Knives your ultimate guide
Whether you are looking for a new set of knives, or just want to cherry-pick a specific blade to fill a gap in your collection, the sheer amount of choice out there can be overwhelming. In this guide, we've broken down all the confusing knife jargon so you can make informed choices as to which knife is right for you and your kitchen.
Discover the history of knife making
Steeped in history, the creation of the kitchen knife as we know it can be traced back to Samurai and Viking sword-making techniques. Essentially, there are two types of knife – western and eastern.
Western style knives traditionally have an extremely strong 'taper ground', short point blade, with a double v-shaped cutting edge, and are weightier than their eastern counterparts. It is this extra weight that makes them the natural choice for cutting through meat and bones.
Eastern or Japanese knives, in contrast, have a flat taper-less blade. As it is sharpened on just one side, they have a chisel-like edge. This makes the blade finer than western styles, so slicing is easier and cleaner, minimising 'food crush'. They are great for preparing vegetables and fish.
Today, you'll find many hybrid styles of knife that fuse influences from both east and west to create the best possible tools for the kitchen.
Parts of a knife
Before you start shopping for that most important of kitchen tools, it's worth familiarising yourself with the different parts of the knife and what to look out for.
Click on the different parts of the knife to find out more about them:
View from above
View from the side
What’s in a blade
There's a lot more to a knife than meets the eye, and the materials used to create the blade each offer different price and performance benefits.
- Stainless steel
- Keenly priced knives are usually made from low carbon stainless steel and as a result need sharpening more often than other blades to maintain their cutting edge.
- Carbon steel
- More expensive than stainless steel knives, carbon steel knives have a higher carbon make-up, and this means that it is easier keep the blade sharp.
- Ceramic
- Exceptionally hard yet incredibly lightweight, ceramic blades retain their edge for much longer than stainless steel and glide through whatever you are slicing.
- Damascus
- Laminated blades see a carbon steel core, surrounded by alternating layers of hard and soft stainless alloys resulting in an edge that is harder than most, and can be ground to be super sharp.
- Titanium
- With the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal, Titanium is combined with other materials such as diamond, silver or ceramic to create a knife that is extremely lightweight yet durable.
Cutting edge…
Do you know your scalloped edge from your hollow edge?
If not, let us explain all.
- Scalloped edge
- Great for cutting bread as it cuts through the crust, yet doesn’t tear the bread inside. The points of the scallops keep the scalloped curves nice and sharp.
- Take a look
- Fluted/hollow edge
- The indentations along the blade create tiny pockets of air that prevent food from clinging to the blade whilst cutting. Great for cutting extra thin slices and a must for cutting cheese!
- Take a look
- Plain/straight edge
- Knives that don’t have a scallop or serrated edge need frequent sharpening to maintain their keenness. It's best to sharpen ‘little and often’ to restore their cut.
- Take a look
- Serrated edge
- The downward peaks of this wavy blade do most of the cutting, meaning the troughs in between stay sharp – as result this blade rarely needs sharpening.
- Take a look
Getting the right knife for the job
As with any kitchen task, having the right tool for the job makes it a lot easier and a lot more fun.
Click each knife below to see how it's best used.
Cleaver
With its large rectangular blade, this is the ultimate kitchen tool for chopping through boned joints.
Filleting
Flexible but with a straight cutting edge, this slim bladed knife is perfect for filleting meat and fish cleanly.
- Fully Forged Filleting Knife
- Fully forged by skilled cutlers from a single piece of hardened stainless steel, and with perfect metal integrity from top to bottom, these knives have no weak points.
- £14.99
- Find out more
Boning knife
It’s the extremely thin, flexible blade that makes all the difference, allowing you to closely follow the curve of the fish's backbone.
- Henckels Four Star Boning Knife
- Range of knives from Henckels made from extra strong, high carbon stainless steel. Dishwasher safe.
- £49.49
- Find out more
Chef’s/Cook’s
Features a tapered point, broad blade and a deep heel that gives you plenty of space between the handle and the board for speedy chopping.
- Henckels Four Star 20cm Chef’s Knife
- Range of knives from Henckels made from extra strong, high carbon stainless steel. Dishwasher safe.
- £73.99
- Find out more
- Lakeland Select Chef’s Knife
- Ice hardened fully forged professional knives.
-
- Lakeland exclusive
- £33.99
- Find out more
Bread
Traditionally a long, scalloped edge that cuts through the crust, yet doesn’t tear the soft bread inside.
- Henckels Four Star Bread Knife
- Range of knives from Henckels made from extra strong, high carbon stainless steel. Dishwasher safe.
- £63.49
- Find out more
- Forme Bread Knife
- Range of knives from Richardson Sheffield. With taper ground blades made from Martensitic stainless steel.
- £12.99
- Find out more
Slicing
The long blade makes this knife great for slicing cooked meat, and the sharp point is perfect for separating meat from the bone.
- Lakeland Select Slicing Knife
- Ice hardened fully forged professional knives.
-
- Lakeland exclusive
- £29.99
- Find out more
- Henckels Four Star 23cm Slicing Knife
- Range of knives from Henckels made from extra strong, high carbon stainless steel. Dishwasher safe.
- £69.99
- Find out more
Santoku
Translating as ‘three ways’, this knife is ideal for slicing, dicing and chopping. The ‘hollow’ in the blade stops food from sticking when cutting.
- Lakeland Select Santoku Knife
- Ice hardened fully forged professional knives.
- £23.99
- Find out more
- Robert Welch Signature Santoku Knife
- Range of British designed, fully forged knives with a Japanese-style edge.
- £37.99
- Find out more
Utility
Slightly bigger than a paring knife, it’s best for carving or slicing cooked meats and soft cheese.
- Robert Welch Signature Utility Knife
- Range of British designed, fully forged knives with a Japanese-style edge.
- £29.99
- Find out more
- Global® Flexible Utility Knife
- Range of knives from Global. With ice-tempered blades & balanced with sand.
- £52.89
- Find out more
Paring
Perfect for intricate, fiddly jobs that are best done in the hand, such as peeling or de-seeding peppers.
- Kitchen Devils Paring Knife
- Lightweight, ergonomically shaped knives made from Japanese steel. Soft-grip handles with large fingers stops.
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- Special offer
- £3.99
- Find out more
- Lakeland Select Paring Knife
- Ice hardened fully forged professional knives.
-
- Lakeland exclusive
- £19.99
- Find out more
All-purpose
From peeling fruit or vegetables, to slicing and chopping, this versatile little kitchen all-rounder is ideal for a variety of jobs.
- Forme All-Purpose Knife
- Range of knives from Richardson Sheffield. With taper ground blades made from Martensitic stainless steel.
- £11.99
- Find out more
