This article aims to introduce the most common types of kitchen knives and the tasks they are designed for in the kitchen.
You will learn what to include and what not to include in your knife set. We’ll cover 11 of the most popular knives for cooking and serving food.
Different Types of Kitchen Knives
There are probably more than a dozen different types of kitchen knives, some versatile, others dedicated to specific uses. So let’s begin:
Chef’s Knife
Also known as a cook’s knife, this is the most important blade in your kitchen.
The chef’s knife typically has a wide blade that tapers upwards to a point, allowing it to rock back and forth for quick chopping. It can measure between 15 and 30 cm, with the size often chosen based on the chef’s hand size.
A chef’s knife can be forged or stamped, but the best kitchen knives are usually forged. Because it needs to withstand frequent use, it usually has a full tang – the bottom part of its blade extends the entire length and width of the knife handle. This ensures better stability and durability than a partial tang.
The chef’s knife can be used for almost all cutting tasks in the kitchen, from carving chicken to chopping carrots. That’s why it’s the essential element of any kitchen knife collection.
As the king of the kitchen, the chef’s knife also more or less decides which sharpening device you should use. Ideally, your sharpener should be compatible with all your knives; however, when knives come from different collections, the sharpener should at least work on the chef’s knife’s material, sharpening, and edge angle. Read our buying guide and reviews on the best knife sharpeners to learn how to choose the right one.
What Is a Chef’s Knife Used For?
- Chopping herbs and nuts
- Dicing and slicing fruits, vegetables, and meats
- Chopping and crushing garlic
- Cutting melons
Santoku Knife
The Santoku knife is a chef’s knife but in a Japanese-Western style version. It is slightly shorter and thinner, and is used instead of the chef’s knife by some cooks, especially those who prefer a smaller, lighter blade.
Santoku translates to “three virtues,” namely slicing, dicing, and chopping. This knife is versatile and can do almost everything a typical chef’s knife can do.
Due to its flat blade, it doesn’t rock on the cutting board. So it’s less suited for chopping herbs but is a better choice for thin slices of vegetables.
The Santoku is sometimes made with a hollow edge. The hollows along the blade allow it to cut meat, fish, and other soft or hard materials without food sticking to it and reducing cutting speed and accuracy.
What Is a Santoku Knife Used For?
- Slicing and dicing fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish
- Chopping garlic, meat, or herbs
- Chopping nuts
Utility Knife
Measuring between 4 and 7 inches long, the utility knife is typically used for cutting foods too small for a chef’s knife.
It’s not ideal for chopping or slicing large pieces, but its narrow blade and small tip allow it to perform tasks such as slicing, trimming, and filleting even better than a chef’s knife.
What Is a Utility Knife Used For?
- Cutting small to medium-sized fruits and vegetables
- Slicing meats and bread
- Peeling citrus fruits
Cheese Knife
Cheese knives are small knives usually served with cheese to slice and portion it. There are several types of cheese knives with different blade styles and lengths, specially designed to cut soft, semi-soft, and hard cheeses. Some cheese knives are designed with holes that prevent cheeses from sticking to them for easier use. Cheese knives are the perfect tool for restaurants and caterers offering grazing and charcuterie boards on their menus to enhance consumer experience.
What Is a Cheese Knife Used For?
- Slicing cheese into slices on a charcuterie board.
- Spreading soft cheeses on crackers.
- Ideal tool for restaurants and caterers.
Kitchen Shears
Although scissors are not technically a type of knife, they can be used in place of a knife. Kitchen shears are a pair of scissors with thick, sturdy blades for handling various food materials. They are useful for snipping herbs, cutting chicken, preparing shrimp, octopus, and many other cutting tasks. For many home cooks, they are greatly appreciated for cutting pizza into slices.
Some scissors specifically designed for quick cutting of green onions or other herbs may have more than one blade. However, the blades of these scissors are generally thin and weak. They also require more effort to sharpen than regular scissors, which are already difficult to sharpen.
