Whether your forte is feasts or finger foods, your kitchen should be equipped with at least four types of knives:
• The chef's knife, usually 8 inches long, is the workhorse of the kitchen. It is used for chopping, slicing and dicing a variety of foods.
• A slicer is generally longer and thinner than a chef's knife, and is mainly used to cut cooked meat.
• A utility knife is often interchangeable with a chef's knife for cutting and slicing fruits and vegetables; the smaller size — 4 to 6 inches — can make it more convenient.
• A parer, usually 3 to 4 inches long, is for peeling and coring.
A fifth type of blade, the santoku, is gaining popularity through its use by such celebrity TV chefs as Rachael Ray and Ming Tsai. The santoku is a cross between a chef's knife and a cleaver. Its cutting edge is straighter than a chef's knife, however, so there's less opportunity to "rock" the blade for fine slicing. It's lighter and less bulky than a cleaver, though not suitable for chopping through bone.
Most of the kitchen-knives sets rated by CR come with at least the four basic blades. Those that don't usually allow you to purchase the missing item(s) from open stock. A santoku is available with many of the sets, usually as a separate purchase.
The highest-scoring sets in the ratings consist of forged knives. Created when a single piece of molten steel is cut and beaten into the desired shape, forged knives tend to cost more than stamped knives, which are formed by a cookie-cutter type machine. Because forged blades are generally less flexible than stamped, they are less apt to bend over time.
CR's test results reflect CR staffers' cutting evaluations, and judgments of handle comfort and balance for each of the four basic knives and a matching santoku, when available. Most of the sets tested also include a honing steel, kitchen shears, and a knife block.
Two forged sets, the Henckels Professional "S" ($260) and the Wusthof Trident Classic 8418 ($300) stood out. Each includes the four basic blades and has an available santoku. The Henckels adds a bread knife. Although it performed slightly better overall, the top-rated Henckels Twin Select costs far more ($500) and has fewer open-stock options.
If you prize value more than top-notch performance, CR recommends the Tramontina Professional L-400/03 ($75), the Chicago Cutlery Metropolitan (at $60, it's a CR Best Buy), and the Calphalon Contemporary KNS15C ($180). The forged, three-piece Tramontina is a good value, though you'll pay $40 more to add a slicer. The Metropolitan is a stamped set for which no santoku is available. Another forged set, the Calphalon, adds a bread knife and six steak knives to its four basic blades. A santoku is available.
Each of these sets comprises fine-edged knives, which require regular honing and periodic sharpening. Ceramic and serrated knives don't. Among these low-maintenance blades, CR likes the Kyocera Ceramic FK Series, which is made of a very hard material called zirconium oxide. For the tests CR put together a three-piece set (there's no slicer available) from open stock for $210. A 5 ½-inch santoku can be had for $75. For $80, the two-piece Cutco Salad Mates stamped set — a serrated utility knife and a fine-edged paring knife — cut excellently, but their handles were less balanced and comfortable than most.
You can add a chef's knife ($95) and a slicer ($70) to the Cutco set from open stock.
Copyright 2005, Consumers Union
