When you finally decide to take the plunge and by a set of quality kitchen knives there are a few things you should be aware of. This article will help you to make the best choice.

There are several different types of kitchen knife available and each of them has a specific use. You do not need to get every type however and a good quality kitchen knife will easily cope with most things you will do in the kitchen. You can make things a little easier on yourself though if you look at buying perhaps 3 different kinds of knife, or different sized blades as cutting bread is entirely different to cutting fresh meat.

All knives are made using 1 of 3 basic materials; metal, ceramic and plastic.

Plasic knives can do a fairly good job in the kitchen but are particularly well suited to soft fruits and some of the softer vegetables. You can however put them in the dishwasher. As they arent overly sharp, you should try and get either metal or ceramic knives instead.

A good stainless steel kitchen knife is a lot stronger and will therefore last a lot longer too. One thing to look out for are knives that are too rigid – this is a sign that cheap steal has been used which are more prone to rust quickly. You can also look on the packaging to see if the knife is made of forged steel or not.
Ceramic knives are usually more expensive – but they are also the sharpest ones you can get. The price difference can vary greatly, but if you imagine a scale of 0-10 where warm butter is rated 0 and diamond is 10, then a ceramic kitchen knife would be rated around 8 or 9.

If you do end up buying some quality kitchen knives then you should also look after them. Avoid the dishwasher where possible as this can rust them and even the top shelf can take a layer off each wash. If you must put them in the dishwasher then you will probably need to sharpen them at least once a month. If you were to wash and dry them by hand each time, they would only need sharpening every 6 months or so.