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Knives
If you can only afford one knife, make it a French or chef's knife. It has a wide, tapering, triangular shaped blade, that’s slightly rounded and good for slicing, chopping or mincing. Since the blade is rounded, you can use a rocking motion for chopping. The tip of the blade is thin and flexible enough to cut around bones while the rear of the blade is heavy enough to cut through chicken bones and some beef or pork bones.
Next you’ll need a slicing knife. This has a long blade and is thinner than the chef's knife. One of the easiest to work with is a 10-inch slicing knife with a scalloped edge that manufacturers refer to as a “hollow-edge.” It's perfect for slicing roasts, etc. as well as softer things like ripe tomatoes. It's very easy to control.
Paring and Chopping
Every cook also needs paring knife or two. Get one that's about three inches long and looks like a mini chef's knife. Nothing beats it for slicing small items like garlic or shallots.
There's just one more to add to your basic collection. The Eskimos call it an ulu (a.k.a. mezzaluna) knife. The cutting edge of the blade is curved in a semicircle and can be rocked back and forth on a cutting board making chopping and mincing vegetables and herbs easy.
That completes a basic knife collection. There are several other kinds of knives you can add, but these will handle most of the chores you will face in the kitchen.
How to Keep Them Sharp
Don't forget to keep them sharp. Purists will say that some electric sharpeners take off too much metal, but they are easy to use and for most cooks are the way to go.
If you are a purist and want to do sharpen you knives by hand, here are some suggestions. First, get a whetstone at your local hardware store. Lay the blade on the edge of the stone at a 20-degree angle with the sharp side facing away. Push the blade forward drawing it over the stone with a smooth and even pressure. Then turn the blade over and pull the other side back across the stone. Be especially careful not to cut yourself on the backstroke. Do the same number of strokes—six- to eight—on both sides.
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