THE RIGHT KNIFE FOR EVERY JOB Ovenware & Tools & Knives Flatware 01 Pots & pans 02 bakeware 03 accessories 04 05 06 Tableware 07 Glassware 08 Outdoor 09 Tronic THE RIGHT KNIFE FOR EVERY JOB This guide will tell you more on the different kinds of knives and what they are best used for. You’ll learn about the several parts of a knife, the materials they’re made of and how a knife is constructed. Storage and safety are also a topic of this booklet. I 1 PARTS OF A KNIFE A B D C E D BLADE H F HANDLE E J I G 2 I A I Point: Very end of the knife. Used for incisions and piercing. There are 3 varieties: High tip: The edge is curved while the spine (see D) is straight, like on a utility knife. Centre tip: Edge as well as the spine (see D) are gently curved, as used in a chef’s knife. Low tip: The spine (see D) is curved while the edge smoothly ends in the point. A vegetable knife has a low tip. B I Tip: First part, used for small or delicate work. C I Edge: Entire cutting surface of the knife, part of the blade. A fine edge blade produces a smooth, clean cut. Works good to peel fruit or vegetables. A serrated edge blade is used on knives that are particularly made to cut or slice food with a hard outside and a soft inside, like bread or tomatoes. A granton edge blade or hollow-ground edge blade has little scallops that reduce sticking of the cut parts to the knife. D I Spine: Top, thicker portion of the blade giving strength and weight. E I Bolster: Separates the blade from the handle. Thick metal portion joining the handle and the blade, adding weight and balance. F I Finger Guard: The part of the bolster for secure grip. G I Tang: Section of the metal blade extending into the handle, giving the knife stability and extra weight. Can be visible or hidden. H I Rivets: Metal pins that hold the handle to the tang (not always present, see p. 8). I I Handle Guard: Lip to give the knife a better grip and prevents slipping. J I Back: End of the handle. I 3 MATERIAL OF THE BLADES AND HANDLES On our knives there are often etchings like X50CrMoV15 or X30Cr14. 4 I Generally, one can say that steel is an alloy made of iron with carbon. To give the material certain characteristics and performance, other substances are added. When a knife is made of X50CrMoV15 it means that it contains stainless steel with the inevitable iron, 0,50% carbon, 15% chromium and an amount of molybdenum and vanadium. This material is very tough, corrosion-resistant and easy to sharpen. Carbon is present in all steel and is important for the hardening and the strength of steel. 0,30% is commonly used. Chromium is added for resistance to wear and to corrosion. When steel has 10,5% chromium or more, it is considered “stainless steel”. Our knives all have 13% or more. To enhance the characteristics of the alloy, molybdenum and vanadium are added. molybdenum prevents brittleness and makes the steel strong. Vanadium adds hardenability and resistance to wear. It allows the blade to have a very sharp edge. However, it’s plenty tough and resists corrosion well. A knife made of 6Cr16MoV contains 0,60% carbon, 16% chromium and molybdenum and vanadium. So it’s high-grade stainless steel with great resistance to wear and corrosion. When a knife is manufactured of X30Cr14 it’s stainless steel with great resistance to corrosion and stains, strong and very sharp. Some knives come with a silicone coated blade to enhance its non-stick qualities. A ceramic knife is incredibly light but exceptionally sharp. The material used in the blade is often zirconium dioxide. The blade stays sharp for many times longer than other type of material. They are neutral to taste and smell without transfer of odours or flavours from one food to another when cut with the same knife. Ceramic knives need to be sharpened by a professional (don’t use a sharpener). Due to their sharpness, ceramic knives often come with a protective sheath. The handles can be made of a synthetic material, stainless steel or (rather seldom) wood. The synthetic materials, like ABS, PP, POM and TPR offer optimum hygiene, good grip and low-weight for comfortable use. PP stands for polypropylene, POM means polyoxymethyleen and TPR is short for thermoplastic rubber. Wooden handles are not recommended due to hygiene issues. Coated Ceramic POM Stainless TPR PP steel I 5 CONSTRUCTION