GLOBAL G-2 20cm COOK'S KNIFE - this is the best selling Japanese kitchen knife ever made. This multi-purpose knife is ideal for slicing, dicing and chopping and is a winner of multiple awards including Which Best Knife and the Housewares ICON Award. Gently pull your knife through the two rotating V-shaped circular steels, and repeat around five times. It's compact, easy to store and often the cheapest sharpening option, but it won't sharpen as finely as other methods.

Finally, any serrated knives were used to slice beef tomatoes, cube aubergines and cut lemons into wedges. Wooden handle: Some pure wood handles will need oiling with a dedicated knife handle oil. Most modern wooden-handled knives have a light clear plastic coating to protect them. When washing, avoid prolonged soaking. Or, hold the handle out of the water and wash immediately. There are hundreds of different knives on the market, each with their own culinary task. Some more specialist options include parmesan knives, oyster knives and salmon knives, so it's easy to get overwhelmed. But here are the main knives to consider: In the lab, our experts put the main knives in each set to work on an array of ingredients, using a variety of chopping skills. To test chef’s knives, they diced onions, sliced cabbages and cut steaks, while they used utility knives to chop mushrooms, shred lettuce and julienne peppers.GHI tip: Always try a knife before buying. A reputable retailer will let you try the knife out on vegetables - always try on tomatoes, as a new sharp knife should cut through easily without resistance. GLOBAL GS-11 15cm FLEXIBLE UTILITY KNIFE - with a medium sized, flexible blade, this popular general purpose knife from Global is perfect for filleting and carving.

Knife cases Global nylon roll up knife wallets are perfect for if you travel with your Global knives and want to transport and carry them safely. Their sturdy and robust construction keeps the knives safe and protect the blades during transit. There’s no such thing as an ideal weight of knife; it comes down to personal preference. Most experts would agree that a chef’s knife, for example, should have some weight behind it, but you don’t want a knife that’s so heavy it strains your wrists. While the chef's knife worked well for everything except the onion, and the paring and serrated knives cut easily, we felt the high price tag might not work for many home cooks but fits better in our list of high-end knife sets. From classic chef’s knives to bread knives, a good quality knife set will cover all bases, so you shouldn’t find yourself having to make do without a key bit of kit at the last minute.Resulting from a partnership between Michelin-starred chef Thomas Keller and cutlery maker Cangshan, this 7-piece set is ideal for seasoned cooks ready to take their home chef game to the next level. This dream set of knives is easy to use, has a great blade-to-handle ratio, and the overall size and feel are unmatched among the sets we've tried. We then used the chef's knife to slice a ripe tomato and dice an onion. Next, we used the serrated knife to slice two equal pieces off a loaf of crusty bread, such as sourdough. Finally, we used the paring knife to hull three large strawberries. We assessed the knife's performance with each test, noting traits like comfortability, balance, design, and size. We asked ourselves if the knives felt particularly heavy or light, if the edge and face of the knife had any impact on functionality, and if the handles aided in the knives' performance. GLOBAL GS-38 9cm PARING KNIFE - useful for a variety of kitchen tasks, this nifty little knife is perfect for intricate cutting, peeling, mincing and dicing. Believe it or not, there are a lot of professional chefs out there!" admits Schmidt. "So, the most used knives are actually commercial grade knives supplied by restaurant supply outfitters. These knives tend to be on the less expensive side. However, when it has quality steel, and the chef knows how to maintain their tools, these knives perform very well since they're constantly being honed." They are small rectangular stones, around 20cm by 8cm, with different levels of coarseness. This can range from 0 to 220 (extra coarse) to 5000+ (ultra fine). For most people, one stone with a grain of 1000 and another of 3000 will suffice.

It sounds like hyperbole, but trust us — the first time you find yourself blitzing through ingredients with lightsaber-like ease, you’ll wonder how you survived for so many years without a proper chef’s knife. Not only that, but razor-sharp knives are much, much safer than their dull counterparts, as you won't find yourself having to push as hard, reducing dangerous blade slips. Gordon Ramsey would be furious if he caught you with a blunt knife, so do the right thing. From carving up a Sunday roast to finely chopping an onion, we all know how much of a struggle cooking can be when kitchen knives are blunt, or simply not up to scratch. But with our best kitchen knives, you can enjoy easy chopping, slicing and dicing for years to come. Not as attractive as some higher-end options, and the paring knife didn't perform as strongly as the chef's knife in our tests. These knives look similar to a paring knife but they have a serrated edge. They’re great for cutting tomatoes and citrus fruits. The Santoku knife originated in Japan and is a general purpose knife. It has a thinner blade than a chef’s knife and is most effective when dicing, chopping and mincing.

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Half tang: The blade extends half way along the handle. If too much force is applied, a half tang knife can snap, as only glue is binding the knife and handle. For more fashion, grooming and technology releases delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our GQ Recommends newsletter. What are the best kitchen knives to buy in 2023? Hand-washing your knife is always preferable to dishwashing, even if the brand says your blade is “dishwasher safe”. And if you have a high-quality Japanese steel or German steel knife, you should never subject it to the likes of a dishwasher. The hot water and salt of the dishwasher will do your blade no favours, so as soon as you finish using it give it a wash and dry thoroughly to avoid corrosion.