Criteria

Only two knives are essential: a chef’s knife and a serrated knife.

Paring knives are useless to the average person, so please do not waste money on this.

Bread knives, or serrated knives, are cheap and higher investment does not yield much better results, so get a Mercer, and take the money you saved from this and not getting a paring knife and invest in a good chef’s knife.

So what makes a good chef’s knife? We can start with things to avoid:

Never, ever, ever buy a knife with a full-bolster (a bolster that reaches the heel of the blade). Look up chef knife anatomy diagrams if this does not make sense. A really good example of this is The Original Classic by Wüsthof. A full-bolster inhibits proper sharpening of the blade and, unless you are capable of removing portions of the bolster each time you sharpen the blade, will eventually result in the blade being warped and unusable.

Avoid plastic on knives. This is a general sign of lower quality.

Generally, these can be some starting points for someone newer to knives:

• Look for knives made with VG-10 or AUS-8 steels.
• Stick to lengths of 210 mm, 240 mm, or 270 mm. If you’re unsure, go with 240.
• Good starter brands would be MAC, Tojiro, Global, Shun, and Misono.
• Stick to the styles of “chef’s knife”, “gyuto”, or “wa-gyuto”. Avoid santoku, bunka, nakiri, etc.

Sharpening + Care

Take care of your knife and it will last you decades at the very least. If you invest in a knife, invest in a sharpening stone. Think of it as similar to needing to clean if you cook. Get a 1000/6000 whetstone and watch a video on how to use it—it is more accessible than you may think.

Never, ever, ever buy a “knife sharpener.” These will damage your knife drastically over time due to an abrasive method of sharpening, creating heat damage to the blade, and an overall lack of control in the sharpening process.

Avoid a steel. A steel or honing bar will act as a quick fix to a slightly dulled blade in a pinch, such as the middle of working the line during service in a professional kitchen. You’re at home, so stick to the stone.

Never, ever, ever put a knife in the dishwasher or leave it in the sink.

Generally treat your knife like a newborn kitten—be gentle and careful at all times: cleaning, storage, use, etc.

Other Knives

Once you’ve become accustomed to a chef’s knife and want to branch out, I recommend trying a Chinese cleaver. These are amazing to chop and prep vegetables with!