What Are The Types Of Kitchen Knives And Their Uses? 10 Must Have Knife

Knives are one of the most important tools in almost all kitchens and they are available in a variety of different types and sizes.

Knives are used in the kitchen for a wide range of purposes such as cutting, chopping, slicing, and many other tasks.

There are many different styles of kitchen knives and you must know that every knife is made for a specific purpose. Therefore if you are preparing your knife skills, investing in a proper knife is very important.

In this article, I have covered all 10 types of kitchen knives and their uses that you must know, so that you can get a proper understanding, and what to look for when you are selecting a knife for your kitchen.

However, firstly it’s important to learn about the necessary knife safety rules that you must know before you learn about the types of knives for your kitchen.

So this article is going to be very interesting and informative so don’t skip any point.

Let’s start!

Types Of Kitchen Knives And Their Uses

There are many different types of knives that are used in the kitchen, as because the right knife will help you prepare your food with more confidence and creativity.

Most of the tasks that we perform in the kitchen can only be done with a good piece of kitchen knife. That is why it’s very important to have the right type of knife at the right time.

So, this is the list of all the knives that are used in the kitchen.

1. Chef Knife 

Chef knives are commonly also commonly known as cook’s knives and they are the most common types of knives used by almost all chefs. I’m sure that you would have seen this knife in most kitchens and in reality shows.

Chef knives are usually multi-purpose knives that most chefs use to chop and slice vegetables and meat.

Usually, the chef knives are broad blades, and they taper upwards around a point, allowing you to roll back and forth easier and faster.

The blades measure between 8 to 10 inches and are curved upwards with a pointed tip. The curve is also known as the “belly“, and this makes all the slicing and dicing jobs much easier.

The best part about a chef knife is that it can be used for almost every cutting task in the kitchen, from cutting vegetables to cutting a chicken. That is why the chef knife is one of the most important knives in almost every kitchen knife set collection.

Usually, the blades of a chef knife are forged and hand-made with the help of a die-cut machine. As forged blades are both durable and it has a very sharp edges.

Looking for stainless steel or a high carbon steel knife; the Best knife for a chef is a great example of a chef’s knife.

Uses 

• Slicing, Dicing, and chopping Vegetables & Fruits
• Cutting meat
• Disjointing some cuts
• Cutting herbs

2. Santoku Knife

The Santoku knives are usually shortened and thinner than the typical chef knife. The Santoku knife is actually the Japanese version of the Western chef’s knife, measuring about 6 to 7 inches long.

The Santoku knife is a bit shorter than the typical chef knife and the blades of the Santoku knives are made from super hard stainless and high carbon steel and are suitable for cutting and vegetables & fruits.

Both the chef and the Santoku knife look quite similar and, if you are new to knives, sometimes it becomes quite difficult to even identify.

Both knives have similar applications, but the way you handle the blade is quite different because it has a different blade angle.

Santoku knives are one of the best tools for making cuts through boneless meat. The dimples of the Santoku knives allows you to cut meat, fishes, and other soft materials very easily without reducing your speed.

Uses

• Cutting meat
• Slicing, dicing, and chopping vegetables

3. Boning Knife 

The Boning knife usually measures about 5 to 6 inches long and the blade of the boning knife is more flexible than the typical kitchen knife.

The boning knife is only designed for specific tasks like removing the bones from meats filleting fish and cutting up meats.

Well, if you are someone who is regularly buying Bone meats or a whole chicken, then a boning knife can make your job much easier, and it’s definitely worth spending on a bonding knife.

The boning knives are more flexible than the typical chef knife and this type of blade is mostly used in restaurants and shops.

Uses

• Removing the bones
• Cutting down meat
• Filleting Fish

3. Utility Knife 

Utility knives measure between 4 to 7 inches and these types of blades are mostly used for cutting food into smaller pieces, which is typically tough with a regular chef knife.

The utility knives are favorite for most chefs and homemakers as they can easily cut fruits and vegetables into smaller pieces without putting much effort.

The narrow blade is perfect for handling tasks such as trimming, slicing, and filleting and it can perform much better than the typical chef knife.

However, the utility knife cannot be used for chopping vegetables and cannot perform tasks quite delicately like a regular chef knife if you cut down large objects. Because it has a thin and narrow blade that doesn’t allow you to handle such a task.

Uses

• Cutting into small pieces.
• Trimming & Slicing
• Filleting

4. Bread Knife

The primary job of a bread knife is it’s to slice pieces of bread. A good bread knife should saw down the tough crust of bread without compressing the tender crumb.

The bread knives measure between 6 to 10 inches and the blades have a serrated edge, which makes them perfect for slicing pieces of bread.

Bread knives/ Serrated edge knives are also useful for making sandwiches. You can use the blades for cutting down the loaves of bread and slice the cucumber and tomatoes.

When you are using a serrated edge blade then you can design sandwiches much more quicker and more effectively.

Uses

• Cutting loaves
• Cut cakes
• Slice cucumber & Tomatoes

5. Cleaver

Typically, the cleavers are one of the heaviest knives and the bulkiest knives in the knife collection.

