By Chinkai Rosario

Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, sushi master and owner of Nobu Restaurant in New York, once talked about his fondness for kitchen cutlery. “Knives are extremely important utensils to me—they are like extra fingers or extensions of your arms. Use them correctly and put your mind and heart into them. In my opinion, a mentality of treating your knives well develops a positive attitude towards your work that then reflects in the way you treat your customers.”

This statement definitely supports the way Chef Dick Franco, a faculty member at the De La Salle University – College of St. Benilde (DLSU-CSB) School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management, explains why the mighty knife is such a kitchen essential. He says, “You can’t go to war without a gun, and in the same way you can’t go to your kitchen without a knife. I would rather not have tongs or a spoon, as long as I have my knife, I can cook and I’m safe.”

Choosing a Knife

Make the right choice by choosing a knife that feels comfortable on your hand—that’s typical advice heard from chefs. When testing the quality of the knife, softly tap the tip of the knife on a stainless table. You would know the knife is made with fine quality material when it produces a higher pitch. Knives are either stamped or forged. Stamped knives are cut from a piece of of sheet metal, as they have been for centuries. Forged knives generally are of superb quality and are easily distinguishable by their heavy blade and pronounced heel. Plenty of knife manufacturers trace their roots back to the 18th century. Several tried-and-tested names include J.A. Henckels, Wusthof, and Sabatier from Europe, MAC and Dexter Russell from the United States, or Global and Kershaw Shun from Japan. The name brand, however, is not the only thing: no brand can perform well without the master orchestrating at the helm.

Knife Styles and Materials

Blade materials are usually made of stainless steel, high-carbon stainless steel, laminated titanium, ceramic, or plastic. Chef Franco remains loyal to stainless steel. “As long as it’s sturdy, it’s good. Stainless steel doesn’t rust and doesn’t corrode. It’s easy to disinfect, it’s not porous, and it doesn’t easily break,” he says.

Knife handles come in four different types—wood, plastic, composite, and stainless steel. Although each type has its own share of pros and cons, the composite handle is considered the best choice by many chefs because of its good grip, durability, and unsophisticated maintenance. On the other hand, the wooden handle is the least favored since its porous material can attract more organisms, making it most likely to crack.

These days, as more professional kitchens attempt to bag halal certification, color-coded rivets—those metal pins used to join the scales to the tang to form the knife handle—have entered the picture. “Colored rivets have corresponding color-coded chopping boards to avoid cross-contamination,” explains Chef Franco. So if you see orange-colored rivets on a knife, coupled with an orange chopping board, it simply means that this knife and board are used for poultry. Take note that when yellow boards are unavailable, orange ones stand as their subsitute.

Sharpening your knife

Knife sharpeners come in many different forms. Manual knife sharpeners are often considered more efficient than sharpening steels. Electric knife sharpeners are ideal for sharpening frequently used knives and are generally easy to use but do not offer the same control level as manual knife sharpeners.

Sharpening stones are either round or rectangular and are usually one-half-inch thick. Whetstone and the carborundum stone are the two most popular sharpening stones. Traditional sharpeners that come in rectangular blocks have varied smoothness. Chef Franco has the dual rectangular stone—dual because both sides can sharpen a knife in different ways. One side has a smoothness of 1,000 and the other of 240. The lower the number, the more the stone feels rough and grainy. “I don’t use the grainy part because it’s more damaging,” he confesses, “When using sharpening stones, soak the sharpener in plain water for five minutes,” recommends Chef Franco. “Your knife will contour to you; whatever you do with it will depend on you.” Traditional sharpeners may require more effort but allow the user to be more in control.

The best way to sharpen steels is to place your knife against the tip of the steel in a 20-degree angle. The knife blade is drawn in an arcing motion across the grinding surface to eliminate impurities. Run the knife against the steel honer “to maintain the integrity of the blade,” says Chef Franco. “To eliminate wrong angles in sharpening, let the knife hit the roller,” he adds.

The true test of a well-sharpened knife is by way of a tomato. If, after you lightly run the blade across the tomato skin, the knife leaves a mark, it is considered sharp enough.

Cleaning and storing

To avoid the buildup of germs on the knife, wash off any residue by cleaning it with soap and water. Chef Franco suggests leaving knives with wooden handles out to dry before storing them in the drawer or the knife block. For copper-made knives, Chef Franco recommends to wipe a small amount of cooking oil onto the blade after washing and cover it with cling wrap to reduce oxidation.

As with any cooking tool, store your knife set in a well-sanitized dry place, free of debris, and disinfect your knives once in a while with alcohol or chlorine so that, according to Chef Franco, your knives won’t smell.