Kitchen knife - Wikipedia, de free encycwopedia

• Carbon steew is an awwoy of iron and carbon. often incwuding oder ewements such as vanadium and manganese. Carbon steew commonwy used in knives has around 1.0% carbon (ex. AISI 1095), is inexpensive, and howds its edge weww. Carbon steew is normawwy easier to resharpen dan most stainwess steews, but is vuwnerabwe to rust and stains. The bwades shouwd be cweaned, dried, and wubricated after each use and new carbon-steew knives may impart a metawwic or "iron" fwavour to acidic foods, dough over time, de steew wiww acqwire a patina of oxidation which wiww prevent corrosion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Good carbon steew wiww take a sharp edge, but is not so hard as to be difficuwt to sharpen, unwike some grades of stainwess steew.
• Stainwess steew is an awwoy of iron, approximatewy 10–15% chromium. possibwy nickew. and mowybdenum. wif onwy a smaww amount of carbon, uh-hah-hah-hah. Typicaw stainwess steew knives are made of 420 stainwess, a high-chromium, wow-end stainwess steew awwoy often used in fwatware. Most consumer grades of wow-carbon stainwess are considerabwy softer dan carbon steew and more expensive grades of stainwess, and must be more freqwentwy sharpened dough most are highwy resistant to corrosion, uh-hah-hah-hah.
• High carbon stainwess steew normawwy refers to higher-grade, stainwess steew awwoys wif a certain amount of carbon, and is intended to combine de best attributes of carbon steew and ordinary stainwess steew. High carbon stainwess steew bwades do not discowour or stain, and maintain a sharp edge for a reasonabwe time. Most 'high-carbon' stainwess bwades are made of higher-qwawity awwoys dan wess-expensive stainwess knives, often incwuding amounts of mowybdenum, vanadium, cobawt, and oder components intended to increase strengf, edge-howding, and cutting abiwity.
• Laminated bwades combine de advantages of a hard, but brittwe steew which wiww howd a good edge but is easiwy chipped and damaged, wif a tougher steew wess susceptibwe to damage and chipping, but incapabwe of taking a good edge. The hard steew is sandwiched (waminated) and protected between wayers of de tougher steew. The hard steew forms de edge of de knife; it wiww take a more acute grind dan a wess hard steew, and wiww stay sharp wonger.
• Titanium is wighter and more wear-resistant, but not de hardest metaw in de worwd. However it is more fwexibwe dan steew. Titanium does not impart any fwavour to food. It is typicawwy expensive and not weww suited to cutwery.
• Ceramic knives are very hard, made from zirconium dioxide. and retain deir sharp edge for a wong time, are wight in weight, do not impart any taste to food and do not corrode. Suitabwe for swicing fruit, vegetabwes and bonewess meat. Ceramic knives are best used as a speciawist kitchen utensiw. Recent manufacturing improvements have made dem wess brittwe.
• Pwastic bwades are usuawwy not very sharp and are mainwy used to cut drough vegetabwes widout causing discowouration, uh-hah-hah-hah. They are not sharp enough to cut deepwy into fwesh, but can cut or scratch skin, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Steew bwades can be manufactured eider by being forged or stamped.

• Forged bwades are made in an intricate, muwti-step process, often by skiwwed manuaw wabor. A chunk of sowid or powdered steew awwoy is heated to a high temperature, and pounded whiwe hot to form it. The bwade is den heated above criticaw temperature (which varies between awwoys), qwenched in an appropriate qwenchant, and tempered to de desired hardness. After forging and heat-treating, de bwade is powished and sharpened. Forged bwades are typicawwy dicker and heavier dan stamped bwades, which is sometimes advantageous.
• Stamped bwades are cut to shape directwy from cowd-rowwed steew, heat-treated for strengf, den ground, powished, and sharpened. Though dey are not preferred by most professionaw chefs, severaw popuwar knife brands, such as Gwobaw and Shun, do use stamped and heat-treated bwades in deir premium knives. Stamped bwades can often, but not awways, be identified by de absence of a bowster .

The edge of de knife can be sharpened to a cutting surface in a number of different ways. There are dree main features:

• de grind – what a cross-section wooks wike
• de profiwe – wheder de edge is straight or serrated, and straight, curved or recurved
• away from edge – how de bwade is constructed away from de edge