Here’s the story of a chef, a serious one in the quest of the best cutlery knife set that will serve him or her for a lifetime of cooking, and cutting. This chef is you.
You are a cooking expert, either a professional chef or a home cooking enthousiast, the kitchen is your kingdom. The gourmet inside of you knows the importance of having the perfect cookware. Among your tools, there should be your knives. Stainless steel knives, tools forged by skilled craftsmen, just like you, who can create an ideal dining environment filled of tasty gourmet food !
Does that sound like you ? Well here are some little tips, that will enlight you on the choice of the perfect kitchen knife set. This guide can also be followed by anyone looking for a gift idea.
What is the ideal cutlery knife set ?
There are no single answer to that question but if you had to keep one in mind, this would be the following one. The best knife set would be the one that you truly use, and need. What I mean by that is that you can get 7 piece knife sets which is very complete and does almost everything you need, or get a set of 25 or more knives if that’s what you really want. Professional chefs may need more knives than home chefs.
What cutlery sets should include is at least a chef’s knife, which is anyway most of the time. Then a vegetable knife, a paring knife, a carving knife, a bread knife, filet knife, a boning knife and a slicing knife should be well enough for most people. Some sets come with a cheese knife too, a honing steel, or/and kitchen shears which are always useful.
What type of knives ?
European or Japanese ? Well that’s a good question again however, I’d say this is a matter of style. The design is certainly different, but the results you can achieve are probably the same. Premium knives usually have great ergonomics and offer comfort, balance and strenght. They are also, as you have guessed, extremely sharp.
Japanese knives often have a great design, very stylish, almost pieces of art. They use a blade that has a single bevel, meaning one side of the blade is completely straight. This makes the cutting very thin and precise. Global knives don’t have any bevel at all, just straight edge upto the spine of the blade.
European knives, and more particularly German knives, are represented by the two major brands J.A Zwilling Henckels and Wusthof. Both make awesome knives, very resistant and well designed. They are very balanced too and are used by many chefs around the world.
What steel is better ?
Most of the knife manufacturers use their proprietary formula to create stainless steel cutlery, or use several different ones depending on the type of knives they create. What you just need to keep in mind is that these stainless steel knives are very resistant, they are forged from one piece of steel, they are then ice hardened.
To be stainless steel, steel should have at least 10.5% to 11% Chromium in its composition. Did you know stainless steel is also 100% recyclable ?
There are too many different alloys of steel to list here, but we can say that high carbon steel are often prefered by knife makers to improve strenght of the blade. As an example Shun uses their own formula called CROMOVA 18, a high carbon steel that is composed of Chromium (18%), mobdylenum, and vanadium.
Is that kitchen knives cutlery enough ? Do you need more ?
Well, as for knives, the biggest knife sets will include 6 or 8 steak knives, which will be also of some use. Great knives for everyone for dinner. Maybe a nice way to show your beautiful cutlery to your guests 
. Depending on your cooking style or preference, you may want some Japanese knives. Their cutting is different, the blade is often very thin, and use a single bevel edge. You can either simply buy a Santoku (the Japanese chef’s knife) if you have German knives or a complete set of Japanese knives.
But I’d want to express my recommendation as for some little accessories that will be a nice, if not necessary addition to your knife set.
Accessories
First, the cutting board : choose a WOODEN cutting board. Hardwood, bamboo, a wood cutting board is the way to go. Plastic can also be considered but please, forget glass, marble, ceramic or steel surfaces. These are hard, while wood is easy on your blades. Hard cutting surfaces will damage your blade and prevent them to be sharp longer.
Also you woul need some kind of knife sharpening tools. Well, there are different ways to sharpen a knife. The traditional way would require you to get a honing steel, so you realign the blade, a whetstone to sharpen the knife and polish it.
The simplest one is to use an electric knife sharpener. An electric knife sharpener can take care of all those steps in few seconds. If you have many knives or want simplicity and speed, go for one, that’s a smart investment. Some are very expensive, but you’ll find most between $100-$200 (Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpeners are the leaders and most recommended everywhere).
You can also use manual knife sharpeners which basically do the same things as electric ones, it’s just… not electric, and smaller in size.
Knife Care and Storage
A knife set, could come in various format. Usually, because it is the most convenient, you would choose a block, in which you can store your knives safely. A block knife set is usually what I recommend the most. If your set of knives doesn’t have any storage, get a block to put them inside and protect your blades as well as your hands 
You can also get your cutlery knife set in a tray. This is still a nice way to store them, however the block will certainly be the most convenient.
Lastly, it maybe a box set, well not the best thing to store your knives. You certainly won’t put back your knives in their box everyday after each use and take them ofut of it the next day. A box is generally made for the gift purpose, or for a 2 or 3 knife sets, or a steak knife set that will not necesarly go into the block.
One tip that you may already have encountered already here : don’t push your premium knives in the dishwasher. Here’s the truth… you could do it. But you don’t want except you’re okay to damage them, most of the time the manufacturer tells you they don’t recommend it. You’re taking the risk of having your knives in contact with other knives and cookware supplies.
Scratches on your blades will not be cool. It will reduce the stain resistance, there is a lot of water and heat inside, and as resistant as they are, blades are also delicate part of your knives. It’s not hard at all (really) to wash your knives with water and mild soap and immediately dry them with a soft cloth.
There are NO STAIN PROOF STEEL. Your stainless steel knife rusts and stains less but with time and without care, stain may occur, though it can be removed. But when you take care of your knives you are almost sure to keep your knives in their factory state. A bit of sharpening and you’re ready to cut like crazy again.
I hope this information was good to you and worth of interest. You should know have some kitchen cutlery essential tips in mind. If you were searching for gift ideas then a knife block set will be warmly received by the person you offer it to. Every chef needs kitchen supplies and a cutlery set will be used every day for years to come !
Now go browsing a bit the pages and discover some beautiful cutlery knife set, there are some great chef knives in these home appliances, and you are going to love what you see.