How Many Kitchen Knives Do You Have?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by DrRipley • Sep 11, 2014.

  1. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2012
    Threads:
    740
    Messages:
    4,313
    Likes Received:
    315
    I have about 7 kitchen knives at the moment but I only ever use 2 of them frequently. Among them are one big knife used for heavy duty slicing and one medium sized one with a serrated edge then 5 more paring knives which I use for small tasks like slicing and spreading butter. I only use the medium sized knife and paring knife most of the time though because I don't really cook big meals that require slicing big cuts of meat.

    Do you guys own lots of kitchen knives? Do you get to use all or most of them? What would you take into consideration when buying your next set?
     
  2. pennylane

    pennylaneActive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2014
    Threads:
    30
    Messages:
    456
    Likes Received:
    3
    I have a set and they're getting pretty old and worn down. I will be in the market for some new ones soon. I want a set with a lifetime warranty...I also look for quality materials. Having a good knife can help prevent kitchen accidents. Dull knives are hard to deal with and make me irritated!
     
  3. ExpertAdvice

    ExpertAdviceActive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2014
    Threads:
    181
    Messages:
    635
    Likes Received:
    46
    I am now married and so instead of living with my parents and siblings which meant that we, (as a collective family) or I (as an individual of the family home), would have well over 20 Kitchen knives at our disposal,being a family of six. My wife and I now have exactly 10 knives, and this is because of gifts we got by virtue of being newly weds. We now have a large five piece set of knives that we use for cooking,which includes; cutting up of chicken parts, cutting up of vegetables and cutting of fruits. We also have dinner knives, which are not as big as the knives we use for cooking, we have 5 dinner knives. We always keep our knives very sharp so as to enable them to work more efficiently, as we have learned that dull knives do not offer very good service and are sometimes the cause of the accidents that take place in the Kitchen.
     
  4. JessiFox

    JessiFoxActive Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2012
    Threads:
    26
    Messages:
    939
    Likes Received:
    24
    I have one set, with 7 knives total, 5 of which I use regularly. My husband spends more time in the kitchen than I do lately, honestly, and he's in the market for a new set. He wants a better one for working more with meats and butchering, and that's definitely his thing more than mine, so I'll leave that up to him. Any suggestions on good sets? Decent prices?
     
  5. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2014
    Threads:
    164
    Messages:
    1,811
    Likes Received:
    139
    I don't even know how many kitchen knives I have. I think there are about five in my drawer. I only ever use a small, very sharp one, and a medium sized one for slicing vegetables with a thick skin, such as pumpkins. I keep the others as spares, as often the handles break unexpectedly, and I like to have a back-up within reach.
     
  6. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2012
    Threads:
    154
    Messages:
    2,561
    Likes Received:
    233
    I have one of those traditional big huge knife sets, and similarly I seldom use most of them. I've been thinking about getting rid of the set and starting new with only the knives I specifically use, and get one of those newer knife holders that can adapt any blade size.

    The one I use the most would be my Santoku blade knifes, these are the ones that are like a butcher knife, but the blade side of the knife is flat and the top of the knife is curved instead. Also they are more rectangular instead of being tapered at the end like a butcher knife. I find the wide but thin blade works best in most cutting applications, such as onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. The big benefit is the wide blade helps keep your knife stable when cutting through something instead of curving and wobbling like a steak knife or a pairing knife would.

    The next one I use frequently would be my serrated blade - which I use primarily for cutting breads cleanly, but also sometimes on overly ripe veggies to keep them from simply getting squashed by a regular blade.

    The other two would be my de-boning knife and my meat cleaver. I like to break down my own fresh chicken as much as possible, since I will save the skin and bones for stock, plus the skin on bone in stuff is usually a little less expensive too. I use my de-boning knife for most of this, but I pull out my meat cleaver to cut through the bones themselves, such as when I'm preparing buffalo wings and need to separate the wing tips from the drumettes.