A high-quality forged knife is made from a single piece of high-carbon stainless steel before being tempered, ground and polished and the final application of the cutting edge. Nowadays high-technology is applied to the manufacturing process but many of the final stages are still carried out by hand by skilled craftsmen.

The Blade is the most important part of the knife. This is forged from a single piece of steel, before being ground and polished.

The Edge will have been sharpened and honed by hand to produce a very sharp cutting edge.

The Handle may be made from stainless steel or polyester. In either case it will be ergonomically shaped for comfort and safety.

The Heel is a part of the Handle that assists in providing the control needed for accurate cutting.

The Tang is an extension of the Blade that goes right through the Handle to provide strength and balance.

The Bolster is an integral part of the Blade’s construction and helps to provide balance.

The Finger Guard prevents fingers from coming into contact with the Blade.

Types of Knife - The Right Knife for the Right Job

There are many different types of kitchen knife. Selecting the right knife for the right job will not only make the job easier but also safer. These are some of the most common types. You will probably want to have a good selection of these in your kitchen.

Paring Knife	For peeling, mincing, coring and dicing fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Peeling Knife	The 'birds beak' shape is designed for peeling, cleaning or shaping any fruit or vegetable with a rounded surface.
Utility Knife	A versatile knife, shaped like a large paring knife, for mincing shallots, onions and herbs as well as cleaning and cutting vegetables, slicing cheese and trimming fat off meats.
Boning Knife	For de-boning meat, poultry or ham, and trimming fat and sinews. The tapered, pointed blade is for working closely around bones.
Fillet Knife	Has a thin, flexible blade, for filleting delicate fish or preparing carpaccio or sushi.
Cooks Knife	The most essential knife in the serious cook’s kitchen. For coarse or fine chopping, mincing and dicing of virtually every kind of food. The curved edge facilitates a good cutting action with the heel of the blade. Not to be used to chop through bones.
Carving Knife	For larger cuts of meat and larger fruits and vegetables. The blade should be thin for slicing but stiff enough to avoid flexing too much.
Bread Knife	The small serrations are designed to saw through hard crusts without crumbling.
Speciality Knives	There are many knives designed for specific jobs e.g. the serrated edge on this Tomato Knife can slice even ripe tomatoes thinly without crushing and the forked tip can be used for serving.
Oriental Cooks Knife	For the authentic preparation of Oriental food. Increasingly popular with the popularity of Eastern cuisine.
East-West Knife	Fusion knives combine the best of East and West. The shape of the blade allows an Oriental-style chopping action as well as the cutting/rocking action of a western cook’s knife.

Knife Ranges

These high-quality knives are designed to perform under the demanding conditions of commercial kitchens and, whether for home or professional use, if looked after will last for many years. We recommend the following:

Wusthof precision-forged knives are manufactured in Solingen, Germany, which is often known as ‘the knife capital of the world’. Each knife is precision forged from a single piece of chrome-molybdenum steel (X 50 Cr Mo 15). This specialized high carbon, stain resistant alloy ensures that the critical characteristics of a Wusthof knife are there right from the beginning: a razor sharp, long-lasting cutting edge which is easily restorable and has high stain resistance.

Wusthof Knives are perfectly balanced for effortless cutting, with the signature Wusthof bolster providing heft and safety, and a seamless, hygienic fit between handle, bolster and tang. The ergonomic handles are sized and proportioned for the specific use of each knife.

The traditional Wusthof Classic range has ergonomic, high impact, triple-riveted poly handles, a functional, solid, reliable design and more than 75 different items with 5 different handle sizes.

The stylish Wusthof Culinar range features sculpted handles of 18/10 stainless steel with an elegant satin finish and impressive weight, heft and balance. Each knife is individually boxed and there are more than 30 individual styles with 4 different handle sizes.

The Wusthof Le Cordon Bleu range is a result of the combined expertise of Le Cordon Bleu Institute and Wusthof, created to meet the exacting standards of the worlds great chefs. The lighter bolster design allows more agility and reduces fatigue, while retaining the Wusthof qualities of balance and heft.

Furi Since their launch in Australia in the late 1990's, Furi-pro knives have been rapidly adopted around the world by those for whom they were designed - professional chefs and keen home cooks. Designed in Australia by engineers and chefs, Furi-pro knives have a number of important features:

Hygiene The one-piece seamless stainless steel construction means no gaps or seams for food or germs to hide in so they are hygienic and easy to clean.

Grip The wedge-shaped handle resists slip toward the blade even with wet or oily hands and the handle surface has vertical microgrooves to provide extra grip.

Comfort The ergonomic handle shape fits the hand naturally. Chefs with arthritis helped design the handle for comfort and usability.

Durability There are no rivets or handle pieces to fall apart or melt due to the one-piece seamless construction and they come with a lifetime warranty.

Sharpening Made from a high carbon stainless steel alloy which holds its edge like vanadium alloys, but is much easier to sharpen, and is tougher and less likely to snap or chip.

Furi FX forged knives are manufactured using a forged exoskeleton - instead of adding handle parts around a forged tang the handle parts are fused with the knife into one seamless piece, to provide extra strength and balance. The Furi FX range features the COPPERTAIL counterbalancing copper insert in the handle, which can be shaved down to reduce the weight of the handle and rebalance the knife after years of repeated sharpening.

Care and Sharpening

Cleaning Knives can be cleaned in a dishwasher but there is a danger that the edge can become damaged by banging against other items in the basket. We would recommend that, to preserve your knives, you wash them with warm water and detergent, then rinse and dry with a towel.

Storing For proper storage we recommend keeping your knives in a knife block or on a Magnetic Rail. If you do keep your knives loose we recommend using a blade guard.

Honing & Sharpening Knife Sharpening Technique
With regular use, a knife will lose its "bite". A Sharpening Steel will realign the edge and keep it sharp. A sharpening steel however will not put an edge back on a knife that has become blunt. For this you need a Diamond Steel, which is coated with industrial diamonds. Whether you use a sharpening steel or a diamond steel, you must take care to apply the proper technique. The wrong technique can damage you knife irreparably. Use a steel which is longer than your knife. Hold the steel with one hand and the knife with the other, and guide the blade with light pressure across the steel in an arching motion, at a 20 degree angle to the steel. Repeat 6 - 8 times. Never stroke each side more than once in succession.

Using a steel does require a certain amount of skill. If you prefer, there are other devices which allow you to sharpen your knives but without the need for any special technique. The Furi Tech Edge is a complete knife sharpening system for all non-serrated knives, which reshapes worn cutting edges to create the correct profile, applies a very sharp cutting edge, which is ideal for cooks knives and most kitchen knives, and can also apply a very fine and extremel sharp final hone, which is ideal for fine slicing knives and most small knives.

Knife Sharpeners

Further Information

Wusthof Trident
Furitechnics

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