Within kitchen knives, there is a multitude of shapes, sizes, and models, but what are the most used models in the Western-type? The first thing to differentiate is between a hand knife, or a table knife, the main difference is that the hand knife, its proportions are smaller and are more used by holding the food to be cut with one hand and cutting with the knife held with the other, normally without resting it on a board, for this reason, it is said that the knife is "handheld", since the food is generally cut in the air. This is why we will begin to list among the nine most used knives, the hand knives.
1. Peeling knife or classic peeler.
It is a small knife that is useful for removing the skin of fruits, vegetables. Its leaf is usually 10 centimeters or 4 inches in length, it is also valid for making potato wedges or slicing garlic.
2. Boning knife.
We also consider it a hand knife because its main use is to remove the meat from the bone, generally, of poultry, it can be a partridge, a pigeon, or a chicken, but it is also very practical to peel a large onion. It is a knife with a blade of 15 centimeters or 6 inches, its blade must be narrow but rigid so that we can insert it between the nooks and crannies of the poultry.
3. Ham knife.
Perhaps the last of the hand knives because, although the knife is held by one hand, the ham must be held on a ham holder, with which we also consider it hand-held since the food is not cut on a kitchen board. This knife must be long, narrow, and very flexible, with its tip shaped like a crescent tip to cut the slices of the ham thin and is very long, it is usually recommended with its fluted blade to prevent the ham from sticking to the blade of the knife and your blade should be 30 centimeters or 12 inches in length.
4. Utility knife.
It is a knife that is also 15 centimeters or 6 inches long, but its blade is generally fluted so that food does nonstick, creating air pockets that detach the food. It would be useful to cut vegetables, eat steaks, and laminate small sausages such as salami or longaniza. It really is like a small chef's knife, for small foods cut on a board.
5. Bread knife.
It is a knife with a last generation serrated blade, that is how the serrated edges of these knives are called, from our Simón PRO Forjado or Simón PRO Micarta series, whose serrated edge is fine, it is worth to cut artisan bread without breaking the Crust or crumble the bread and it is recommended for cutting citrus fruits and slicing a tomato, its blade is 18 centimeters or 7 inches and is rigid, already considered a table knife.
6. Chef's knife.
It is the best-seller kitchen knife in the world. Its blade length is 25 centimeters or 10 inches, the knife, in general, must be balanced, the handle and the blade weigh the same so that the cutting pressure on the food is made at the beginning of the blade. Its blade is rigid and 5 centimeters or 2 inches wide, its length allows you to slide the knife comfortably and precisely on the kitchen table and not break the fibers of the fish or meats, as with our Simón PRO Micarta chef's knives. It is also suitable for cutting small bird bones thanks to its solid integral bolster.
7. Carving knife.
The fourth kitchen knife is considered as a table, therefore, the food, such as a chicken, a pullet, or a round of beef, must be held with a carving fork with two spikes on top of a cutting board. Its blade length can be 25 or 30 centimeters, 10 or 12 inches, its blade is not very wide but it is rigid and long, it must be able to be inserted between the carving fork and the food and cut by sliding the knife, good knives they have a fluted blade for carving so that it slides better.
8. Knife cut tomatoes.
It is a small knife, with a blade length of 12 centimeters or 5 inches, it is rigid and its edge is serrated, very comfortable to laminate citrus fruits such as mandarin, lemon, oranges, or limes, it is also valid for cutting small pastries such as muffins. Its blade is narrow and the serrated blade on its edge allows it to cut the citrus peel without wear and tear and with great precision in its cut.
9. Knife chop vegetables.
It is a kitchen knife with a rectangular blade, very thin and sharp, with a large blade width, ideal for chopping vegetables quickly and effectively on a kitchen table. It is very light, with the most proportionate weight in its blade, not in the handle, with a length of 18 centimeters or 7 inches of blade, and a width of 8 centimeters or 3.5 inches. A type of knife widely used in oriental culture.