---
title: "Knife Skills: The One Investment Worth Making in Your Cooking"
created: 2025-01-15 10:00
author: Amelia Fontaine
keywords: knife skills, chopping, chef's knife, sharpening, technique
description: Which knife to buy, how to sharpen it, and five essential cuts explained with technique — including why a sharp knife is not just convenient but fundamental.
---

# Knife Skills: The One Investment Worth Making in Your Cooking

If someone asked me where to spend their first serious kitchen investment, I would not say a stand mixer, a cast-iron pan, or a sous vide machine. I would say: one good knife and the time to learn to use it.

A skilled cook with a sharp knife and a wooden board can do almost anything. The average home cook with a drawer full of mediocre, dull knives is constantly fighting their ingredients, which is why cooking sometimes feels exhausting.

## Which Knife

You need one knife primarily: an 8-inch (20cm) chef's knife. Everything else is supplementary. A paring knife for small work, a serrated bread knife for bread — but the chef's knife is the tool you will use for 90% of kitchen tasks.

**What to look for:**
- **Full tang**: The metal should extend all the way through the handle. Partial-tang knives are less balanced and more likely to fail.
- **Weight**: A matter of preference. Heavier knives (German-style, like Wüsthof or Henckels) power through root vegetables. Lighter knives (Japanese-style, like Global or MAC) are more agile for precise work. Try them in your hand before buying if possible.
- **Steel hardness**: Measured in Rockwell hardness (HRC). Japanese knives are typically HRC 60–65 (harder, holds an edge longer, more brittle). German knives are typically HRC 56–58 (softer, easier to resharpen, less likely to chip). Both work excellently.

You do not need to spend a fortune. A reliable £60–80 chef's knife from Victorinox or similar will outperform a poorly maintained £300 knife. What matters more than the knife is the sharpening.

## Sharpening: The Non-Negotiable

A dull knife is dangerous. It requires force, which causes slipping and loss of control. A sharp knife does the work; your job is merely to guide it.

**Whetstone** (recommended): The best method. Use a double-sided stone, 1000 grit (medium) on one side for regular maintenance, 3000–6000 grit (fine) for polishing. Hold the blade at 15–20 degrees to the stone (German knives: 20 degrees; Japanese: 15 degrees). Move the blade across the stone as if slicing a thin layer off the top, heel to tip. Ten strokes per side, then switch. Finish on the fine grit.

This takes practice. The first few times are imperfect. Within a month of weekly sessions, you will feel the difference.

**Honing steel**: Not sharpening — honing realigns the edge between sharpenings. Use before every significant cooking session. The edge of a knife bends microscopically with use; honing straightens it.

**Electric sharpener**: Convenient but aggressive. Removes more metal than a whetstone. Use occasionally as a backup, not as a primary method.

Test sharpness: a sharp knife should glide through a sheet of paper cleanly, or shave arm hair without dragging.

## The Five Essential Cuts

**1. The Chop (rough cut)**
For onions, root vegetables, and anything that doesn't require precision. Curl your fingers so the knuckles act as a guide for the flat of the blade. The knife never leaves contact with the board — you rock from the tip forward. This technique protects your fingertips.

**2. The Slice**
For meat, fish, bread, soft vegetables. A single, fluid motion from heel to tip. Never press or saw; draw the knife through the material. Pressure causes crushing; motion causes cutting.

**3. The Julienne**
Cut the vegetable into planks, then stack and cut into matchsticks. Requires a very sharp knife to avoid crushing soft vegetables. Essential for stir-fries and salads.

**4. The Brunoise (fine dice)**
Julienne first, then cut across the matchsticks to produce tiny cubes (2–3mm). The gold standard for mirepoix, garnishes, and anything where you want the vegetable to disappear into a sauce.

**5. The Chiffonade**
Stack leafy herbs or greens, roll tightly, and slice crosswise into thin ribbons. Minimises bruising compared to chopping.

## The Onion, Properly

The onion is the test of knife skill. Make two horizontal cuts parallel to the board, stopping before the root end. Make multiple vertical cuts from top to root end, again stopping before the root. Then slice crosswise to produce a fine dice that holds together until the last cut because the root end acts as the anchor. The whole thing should take 20 seconds with practice.

Achieving this requires a sharp knife and the technique above. With a dull knife, onions do not cut — they crush, releasing their sulphurous compounds and causing significantly more eye irritation. Another reason sharpening is not optional.

The investment in knife skill repays itself immediately and permanently. It is the one thing in cooking that, once learned, never stops saving you time.
