Knives & Cutting

What types of kitchen knives are available at Harris Scarfe?

Whether you're wanting the right knife for mincing onions and garlic or a cleaver for taking on much tougher ingredients, you'll find just what you need with our wide range of kitchen knives.

Chef's knife

Also known as a cook's knife, a chef's knife, like our Cuisineart 20cm Cook's Knife, is the ultimate multi-purpose tool in the kitchen. As the jack of all trades, master of none, a chef's knife is great for chopping, mincing, dicing and slicing ingredients like vegetables and meat. However, it doesn't particularly excel in one specific area.

Utility knife

Not to be confused with a Stanley knife, a utility knife is a smaller version of a chef's knife and features a thinner, ultrasharp blade. Our Wiltshire 13cm Utility Knife is perfect for the more delicate cutting jobs such as soft cheeses, fruits and fish.

Bread knife

A bread knife, such as our Scanpan 20cm Bread Knife, features a blade design resembling a row of sharp teeth. The serrated blade makes it the perfect choice for cutting through thick surfaces like bread crust, hence its name, as well as soft surfaces such as tomato skin and delicate cakes.

Vegetable knife

If the name wasn't a dead giveaway, a vegetable knife is used to cut vegetables. Our Cuisinart 11.5cm Vegetable Knife is a must-have kitchen essential when you need to dice, slice, chop and cut your way through large and small vegetables. Its broad blade and square tip also makes it perfect for gently dicing herbs and various fruits.

Cleaver

A cleaver is used when needing to take on heavier ingredients like root vegetables, thick meat and bone. Our Cuisinart 15cm Cleaver features a wide blade and thick tip, giving you greater force to hack through tougher ingredients that would quickly dull other types of knives. Cleavers are also great for slicing, mincing and pounding.

Santoku knife

As the Japanese version of a chef's knife, Santoku knives feature a thinner blade that has hollowed-out impressions. This prevents food from sticking to the blade when chopping. Our Kamati 17cm Santoku Knife is a great all-round kitchen knife and is particularly useful for cutting into denser vegetables.

Cheese knife

If you love entertaining with a good cheese platter, then a cheese knife is essential. However, not every cheese knife is made equal. For example, harder cheeses like parmesan require a cheese knife with a short, stubby blade to provide more cutting power. Soft cheese like camembert requires a cheese knife with a slotted blade, like our Stanley Rogers Slotted Soft Cheese Knife, so the cheese doesn't stick to it when cutting.

Boning knife

With a long, narrow blade and an extremely sharp point, a boning knife is ideal for removing bones in fish, meat and poultry. Our Cuisinart 15cm Boning Knife has a narrow and flexible blade that allows for greater precision when de-boning and performing deep cuts.

Peeling knife

A peeling knife has a slightly curved blade that is short and rigid with a very sharp edge. This is why it's the perfect knife for slicing through tough skins when peeling ingredients such as fruit, potatoes, eggplant, and other types of vegetables.

Paring knife

As one of the smallest knives you'll find in a kitchen, a paring knife has a short blade and is used for cutting, slicing, peeling and coring vegetables and fruits. Our Joseph & Joseph 8.8cm Paring Knife provides great manoeuvrability when tackling trickier jobs such as removing seeds and trimming vegetables.

Carving knife

A carving knife, like our Cuisinart 20cm Carving Knife, is a lot thinner than a chef's knife, making it the best choice for carving thinner and more precise slices of meat. When cooking a big roast, always make sure you have a carving knife on hand to avoid serving up jagged, uneven slices.

Important knife safety tips

As when using any sharp object, safety is the number one priority. Here are some important knife safety tips to follow to ensure you're only cutting your ingredients - not your fingers:

• Make sure your chopping board is secured tightly and isn't moving around by laying down a damp cloth or piece of paper towel underneath. This will stop the cutting board from slipping.
• Always put your kitchen knives away in a safe and secure place when not in use. Knife blocks are perfect for safely storing and retrieving your sharp knives.
• Never use a dull blade. A blunt knife is always more dangerous than a sharp one because you have to push down harder when cutting, greatly increasing the risk of the knife slipping out of your hand. Our Scanpan 26cm Steel Knife Sharpener will ensure your knife is always sharp.
• Always use the claw grip when cutting, as this is the safest way to grip ingredients and will give you greater control. To protect your fingers, bend your fingers into a claw shape and then press your fingertips down into the food you are cutting.

Find the Right Kitchen Knives, Sharpeners and Scissors at Harris Scarfe

If you enjoy slicing and dicing away in the kitchen, then our massive range of kitchen knives, sharpeners and scissors have all your needs covered. Need new graters, measuring cups, chopping boards or something else? Make sure you have everything else you need to get creative by shopping our entire range of quality kitchen accessories.

Browse our entire range of kitchen knives, scissors and sharpeners online or visit us in-store today.