How to choose various types of knives for the kitchen?

There are many types of kitchen knife brands on the market; everyone says that their knives are good. Of course, it is human nature for Wang Po to sell melons and brag about themselves, but consumers are often at a loss when choosing. So, how can you choose a kitchen knife (set) that suits you?

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Classification of knives:

(Mainly aimed at daily household consumers) Household kitchen knives are divided into slicing knives, bone chopping knives, chopping knives, fruit knives, etc. according to their functions. Others include frozen meat knives, bread knives, and multi-purpose knives. class. According to the processing technology, it is classified into stamping forming, red hot forging, etc.; according to the material, it is divided into carbon steel, stainless steel, ceramic (zirconia), etc. Nowadays, many brands of knives come in sets. Generally, the set of knives also includes a sharpening rod and a knife holder.

① Slicing knife: used for slicing food, but it is not suitable for cutting unthawed frozen meat.

②Bone chopping knife: Used to chop hard foods such as bones.

③Chopping knife: It can chop and cut, but it is not as sharp and easy to use as a special slicing knife when slicing (materials and processes

are the same), and it is not suitable for chopping large pieces. bone. It’s good for mincing meat fillings.

④Fruit knife: Used to peel the skin of vegetables and fruits.

When choosing a knife, pay attention to the following points:

1. The blade should be sharp

The blade should be sharp, straight, and without chips. First of all, from the user's perspective, the first requirement for a kitchen knife must be sharpness (fast), and preferably long-lasting sharpness. So let’s take a look at what attributes determine the sharpness of a kitchen knife?

1. Material

Usually steel, stainless steel, carbon steel (such as cannon steel), Or ceramic (zirconia) Damascus and so on. Different materials determine the different hardness of the finished knife. So can it be understood that the higher the hardness, the higher the sharpness? It should be said that it is not completely correct, because the "fastness" of a kitchen knife also depends on the degree and softness of the cutting edge, etc. . For example, ceramic knives usually have higher hardness than stainless steel knives, but during use, users often find that they are not as fast as stainless steel knives. This is because due to material limitations, the edge of the ceramic knife cannot be too small, otherwise it will be brittle directly. Of course, ceramic knives also have the advantage of not corroding. Hardness: 3cr13lt; 4Cr13lt; 5Cr15lt; 8Cr15lt; 9Cr15≈carbon steellt; Damascuslt; ceramic (zirconia)

2. The cutting method is divided into machine cutting and manual cutting

So in terms of sharpness alone, a kitchen knife with higher hardness of steel, smaller edge angle, and softer edge curvature instead of linear drop will be "faster" and better to use, especially for slicing. knife. Therefore, a slicing knife made of the same material and craftsmanship is definitely sharper than a bone chopping knife. This is determined by the degree of the edge.

2. Comfortable to use. The handle design should be user-friendly and comfortable to hold.

The main materials for the handle include wood, engineering plastics, steel handles, etc., each with its own advantages. Generally speaking, stamped kitchen knife handles are better and more refined; knives with traditional forging techniques mostly use wooden handles (mostly round handles). Now some traditional knife manufacturers have begun to sell kitchen knives with other handles.

3. Safe to use. The handle of the knife should have an anti-slip design so that it will not fall off and injure the user. Needless to say, this is the minimum requirement. In addition, let’s talk about the difference between stamping and red hot forging:

Stamping: Simply put, it uses a whole large steel plate (for example, a thickness of 2 mm ), a complete knife blank is directly punched out through the punch grinding tool, and then the subsequent processes such as edge cutting, surface treatment, heat treatment, and handle mounting are performed to make the finished kitchen knife. The advantages of this process are high efficiency and cost advantage, high degree of mechanization, better surface treatment, high degree of standardization, and more perfect details. At present, the mainstream knives in supermarkets and other markets basically use this process (represented by Yangjiang, Guangdong, Shibazi, Qiaoxiu, etc.)

Traditional forging: The biggest difference from the stamping forming process is the blade forming stage.

Forging is to burn the steel embryo (usually in block form) to a red-hot state, and then repeatedly hammer it (now more often with a machine hammer) to shape a preliminary knife embryo, and then manually sharpen (frustrate), surface treatment, heat treatment, etc. , finished kitchen knives are usually thick at the back, thin at the mouth, and wedge-shaped in cross section. Compared with stamped kitchen knives, forged kitchen knives have denser steel, more even stress distribution on the blade, and better edge retention. The disadvantages are that it is difficult to increase output and the cost is high, and the process details are relatively poor.

