Many of us have at least the vague idea that knives are important. Choosing the right knife set to meet our kitchen needs isn't easy to do. We struggle with fancy claims, giant sets, and a whole lot of questions. Choosing your next knife set doesn't have to be confusing!
The first step to choosing the right knife set for your kitchen is to determine a budget. With care you can get knives for a small budget, but the more you are able to spend the better quality you can find.
The next thing to consider is how many knives you need. It is often tempting to go for the bigger set. While it may seem like a good deal to buy a 23 piece knife set over a 14 piece set for most people this isn't the case. Most people won't even touch half the knives in a set and don't know how to use many of them. Therefore when considering the size of the knife set you need figure out what types of actions you do regularly in the kitchen and consider a set that meets those needs. This could mean you only need three knives!
You will need to consider quality next. Often this part is confusing since all knives claim to be "good" knives with the hopes that you will buy them. However, not all knives are equal. The first thing to look for is the hardness of the knife. This is put on a Rockwell Scale of Hardness or HRC. Your knife should fall into the 55-60 range.
Next you will want to look for a good steel mix. There are a few options that are worth buying out there. SG-2 knives are of great value. VG-10 is a great product that remains sharp longer then many knives. You can also find VG-1 knives which are good knives, but not as good as VG-10. There is also a group of steel types known as 440. Most of them are 440 or 440a which aren't very good knives. However 440b are okay knives and 440c are high quality knives. Finally there are a group of knives marked with X50CrMo15 and other variations. The X stands for the percentage of carbon in the knife. The higher the percentage the better. The letters following the X number are the other elements in the knife and that number is the percentage that those ingredients take up. However, you really only need to worry about the percentage of carbon that the steel has.
After you check the hardness number of your knives and the type of steel mix that it is you need to look at how the knives are made. Knives are made either by forging them into the shape of the knife or stamping them into shape from a sheet of steel. Forged knives are of a higher quality then stamped ones.
High quality knives will make a huge difference in your kitchen. Choosing a knife set that meets your needs and is of high quality is important. That way you can enjoy knives that will last a life time!
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