On the top of my list is a good knife, or even better, a good set of it. Good knives are not cheap, and there are a few things that you should know before putting the cash down for this worthy investment.
First, you should know the different parts of a knife. The picture below illustrates them well enough.
Above shows the type of knife that we usually see, with the various parts as mentioned. However, there are many variations depending on the purpose of the knife. The tip of the knife is usually pointed and helpful for cutting smaller items or cutting them into strips. The cutting edge is often straight, but some have a jagged edge–the bread knife. The heel is roughly about 2 inches from the edge of the blade nearer to the handle, and is usually used for faster cutting or when more strength is required when cutting harder items. When you look at the picture above, there's a think chunk of metal called the bolster. Note that not all knives have that part, usually only western blades have that. Further down the knife, the rivets. To ensure maximum comfort when handling the knife, the rivets must lie flush to the handle's surface. That's roughly all you have to know about the parts of a knife.
Next, let's look at the different materials used. For the blade, there are 2 main materials. The most common one is stainless steel, and it is the one that I'd recommend. Choose those with high-carbon content. When buying knives, sometimes they would include a Rockwell Hardness rating. That gives an indication of how hard the material is, with a higher number indicating a harder metal. Harder metals hold the edge and remain sharp for a longer time, but are harder to sharpen too. A rating of around 60 would be your best bet. The alternative is still a rather new material for blades. It's ceramic. I would not recommend ceramic blades due to the difficulty of sharpening them, because you will need special equipment to do so when it's blunt. However, you don't really need to sharpen them that often, at least not as often as steel. They are usually pricier too.
There are 3 main kinds of handles available–wood, plastic, pakka wood (wood impregnated with plastic resin), and stainless steel. If possible, go for plastic or pakka wood for they are the easiest to maintain. Pakka wood is incredibly resistant to to moisture and looks great too! But I have to admit that knives with a stainless steel handle looks very good and classy.
Last but not least, knife varieties. I am going to introduce 3 knives, but you will only need 2 of them. Read on to find out why.
This is the santoku knife. As you see, it lacks the extra chunky bolster like the first picture. This is the Asian's chef's knife. As a chef's knife, it will be able to handle most, if not all, of your cutting tasks. A santoku knife has a more rounded spine profile as it approaches the tip. The usual length of the blade is 7-inches, though there are 6 or 6.5-inch models around. Next up, we have the western chef's knife. The purpose of the western chef's knife is the same as that of the santoku, which is basically a do-it-all knife. However, the tip is more pointed than the santoku and is usually longer with 8, 9, or 10-inch blades. With a longer blade means they are heavier too.
Lastly, we have the paring knife. It usually has a 3 to 5-inch blade with a straight edge and is used for cutting smaller items or more precise cutting tasks that require more control of the blade, where a chef's knife would prove to be too clumsy.
Now, I'll introduce what I use in the kitchen. It's a Miyabi Kaizen 8-inch chef's knife made by Henckels. It's a pretty knife with damsacus pattern on the blade. Japanese blade, Rockwell Hardness rating of 60, and an asymmetric pakka wood handle. Notice the D-shaped end-cap, which is the shape of the handle as well. It is designed to fit snuggly into smaller hands like mine.
Some of the good brands to go for include Forschner (the most affordable), Henckels, Shun, Global, Tojiro, and Togiharu. I am not so sure about WMF knives, but they are overpriced in my opinion and you are paying for the good looks.
If possible get yours when places like Tangs and Takashimaya are having their annual sales and they have a rather good selection too. If not, consider shopping online at www.chefknivestogo.com or www.korin.com. You will have to ship them via comgateway, or otherwise known as hopshopgo.com. Be prepared to spend between US$100-200 if you want a good knife. Trust me, it's a worthy investment to make for one of the most important pieces of equipment that you need in the kitchen.
