Equipment - Knives 1

    Right behind pots and pans, the number 2 item you need have in your kitchen is a good set of knives.  The good thing about knives is that their quality is not as well defined as by prices as are pots and pans. That is, there are some pretty inexpensive knives that will give you as good of a result as name (read expensive) brands.  The thing with knives is that, if you get a good sharp blade with a solid handle, it'll last as long as you take care of it.     Taking care of knives is simple too.  You keep them dry, you keep them off the floor, and you only use them for the purpose for which they are intended.  That last part means that, if you have someone in your house who likes to open boxes or puncture metal with your kitchen knives, hide the good ones.  Otherwise, if it's a stainless steel blade, it can go in the dishwasher.  If it's a plain steel, hand wash and dry immediately to prevent oxidation (a.k.a rust).  As for keeping them off the floor, that means don't drop it blade down. I even have a trick for how to prevent that in a bit.
Types of blades:
     There are three main types of kitchen knife blades that you'll find while you're searching:  Stainless steel, plain steel, and ceramic.  You'll most likely only find plain steel knives when you're buying used as I can't find a single place that still sells them.  However, we have a steel knife from my mother's childhood that is still sharp and works great.  The only downside to these is that they're very prone to rust if you treat them wrong.  That means that, if you leave the acid from foods on them or soak them in water, they're going to rust.  My mom's has gotten spots of rust on it over the years.  We use steel wool and scrub it off.  As long as the sharp part of the blade doesn't corrode, you can probably survive.
     Ceramic blades are honestly something I've not personally experienced, for a variety of reasons.  The first is this - ceramic blades break.  If you drop one, you have to replace it.  I don't drop my knives a lot, but I'm not willing to have to buy a brand new knife should that happen.  The second reason I haven't worried with these is that they're really only meant to cut soft foods, like fruit and boneless meats.  I don't really want a knife that I can't use in multiple situations.  In other words, if I can't chop nuts as well as bananas, I don't really don't want to deal with them.  My final, and silliest reason, for not trying ceramic knives is that I have a magnetic knife rack in my kitchen and ceramic won't work with them.  However, many people love ceramic knives because they're lighter, sharper (supposedly), and not susceptible to rust.  If you'd like to read the pros and cons about ceramic knives from someone who's obviously used them click here.  Ceramic knives can't go in the dishwasher.
     Stainless steel knives are 99% of what you're going to find on the market.  They come in all shapes, sizes, and qualities of steel.  Despite what I said at the beginning, the knife set you just found at your local "value" store that has every knife in the world in it for $30 is probably going to fall apart within a year.  The least I've ever seen a good chef knife go for is about $20 new, so you should probably think about that.  Look on the packages for words like "forged" and "high carbon."  Forged means that the blade was made of a single piece of steel, forged into a blade.  Carbon and high carbon stainless steel mean that the steel is stronger than typical stainless steel.  If there isn't a package and the shopkeeper will allow you, hold the blade vertically in front of you and place your finger on the tip.  When you pull on the tip, the blade shouldn't bend much, if at all.  If you have a piece of metal that bends so much you feel you could use it as a catapult, don't get it.
     Before I break down the pieces of a knife, here's a diagram of the anatomy of a knife:

Blades:  Serrated vs. Straight?
     Welcome to the great debate.  Before you go shopping for knives, you have to decide what type of blade you want.  Hypothetically, you can buy whatever you find and get a different one later, if you don't like it, but wouldn't it be wiser (and less expensive) to make an informed decision first and get just one?  There is one set of people who believe you should never own a serrated knife and another who think you should never own anything but.  I'm more of the straight blade type, but you decide for yourself.
    Serrated blades are those that have tooth-like protrusions along the entire blade. There are companies that make nothing but serrated blades, and a lot of them are really great.  The positive side to the serrated blade is that it has at least twice the surface area of a non-serrated blade.  That means that you have twice as much sharp metal to cut with.  Also, because the cutting surfaces aren't as exposed to what they're cutting, they tend to stay sharp longer than non-serrated blades.  In fact, lot of serrated blades are marketed with the promise that they never need to be sharpened, but it isn't quite true.  They will eventually get dull. The downside to these, and the reason I don't have a lot of them, is that, to sharpen them you either have to have them professionally sharpened or get a sharpener specifically designed for serrated blades.  Also, there are a limited amount of times that you can sharpen a serrated blade before it becomes unusable.

 

     Non-serrated blades are smooth and sharp.  When you look along the edge of a non-serrated blade it should be thin and smooth without being marred by chips, cracks, or rust.  The knife companies that are considered the best in the cooking world (Chicago Cutlery, Henkel, Forschner, Wusthof) make almost exclusively non-serrated knives.  Though I've met exceptions, professional chefs highly favor non-serrated knives to serrated for good reason. Though serrated knives are good for a great many specific purposes, such as slicing tomatoes, non-serrated knives can still do those if they're sharp enough.  Smooth edged knives are exceptional at performing techniques like mincing and they can cut through dense items, like cheese, without sawing.  This allows a smoother cut and a more attractive final product.  If you're going to get mostly serrated knives, I strongly suggest you invest in at least a non-serrated chef knife.
     Santoku knives are relatively new to the American market.  A few years ago, you would have had to go to your local Asian Market to find one of these blades.  Santoku knives are the best of both worlds, as far as blades are concerned.  They have beveled indetions in the side of the blade that creates air between the knife and the item it's cutting.  This reduces friction, which makes it easier to cut, similar to a serrated blade, and is still able to be sharpened by a typical sharpener, which I'm going to cover in two weeks, after we're done with knives.  Regardless of this "best of both worlds" concept, I still prefer a plain chef knife to a santoku chef knife for reasons I'll talk about next week.
     When you're buying a knife, you need to figure out whether it's sharp or not.  If you already have a sharpener, this isn't as important, but if you don't, you want to be able to use the knife when you get home.  To test the sharpness of a blade, you'll need to run it across something.  One method is to scrape the blade across a fingernail like so

