5 Knives Every Cook Needs In Their Set

(THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH MEANS I WILL BE COMPENSATED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE TO YOU IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE, PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE FOR DETAILS)

Becoming a good cook takes a lot of time and practice. Determination is key, and tools are needed to succeed. Every chef carries these tools for success in their knife roll. I’ve picked up many useful knifes that have helped me become better at what I do, and I am going to share them with you. These are the five knives every chef needs for their set.

A Chef’s knife

When thinking of a chef, the most common depiction is their chef knife. Every chef I have every met has also chosen their chef knife personally. A chef knife is part of you and your mission to the culinary arts.

Companies showcase their knives to have a pristine sharp edge. The sharpness of the blade isn’t always the best thing to look for. Any knife can be sharp, all it takes is a good whetstone and the knowledge to sharpen a knife. Some people I have worked with have chosen a knife simply because of its looks.

Many great chef knives are San Mai with Damascus steel over-coat. Which ones are the best to choose from? 70 layers? 140-layer steel? 300-layer steel?

The number of layers doesn’t matter in terms of how strong the steel is. most Damascus knifes are actually San-Mai. San-Mai, a high carbon steel core at the edge of the knife usually with a jacket of Damascus (folded steel) around it to give it that wavy look. so that number of layers? the number of layers is simply how detailed the Damascus is.

First of Five Knives Every Chef Needs

One blade I do recommend is a TUO Ring 8-inch Chef knife. I have had mine for almost three years now. Maybe you have seen me use this knife in my other posts such as The Midwest Cooks Irish coddle, a St. Patrick’s Day recipe.

TUO Ring premium Japanese AUS-10 high-carbon stainless steel for the core, and 66-layer Damascus steel for a corrosion resistant and durable knife. Someone who is just starting out in the kitchen should try this knife 1. because it is an extremely reliable knife. 2. because it is on the cheaper side of only $69.85 with FREE shipping.

This knife has a Lifetime Guarantee: 100% satisfaction or money back guarantee.

Five Knives Every Chef Needs - TUO Ring 8-inch Chef Knife

The Second of Five Knives Every Chef Needs

The next knife every chef should carry in my opinion is a utility knife. The smaller chef knife comes in use when the 8-inch knife seems like over-kill. I also loan my personal utility knife out to co-workers that I trust, when they don’t have their own. It’s mainly used to chop, slice, and dice.

My utility knife was also my first REAL purchase. I have loved it since. On days that I had forgotten my chef knife at home this knife came in and saved the day. If you want to begin your knife collection but don’t know where to start here is the best one.

Five Knives Every Chef Needs - Wusthof 6-inch utility

The 6-inch utility knife that I use is a Wusthof. Wusthof is a German based company that uses a high carbon steel core and is tempered to 58-degree HRC. Wusthof is a leading knife manufacturing company in the world, they take pride in the quality of knives. when there is good quality also comes expense, you’ll be spending almost the same amount on this knife vs. the chef knife previously discussed.

The Third of Five Knives Every Chef Needs

Then we come to the third knife. My third knife I ever owned was a paring knife. The paring knife is almost like the pocketknife of every chef. I purchased the Shun Classic Limited-Edition Paring knife. being only 4 inches long, this knife has come in handy many times. Obviously don’t use it to cut up a box or anything that would hurt the edge.

When dealing with complex designs in culinary arts this knife has proven to be sharper than a razor blade. The link I provided lists the knife for $49.95 but when I originally purchased it, I bought it for about $100.

Five Knives Every Chef Needs - 4-inch Shun Classic

Shun is currently rated #1 knife brand in the world. The company itself provides a lifetime warranty, if you so happen to destroy the VG-MAX steel get a hold of the company and they will send you a brand new one!

The handle made of PakkaWood so, not only is it beautiful it is also crafted to be comfortable in the grip of the hand for all day use!

All of Shun’s Knives are AMAZING, to have a complete set I would be the happiest man on earth! They get extremely expensive, but the price is a steal for the durability and reliability definitely check out the other options of Shun’s maybe you can find a better deal on a set, if you do PLEASE let me know!

The Fourth of Five knives Every Chef Needs

The fourth knife I believe every chef needs is a Carving knife. The Carving knife also referred to as a slicer. The purpose of this knife is to cut large loins of meat with precision. You could also use a butchers knife with a bull head to clean these large loins and slice into a preferred size, but I recommend an actual carving knife. You may see chef’s with this sword like knife also carving your Friday night Prime Rib.

The Carving knife I bought for myself is a Hammer Stahl, also a German Based company like Wusthof, Hammer Stahl is similar in quality making it more on the expensive side. I am fortunate enough to have had the chance to purchase the 18-inch slicer, Amazon does not carry this over-sized knife, but they do carry the smaller 10-inch, and 14-inch that I recommend over a giant 18-inch.

Although if you prefer having the biggest knife in the kitchen here is a link to Hammer Stahl’s website where you can more than likely purchase the 18-inch: https://www.heritagesteel.us/

Last But Not least The Fifth Knife Every Chef Needs

A great companion of any Chef is their filet knife. The filet knife needs to be the sharpest knife a chef has. The reason why this knife needs to be sharp is it is used to clean tenderloins of silver-skin and fat, the sharper the knife the more likely you won’t spend an eternity cleaning a single loin. You could use your chef knife; I’ve watched prep cooks clean with their chef knife. I believe it is a simpler task to just use your boning or filet knife. A boning knife is the same thing as a filet knife, the filet knife is just a little longer and generally used to “filet” a fish. I refer to either type as just a filet knife, it saves time.

One GREAT company that makes boning knifes is Victorinox. Victorinox is a Swiss manufacturing company that makes cheap, and AMAZING quality knifes. Victorinox also has a lifetime warranty making your $20 investment worthwhile for a lifetime! If you don’t purchase any other knife at least consider this 6-inch boning knife from Victorinox.

Bonus Item!

Assuming you are still reading I have one more (BONUS) Item I am excited to share with you! Here is a Noble Chef Bag, for when you need more room than a simple knife roll allows. This backpack has 21 slots, a slot for your Steel, and even a slot for you cleaver if you have one! The reason I purchased mine was because it is the only backpack, I could find that would hold my 18-inch slicer! another great thing about this bag is it has a separate compartment for a tablet or small laptop!

The Noble Chef Bag is padded for comfortable carrying, also it is equipped with a lock to protect your equipment inside! If you find yourself needing a bigger knife roll, try this!

Conclusion

And there you have it, five knives EVERY chef needs to be successful and even a bonus item! Even if you aren’t a chef, I recommend even home cooks find some great knife blocks to showcase at home. I use knives every single day and I only utilize the best quality ones.

If you have any brands you feel need recognition or maybe I should check out, please comment and share!