KNIVES: BASICS AND TERMINOLOGY
Tang, grind and bolster - there are lots of terms you should look out for when shopping for knives, especially if you’re looking to buy the right knife for a specific purpose. We’re here to help you by presenting you with detailed information on all the vital terminology and main parts of a knife.
THE HANDLE
The handles of our knives are a fusion of design and functionality. A good handle is crucial not only for comfort, but also for efficiency and safety when chopping. When speaking about handles, there’s another specialist term that comes into play: balance. This refers to the weight being evenly distributed between the blade and handle, which is important for making your knife easy to work with for longer periods. An ergonomic handle means that the knife can be gripped securely and slips can be avoided. Our range includes a variety of different handle shapes and materials. The best way to find the knife that feels best in your hand is to hold and try out various handle designs.
HANDLE MATERIALS
If we delve a little deeper into the wide variety of handles featured in the selection of knives available from ZWILLING, there are three main types: They mainly vary in terms of material, meaning they have different properties and so differ in their use.
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Plastic handles are shock- and scratch-proof, highly durable and also stable, even when temperatures fluctuate. These handles are dishwasher-safe, but this may make them turn dull and brittle over time.
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We only use robust, premium types of wood for our wooden knife handles. Wooden handles are comfortable to hold and use, but, as this is a natural material, there are some things to note: wood may swell when it comes into contact with water, change color when used often, become brittle or even break. What you should take away from this is that knives with wooden handles are essentially not dishwasher-safe and should be oiled on a regular basis. Follow this advice and you’ll be able to enjoy a beautiful, comfortable handle on your knife for a long time to come.
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Micarta brings the benefits of wood and plastic together: heat and pressure are applied to layers of linen and synthetic resin to form the material. Micarta stands out with its wood-like appearance, whilst holding its shape as well as plastic. This material is best washed by hand to preserve the look and feel.
TYPES OF TANGS
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The tang is the part of the blade that connects to the knife handle. There are two types: the full and the partial tang. A partial tang refers to when the tang is permanently bonded to a plastic handle, like in the ★★★★ Four Star series.
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A full tang refers to when the handle is mounted around the tang, like in the Professional “S” series. Rivets are used to attach the handle to the tang, and so a full tang is generally visible.
FINISHING AND OTHER TERMS
Finishing
At ZWILLING, we finish our knives, which means that they are neatened and buffed to ensure a smooth transition from blade to handle, regardless of the material used to make the handle. This makes it easier to rock chop and is also more hygienic as no scraps of food can get trapped.
Metal bolster
Bolsters can have various functions depending on their form: they reinforce the area where the blade transitions into the handle as knives are subjected to an enormous amount of force when being used to chop. Huge stress is mainly put on the bolster and surrounding area when chopping. A full bolster prevents the knife from bending when being used to cut. All SIGMAFORGE® knives have this kind of metal bolster reinforcement. Stamped blades are connected to the handle without a bolster, and this is the main difference between stamped and forged blades.
A further advantage of full bolsters which extend down to the heel is that they make for a safe grip and protect fingers. The extended part of the bolster prevents fingers from slipping and coming into contact with the blade. Bolsters also provide an elegant connection between the blade and handle, making for a seamless transition from blade to bolster to handle.
Knife edge
Without a sharpened edge, a blade wouldn’t cut through anything. When whetting a knife, material is removed from both sides of the grind until the cutting edge becomes sharp. In order to create a fine, sharp edge, as is the case with our knives, a blade has to be tough and resilient, otherwise, a fine, thin blade would break or become misshapen at the first chop. A knife made from high-quality steel can be easily sharpened to create a uniform edge.
THE DIFFERENT EDGES
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A V-edge is symmetrical and formed in three steps. Both sides of the blade are pulled across a rough grinding belt. Each side is then finely honed, which also serves to remove any burrs that may have formed and polish the grind. The angle created is around 15 °C per side.
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A RAZOR EDGE is formed by polishing a much larger surface, as is the case with ZWILLING Santoku knives. The wide polishing action produces a large and particularly flat surface on and around the grind, which reduces friction when cutting. The knife will glide through food so you can achieve a fine, precise cut even with little effort. Knives with a RAZOR EDGE feature a grind with an approx. 10 °C angle per side.
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THE GRIND
The term ‘grind’ refers to the part of the blade that gets sharpened. Depending on the sharpening process and the type of knife, different grinds can be created.
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A flat grind makes for a clean cut without the food being pulled apart. It is suitable for cutting both hard and soft food, such as vegetables, meat and fruit. A flat grind is also required for peeling.
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A Kullenschliff, or scalloped, edge refers to the dimples featured on the front and back of the blade. Air gets trapped to create air pockets during the cutting action, meaning that food comes away from the blade more easily.
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Most of the ZWILLING bread and utility knives have this feature. Serrations are deep and pointed, making for a high initial cutting performance and prolonged edge retention.
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Reverse-serrated blades feature a mixture of large and small rounded teeth, which prevent any pushing and pulling when cutting, as can sometimes happen with serrated blades. This type of blade can handle practically any type of food, whether that be hard, crusty bread or large pieces of fruit.
DESIGN AND SHAPE OF THE BLADE
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The spine is straight whilst the cutting edge is curved.
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Both spine and cutting edge are curved and come together to form the point.
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The spine is curved whilst the cutting edge runs straight to meet the point. The blade can be pulled straight across a surface, without a rocking motion.
