In cooking, a , also known as a French knife, is a cutting tool used in preparing food. It is the Kitchen Knife that most cooks use most of the time.
A chef's knife generally has an eight-inch (20 cm) Blade , although individual models range from six to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) in length. A Western-style chef's knife typically has a pointed end. In the equivalent Japan ese knife, called a '' Santoku '' (literally: "three uses": slicing, dicing, & mincing — but a better translation might be "all-purpose"), the blade's spine drops more sharply to meet the cutting edge.
The of a chef's knife is made from one of these materials:
- and approximately 2% Carbon . Can be very sharp and holds its edge well, but vulnerable to Rust and stains. Some professional cooks swear by knives of carbon steel because of their sharpness. Over time, a carbon-steel knife can acquire a dark patina, and carbon steel (unlike stainless steels) rusts if not cared for properly. Some chefs find that the extra sharpness is not worth keeping the steel clean & polished; others find that carbon steel's sharpness qualities outweigh the additional maintenance requirements.
- , possibly Nickel , and Molybdenum , with only a small amount of carbon. Lower grades of stainless steel are not able to take as sharp an edge as carbon steel, but are resistant to corrosion, do not taint food and are inexpensive. Higher grade and 'exotic' stainless steels (mostly from Japan - as used by Global, Kasumi and others) are extremely sharp with excellent edge retention, and equal or out perform carbon steel blades but they are expensive.
- Laminated . As noted above, all materials used in blades represent various compromises. A laminated knife tries to use the best of each material by creating a layered sandwich of different materials -- for instances, using a softer-but-tough steel as the backing material, and a sharper/harder - but more brittle - steel as the edge material.
The may be made from:
Or any of a number of synthetic/composite materials.
The may be ground in different ways:
- V-shape
- Beveled edge.
- Hollow-ground.
For a steel knife, there are two ways to fashion the blade.
- Hot-forged: A hot- Forge d blade is made in an intricate, multi-step process, often by skilled manual labor. A chunk of steel is heated to a high temperature, and beaten to temper the steel. Forging results in a change to the grains of the steel, which increases the metal's hardness, as measured by the Rockwell Scale . After forging, the blade is ground down and sharpened. Forged knives are usually also ''full-tang'', meaning the metal in the knife runs from the tip of the knifepoint to the far end of the handle.
- Stamped: A stamped blade is cut to shape directly from Cold Rolled steel and then ground down and sharpened. Stamped blades lack the benefits of the hardness brought by forging, but they are cheaper to produce. As the quality of rolled steel improves, they may approach the quality of hot-forged blades.
Someone in the market for a chef's knife will make a choice based on price, the cost of maintenance, and how the knife feels in the hand (often called the ''balance''). Considered qualities may include cost, maintenance, edge, corrosion resistance and balance. The appearance of the knife is often taken into account as well, especially when purchased for domestic use.
Technique for the use of a chef's knife is an individual preference. Nevertheless, professional chefs commonly follow certain practices.
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