Tools of the Trade #1: Knives

Take a look at all that crap, wouldja? Those are the tools of the trade, my work kit. Quite a lot of kit, at that. But the operative word is trade. As in, since that’s my trade, I need all those tools. Now, if you’re just looking to find the essential tools that you, dear reader, need to make your home cooking better and easier, then read on.

I’ll cut through all the crap here, we’re only going with the most essential pieces of kit that you can use in a variety of ways to make a variety of dishes. We’re focusing on hand tools here, I should mention. Bigger pieces of kit like countertop appliances will be another post altogether. So, without further ado, let’s get into it by looking at the most important pieces of equipment a cook can own: the knives.

Knives:

By looking at my kit, you may think you need three knives for every occasion. Not nearly. I have a bunch of knives because a) I like well-made kitchen knives and b) I’m a lazy fart. I have two knives that can do every job, so if one gets dull and I’m too lazy or strapped for time to do a sharpening, I just go for the other. But, what about at home? What knives do you NEED? If all you have are some crappy old Ikea knives should you go buy a block set of fancy German Henckels or Wusthofs? Or should you buy Japanese knives piece by piece to build a collection?

I’m definitely a fan of the piece by piece method as most sets give you knives that you’ll never use. So, which knives should you buy? Well, that’s the trick. You need a knife that will fit well in your hand, feel comfortable to use and please you aesthetically. Go to cooking supply shops or specialized knife shops (when going to places becomes a thing again) and test them out. Ask to hold the knives. You’ll get a feel for them.

As for which ones you’ll need? Read on.

Chef’s Knife:

This will be your knife, the one you’ll do 90% of your work with. As such, it’s the most important purchase you’ll make. Really take the time with this one. It could be a European style or a Japanese santoku-style, doesn’t matter as long as it feels comfortable in your hand and is well-made. Get it as big and long as you can handle. A bigger knife means you have more blade to work with. You’ll be using the tip for delicate precision work, like slicing mushrooms or brunoising shallots. The middle is used for most slicing and chopping, like slicing onions for stew, or chopping cucumbers for Greek salad. Finally, use the heel of the knife blade for cutting through heavier-duty stuff like butternut squash or celery root.

My personal chef knives both come from a company called MAC. They’re quite old, but they’re easy to sharpen and they stay sharp for some time. I’ve got the 6 ½” Santoku, which was the first “real knife” I ever bought, and the 8” dimpled Chef Knife, which over time has become my number one knife. If I had one gripe with this knife, it’d be that I wish it was just a bit bigger, 10” or so, but I can do pretty much everything with either of these two knives.

Paring/Petty/Utility Knife:

This is your knife for small stuff. Detail work, delicate procedures and off-the-board work. Sometimes you just need a smaller knife. Like I said earlier, you should get used to using your big honkin’ chef knife for 90% of your work, like your slicing and chopping, but for certain tasks, only a smaller knife will do. Stuff like turning vegetables, making citrus segments, doing the finest brunoise of shallots, chopping delicate chives and peeling tiny potatoes or grapes.

My personal go-to’s are my MAC 3” Paring Knife, another of my oldest but most trustworthy knives, and newer addition the Masakage Koishi Ko-Bunka. This thing is a beast, and while it’s a little bigger than a standard paring knife, it’s so sharp and sturdy that I can also clean small fish and even debone a chicken with it.

Honourable mention here goes to the Takeda Kogatana. This thing is a razor, can do everything I just mentioned above, and makes you feel like a real bad-ass while doing it. It’s certainly not a knife for everyone, least of all beginners, but I love it so.

Serrated Bread Knife:

This one is almost exclusively for cutting bread, or the ripest of tomatoes. You’ll use this knife far less than your others, so it’s less important that it fits your hand just so. Also, you’ll never be sharpening this guy, so don’t spend lots on it. You want something relatively good that’ll last many years, but you don’t want to break the bank.

I stumbled onto an amazing, limited-edition Japanese serrated knife at a garage sale. I don’t even know where to link to in terms of info. If I was going to recommend a bread knife that you could actually purchase, I’d lean towards the Tojiro 220mm Bread Knife.

Honing Rods:

Now, while these aren’t knives, they go together like Salt and Pepa, like peanut butter and jelly, like Willow and Tara. This is what you’ll use to keep that blade aligned between sharpenings. Keep in mind that a honing rod (often known as a ‘steel’) does not, in fact, sharpen the blade, just realigns it, taking off those rough patches for better slicing and dicing. When your blade gets truly dull, that’s when you have to break out the whetstones or take your knives to a professional sharpener.

I have two in varying degrees of grit. The Knifewear brand Black and White Honing Rods keep my knives feeling sharp for way longer than you’d expect. If you were only going to get one, get the higher grit black one, and check out the GIF on the page for a demo of how to do it.

That’s it. All you really need are three (3) knives and a rod to keep them feeling sharp. Old Zac would never lead you wrong. Now, the more into cooking you get, the more specialized equipment you’d need, knives included. Doing a lot of work with whole birds, whole fish or bone-in cuts of meat? Then you might need a dedicated boning knife. Maybe even a cleaver. Carving a lot of roasts? Maybe a slicer would help. We’ll get into those another time. For now, all you need to know is that with these three knives and your honing rod, you can tackle 95% of the kitchen tasks that’ll come your way. If you’re interested in more tools and equipment posts, leave a comment or send an email, and I’ll be happy to oblige. May your knives never dull, and may your slices always be even!