3 Things to keep in mind before choosing the best Chef Knife

Different dishes need different preparations and spices but one thing remains common in various dishes is the ‘chopping’. You may be chopping veggies in different shapes or sizes but to ensure chopping is not a challenging job, you need to choose the best chef knife. And if you’re new to the world of cooking you should know one thing that a chef knife is what you will end up using the most! This is the reason why you should try and buy the best chef knife that’s in your budget and please avoid buying the cheaper options.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind before choosing the best chef knife

1.      Material

What makes the knife perform the way they do is the material they’re made of. There are two main knives which you need to understand the difference between.

a.      German Steel

b.      Japanese Steel

German knives have a thicker blade when compared to Japanese knives. This quality about German knives makes them way sturdier than Japanese knives.

2.      Handle

Knives are not a child’s play and are indeed very risky due to the sharpness they have; hence it is necessary for a chef knife to have a very good grip. And the best knife comes with ergonomically correct and slip-resistant grips for the user’s utmost safety. Also, remember the size of the knife and how it fits in your hand matters, probably even more than the grip. Because no matter how great the grip is, if the knife is too big for your hands, the grip won’t help you.

3.      Weight

Last but not the least, the weight of a knife matters. While this is debatable and some people say, hefty knives work better and the others say how lighter knives are easier to handle. You should choose what suits you. What feels slight for you, choose that.

If you dig deeper, you will find many points to remember while choosing the best chefs knife, but these are the three most important characteristics.

How to choose the right Chef’s Knife?

Picking the correct chef’s knife is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make when shopping for your home kitchen. A chef’s knife is going to be your number one tool, as you will be using it constantly, for just about everything you cook. So, the first and foremost, our suggestion is, don’t get tempted but cheap options.

Keep reading if you want to know what to consider while buying a chef’s knife.

1.      The Material

The most important thing you need to keep in mind is the steel you want in your knife. There are two different knives that you need to understand. German Steel & Japanese Steel, German Knives traditionally have a thicker blade compared to Japanese knives. Which makes them sturdier.

2.      The Handle

Knives are sharp and thus have to have a good grip which is not just ergonomically correct but also slip-resistant, this is why you must pay extra attention to the handle of the knife. The size and fit of the handle should be comfortable for your hand. If you have hands which are smaller, then try to look for a knife with thinner handle, while if your hands are larger in size, you should opt for a knife with a wider handle. Always, pay attention to this, as for instance, if you had large hands and you were using a smaller knife, it will cause your palm to have pressure points and tense the grip thus, hampering your movement.

3.      The weight

Finally, the third aspect you need to consider while buying a chef’s knife is the weight of your knife, but by this please don’t confuse weighting with weight. A good knife has weight distributed in the entire knife and is not feather weight.  The good knives have a balance point, right where the blade is connected to the handle. This is especially more important for the longer knives.

These are just three points to remember while buying chef’s knife but these will take your kitchen skills a long way, as a good knife will lead to excellent chopping and the textures in your food will be extremely uniform too.