The cleaver is mostly designed for cutting down heavy meat into smaller piece and are a great tool for almost all butchery. It’s designed in such a way that it can cut through bones, meat, and even the thickest material.

Usually, the cleavers are made from high-carbon steel, so that the blades remain sharp enough so that they can easily cut through.

There are many designs of meat cleavers depending on the country of origin. Mostly the Chinese cleavers are heavy and straight blades, while the German cleavers are known for more exaggerated curves.

The Chinese meat cleaver is one of the most commonly used meat cleavers preferred by most butchers.

Looking for a meat cleaver then the best meat cleaver guide is a good example you can prefer.

Uses

• Cutting Meat & Bones
• Separate Ribs
• Chopping Meat
• Slice hard vegetables

6. Paring Knife 

The paring knives are the short chef knife and the blades of the paring knife measure about 3 -4 liches long. The blades are similar to a utility knife, but it’s much shorter than a utility knife.

Due to their compact size, the blades can be used for tasks such as trimming, cutting, and slicing down vegetables precisely.

The only main difference between a chef knife and a paring knife is basically the length of the blade.

Most chefs recommended a paring knife because they are one of the best tools for peeling, shaving, and cutting vegetables into smaller pieces, and carrying out precision work.

Paring knives have very sharp pointed tips so that they can easily cut through the vegetable skin and make smaller cuts.

Uses 

• Chop, cut, and slice vegetables & fruits

7. Fillet Knife 

A Fillet knife is similar to a boning knife, but there is a major difference between both of them is fillet knives are mostly used for filleting fish while a boning knife is used for removing bones from all types of meat.

Fillet knives are typically one of the most important tools for cutting fish and separating the skin layer from the fish. Also using a fillet knife can improve the quality of the fish without damaging the meat.

Fillets knives are available in many different designs such as the electric fillet knife. Typically, fillet knives having a 12 to 15 degrees edge bevel are considered to be the best ones.

The main difference between a fillet knife and a boning knife is the design and the length of the blades.

Since the boning knife is designed for removing the bones from the meat, and therefore the blades are thicker. While the blades of a fillet knife are thinner, longer, and much flexibles than a boning knife.

Fillet knives are mostly used in restaurants or fish shops for removing the bones from the fish or separating the skin from the fish.

If you are looking for a fillet knife then the fillet knife from dalstrong is one of the best fillet knives you can consider buying.

Uses 

• Cutting down fish
• Removing skin from fish

8. Cheese Knife 

A cheese knife has thin handles and blades that look similar to a kitchen knife. A cheese knife is designed in such a way that you can easily cut soft cheese.

Typically there are many designs of cheese knives, that are used for cutting different types of cheese such as hard cheese. For cutting hard cheese you have to use a heavy blade knife mostly the cheddar cheese knife.

Also, you can use a double-handled cheese knife for cutting hard cheese, into smaller pieces more precisely and safely.

Uses

• Cut & slice soft & hard cheese

9. Steak Knife 

Steak knives are also commonly known as table knives. The blades of a steak knife are relatively smaller than the typical chef knife and are mostly used for cutting cooked dishes. Steak knives are mostly used on the dining table and are one of the sharpest knives on the dining tables.

With the help of a steak knife, you can cut pieces of chicken more cleanly at the dinner table. There are two different designs of steak knives serrated and semi-serrated edge.

The serrated edge stays sharp for a longer period without the need of sharpening or honing the blades.

Uses

• Cutting out cooked dishes like chicken & beef

10. Carving Knife 

Turkey and chicken are very popular meat with high vitamins and proteins. For cutting cooked turkey you will need a carving knife so that it can make your job much easy.

Carving knives are long and narrow blades with bullet nose tips. The blades of a carving knife are straight and long and that allows you to slice the meat, even the largest boneless lamb.

The blades of a carving knife measure around 8 to 12 inches and the more flexible than a chef knife. Carving knives are mostly designed for cutting and slicing thin slices of roasted turkey, chicken, and ham.

Uses

• Cutting thin slices of cooked meat.
• Cutting roasts

Wrap Up On Types Of Chef Knives

There are more than a dozen of the knife therein available in the market. However, this is the list of the most common knives that are used in most kitchens.

All the knives that I have mentioned in the guide are pretty much the most useful knives in the kitchen.

Now, you are familiar with all the types of kitchen knives and their uses, and sure you would be wondering how many types of knives do I really need for my kitchen. ?

Well, if you are just cooking at your home and you just know the basic knife skills then a sharp chef knife and a piece of paring knife will handle most of the tasks that you will be doing in your kitchen.

However, if your job revolves around, cutting meat, slicing, and chopping meat and vegetables then you must consider adding more knives to your kitchen knife collection.

As you start developing knife skills and trying out new dishes then you can use different types of knives like ceramic knives or dishwasher safe knife as they are premium quality and are expensive.

I hope the guide on the different types of kitchen knives would have helped you in figuring out what knives I require. Let me know in the comments down below.

FAQ: Different Kinds Of Knives

There are many types of cooking knives and finding the best one out is quite difficult especially if you don’t know what you are looking for. Well, in this section I have answered some of the most commonly asked questions about kitchen knives.