What Makes A Good Kitchen Knife? part 3 – The Anatomy of Kitchen Knives…

Here is a brief overview of the parts on a kitchen knife… first there are two basic methods of making kitchen knives: forged blades and stamped blades. Forged blades are blanks of steel that are heated and then hammered into their rough shape. Forged knives have a bolster (thicker part of blade) between the blade and the handle which gives the knife better weight and balance and offers protection to keep the hand from sliding up onto the blade. Stamped knives are made from a sheet of steel and the blade shape is stamped out of it (as with a big cookie cutter). They do not have bolsters and are generally lighter (and less expensive) than forged knives.

The main parts of the knife are:

• Butt – end of the handle, usually flared to assist in safe and controlled handling of knife…


• Handle – material that gives grip to knife. Handles can be slabs held to tang with rivets (and bonding or can be molded…


• Heel – rear part of the blade. On thicker, heavier knives (such as Cook’s Knives) helps to cut through thicker foods…


• Spine – top of blade, opposite the edge…


• Point – very tip of blade, for piercing…


• Tip – front part of blade behind the point, does most of the cutting…


• Edge – sharp portion of the blade extending from the heel to the point…


• Bolster – thick portion of blade on a forged knife where the blade meets the handle. Provides weight, balance and stability…


• Tang – rear end of the blade extending into handle. The longer the tang the better the balance and stability of the knife. The best knives have a “full” tang…

At Corrado Cutlery, I sell the best forged knives (Wusthof-Trident) and the best stamped knives (Victorinox)...

(to be continued…)