A Brief History of The French Knife

Also known as French knives chefs knives are thought to be an evolved version of the common butcher knife. There are no specific characteristics to these knives as various designers come up with contemporary takes on them and use a variety of materials. However in general the look, materials used in manufacturing chefs knives, shape and weight are pretty much the same. In general the average blade will be of 20cm length and 4cm width. The blade itself will differ based on whether it a French version or the German version. Usually the German version sports a slimmer blade and tapers less. These subtleties aside, the modern version of chefs knives are made to do pretty much anything within a modern kitchen and these include anything and everything from cutting, dicing, chopping slicing and mincing.

The blades are almost always hot-forged or stamped. The hot-forged version of the blade comes about as a result of an expensive, multi process manufacturing system with the use of skilled manual labour. They are also said to be full-tang, which refers to the fact that it contains metals from the tip to the bottom of the blade and all the way across. Stamped blades on the other hand are cut straight from cold rolled steel and made into what we call chefs knives. The blade itself may be made from a variety of metals or material. Commonly used materials include carbon steel and stainless steel. The laminated versions feature the best of all these metals in a sandwich form. But the most ideal form of these types of knives are believed to be the ones made with ceramic blades which are believed to hold an edge for longer periods of time. Unfortunately they also tend to chip easily and break if dropped, all of which calls for careful handling.

Chefs knives also feature various edge types. These include the double grind, the v shape or the single or double bevel. Other variations include the convex edge, the hollow-ground as well as the single grind or chisel edge. The edge of course dictates the cutting and it is important to understand what each of these edge styles add to chefs knives and then compare with what you require off them. Another significant point to note is how the edge varies along the length of the blade. The back of the edge is less sharp and used for chopping and heavy strokes onto what is being cut whereas the centremost point is at its sharpest for fine dicing and slicing. The tip is of an even different sharpness and chefs usually use this for precision work and mincing. All this information should now help you make the right choice when looking for chefs knives to aid you in the preparation of food.