Kitchen knife selection guide

Advice on choosing the right knife

Determine the main use: Identify the common tasks you perform in the kitchen. A multi-purpose chef’s knife and a paring knife can be a good starting point, complemented by specific knives to match your needs.
Try before you buy: If possible, hold and handle knives to get a feel for their balance and ergonomics. A good knife should be comfortable to use for long periods.
Remember to take care of your knives: Proper care will prolong the life of your knives. Not all kitchen knives require the same care, cleaning and sharpening. Choose your knives according to your habits.
Invest in quality: Although high-quality knives may be more expensive, they offer superior durability and performance, making the investment worthwhile in the long term. As with any investment, we often wonder how we did it before!

The main types of kitchen knives

Chef’s knife: Chef’s knives are indispensable in any kitchen. Very usefull and multi-purpose, they can cut, slice, chop, mince and manipulate.
GOYON-CHAZEAU offers several blade lengths, from 15 to 25 cm, to suit different preferences and uses. The most classic is the chef’s knife with a 20cm blade. It is essential for a variety of tasks, from vegetables to meats.
Paring knife: With a short blade of around 9-10cm, this knife is perfect for peeling and slicing small fruits and vegetables. Its compact size makes it easy to handle for precise tasks.
Bread knife: Recognizable by its serrated blade, the bread knife is designed for slicing breads and pastries without crushing them. It can also be used to cut hard-skinned foods such as melons and pumpkins.
Santoku knife: Coming from Japan, the Japanese Santoku knife is a multi-purpose knife similar to the chef’s knife, but with a shorter, wider blade. It is ideal for finely chopping herbs, cutting sticky foods such as raw fish and meats, and slicing fruits and vegetables. Its wide, curved blade facilitates shearing.
Meat knives: There are several knives for working with meat.
Here are the main ones:
- Steak knife: Available with smooth or micro-serrated blades, these knives are designed to cut raw or cooked meat without tearing.
- Carving knife, slicer: Ideal for carving and slicing raw or cooked meat thanks to its long, thin, rigid blade.
- Boning knife: Used to separate meat from bones, and remove tendons and fat. The short, fine, pointed and rigid blade enables precise work around bones and joints.

Fish knives: There are several knives for working with fish.
Here are the main ones:
- Filleting knife: Featuring a fine, long, flexible blade, this knife is perfect for lifting fish fillets with precision and making carpaccios.
- Salmon knife: Designed for finely slicing large, fatty fish such as salmon, this knife has a narrow, often alveolated blade to prevent food from sticking. It can also be used more widely as a slicing knife.

Other knives widely used in the kitchen

Tomato knife : With its serrated blade, this knife is ideal for cutting tomatoes and other soft and/or hard-skinned fruit and vegetables without crushing them.
Sandwich knife: This long-bladed paring knife is very useful for preparing large fruit and vegetables and is ideal for slicing and spreading bread.
Carving fork: Perfect for handling and carving large pieces of meat.
Cleaver: with its wide, heavy blade, the cleaver is perfect for slicing large pieces of meat and mincing small bones. Its sturdy design also allows you to cut hard vegetables and perform intensive cutting tasks with ease.

The material of the blade is crucial to the durability and performance of the kitchen knife. There are a number of different materials on the market. Here’s a description of the most commonly used materials, with their advantages and disadvantages.

Blade material

Stainless steel: Stainless steel is corrosion-resistant, easy to maintain and durable. Stainless steel knives are ideal for everyday use thanks to their robustness. Their moderate hardness makes them easy to maintain.
Carbon steel: Carbon steel offers an exceptional cutting edge and is easy to sharpen. However, it is more prone to corrosion and requires regular maintenance to prevent rust.
Damascus steel: Known for its unique patterns and hardness, damascus steel combines layers of stainless and carbon steel. It is highly aesthetic and offers excellent durability and superior sharpness. However, it is very expensive and requires very careful maintenance.
High-carbon stainless steel: These steels offer a good balance between hardness and corrosion resistance. However, they are harder and require special tools for optimum sharpening.
VG-10 steel: Known for its ability to maintain an extremely sharp edge, VG-10 steel also offers excellent resistance to wear and corrosion. But its superior properties come at a cost, not only in terms of purchase but also in terms of the specific sharpening techniques and tools it requires.
Ceramic: Ceramic blades are light, extremely hard and can retain their sharpness for a very long time. What’s more, corrosion is not a problem with ceramic. But they are very fragile and can break or chip easily, and require specialised tools to maintain.

Comfort and grip of the knife depend largely on the material and shape of the handle. The material of the handle should also be considered in terms of the maintenance it requires.

Handle types

Wooden handles: Wooden handles offer a natural look and a comfortable, grippy grip. Knives with wooden handles should be washed by hand to last for years.
Plastic handles: Plastic handles are easy to clean. Lightweight, they are often less expensive and resist moisture well. For reasons of hygiene, they are often preferred in intensive professional environments.
Composite handles: This type of handle combines the advantages of wood and plastic, offering greater durability and easy maintenance.

Choosing your GOYON-CHAZEAU knife

The French brand GOYON-CHAZEAU, with its craftsmanship and high-quality materials, offers a varied range of knives to suit different culinary needs.

These knives are grouped together in several collections, each with its own special features:

Le Thiers Cuisine: This collection is forged from high-quality stainless steel, with juniper wood handles (and olive wood on request), offering a comfortable grip and elegant design.
Tradichef: Inspired by the traditional Sabatier design, this range features oak handles and a forged blade, combining tradition and performance.
Stylver Cuisine: Lightweight and ergonomic, these stainless steel knives are easy to maintain and are ideal for both classic and intensive use.
Audacieuse: An innovative collection that plays with kitchen knife standards to offer tools that are both effective and aesthetically pleasing.
Le P’tit and Le Grand Tradi: Two full tang knives in cut steel, ultra-efficient and ultra-fun to use.

By following this guide, you’ll be able to choose the kitchen knife that’s perfect for your needs and will enhance your culinary experience and pleasure in the kitchen. Whether you’re a home cook or a professional chef, a good knife is an indispensable tool in any kitchen.

Enjoy an exceptional culinary experience thanks to the quality and expertise of GOYON-CHAZEAU, the iconic French cutlery brand.

Click here to explore our entire range and find your ideal knife.