Having the best chef knife by your side in the kitchen is a necessity for professionals. It’s the most important tool in any kitchen and is the go-to utensil for chopping nearly anything and everything.

Professionals know that picking out a chef’s knife is like picking out a new car: you need to thoroughly browse the market and give it a test drive before you sign the dotted line.

If you’re a culinary master needing a new kitchen sidekick, here’s how to choose the best professional chef knife for your practice.

Knife Essentials

Every chef knows there are basic essentials that make the best professional chef knife, and one of the biggest is comfort. Chef knives are not ordinary knives. They are for high-quality culinary skills and practices. Because of this, your new chef knife should feel comfortable to use.

Comfort can be found in the size of the knife, the weight, and the grip. Before selecting the knife you want to work with, hold the knife in your hand to check its balance and how it feels in your palm.

You should select your chef knife based on the intended use when it comes to size. If you plan to use the utensil for everyday uses, even pairing, then a smaller 6-inch size would work best. Bigger chef knives like 8-inch are the most popular and standard knives that allow slicing and carving thin meats and chopping vegetables.

Select Your Style

You will find different styles of chef knives when selecting the professional chef knife you want to work with, and you may have a preference. The two leading professional chef knife styles are Japanese and German, both of which have four different styles of knives in those categories to choose from.

Test It Out

When looking for a new professional chef knife, test it out if you’re able to do basic cutting to see how well it will perform. Chop some herbs, an onion, julienne, carve, and slice through some vegetables and foods you often use to see how the knife glides through the ingredients you cook with.

The cutting of chef knives is always different. Some blades cut hard and with force, while others glide gracefully and smooth through ingredients. If you have a preference, testing the knife out will give you an indication of how the knife cuts, and you can determine if it fits in your comfort level.

Testing out a new knife will also help to break in the newness and become acquainted with your new knife. Even if you’re a professional who’s been in the kitchen for years, getting a new knife is like getting a new toy. It will be exciting at first but also come with a learning curve until you’ve adjusted to using your new kitchen utensil.

Keep It Cleaned And Sharpened

Any great knife needs to be properly cleaned and sharpened to maintain its cutting ability. When you select your new chef knife, you should take the time to properly clean and sharpen it from time to time. It is highly recommended that you clean your knife by hand to ensure the knife is not scraped by other utensils in the dishwasher and the detergent does not affect the condition of the handle.

Let’s Get To Chopping

If you or someone you know is looking for a new professional kitchen utensil, follow this guide to find the best professional chef knife on the market. Folded Steel has excellent, high-quality options to start with that are perfect for your everyday kitchen cooking.