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Italian Steak & Kitchen Knives

Italian hand-forged steak and kitchen knives


You have set your mind to becoming a serious home cook, or you just wish to have the right equipment in your kitchen: a set of quality kitchen knives is what you need for a good start.

 

Your first question will be… what is exactly a quality kitchen knife?

 

Handmade Italian knivesA good knife is one that you will regard as an extension of your hand, a loyal friend, and a trusted helper that will follow your progress in the kitchen for many years.
It will be made of good quality steel and handle to last for a lifetime, it will be well balanced and well designed so as not to tire your wrist, and it will be very sharp and stay sharp for a long time.

 

Knifemaking is an art. Look at knives from well-known and well-regarded brands so that you can be sure that these basic requirements are met. On thatsArte.com, you'll find only high-end Italian kitchen knives and steak knives handcrafted by skilled artisans who have been creating cutting tools for centuries.

Once you are sure about the knife maker, it'll be a matter of selecting the right kitchen knives for your cooking needs. Read below for some helpful tips and you'll see that it is not too hard to make the right choice!

Types of kitchen knivesTop

You can find a special knife for any cutting need, but the truth is that you do not need many knives in your kitchen. Our recommendation is to start with the essential kitchen knives and go on adding to your collection knives that cater to specific cutting needs.

 

ESSENTIAL KITCHEN KNIVES

Essential kitchen knives

Bread knife
Simply no other tool does the job of a bread knife. Its long, serrated blade is designed to slice perfectly through the softest brioche or the crunchiest country loaf without smashing them. It's just as great to slice super-ripe tomatoes without squeezing them.
We suggest dropping a pretty penny on a good bread knife: it will be a life companion as a serrated blade maintains a sharp edge for many years.

 

Chef's knife
It's a sturdy knife with a broad blade that curves upward to allow it to rock for fine mincing and a thick blade spine for extra weight and strength.
You and this knife will do most of the kitchen work together. You'll use your chef's knife for most of your chopping, cutting, slicing, mincing, and dicing chores. It is a practical, versatile knife, commonly sized 14-15 inches. Most professionals call their chef's knives their babies every once in a while, and they recommend learning to master the regular size before using a smaller Chef's knife.

 

Paring knife
Ideal for small, intricate work like peeling, coring, and larding, a paring knife is a lightweight cutting tool with a thin blade that usually tapers to a point. You may want to keep more than one, with similar or different blades, because they come in so handy!

 

VERY USEFUL KITCHEN KNIVES

Very useful Kitchen Knives

Slicing knife and Carving knife
The differences between a slicing knife and a carving knife are really minimal. Unless you are an experienced carver, you may want to own only one of them.
Both have slim, long blades with a fine cutting edge and a pointed tip designed to aid in cutting meat away from the bone. The slicing and carving knives are used to cut clean, even slices of cooked or smoked meat, poultry, and fish. The exception? The roast beef and the Italian prosciutto need a round tip.
Their intimate friend is the carving fork used to anchor the meat while carving. In fact, a slicing/carving knife often comes with a carving fork.

 

Tomato knife and Citrus knife
A tomato knife is a useful tool whether or not you love tomatoes. It is a medium-sized, handy, and versatile knife with a serrated edge for cutting easily through any fruit or vegetable with thick skin and soft flesh. Ideal for sausages and cheese as well.
The difference with the citrus knife? It is only in the forked tip useful for picking up slices of food.

 

Roast beef and Prosciutto knife
A knife you'll see in every Italian home and restaurant, the ham slicer has a long, thin blade with a round tip designed so that the meat will cut smoothly and not be torn as it is being sliced. No other knife can be used to cut thin, even slices of prosciutto, but if you do not have an Italian ham handy, you'll find out that this knife is equally invaluable with roast beef, roast pork, smoked salmon, and fish for sashimi.

 

USEFUL KITCHEN KNIVES

Useful Kitchen Knives

Utility knife
A mid-sized tool used for miscellaneous light cutting, the utility knife cuts food items that are too large for a paring knife but too small for a chef's knife, such as fruit and vegetables like cantaloupe, onions, and cucumbers. It usually has straight blades with plain edges and is sometimes referred to as a "sandwich knife".

Boning knife
A boning knife is definitely a tool for professional home cooks. Several design features, such as a slim, characteristically curved blade with a straight cutting edge, help with boning meat, fish, and poultry.

Flexi fish filet knife
A fish filet knife is typically flexible for easily separating the skin and bones from the fish. Its pointed tip is used to cut in around the fish bones.

 

Kitchen knife edgesTop

Handmade Italian knife - smooth edge

Straight or smooth edge
Most kitchen knives must have a straight edge to produce smooth, clean cuts on hard and soft food. A straight edge knife will lose some of its sharpness with time. If you have purchased a good one, it will be easily sharpened with sharpening steel.