 

If the blade is sharp, it'll produce a curl of fingernail in front of it.  If it's slightly sharp, a powder will present, and if it's not sharp at all, nothing will happen. Some people prefer that method and it's just fine.  I like to feel my blade's sharpness.  It's important to not that this is not done by making a cutting motion along your fingers:

 

Instead, make a motion like the above picture, but along the pad of your finger.   The sharper the knife is, the more you'll be able to be able to feel it dragging along your friction ridges (those are the things that make your fingerprints.  To find out what a really sharp knife feels like, go to a store like Williams Sonoma and ask to look at their knives.  You really look like a pro doing it.  Then give them back their knives and tell them you'll think about it.  Now you're equipped to check the sharpness of used knives.

Tang:

      When a  knife is made, it's not usually in just one piece (we'll get to the exception in a second).  Usually, the blade is made in one piece and then placed in the handle separately.  Whether this handle is one piece or two pieces is something we'll talk about in handles.  However, the length that the knife goes past the the bolster is called a tang.

     The picture to the left shows what's called a full tang.  That means the tang goes all the way down the handle.  Full tang knives will always look exactly like the picture to the left.  Partial or half tang knives, on the other hand, will look like more like the picture to the right.  In other words, molded handles usually surround partial tangs while full tangs will display their tangs.  Older partial tang knives will sometimes look like the picture on the left but with the metal only goes down a couple of inches.

     So, what's the deal with a tang?  The length of the tang is directly proportional to the quality of the blade.  The longer the tang, the further goes down the handle, the more likely it is to stay in the handle.  Also, the tang keeps the knife balanced better.

Handles:

      There are four types of handles that are on the market that I've seen:  metal, plastic, wood, and wood-plastic composites.  You'll find there are certain types of knives that favor certain types of handles over others.

     Wooden handles are made of, well wood.  They're made in 2 parts and are riveted into the tang of the knife with cylindrical studs.  These rivets should be smooth on top and not raised above the handle's surface.  There are a couple of problems with the wooden handles, mainly that they tend to crack if they're allowed to air dry after being submerged in water for a while.  These cracks then allow bacteria into them which can then contaminate food.

     Plastic molded handles came into the mix when manufacturers realized people don't really like bacteria contaminating their food.  The positive side of them is that, along with not harboring bacteria, they are often molded ergonomically that makes them easier to hold for long amounts of time. Unfortunately, unless the knife comes from a very reputable maker, they also tend to hide partial tangs which throws off the balance of them.  Also, unless they're silicone based, plastic handles will melt when exposed to heat.

     Wood-plastic composites are the best of both of these.   They have the appearance of the wooden handle while also having the antibacterial qualities of plastic.  The wood-plastic composite is a wooden handle that's been treated with a plastic resin.  This prevents the wood from cracking and allowing the handle to remain intact.

     Metal handles are something that are relatively new,at least to me.  I hadn't seen one until a couple of years ago.  They have the same shape as the molded plastic handles, but they're part of the blade.  That is, your tang and your handle in one.  I've not personally used a metal handle, so I can't talk about their balance or their feel. I will mention that, though they won't melt when introduced to heat, they will probably get incredibly hot, so if you get some of these, be careful where you leave them.

Balance:
     Last part for this week, I promise.  The balance of a knife is probably the least important thing on most people's mind when they're buying knives, and it really isn't hugely important either.  The only reason I'm going to talk about it is to prevent you from having to buy new knives later.  You find the balance on your knife by placing a finger in the curve behind the bolster (see the picture below).  When you let go of the knife, it'll rock for a bit then do one of three things:  It will fall toward the blade, fall toward the handle, or stay balanced on your finger.  Repeat the action a couple of times and you'll get a feel for where the balance of the knife is.  Here's what the difference in balance does - it decides how your knife is going to fall, if you should knock it off the counter.  If your knife balance favors the blade, it's going to be the blade that hits the floor almost every time you drop it.  That means, if you have a clumsy person in your house, you're going to end up with a chipped blade before long.  A knife that's perfectly balanced has a 50/50 chance of coming down on the blade every time it's dropped.  However, a knife that favors its handle will fall on the handle.  That makes a huge difference in the quality of your blade and your safety.  Knives that fall on their handle don't cut off people's toes before they can jump back from them - just sayin'
     Short speech:  Buy a knife who's balance favors the handle and you'll avoid a lot of pain and anguish.

What do you look for when shopping for a knife? Tweet to @cookingcheap