A slicer knife (often called a carving or brisket knife) is designed with a long, narrow, and often flexible blade. Its primary use is making clean, uniform, paper-thin slices of cooked meats, though it is highly versatile for various other kitchen tasks.
Larger chef's knives are used for cutting meat, dicing vegetables, disjointing some cuts, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. Carving knives are used for slicing and carving dense meats. Slicing knives are used for cutting thinner slices of roast, fruit and vegetables.
Chefs love their knives, as they should. Mandolines, however, do present significant benefits for busy prep work. For starters, they guarantee uniform slice thickness across large quantities of food, saving time and ensuring consistent cooking throughout a dish.
China eats the most vegetables in the world by a massive margin. Its citizens consume an average of about 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of vegetables per day, totaling nearly 400 kg per person annually. The country accounts for roughly 46% of total global vegetable consumption.
Three foundational knives handle 90% of culinary tasks: a Chef's Knife, a Paring Knife, and a Serrated Bread Knife. Together, this trio covers everything from heavy chopping to delicate peeling.
Our longtime favorite is the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8” Chef's Knife. It's lightweight and has a superkeen blade; testers of all hand sizes loved its grippy (but not restrictive) handle. If you'd like a slightly heavier option, we also like the Mercer Culinary Renaissance 8-Inch Forged Chef's Knife.
Cutting boards made of glass, granite, ceramic, or your dinner plate may look stylish or convenient, but they are the fastest way to destroy a knife's edge. These surfaces are harder than your knife's steel. So every time your blade contacts them, it suffers microscopic edge deformation, chipping, or even rolling.
In the high-end folding knife community, the original "Holy Trinity" refers to three legendary American makers who pioneered the modern premium tactical folder. Together, their designs set the gold standard for durability and precision.
Yet despite all the talk about knives that goes on in both home and professional kitchens — and despite all the knives out there that are truly great to have — there are just three knives every kitchen ultimately needs: a chef's knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife.
Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964) is an American celebrity chef, food writer, restaurateur, and television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's Burgers, and Amalfi.
Anthony Bourdain’s ultimate everyday recommendation was the Global G-2 8-inch Chef’s Knife. First highlighted in his 2000 memoir Kitchen Confidential, he loved it for its lightweight feel, balanced sand-filled handle, and razor-sharp edge. For professional work, he also favored Japanese Togiharu knives.
The best carving knife is the Wusthof Classic Carving Knife, featuring a super-sharp blade with a pointed tip that deftly navigates around bones and cartilage. The best slicing knife is the Victorinox Fibrox Pro, which is sharp enough to get razor-thin slices from even the most tender cuts of meat.
The 8 go-to kitchen knives that handle most common cooking tasks are chef's knives for all-purpose chopping and slicing, paring knives for peeling and precision cuts, utility knives for slicing fruits and baked goods, tomato knives for cleanly cutting tomatoes, boning knives for removing meat off bones, bread knives ...
Navy SEALs do not have a single standard-issue knife, but rather carry a mix of specific duty blades, hard-use survival tools, and custom-chosen personal knives.
In many cultures, giving someone a knife or another sharp object is thought to symbolically cut or sever the bond between giver and receiver. The knife's sharp edge represents division, which can be interpreted as bringing misfortune to a friendship, romantic relationship, or family tie.
John Wick famously wields a signature series of high-end, out-the-front (OTF) automatic knives in his movies. The specific knives vary depending on the film, transitioning from production models by Microtech Knives in the first three movies to a highly exclusive custom blade in the fourth.
Rule #1: It is important to use a knife adapted to what you want to do / food you want to prepare. For example, you shouldn't use a bread knife to slice a roast or use the blade of a paring knife and use it as a screwdriver (don't laugh, we've all done it!) Rule #2: Don't drop your knife on the floor.
A "Texas toothpick" can refer to two entirely different things: a classic, slender pocket knife or a popular Tex-Mex appetizer.
The "best" American knife company depends on your intended use. For everyday carry (EDC), Benchmade, Spyderco, and Chris Reeve Knives are top-tier. For outdoor survival and heritage, Buck Knives is iconic, while Zero Tolerance leads in heavy-duty tactical folders.
Cutco knives are made using stamped steel which means they're cheaper to produce. Although there's nothing wrong with stamped knives, they don't always hold their edge as long as forged knives. That means that you'll have to sharpen stamped knives sooner than forged knives.
Imperial pocket knife from the Duke's collection
John Wayne's personally-owned and -used vintage circa 1973 Imperial 'Diamond Edge' (858 DE) two-blade pocket knife, measuring 4″ closed and 7″ open.