that are now 3rd generation in use; and this is due in part to edge up knife storage.

Where edge down knife storage is much more optically pleasing, (which is why photographers use edge down for sales), with the curve of a nice handlepoint downward it is not good for the knife blade’s edge.

Think about it with edge down knife storage you are hitting and storing the blade’s edge on the knife block’s surface. This is one reason many people choose wooden blocks, like wooden cutting boards – there is less nicking on the blade’s edge.

Outdoor / Outdoorsman Knife

The Outdoor / Outdoorsman Knife - taking cutlery out of the kitchen.

The outdoorsman knives can offer a beauty and style not usually found in the kitchen cutlery world.

Gentlemen's pocket knives come with a variety of handles from wood to horn to shell and more.

Outdoorsman knife blades also offer different surfaces and colorings than are usually found in the kitchen.

Utility Knife

The Utility Knife can cut just about any food you want. It is a good all-purpose or should we say utilitarian knife that works well on most mid-sized fruits and vegetables. Utility Knives typically have blades that are four to seven inches long and are often used to slice cold cuts or small pieces of meat. Utility Knives can either have a plain edge blade or a serrated blade.

Trimming Knife

Trimming Knives are like small Boning Knives. A Trimming Knife is used to remove excess fat from beef for a more appealing presentation. The Trimming Knife blade is usually 2 to 3 inches long and has a curved blade that is shaped somewhat like a Boning Knife. They can also be used for small tasks like peeling and decorating.

Tomato Knife

The tomato knife is typically about the size of a utility knife. Tomato knives are ideal for cutting through the tough skin and soft flesh of tomatoes but don’t be fooled, they have many other uses as well. These are great to use on citrus fruits and even to slice sandwiches or bagels. Tomato knives have a fork like tip that can be used to remove slices already cut or to reposition the meat you are slicing.

Steak Knife

A Steak Knife is used at the table (as opposed to the kitchen) to cut through especially tough foods, such as meat.

It is somewhat like a serrated Utility Knife, though its purpose is different.

A Steak Knife is usually about 4 to 6 inches long and usually serrated, though some are not.

Most are also decorative, since they are set on the table with the silverware.

The number of knives you may wish to purchase will depend on how many people you are planning to serve that will use them.

Knives can be purchased individually or in sets. For a couple or small family a set of four may be fine.

If you do a lot of dinner entertaining you may want to purchase eight to twelve steak knives.

Some knives come in wooden boxes or trays that make a nice gift presentation and also are a good way to keep the knives well maintained while not in use.

Slicing Knives

Slicing knives have a rounded tip and a long straight cutting edge to allow large chunks of meat to be sliced into nice even pieces. A slicing knife serves a similar function to a carving knife, although it is generally longer and narrower. These are great for carving a ham, roast, or turkey. By reducing the amount of friction these knives can easily slice smoothly through the meat. Slicers may have plain or serrated edges.

Santoku

Santoku Knives combine the features of a Chef’s Knife and those of a Cleaver to form a wonderful multipurpose knife. Santoku in Japanese translates as "three virtues" because of its cutting edge for meat, fish and vegetables. With the Santoku Knife and its wide blade that can slice, dice and mince items with incredible ease and precision as well as serve as a spatula. You will have a new favorite in your kitchen.

Paring Knives

On the smaller end of the kitchen knives spectrum is the Paring Knife. A Paring Knife’s blade is 2 1/2 to 4 inches in length; a longer blade is a Utility Knife. The Paring Knife has a plain edge blade which is ideal for peeling, slicing, and coring fruits and vegetables, chopping smaller items like garlic and nuts, trimming herb leaves and more intricate work like deveining, garnishes and decorative elements. Paring Knives should be kept sharp to prevent accidents.

Oyster Knife

The Oyster Knife or Clam Knife has a short, thick blade. Oyster Knives can penetrate and pry open the hard shell of oysters or clams and slice through the tendons holding the sections together. Some Oyster Knife models have a shield built into the handle that prevents the knife (and hand) from slipping and going far into the shell. Okay, contrary to the do not pry with a knife rule - these are 'designed' for prying - thus the large shield.

Ham Slicer

A Ham Slicer is a special type of Slicer. The Ham Slicer with a long blade and rounded tip is offered by some manufacturers. They are specially tailored to cutting ham, as they are generally thinner and more flexible. This flexibility allows the Ham Slicer to negotiate larger joints of meat in one pass. The grinds in the Ham Slicer blade are there to increase flexibility.

Fillet Knives

A Fillet Knife is like a very flexible Boning Knife. Blades range from 6 to 11 inches long. The ‘flex’ makes it follow the form of the food during tasks such as meat and fish filleting. The Fillet Knife moves easily along the backbone and under the skin of the fish. Because the Fillet Knife is both flexible and thin, the blade can easily get into places that would be impossible for a typical kitchen knife. Fillet Knives can be used to shave away thin sections of roast beef for baking, broiling, or pan frying. If there is a need to prepare thin strips of some sort of meat for cooking, the Fillet Knife can easily make the effort a great deal easier. They also do well when cutting small or delicate fowl.