What Are Kitchen Shears Used For?
- Useful for snipping herbs
- Cutting chicken
- Preparing shrimp
Boning Knife
The boning knife, as the name suggests, is used for filleting fish and butchering meat, as well as separating beef meat. Small boning knives can also be used instead of a paring knife for peeling and cutting vegetables.
Boning knives typically have a length of 3 to 8 inches, with slightly different blade widths. Blades can be flexible, semi-flexible, or rigid, with rigid blades being the most popular among home cooks due to increased cutting precision.
What Is a Boning Knife Used For?
- Separating meat from bones to prevent meat wastage.
- Cutting cartilage
- Precisely trimming fat
- Good for cutting fish fillets
Bread Knife
Bread knives are used for cutting bread, cakes, and sometimes meat, poultry, and seafood. They are designed so that you can saw through bread without pushing it down or crushing it.
Designed to cut large pieces of food, the bread knife is one of the longest kitchen knives. It can measure between 15 and 25 cm long. Its blade is narrow and straight (meaning it has no belly), and it is always serrated, with large “teeth” along it.
What Is a Bread Knife Used For?
- Cutting bread and some cakes without crushing them
- Slicing tomatoes without bruising or tearing them
- Slicing cooked meat and sandwiches
Paring Knife
Paring knives are small knives with a blade typically 3 to 4 inches long and a pointed tip. They can be used for cutting, peeling, and slicing fruits and vegetables, as well as for precisely trimming excess fat.
The most common styles of paring knives are spear point, sheep’s foot, and bird’s beak, named after the shape of their tip.
What is a Paring Knife Used For ?
- Cutting, chopping, and slicing fruits, vegetables, and some cheeses.
- Peeling skins for garnishes.
- Deveining shrimp.
- Removing excess fat from meat.
Steak Knife
Also known as table knives, steak knives are small knives used at the dining table for cooked foods. They are perfect for steak, chicken, and fish.
Steak knives can have serrated, semi-serrated, or non-serrated edges. Serrated steak knives stay sharp longer without needing to be sharpened or honed. Non-serrated knives dull more quickly, but they are also easier to sharpen.
What is a Steak Knife Used For ?
- Slicing cooked meat.
- Used on the dining table.
- Perfect for chicken and fish fillets.
Nakiri Bocho Knife
A Japanese-style knife primarily used for chopping vegetables is called “Nakiri bocho”. It has square tips and a blade that is both wide and thin.
As it is designed for cutting vegetables, the knife has a long, straight blade. This allows it to easily cut long vegetables (such as eggplants or carrots) in half. It’s the knife you should use when you want to make thin slices of cucumber, bitter gourd, or tomatoes.
What is a Nakiri Bocho Knife Used For ?
- Cutting vegetables.
- Cutting long vegetables.
- Making thin slices of cucumber, bitter gourd, or tomatoes.
Cleaver Knife
The cleaver is typically the largest and heaviest knife in the kitchen.
A typical cleaver has a full tang, a thick spine, and a very wide blade with little or no belly. This design allows it to chop bones, meat, and thick and hard materials such as squash or pumpkin in a chopping motion.
With a wide, heavy blade, the cleaver is also great for pounding and smashing meat, poultry, and fish, and crushing garlic.
What is a Cleaver Knife Used For ?
- Chopping bones, meat.
- Cutting through hard and thick materials.
- Pounding and smashing meat, poultry, and fish, and crushing garlic.
Fillet Knife
This knife closely resembles the boning knife. But there are a few differences between them:
The boning knife, being designed to remove meat from the bone, tends to be thicker and have better resistance to force. The fillet knife, on the other hand, is designed for cutting thin slices of fish and is therefore generally thinner, longer, and more flexible.
The distinctions are so minor that both knives can substitute for each other in most cases.
What is a Fillet Knife Used For ?
- Cutting thin slices of fish.
Conclusion on Kitchen Knife Types
So there you have a quick overview 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 tasks? Are there any other important knives that you think should be on the list?
