How to Choose the Right Knife

The number one question I get asked is, how do I know what knife to buy? What a loaded question! There’s a plethora of things you need to think about before you dive into finding that perfect knife. 

First, grip matters a lot. I like to tell people to try to go to a store and literally grab all of the brands of knives they have and see which feels the most natural in your hand. This is crucial because you want to be comfortable, it won’t matter what size, shape, or type of blade you have if you don’t like holding it. 

Once that’s settled, it’s time to think about what you are going to be using this knife for. Most of the time when I talk to people they want to upgrade their “everyday knife”. To me, that means you want something that is versatile and can really be the one you use the majority of the time you are cutting. A chef’s knife is the perfect fit for this description and it’s also the best spot to start upgrading your knife kit. You’ll most likely find a brand and then stick with it as you slowly add to your collection. 

My newest chef knife, the 10” Black Hawk from Tuo. I love how comfortable it is in my hand and the length is perfect for my larger format cooking projects!

Just because we know the grip and type of knife we want, it does not mean we have all of our answers yet! Most companies, like Tuo (the beautiful 10” chef knife that is featured in the photos), have options for how big you want the knife to be. It can be as small as a 6” or as large as a 10” . When thinking of which knife to choose, bigger is not necessarily better. We want to go back to the first point, you want to be comfortable holding the knife. If it’s too large and you can feel intimidated and like you don't’ have control if you aren’t use to it. Also, you just might not need all that real estate. 

To know, think about what you are actually cutting. If you are cutting a lot of watermelons, pineapple, whole chickens, large rib roasts, then by all means you need the 10”! These are big items that need to have a longer blade to be the safest and most efficient. If you are cutting some butternut squashes and mostly smaller vegetables than an 8” should be perfect. If you buy a lot of things already cut and just need a knife for cutting smaller items then just get a 6”, no need for anything more. 

Once you are happy with your chef knife purchase then I would start expanding my blades and getting more specific knives for certain projects.