Type of Kitchen Knives

The number of kitchen knives that a great cook will accumulate over the course of the years will undoubtedly include a number of special knives. There are, for example, several special kitchen knives and cutting tools found exclusively in the bakeshop; still others are required for butchering meats and fabricating fish. The below is intended as a guide to the knives that may be found in nearly any well-outfitted knife kit.

Chef's Knife or French Knife

This all-purpose knife is used for a variety of chopping, slicing, and mincing chores. The blade is normally 8 to 14 inches long.

Utility Knife

This smaller, lighter chef's knife is used for light cutting chores. The blade is generally 5 to 7 inches long.

Paring knife

This short knife used for paring and trimming vegetables and fruits, has a 2 to 4 inches long blade.

Boning Knife

A boning knife is used to separate raw meat from the bone. The blade, which is thinner and shorter than the blade of a chef's knife, is about 6 inches long, and is usually rigid.

Filleting Knife

Used for filleting fish, this knife is similar in shape and size to a boning knife, but has a flexible blade.

Slicer

This knife is used for slicing cooked meat. It has a long blade with a round or pointed tip. The blade may be flexible or rigid and may be taper ground or have a fluted edge that consists of hollow ground ovals.

Cleaver

Used for chopping, the cleaver is often heavy enough to cut through bones. It has a rectangular blade and varies in size according to its use.

Tourne Knife

This small knife, similar to a paring knife, has a curved blade to make cutting the curved surfaces of tourneed vegetables easier.