Kitchen Knives You Just Can’t Be Without

Choosing what knives you need for your kitchen can be challenging when there are so many different types, brands and styles available, but the choice is a lot simpler than you may think.

Whether you’re chopping tomatoes, slicing pork or filleting fish, there is a specific knife that is designed to make the task quicker, easier and less of a chore. We’ve put together a list of knives, how to use and how not to use them, as well as a price range to help you consider all the options.

Chefs Knives

The first knife on our list is the chef’s knife, also known as the cook’s knife. A chef’s knife is arguably the most important knife to have in your collection, giving you the perfect tool for chopping a range of foods. Typically, cook’s knives are between 7” and 10” in length; however the longer the blade, the easier and safer it is to use, effortlessly chopping through vegetables to save you time and energy. A good quality cooks knife will serve you well in the kitchen and will soon become your go-to knife for 90% of daily kitchen tasks.

What they can be used for: slicing, dicing and mincing of fruits, vegetables, meats and fish
What they shouldn’t be used for: butchering or carving poultry, removing skin from vegetables
Price range: approx. $15- $200 (ex. GST)

Paring Knives

When the cook’s knife is too big to chop smaller items such as garlic, strawberries and shallots, the paring knife comes into its element. The small blade gives you precision cutting and slicing for small foods, ensuring you don’t crush or ruin them in the process. If you want to ensure attention to detail, paring knives are the best choice and an essential addition to your knife sets at home, and at work. The shorter and lighter blades make paring knives less adept to cutting harder foods such as carrots and parsnips.

What they can be used for: chopping or mincing smaller items such as shallots, garlic and grapes
What they shouldn’t be used for: cutting hard vegetables
Price range: approx. $5 - $80 (ex. GST)

Boning Knives

For a guest, there is nothing worse than crunching on an unexpected bone mid-chew, so ensuring your meat and fish is completely free of bones is essential to providing top customer service. The blade of a boning knife is flexible, allowing it to bend to the curve of bones, ensuring you don’t waste any meat, as well as making the process quick and easy. It doesn’t matter if you’re cutting a large side of pork or fish for one, boning knives are perfect for removing bones of any kind and excel your culinary prowess to the next level.

What they can be used for: removing bones from meat and fish
What they shouldn’t be used for: cutting through bones, chopping other foods
Price range: approx. $15 - $140 (ex. GST)

Serrated Knives

Serrated knives are often called bread knives, but their purpose extends beyond that of simply slicing loafs of bread. The serrated blade makes them perfect for cutting up vegetables with soft or “squishy” surfaces, such as tomatoes and peppers. The sharp teeth dig into vegetables and easily cut through them with a sawing motion, helping you to get a better slice on those hard to chop ingredients. When considering what you need in your kitchen knife set, a serrated blade should be high on your list, and their wide range of sizes means you can get the perfect one to suit your needs.

What they can be used for: slicing bread and pastry in a sawing motion
What they shouldn’t be used for: the sharp teeth make serrated knives unsuitable for any chopping or cutting
Price range: approx. $5 - $110 (ex. GST)

Get the Set

This 6 piece knife set from Dick has everything you need for efficient and easy food preparation; including a boning, paring, cooks and serrated knife. If you’re looking to replace an old set of knives or are buying your first set of knives, then look no further. If you’re looking to upgrade and get the very best for your kitchen, the 11 piece knife set from Dick is the choice for you, featuring high quality construction and materials to ensure the very best knives for you and your kitchen.

Price range: approx. $50 - $920 (ex. GST)

The price of knives varies depending on several factors, including the build type (forged or stamped), materials used, brand, size and type. The cheapest of the knives are colour coded knives from Hygiplas, which give you the tools you need to prepare different food types separately, keeping cross-contamination (the spread of germs) to a minimum.