Guides
What kitchen knives do I actually need?
The short answer: three knives do almost everything: a chef's knife (about 20cm), a paring knife (about 9cm) and a serrated bread knife (about 23cm). Buy those three well before buying anything else. A santoku, a utility knife or a carving knife are good additions once you know what you cook most.
The three you need
| Knife | Typical length | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Chef's knife | 20 to 21cm | Most of the work: chopping, slicing, dicing, mincing, breaking down a chicken |
| Paring knife | 8 to 10cm | Work in the hand: peeling, trimming, hulling strawberries, scoring, coring |
| Bread knife | 20 to 25cm, serrated | Crusty loaves, soft brioche, tomatoes, cakes, citrus |
The chef's knife carries the kitchen. The paring knife does what a big blade is too clumsy for. The bread knife saves the other two from crusts, which dull a straight edge quickly. Between them there is very little left uncovered.
Choose the chef's knife first and spend most of your budget there. How to choose a chef's knife explains length, steel and balance, and what makes a good bread knife covers serrations.
Useful extras, in order
Santoku (13 to 18cm). A flatter Japanese profile that excels at push cuts on vegetables. Some cooks prefer it to a chef's knife; most like having both. See chef's knife or santoku.
Utility knife (about 13cm). Between paring and chef's: sandwiches, shallots, cheese, small fruit.
Carving knife (about 25cm). Long and narrow for clean slices off a roast. Worth it if you roast every weekend.
Boning or filleting knife. Only if you regularly break down whole birds or fish. See how to debone or spatchcock a chicken.
What you can skip
Large block sets often include knives you will never use. A cleaver, a tomato knife, a separate vegetable knife: each has a fan, but the three above cover the same ground. Better three good knives than ten average ones. Add a sharpening stone and a wooden board before a fourth knife, because a sharp edge on the right surface matters more than another blade.
Keep them sharp
Whatever you buy, it needs looking after: hone weekly, sharpen two or three times a year, hand wash, store off the drawer floor. The details are in how to look after a good kitchen knife.
The Season knives for this
The Season S4 3 Piece Knife Set (£200) is exactly the three above: the S4 Chef's Knife 21cm, the S4 Bread Knife 23cm and the S4 Paring Knife 9cm. Each has a 67-layer Damascus blade forged around a 10CR steel core at 61 HRC, a 15 degree edge, a full tang and a triple-riveted rosewood handle, with a lifetime guarantee. Hand wash. Knives are sold to over-18s only, with ID on delivery.
For the extras: S4 Santoku 18cm (£100), S4 Utility (£60) and S4 Carving (£90). To store them, the S4 Knife Block is £38. If you want the lot, the S4 7 Piece Knife Block Set (£425) has chef's, bread, carving, utility and paring knives, scissors and an acacia block.
Questions people ask
If I can only buy one knife, which? A 20 to 21cm chef's knife. It will do nearly everything, including bread at a push.
Do I need a knife block set? Only if every knife in it earns its place. Three good knives beat a block of ten you rarely touch.
Santoku or chef's knife as my main knife? Either works. A chef's knife rocks and slices; a santoku chops in straight push cuts.
Is a bread knife really necessary? Yes. Crust blunts a straight edge fast, and a serrated blade cuts soft bread without crushing it.
Cook it with
Cook like it matters.
From the cooks at Season, a London cookshop since 2005.