Knife Shapes
Understanding Shapes and Usage of Kitchen Knives
Get to know the different types of kitchen knives and what they are used for in our kitchen knife guide.
Learning about the different shapes, sizes, and uses of knives is the first step to mastering your knife skills. You may be familiar with common kitchen knives such as a chef knife, paring knife, carving knife, or utility knife, but did you know that each knife has its own unique shape and design for its intended use? Kitchen knives are essential tools in any kitchen and understanding the right kitchen knives to have can make a huge difference in your cooking. Whether you need to chop, slice, carve, or fillet, we have a knife for the job.
Paring Knife:
A small all-purpose knife ideal for peeling (or “paring”) smaller fruits and vegetables, and other small precision work, such as deseeding peppers, deveining shrimp, and hulling strawberries.
Because it is often used on smaller items and requires more control, our paring has a unique handle shape to be gripped and rolled around in the palm of your hand. The drop-point tip allows for fine precision work, and the heel of the blade is angled and set forward for greater clearance.
Bird’s Beak Knife:
A small curved knife for slicing soft fruits, peeling skins or blemishes from a variety of fruits and vegetables, and cutting decorative garnishes such as rosettes in radishes or fluted mushrooms.
Our bird’s beak has a concave edge profile that enables a controlled peeling style motion, to keep the tip forward and product on the edge of the knife without slipping.
Utility Knife:
A versatile everyday knife, ideal for peeling, chopping, and fine slicing. Smaller than a chef knife, it’s great for switching between different sized fruits and vegetables, achieving more control and precision, and working in tight spaces.
Our utility knife is perfect companion to a chef knife and our second most popular shape. The blade’s length and thinness are ideal for gaining greater control when working with small to medium-sized products, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, and cheeses. Make it your go-to when a chef feels excessive and a paring insufficient.
Chef Knife:
A workhorse and must-have knife, designed to perform well at many different kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular.
Our chef knives are center-weighted, balance thinness and precision with durability and strength, and have both Japanese and Western appeal. The ultimate all-purpose knife and our most popular, if you only have one knife in your kitchen, make it a chef. The blade’s gentle curve along the edge from heel to tip serves a variety of uses and cutting techniques, so you can rock and chop, push and pull, or slice and dice.
- 7” chef knife may be preferable for those who feel more comfortable with a slightly smaller blade or those with limited kitchen/counter space.
- 8.5” blade length is a size most people are familiar with whether they use Western or Japanese style chef knives. The length of the blade can handle larger projects, as easily as it can be used for everyday cutting.
- 10″ Chef Knife is best for large scale projects and those who prefer using a longer blade.
Chopper:
Rough chopping, slicing meat, or accurate vegetable cuts, this knife will get you through it all. With a 2.5″ blade height, this knife is excellent for large projects.
If our 8.5″ Chef knife is the “workhorse,” our 7.5″ Chopper is the “bull.” This knife has the thinness and balance of a chef knife to accomplish any job but with added blade height, which helps with straight and accurate cuts. The 27.5-degree drop-point is not only visually appealing; it is fantastic for precision work at the tip.
Slicer:
A long, straight, and narrow blade ideal for slicing proteins in one long fluid motion with little restriction.
Our slicer has minimal flexibility and a small heel to keep the blade straight for flat and even cuts of protein. While great year-round, many people associate the slicer with the holidays when carving and serving proteins such as pork, fish, turkey, and beef.
Santoku Knife:
Santoku knife is a versatile and multipurpose knife originated in Japan.
The name Santoku translates to three uses slicing, dicing, and mincing. Its shorter and wider blade combined reduces friction and prevents food from sticking to the blade. It has gained popularity worldwide due to its excellent balance, precision and functionality.
Boning Knife:
Whether for whole animal butchery or trimming fats, a boning knife is a butcher’s best friend. With a sharp point and a narrow blade, it’s great for breaking down and cleaning poultry, meat, and fish.
We make boning knives in two distinct shapes – straight and curved. Although either can be an excellent tool for any protein, our straight boning knife is ideal for working with poultry and beef, while our curved boning knife is better suited to fish.
Fillet Knife:
A specialty knife for skinning, cutting, and removing bones from fish.
Fish is a very delicate protein with hard and sharp bones. To best handle this combination, our fillet’s blade is our most flexible and is thin and narrow toward the tip to glide through the fish’s protein easily, while its thicker heel aids in pushing through harder and denser bones, such as the neck and fins.
Cleavers:
A specialty knife for skinning, cutting, and removing bones from fish.
Fish is a very delicate protein with hard and sharp bones. To best handle this combination, our fillet’s blade is our most flexible and is thin and narrow toward the tip to glide through the fish’s protein easily, while its thicker heel aids in pushing through harder and denser bones, such as the neck and fins.
Bread Knife:
A long, straight, and serrated blade perfect for slicing bread with soft or hard crust and cakes without crushing or compressing the interior.
Steak Knives:
We put the features of the best kitchen knives into making the best steak knives for your table. A quality set of steak knives can truly elevate a meal.
Our steak knives come in three distinct shapes and handle materials. All are made to last with premium stain-resistant steel, feature a convex edge for longer edge retention cutting on harder surfaces like ceramic dinnerware, and are non-serrated for a cleaner cut that doesn’t tear at your meat. Each set of our handmade steak knives comes in a custom walnut box with a strong magnetic closure.
