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Knife Sets - Basic Information to help your online Shopping!

Do you like to cook? Then keep in mind that a few quality knives will make your next meal that much better. Knife sets are a good buy, especially when compared to shopping for individual cutlery.

You can buy a 2 or 3 piece starter set which typically includes a chef's knife, paring and utility knife. These three knives allow you the versatility to chop, cut, dice and slice. Of course, you're missing the kitchen shears, bread knife and sharpening steel.

For a more extensive cutting selection, cutlery housed in a stainless steel or wood block can be purchased with up to 26 pieces. These sets can be very useful. A quality Wusthof, Shun or Henckels knife set can last you a lifetime if taken care of and sharpened properly.

Knife set basics:

• Sets can run from 3 piece starter to 26 piece sets
  
• Starter sets typically include chef's, paring and utility knife
  
• Sets include a variety of kitchen knives
  
• Wooden block sets are useful and decorative. They can also provide safety and storage

Considerations

Even though buying a set of knives can save you money; you won't save anything if you're buying knives that don't work for you. For example, don't buy a block set with a 10" chef's knife that feels unwieldy and other awkward sized knives. Instead, buy one with knives that are a comfortable size for you.

On buying a small set versus a large set? With a larger set you will have a full selection of cutting tools. In a 26-piece set, pieces may include steak knives, 2 chef knives, a Santoku, bread, paring, utility, boning, utility, shears, cleaver, sharpening steel and more. A smaller set, such an 8 piece one, will have far fewer cutting tools. However, if you're shopping for a premium brand larger sets can be very expensive. You may want to start out with a smaller sized one and add new knives as you see fit. The nice thing is that most smaller knife block sets have additional slots. Use these to try different cutlery and brands. After you buy, learn some basic knife tips.