Kitchen Knives - Blade Styles and Uses

Kitchen Knives - Blade Styles and Uses

Wavy (Serrated) Edge - especially useful for cutting soft products with a hard crust (bread) or tough skin (sausages and tomatoes). The teeth of a wavy edge knife allow greater pressure to be exerted on the object being cut and are generally thinner than a plain edge blade.

Granton Edge - or kullenschiff edge, has hollowed out grooves on the sides of the blade. These grooves fill with the fat and juices of the product being sliced, which allows for thin, even cuts without tearing or shredding the meat. The grooves also help shed the material being cut fom the blade helping to reduce sticking.

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The paring knife is a vital part of any set of kitchen knives. A paring will usually have a thin 3 to 4 inch blade that usually tapers to a point. Paring knives are used for intricate work and allow for a greater amount of control than a larger knife. In general, all paring knives (with the exception of the bird's beak) can be used for basic utility work in the kitchen.