Cleavers

A meat cleaver is a large, rectangular knife that is used in cutting meat. The blade, approximately 6 inches long, is very heavy, with a thick spine, enabling the knife to chop through bone and joints with relative ease. Many cleavers have a hole in the end to allow them to be easily stored on a rack. Cleavers are an essential tool for any restaurant that prepares its own meat

Chef's Knives

Chef's Knives are also known as a Cook’s Knife, French Knife or more commonly a Kitchen Knife.

The Chef's Knife is an evolution of the Butcher Knife, and was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most Western cooks, and is very versatile in the kitchen.

Chef's Knives are most commonly available between 6 and 12 inches, though 8 inches is the most common size. Most Chefs recommend using the largest Chef's Knife that is comfortable in the cook's hands. Larger knives can cut more and are more versatile, but can be more difficult to handle.

Chef’s Knives are wonderful to use for every day tasks. The edge of the knife curves upward, coming to a nearly fine point at the tip of the blade, and each part of the knife can be used for different purposes.

The wide tapering and curved blade enables the experienced cook to rock the knife when slicing, chopping, dicing, mincing, and many other functions, while the deep heel protects the knuckles.

If you examine the knife on its side, you’ll note the widest part of it is near the handle, which is called the blade heel.

When you’re slicing ingredients that are tough you’ll get the most leverage when you use the knife heel portion.

The center of the Chef's Knife is called the cutting edge, and it’s probably used most often, for general cutting and preparation of a variety of foods.

The knife tip may be used to cut small soft foods, like mushrooms or green onions.

Carving Knife

Carving Knives are primarily used for cutting through cooked meat such as poultry, roasts, hams and other meats.

A Carving Knife can be very rigid or very flexible, depending on the type of meat it is designed to carve: pot roast a more rigid blade, pork more flexible blade.

When carving, start by finding the grain of the meat. You want to carve against the grain, using the carving fork as an anchor to prevent the roast from moving.

A Carving Knife usually has a straight edge, rather than a serrated one, and is generally 8 to 15 inches long. The Carving Knife blade is thinner than a Chef’s Knife’s blade allowing for thinner and more precise slices.

A Carving Knife is generally shorter and wider than a Slicing Knife.It can also be used for slicing sandwiches, smaller cuts of meat, or fruits and vegetables.

Cake Knives

Cake Knives are knives designed specifically for cutting cake. The Cake Knife blade is long so that it can easily cut through cakes of all sizes. Cake Knives have a slightly curved blade, which facilitates easy cutting. The Cake Knife blade’s serrations are usually broad, and the blade itself is relatively thin and lightweight so that it does not damage the cake by compressing the cake, especially important with cakes like angel cake which are light, foamy, and easily damaged. Some companies make wedge shaped cake knives which can also be used as servers, while others sell servers separately. Cake Knives also come in plastic, which function very well although they do not look terribly stylish.

Bread Knives

Bread Knives have a rigid blade and a scalloped or serrated edge that can easily cut through a hard then tender surface. The Bread Knife cuts through hard crust without crushing or tearing the bread slice itself. They are also great for fruits like pineapples, cantaloupes or watermelons. Bread knives are usually between 6 and 10 inches, with 8 inches being a common length.

Boning Knives

A Boning Knife is used to remove bones from cuts of meat without excessive waste, typically before cooking.

Boning Knives have a cleft edge or blade. The blade is thin and flexible that tapers off to a point, usually about 5 or 6 inches long.

The shape of a Boning Knife allows it to get into small spaces and slip easily between the flesh and bone.

This knife should be kept extremely sharp, so that it can cut through fibrous tissue.

A stiff Boning Knife is good for beef and pork, but a flexible boning knife is preferred for poultry.

A cousin to the Boning Knife, called a Fillet Knife, is much more flexible and allows the user to remove skin from fish.

As with most kitchen knives, a Boning Knife should be washed by hand in hot water and mild soap as a general rule, since running a boning knife through the dishwasher may cause it to dull.

It is also important to sharpen a Boning Knife regularly, because the knife will lose effectiveness as it dulls.

Birds Beak Paring Knives

Birds Beak Paring Knives The Birds Beak Paring Knife is also known as a Peeling Knife and Tourner Knife. A Birds Beak Paring Knife is a little two and half inch knife shaped like a beak of a bird with the pointed tip the curves downward (toward the blade). It's great for small fruits and vegetables. A bird's beak knife is a knife with a specialized curved blade which is well suited to things like carving fruit and producing the “tournee cut” which is often used in food presentation. A tournee cut is any sort of shaped cut in food which results in a sculpted piece of fruit or vegetable. Many people find that a bird's beak knife is the ideal tool for this job, since the short curved blade can get into places where other blades cannot. While a bird's beak knife is not a vital necessity for most kitchens, it can be a very handy tool.