SANTOKU
SANTOKU
In short
Most home cooks only need four knives: a chef’s knife (or a santoku) for everyday prep, a paring knife for detail, a serrated bread knife, and a carving knife for roasts. Start there, buy quality once, and add a nakiri or utility knife later if you find a job they’d do better.
Watch any professional cook and you’ll notice they reach for a small number of knives again and again — not a giant block of them. Each knife is built for a job, and a sensible core set covers almost everything a home kitchen needs. If you’re just starting out and wondering which kitchen knives you actually need, this is the short, honest list.
Do you really need more than one knife?
Yes — but not many more. One knife can’t do everything safely. A big chef’s knife is superb for chopping but awkward for peeling an apple or deseeding a chilli; a serrated bread knife is wrong for fine slicing. Using the wrong size or shape for a task is also how accidents happen — force a razor-sharp blade through something too hard and it can slip. A small, well-chosen set is safer and makes cooking easier.
The four essential kitchen knives
If you want to handle almost any kitchen task with ease, start with these four.
1. Chef’s knife
The workhorse and the most important knife in the kitchen. A chef’s knife (usually 8–10 inches) handles chopping, slicing and dicing across meat, vegetables and herbs. If you buy one knife well, make it this one — or its Japanese equivalent, the santoku.
2. Paring knife
A small 3–4 inch blade for the detail work a big knife can’t do: peeling, trimming, deseeding, hulling strawberries, finely slicing garlic. Nimble in the hand and endlessly useful.
3. Bread (serrated) knife
The serrated knife does far more than slice bread. Its toothed edge grips and cuts cleanly through anything with a firm skin and soft inside — tomatoes, peppers, pineapple, cakes — without crushing them. Once you own one you’ll reach for it constantly.
4. Carving knife
A long, narrow blade for slicing cooked meat neatly and cleanly off the bone — the knife that comes out for the Sunday roast. If you only add one “butcher’s” knife to your kit, make it this.
Two worth adding next
Once you have the essentials, these two earn their place for most cooks:
• Santoku — a shorter, lighter Japanese all-rounder that does most of what a chef’s knife does, with a flatter profile many find easier for push-cutting vegetables. See our santoku spotlight.
• Utility knife — a mid-sized 4–7 inch blade for the jobs your chef’s knife is too big for and your paring knife too small: trimming, sandwiches, smaller cuts of meat.
Where to start: three we’d recommend
You don’t have to buy everything at once. Start with one excellent all-rounder and build from there. These are in-stock, best-rated Japanese-steel options.
★★★★★ 4.87 (111 reviews)
The all-purpose Japanese chef’s knife — the single best first buy for most kitchens.
View the Haruta Gyuto →
★★★★★ 4.87 (111 reviews)
Shorter and lighter than a chef’s knife, and brilliant on vegetables — a great alternative first knife.
View the Haruta Santoku →
★★★★★ 4.94 (119 reviews)
Our best-reviewed range, sold as singles up to a full set — buy the knife you need now and add to it later.
View the Aiko Black →Prefer to buy the essentials together? Browse knife sets, single knives and chef knives, or read our guide to the best knife sets for the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
What knives does every kitchen need?
Four: a chef’s knife (or a santoku) for everyday prep, a paring knife for detail work, a serrated bread knife, and a carving knife for roasts. That covers almost every kitchen task.
Do I really need more than one kitchen knife?
Yes — one knife can’t do everything safely. A big chef’s knife is wrong for peeling, and a bread knife is wrong for fine slicing. A small core set is safer and easier to use.
Is a santoku or a chef’s knife better to start with?
Both are excellent all-rounders. A chef’s knife has a pointed tip and a rocking motion; a santoku is shorter, lighter and great for push-cutting vegetables. Pick whichever feels better in your hand.
How many kitchen knives is enough?
For most home cooks, four to six. Start with the four essentials and add a nakiri or utility knife only if you find a job they would do better.
What order should I buy kitchen knives in?
Start with one very good chef’s knife or santoku, then add a paring knife, then a bread and carving knife. Buy quality once rather than a big cheap block set.
Related guides
Ready to build your kit? Start with one great knife.
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