Most knives are either forged or stamped. A forged knife has a blade and tang made from a single piece of steel. A forged knife undergoes several steps in which its hardness, density and flexibility is enhanced. Such a knife feels heavier and more balanced. It is recognized by its prominent bolster – the part between handle and blade. A stamped knife is cut from rolls of steel. They are lighter than forged ones. 6 I There are several ways to connect the handle to the blade: A handle made of a synthetic material is A handle can be connected to the A hollow-handle knife is made when the placed over the tang and connects tang by (mostly 3) rivets parts of the handle are glued or welded seamlessly to the bolster. They are joined to the tang. through melting and cooling the synthetic material. I 7 8 8 I I THE RIGHT KNIFE FOR EVERY JOB The indicated sizes are the size from the blade Paring knife Small, lightweight with a straight cutting edge. Usually between 6 to 10 cm (2 1/2 to 4 inches). All purpose knife, ideal for peeling and other small work that’s similar to the use of a peeling knife. Often used to peel fruits or vegetables that are held in the hand. Peeling knife Carving knife Small 6-7 cm (2 1/4 - 2 3/4 inch), lightweight with a pointed tip that curves Large knife between 20 cm and 38 cm Boning knife downward with a straight cutting edge. (8 and 15 inches) that is used to slice thin Thin, flexible blade, usually about 12 cm to Use it for peeling fruits and vegetables, to cuts of meat. They are generally shorter 15 cm (5 or 6 inches). Used to remove remove blemishes and to cut decorative and wider than slicing knives. Often used bones from cuts of meat. The thin blade garnishes. in combination with a carving fork to hold allows to get into small spaces. Comes the roast. in a flexible or inflexible version. The flexible is perfect for poultry and fish, the inflexible one is good for beef and pork. Utility knife Sized between a paring knife and a chef’s knife, between 10 cm and 18 cm (4 and 7 inches), with a straight cutting edge. I 8 I 9 Slicing knife Chef’s knife Santoku knife Knife with straight or serrated cutting Most commonly sized between 15 cm and Asian style knife of about 12 cm to 18 cm long edge. Generally longer and narrower 30 cm (6 and 12 inches). The knife that’s (5 to 7 inches) with a straighter edge than a than a carving knife and designed to most used i n the kitchen for all kinds chef’s knife. All-round knife for a variety of cut thinner slices of meat. Often with a of tasks. The upward curved tip allows tasks. The wide blade allows for some typical flexible blade and a granton edge that rocking the knife for easy mincing on a activities like crushing garlic and scooping up easily separates slices from the knife’s cutting board. Because of the wide and the chopped ingredients on the blade. Some blade. Also in a special salmon/ham heavy blade it’s also suitable as a cleaver. Santoku knives come with a granton edge blade version with a slim, flexible blade for that reduces sticking of the cut items to the extra thin slices. blade. Cleaver Bread knife “Knife” of about 15 to 18 Large knife between 15 cm and 25 cm (6 cm (6 to 7 inches) with a and 10 inches) with a serrated blade. Used wide, rectangular, thick for food that is hard on the outside and soft blade. Used for cutting in the middle, like bread and other bakery large pieces of meat and goods. Can also be used for slicing toma- cleaving its bones. They of- toes. ten have a hole at the end for hanging on a rack. 10 I Poultry shears Cheese knife The poultry shears are designed Typical is the upward curved tip which specifically to be able to cut through makes serving easier. For soft cheeses bone, chicken skin, and other tough the knife has a serrated blade with holes materials. These shears can be used as to prevent the cheese from sticking to the general kitchen shears, suited for a wide blade. Hard cheeses require a firm blade variety of heavy duty kitchen tasks. to cut through the toughest varieties. Steak knife Rounded herb cutter While the other knives are used in the Designed to simply roll back and forth to kitchen to prepare the ingredients, the mince all kind of herbs. The herb cutter steak knives are meant to be used at has twin rounded blades. the table when steak or other meats are served.