There are kitchen knives of all shapes and sizes out there, and while serious cooks may want as many on hand as possible, for most of us a careful selection of appropriate knives will be all that's necessary. Kitchen knives come in a huge variety of materials and quality varies greatly - better knives will be well balanced, sharp and easy to use. So once you've got the right one, it's important to take care of it.

Kitchen Knife Styles

The cook's knife is usually the most heavy-duty knife in a collection (short of a meat cleaver). It's a bad, solidly constructed knife with a wide blade that is used for slicing, dicing and chopping. A slicing knife is also long, but is not as wide as the cook's knife, and is used for tasks such as slicing ham. Bread knives have serrated blades that can easily and neatly trim slices off a tasty loaf. Paring knives are much smaller and are generally the most-used knife in the house. They're useful for peeling, cutting and dicing fruits, vegetables, cheeses and many other foods.

Caring for Your Knives

It's a good idea to use a polyethylene or timber cutting board, rather than marble, glass or stone. These other materials can blunt and even take a knick out of your expensive knife.

You should clean your knife immediately after use, wash it down and put it away. If you leave it lying around in the sink to bang around with other knives and dishes, over time it will lose its edge. If you have a carbon steel knife, leaving it around in a wet area will also leave more chances for rust and discolouration.

Also avoid putting your expensive knife in the dishwasher - the heat will cause the handle to expand in a different manner to the blade, eventually making it looser and rendering your knife potentially unsafe.

Storing Your Knives

There are a number of ways to store your knives. A magnetic rack is one good idea - they are very strong and keep knives within reaching distance for easy access while cooking.

A knife block is another common means of storing knives out in the open. Usually made from steel or wood, they sit on the counter top with the handles of your various knives sticking out of them.

If you need to store your knives in a drawer, then you'll need knife sleeves, which are rigid plastic sleeves that encompass the blade. Some types of knives come with a knife sleeve that includes a built-in sharpener.