Kitchen Knives
Owning a set of quality, sharp knives can make all the difference to how one approaches food preparation at home. Almost every cooking task requires a knife whether it's for slicing garlic, onions, meat and fish or fruits and vegetables. As one of the most used tools in the kitchen, quality knives or a good knife set are a wise investment and will guarantee to make preparing food a lot more efficient and enjoyable.
At Everten we stock the best kitchen knives in Australia. Whether you are looking for Japanese kitchen knives from Global Knives or Shun, or European knives from Victorinox or Wusthof, you can find them here. As one of the first online knife retailers in Australia, we pride ourselves on stocking the broadest range of knives and knife types such as Santoku Knives, chef knives, paring knives, butcher knives, boning knives and more. Our extensive range of high quality knife brands and knife types is why we are the knife store of choice for many butchers, professional chefs and home cooks.
What knives do Chefs use?
This is a common question that our customers ask us when looking to purchase their first set of knives or upgrade from what they are currently using. We sell to many professional chefs and hospitality workers including butchers and fisheries, each with their own preference on knife brands and type they require.
To give a short answer, the preferred chef knives brands by chefs tend to be Global Knives, Victorinox, Wusthof, Shun and Miyabi. Butchers and those working in fisheries that perform large volumes of cutting and filleting tend to require highly ergonomic knives to reduce hand fatigue and prevent injury. Knife brands like Swibo and Dexter Russell tend to be their preferred choice as they are highly regarded for their large ergonomic handles that are made from nonslip polypropylene or rubber. You can commonly see these knives on display at your local butcher or fish shop.
Choosing between Japanese Knives or German Knives
The most common question asked is should I buy a German or Japanese knife? The answer to this question comes when you decide what is most important to you in a knife. Do you favour edge retention (i.e. stays sharper for longer) or the sharpest edge?
German blades are not as sharp as their Japanese counterparts, however, because of their composition, they tend to offer a sharper edge for longer and are often more durable due to the angle of their blades being thicker.
Japanese blades are the sharpest available because they tend to have a higher carbon composition and hardness, alongside a tighter angle for their edges to create this benchmark. The downside is due to their extremely sharp edge retention, Japanese knives tend to be more fragile and require more maintenance.
Is it worth buying a knife sharpener?
The short answer is yes! Knife sharpeners are important to retain your knives' edges and keep them at optimal sharpness and maintain performance because there's nothing worse than using blunt knives in your kitchen. Choosing the right sharpener is important and we offer a great range of options including:
- Whetstones the recommended choice for Japanese knives and sharpening in general as they're less abrasive than sharpening steels and allow for delicate sharpening of edges and fixing chips. It does require more time than the other sharpening options but will deliver the best results.
- Sharpening Steels or Honing Steels for faster maintenance than a whetstone but recommended only for Western knives as high-carbon Japanese knives can chip easily when used with these.
- Pull-through knife sharpeners for easy edge maintenance.
- Electrical knife sharpeners for those who perform regular sharpening with larger knife collections.
What else should I consider when buying knives?
While it's easy to get lost in choosing the right knives for your needs, it's important to also consider:
- Chopping boards to protect your kitchen's countertops when using your knives as well as your knives' edges.
- Magnetic Knife Holders to store your knives safely, prevent them from getting damaged as well as keep them out of reach of young children.
- Knife Bags if you are a chef and need to safely transport your knives to and from your workplace.
What are full tang knives?
A full tang knife is where the steel of the knife extends past the blade all the way to the end of the handle as one single piece. This increases the weight of the knife but also provides greater balance, strength and durability in comparison to half-tang knives. An easy way to tell on European knives is where you see 3 rivets along the handle (like on Wusthof and Victorinox professional forged knives) that indicate the steel extending to the end of the knife. Another indication is if there is steel displayed along the spine of the handle or at the end of the base of the handle of Japanese knives like Shun or Miyabi. Global knives are all full-tang and easily identifiable as the iconic dimpled handle is engineered onto the same single piece of steel.
Where can I get help choosing knives?
Our customer service team are highly knowledgeable in choosing the right knives for your needs, many of whom have prior experience working in hospitality. We help thousands of customers each year from home cooks to professional chefs, as well as collecting their feedback. Everten's team is continually educated directly by the knife brands and distributors with each collection that is released so that we stay informed on the latest products to continually be able to assist our customers in making an informed decision. We also publish all our product reviews received from customers like yourself to help you with unbias research and feedback.