 

Handmade Italian knife - serrated edge

Serrated or scalloped edge
A serrated edge is used with anything that has tough skin or crust and a soft inside, as it penetrates easily without tearing. Typically a long scalloped blade is needed for bread and cakes and a shorter serrated edge for tomatoes, citrus, sausages, cheese, and some shellfish. A good serrated blade will maintain a sharp edge for many years.

 

Table and Kitchen knife bladesTop

Blades are either forged or stamped
The belief that forged blades are inherently better than stamped blades is still widely held but not necessarily true due to updated manufacturing processes. Today forging and stamping are two different manufacturing processes leading to different knives.

 

Forged knife blades
A forged knife is a true example of blacksmith art. Only a very skilled and well-trained artisan can handle the forging process, which consists of heating a single steel bar and pounding it with a hammer into a knife blade. This process is repeated several times to temper the steel and enhance its strength and flexibility. When the craftsman has achieved the desired specifications, the blade is ground and sharpened.
Forged blades are usually thick and pretty heavy, with a bolster to separate them from the handle. The bolster is intended to balance the blade and serve as a finger guard.

 

Stamped knife blades
In a stamped knife, the blade is cut out from a large sheet of steel into the shape of a knife and then heat-treated twice to align the steel structure. The treatments with very high temperatures deliver hard and light blades that can be sharpened with great precision. They will hold their edge for a long time, but you may have a hard time sharpening them at home.

 

Should I buy a forged knife or a stamped knife?
Forged knives and stamped knives have different characteristics. It's important you learn about them before making your decision, but you may want to keep in mind at least one thing: if the quality of the steel and the handles is good and the brand is well-regarded, you don't have to worry about the blades being forged or stamped. You want to purchase the knives that are just good for your needs as they'll be with you for a long, long time!

 

Weight
Forged knives have a weightier feel as they are usually thicker and typically heavier by several ounces than stamped knives. They usually have a bolster, a thick divider between the handle and the knife blade, which provides a counter-balance to the weight of the blade and improves control.
The stamped blades are thinner and lighter but not less performing.

 

Balance & ergonomics
If the knife's weight is correctly distributed between the handle and the blade, you can work without tiring your wrist for many hours. Experienced knife makers know this principle very well and create their knives to score well on balance and ergonomics or how their handle fits the natural shape of the hand for a comfortable and easy cutting.

 

Sharpening
Forged blades tend to be softer than stamped blades because of the lack of high heat treatment, which means that they will not be quite as sharp as comparable stamped blades, but the benefits to this are that they are easier to sharpen at home.
Stamped blades can be made into super sharp knives and will keep their edge for a longer time. The drawback is that you may have difficulty sharpening a stamped blade at home.

 

Pricing
Forged knives require the talents of a blacksmith to become perfect cutting tools. In addition, they are time and labor-intensive, so they are more expensive than stamped knives.
As they require a higher degree of craftsmanship, they are often "worshipped" by professionals and experienced home cooks.

 

Parts of a knifeTop

The parts of a knife: tip, edge, heel, bolster, rivet, handle

The words you may want to be familiar with before purchasing a knife are the following:

 

Tang
Forged knives and high-end stamped knives always have a full or partial tang, which is the section of the steel blade that is covered by the handle. The tang is a must in quality knives as it provides strength, helps balance the knife, and makes it much more durable and easier to use.

A full tang extends all the way to the end of the handle. Sometimes it is well visible, and the handle consists of two slabs, often termed scales, which are attached by rivets to the sides of the tang.
A partial tang stops halfway into the handle and is usually not visible. It is often used for a better knife balance when the handle is made of heavy material.

 

Bolster
A bolster is the thick knob of steel at the junction between the handle and the visible section of the blade. It's always there in forged knives, which are heavier than stamped knives, as it contributes substantially to their balance and improves their control. However, you can sometimes find it also in stamped knives, where it is used as a finger guard.

 

Rivet
Rivets are cylindrical metal studs that securely attach the handle to the blade.

 

Table and Kitchen knife materialsTop

The materials a knife is made of and the way they are processed determine its quality.

 

Blade materials
Don't go for just any stainless steel. Its most important characteristics - corrosion, resistance, and hardness - are strongly impacted by the chemical composition of the raw material and the heat treatment it receives.
The best knives are made of high carbon stainless steel, as it offers enhanced durability, better rust and stain resistance, and holds its sharpness much longer than standard stainless steel.

 

Handle materials
It's easy to fall for natural handles. Ox horns, boxwood, buffalo horns, olive wood, ebony… they are fine natural materials with a wonderful touch and feel and luxurious treats for any home cook.
They are pretty expensive and do not age as well as synthetic handles. Needless to say, they won't survive the dishwasher!
Over the last few decades, synthetic handles have replaced natural ones and improved their aesthetics and performance. In addition, high-quality synthetic handles have some benefits: they have good resistance to impact and shock, their pore-free surface is very hygienic, and they are dishwasher safe, although we are not huge fans of knives going in the dishwasher (read our Use and Care ).