Q: What attributes determine the sharpness of a kitchen knife?

Answer: 1. Material

Usually steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, etc. (such as cannonball steel), or ceramic (zirconia) Damascus, etc. Different materials determine the different hardness of the finished knife. So can it be understood that the higher the hardness, the higher the sharpness? It should be said that it is not completely correct, because the "fastness" of a kitchen knife also depends on the degree and softness of the cutting edge, etc. . For example, ceramic knives usually have higher hardness than stainless steel knives, but during use, users often find that they are not as fast as stainless steel knives. This is because due to material limitations, the edge of the ceramic knife cannot be too small, otherwise it will be brittle directly. Of course, ceramic knives also have the advantage of not corroding.

Hardness: 3cr13lt; 4Cr13lt; 5Cr15lt; 8Cr15lt; 9Cr15≈carbon steellt; Damascuslt; ceramic (zirconia)

2. How to sharpen the edge

It is divided into machine sharpening and manual sharpening. So in terms of sharpness, a kitchen knife with a higher hardness of steel, a smaller edge degree, and a softer curvature of the edge instead of a linear drop will be "faster" , better to use, especially the slicing knife. Therefore, a slicing knife made of the same material and craftsmanship is definitely sharper than a bone chopping knife. The hand-edged slicing knives are relatively sharper and easier to sharpen, which is determined by the craftsmanship, edge curvature, etc. The edge of a machine-edged knife is relatively shallow and requires more effort to sharpen after use, while a hand-edged kitchen knife has a softer edge.

Question: What kind of kitchen knife is called a forged kitchen knife?

Answer: The so-called forged kitchen knife simply means that the knife blank is heated red and then forged repeatedly, hand-shaped, and hand-edged. Kitchen knives made by a series of craft methods, the typical representative is the traditional craft practice in Longshui area of ??Dazu County, Chongqing, known as the hardware capital of the west. Correspondingly, the cold-rolled stamping kitchen knives are represented by Yangjiang area in Guangdong. Process practices.

Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of forged kitchen knives compared with ordinary cold-rolled kitchen knives?

Answer: The difference between the two lies in whether the knife embryo has been subjected to a high-temperature red-hot state The repeated forging process. Compared with cold-rolled kitchen knives, the steel of forged kitchen knives is denser and the stress on the blade is more evenly distributed. It is durable and less likely to crack. As the saying goes, "good steel is made through repeated hammering!". The disadvantages are that it is difficult to increase the output and the cost is high, and the hand-shaped molding is not as beautiful as the cold-rolled knife. (Deng's kitchenware has transformed traditional technology and has solved this problem better.)

Q: How do ordinary consumers distinguish between them?

Answer: Generally speaking, forged kitchen knives The back of the knife is relatively thick, and the section from the back to the blade is relatively less regular in a diagonal shape. The cutting edge is also not so straight, and the arc is softer.

Currently there is a rare 9 chromium 15 molybdenum vanadium high-grade stainless steel material on the market, while most kitchen knives on the market use 3 chromium and 4 chromium stainless steel materials (our store also has them, and the price is much cheaper). The price per ton of 9 chromium stainless steel is 2-3 times that of ordinary 3 chromium stainless steel.

Secondly, the forging technology used in this kitchen knife perfectly solves the problem of 9 chromium stainless steel maintaining high hardness while maintaining excellent toughness and durability. Moreover, this technology of Dengjia Knife has obtained a national patent. This It is difficult to achieve by stamping molding method.

Thirdly, although the overall value of the kitchen knife is not high, it is a durable product. This kitchen knife can be used for more than 10 years if it is well maintained, and the average cost is very low.

Q: What are the differences between slicing knives, boning knives, and chopping knives?

Answer: Kitchen knives are divided into slicing knives, boning knives, and chopping knives according to their uses. Use different types such as knives and fruit knives.

Normally, the cutting edge of a slicing knife is around 15°, which is thin and easy to slice; the cutting edge of a bone chopping knife is above 25°, has a thick edge and is heavy enough to facilitate chopping; the cutting edge of a dual-purpose knife is between 15° and 25°. °, you can chop some not too big bones such as chicken, duck, fish, etc., but it is a little more difficult to slice and process the large bones of pig legs.

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