5 Steps: How to Choose the Right Knives for Your Kitchen

Kitchen cutlery is one area that most home cook neglect. Even though they use knives every day, they fail to find and buy the right set of knives for their kitchen. Life is a lot easier when you have a good set of knives. Don't waste money on the economical junk found in many large retailers.

Steps

1. Decide whether you want to buy an entire set or buy just the pieces you need. There are benefits to both. When you buy an entire set, it usually costs less than buying the pieces individually and you get a nice block to store it in. When you buy individually, you have more control over what you're buying and can only buy the pieces you need.
2. Figure out what types of knives you need and what types you want.You are going to need a good chef's knife or Santoku. Bread knives and paring knives come in handy as well. A cleaver will make life easier if you cook a lot of meat.
3. Research brands that you're interested in. Look them up online and get a good idea of what the sets you like are going to cost. Make sure you go to a site like Amazon that has a lot of review to see what others have to say about the knives you're interested in. One unhappy person shouldn't make or break your decision, especially if there are a lot of other reviews. Hundreds of unhappy people are a good indicator you should look somewhere else.
4. Once you have a few sets in mind, locate a cutlery store in your area. Go to the store and check out the knives in person. This is an important step and should not be skipped. You need to actually hold the knives and see how they feel. If they're uncomfortable in the store, they're going to be even more uncomfortable after a long day cooking. Some stores even have demo knives that they will let you cut food items with.
5. Found a set you like? Now it's time to find the best price. The cutlery stores probably don't have the best price on the set you want, but they may be willing to match or beat the prices you found on the Internet. Prices are almost always negotiable. If the cutlery store isn't willing to work with you, the big-box retailers are usually willing to be advertised prices. If you can't find a better deal in a brick and mortar store, go home and order it online. Just be aware that it can be a hassle returning defective items to some of these places.

Warnings

• The perfect set of knives for someone else may not be a good match for you. Don't assume that just because someone else gave the set a glowing review, you're going to love it too. There is no single set that's a good match for everyone.
• Make sure you know the return policy of the store you're buying from and make sure you read the warranty information on the knives before buying them.