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Anatomy of a Kitchen Knife

Jun 23rd 2016 - Guest Blog, 

Anatomy of a Kitchen Knife

What kind of materials are used in the production of knives?

A good kitchen knife is essential to any professional cook's kitchen equipment. It is simply indispensable. In order not to get lost in the myriad possibilities that are available, it is useful to familiarize oneself with how knives are produced and the different types available. In this blog post we will mainly focus on the materials of  professional kitchen knives and how knives are created as well as their benefits and drawbacks.

Materials

Kitchen knives are generally made out of three different kinds of metal: carbon steel, stainless steel and titanium.

kitchen knives

Carbon steel is extremely durable and was formerly used for most blades before stainless steel became popular. Carbon steel blades hold their edge well and are much easier to sharpen. On the other hand, the lack of chromium in the blade means that they rust much more easily and must be cleaned carefully each time.

Stainless steel is most commonly used due to its durability, resistance to corrosion (another name for it is 'corrosion-resistant steel') and, basically, because it is cheaper. Stainless steel is made out of a combination of different materials which generally include chromium (at least 13%), iron, nickel, molybdenum and carbon. And while stainless steel blades are usually favored over other types, they are usually not as sharp as carbon or ceramic ones.

Titanium is a very strong material and is also rust resistant. Knives made out of titanium are usually the lightest but are not too popular as kitchen knives because titanium is softer than, and not as sharp as, other types of metals used for kitchen knives. That's why these blades are sometimes coated with other types of material, so as to increase their hardness.

titanium knives

Ceramic blades are somewhat less common. Such blades are usually made of zirconium oxide, a stronger-than-diamonds, non-metallic material. Thus, they are entirely resistant to corrosion, have a really hard blade and stay sharp for a long time. Some manufacturers even give a lifetime warranty on their blades' sharpness. This allows for precision and thin slicing. As hard as it may be, ceramic is unfortunately also quite brittle. This means that,  if a ceramic knife is dropped, it will most likely chip or even break. Cutting bones or frozen foods is definitely not advised with such knives.

Blade manufacturing

Steel blades are usually manufactured in two ways: they are either forged or stamped.

blade manufacturing

Hot-drop forging is a process of heating a single piece of solid steel to a high temperature and then beating it into a shape. It is a bit like those scenes in the movies where the blacksmith pulls out the sword from the furnace and starts hammering. The advantages of forged knives are that they really strong, they are heavier and well balanced and also have a bolster (the additional piece of metal between the handle and the blade).  Professional chefs usually opt for forged knife sets and some chefs have even reported that they take their sets of knives along when they have to cook someplace else.

Stamped blades are cut from large sheets of stainless steel, almost like with a cookie cutter. When compared to forged blades, they are more flexible and definitely not as durable but are, on the other hand, much cheaper to produce and buy. Furthermore, because of how they are created, they don't have a bolster which means you might cut yourself easier. Then again, some manufacturing techniques now allow for bolsters to be attached to stamped knives as well.

In all of the above categories, there are high and low-quality blades. This usually depends on the brand and whether the cutlery is meant for professional chefs or is more of a mass product. Many other attributes of knives also need to be considered, for example, their length, their tang, their weight and handle. In a separate post, we will look at different types of knives and what they are used for.