There are few kitchen tools so personal, so very much a matter of choice, as a kitchen knife – and I use the term here loosely, rather than to describe a particular shape of knife.
You want one that suits you and the kind of cooking you do and ideally you’d have two: an all-purpose, generously sized cook’s knife and a paring knife for vegetables and cutting small pieces of meat. Some people swear by the Japanese Santoku cook’s knife, which is versatile and useful for cutting, slicing and chopping, and is curved downwards at the end, with optional scallop indentations; others prefer the slightly heavier classic European shape.
My own preference is for a fully forged (ie from a single piece of steel) carbon steel knife with a wooden handle. But there is a place in the kitchen for a small cheap knife for things like tomatoes – these can actually be handier than a hefty cook’s knife for much day to day use.
But some rules apply: a sharp knife is a safe knife, so you need to sharpen most blades regularly: with an old fashioned steel, a hand-held knife sharpener which with v-shaped notches that you simply run the blade through, or a Japanese sharpening stone. Few really good knives take kindly to the dishwasher. Keep them safe, perhaps in a knife block or on a magnetic surface.
All the knives below are good, but my favourite is the Forest and Forge range from Lakeland, with their lovely feel in the hand, their beautiful reclaimed native wood handles and sharp blades. Heirlooms really.
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Forest and Forge 20cm Cook’s Knife with Olive Ash Wood handle
These are lovely knives…excellent balance, a good feel to the hand, light to use and beautiful to look at. They’re made in Sheffield from fully forged steel with sharp blades; the handles are from reclaimed Yorkshire hardwoods. 25 year guarantee. They’re expensive, but if you take care of them, they’ll last a lifetime.
Buy now £124.99, Lakeland
Niwaki Carbon Steel Japanese kitchen knife
The Japanese have, for rather obvious reasons, cornered the market in beautiful, finely balanced cooks’ knives, and this santoku is a lovely example. It’s Japanese-made from two layers of steel, it sharpens easily and the octagonal walnut handle is good to hold.
The only thing is, it needs TLC; it must be cleaned regularly if it’s not to oxidise and tarnish, using the company’s own little crean mate cleaner, a mini rectangle that you use like a pencil eraser. For sharpening, you use the Niwaki sharpening stone, a heavy rectangle. But somehow there’s something immensely satisfying about maintaining a beautiful piece of kit; the process is itself rather enjoyable.
Buy now £99.00, Niwaki
Procook Nihon Santoku knife X50, 18cm
This is an altogether easier kind of Santoku knife. It’s comfortable to use with a beechwood handle; it’s lightweight, nicely balanced, large, but not unwieldy. And, made with stainless steel with carbon – it remains harder for longer. Very reasonably priced.
Buy now £9.99, ProCook
Victorinox classic paring knife
Unprepossessing, plastic blade, serrated edge…but goodness, what an edge. Very light, very sharp, very handy. Good for for cutting small vegetables. Cheap but useful. But please - mind your fingers.
Buy now £5.00, Victorinox
Victorinox Swiss Classic Tomato and Table Knife
Another example of a small, cheap but indispensable little knife. This is serrated, so perfect for those tricky items, tomatoes and onions. To my mind, this is a must-have.
Buy now £6.50, Victorinox
Robert Welch Signature Cooks Knife, 16cm
This is part of the excellent Signature range, which includes a very handy 14cm version if you want a smaller version. It’s forged from a single piece of German steel for strength and the handle is very comfortable. The curved blade makes short work of meat or root veg. Unlike other knives in this list, it’s safe for dishwashers.
Buy now £57.99, Lakeland
K Sabatier Carbon Steel Cook’s Knife, 15cm
Sabatier knives are a name to conjure with – quite literally, since the name, though prestigious, is used by a variety of manufacturers. There were two Sabatier families originally in Thiers; this firm is descended from one of them.
But the important thing about any proper Sabatier is that it should be made in Thiers and fully forged from a single piece of steel. This has a black wood handle and is an excellent, nicely balanced knife. Not suitable for dishwashers.
Buy now £48.00, Divertimenti
Joseph Joseph Elevate Chef’s knife, 6.5 inches
I love Joseph Joseph kitchenware, which contrive to bring a clever design element to humdrum items. This knife is simple and inexpensive and the clever thing about it is that when it’s put down, the handle elevates it above the kitchen surface, so it doesn’t get dirty. Clever, huh?
Buy now £18.00, Selfridges
ProCook Magnetic Knife Block, American Oak
This is a handy way of keeping knives safe. It’s a heavy, simple design – a kind of inverted L-shape where the knife blades lie flat on the surface. It comes in variety of sizes – this one takes three knives.
A long magnetic strip attached to the wall is good for storage too, except whenever I try it, the wretched thing comes away from the wall.)
Buy now £29.00, ProCook
Robert Welch Signature Hand-held Knife sharpener
Knives need regular sharpening, and the easiest option, if you’re not au fait with an old fashioned steel, is a sharpener which rests on a sturdy base and which you simply run (straight, not serrated) blades through repeatedly.
This one has ceramic wheels which should be replaced every one to two years.
Buy now £24.90, Amazon
