There’s no shortage of uses for your EDC knife. Sometimes, you’ll need it to pull food prep duty when you’re out and about, whereas at home you’d probably just grab something from the kitchen drawer. Sure, your EDC knife can slice up an apple, cut a sandwich, and open up a stubborn bag of chips, but a specialized tool is better for the job. Think about it: you wouldn’t use a 2” tanto blade for peeling and slicing up a piece of fruit. The same goes for in the kitchen. There are many different knife types that are designed for specific tasks — and for good reason. In this guide, we’ll show you what to look for in an EDC blade that makes it great for food prep and then compare it to their kitchen counterparts that take it to the next level.
What to Look for in a Food Prep EDC Knife
- Defined tip for slicing: a well defined tip comes in handy for slicing tasks. Usually you’d slice with the tip of the knife at a high angle, or the belly of the blade at a low angle. This dragging motion to slice is great for breaking down vegetables into thin strips for snacking, or slicing up a steak (remember to slice across the grain!).
- Wide blade for spreading: Too narrow of a blade will make it especially hard to spread. When spreading (peanut butter, jelly, cream cheese, etc.), you’re going to want a knife with a wide enough blade to hold enough spread with a plain edge blade. Serrations and bevels are best left behind – they’re just extra crannies for food to stick on to.
- Grippy handle for peeling: You’re definitely going to want a handle that you can securely hold. Peeling an apple is precision work, usually done with the blade pointed back at your hand or body. You want a small, thin, nimble blade that you can easily control with one hand with an equally grippy handle. The blade should be thin so you can get close to the skin.
These features are common to a wide range of EDC blades, and you’re sure to find one that suits your needs. A Swiss Army Knife like this is handy to have around for its bottle and can openers alone, and its main blade does a decent job for most basic prep. But even a Swiss Army Knife isn’t cut out for the brunt of serious meal prep—dicing, chopping, and mincing—and can be flat out tedious due to its small size. If you’re doing a ton of food prep, you should know your way around a real kitchen knife.
In the Kitchen, Use the Right Tool for the Job
By having a set of specialized knives ready to go in your kitchen, you’ll make quick work of cooking that huge holiday meal (or just a regular weeknight dinner). For this example, we’ll be looking at Victorinox’s line of Fibrox Pro kitchen knives and the specialized features that make preparing food with them that much easier.
Chef’s Knife: The Chef’s knife is an excellent multi-purpose blade that can achieve a variety of slices, cuts, dices, and more. The long curved belly of the blade can be rocked back and forth to make quick work of dicing vegetables or herbs, while the blade steel is beefy enough for some light to medium duty butchering. At 8” long, this knife can fly through a ton of food at one time, cutting down (no pun intended) on tedious chopping. Blade control is made easier by Victorinox’s special Fibrox handle that stays grippy when wet, dry, or even oily. ($45)
Slicing Knife: This 12” blade features a blunted edge and a unique “granton” edge. The blade on a slicing knife is longer so you can take advantage of a horizontal cutting motion (versus downwards). The steel is also thin, so you can achieve a very thin slice without damaging the food. What makes this blade unique is the granton edge. Essentially, there are small divots along the edge of the blade that cut down the surface area between the knife and the food. The result is that less food sticks to the blade and slices fall off as you cut them. ($65)
Bread Knife: These long serrated knives are ideal for cutting bread. The teeth along the bottom of the blade are used to saw through a loaf of bread (as opposed to pushing down on it). The horizontal sawing motion prevents you from crushing the loaf of bread. They’re also good for cutting fruit and vegetables that can be easily squished – like a tomato. ($45)
Paring Knife: Paring knives are smaller and much more manageable with one hand. Since they’re smaller, they can be used to peel fruit and vegetables or make delicate and precise cuts. This knife is probably the closest to your EDC blade, measuring in around 3.5”. They’re very versatile thanks to the slightly curved blade shape and sharp defined point. The paring knife picks up where the Chef’s knife leaves off. They’re ideal for prepping small vegetables where an 8” blade would be unwieldy. ($9.75)
A pocket knife with a defined tip, reasonably wide blade, and a nice grippy handle will definitely get you through a few light food prep tasks. If you really want to make your meal times easier (and food look and taste better) consider getting one of these real-deal chef’s knives from Victorinox. Each knife in the Fibrox Pro series features premium stainless steel, a laser-tested edge, and a non-slip resin handle. They come highly recommended by home cooks and pro chefs alike. Step up your chef skills with a knife at the link below.
This is a sponsored post presented by Victorinox.
