Editing Chef's knife (section)

== Physical characteristics ==
Chef's knives are made with blades that are either ''forged'' or ''stamped'':
* Forged: A [[forge|hand-forged]] blade is typically of high quality and is made in a multi-step process by highly skilled manual labour. A blank of [[steel]] is heated to a high temperature, and hammered to shape and harden the steel. After forging, the blade is ground and sharpened. Forged knives are generally also [[kitchen knife#Nomenclature|''full-tang'']], meaning the metal in the knife runs from the tip of the knifepoint to the far end of the handle. Commercially made forged knives are struck in a power hammer to produce features such as the bolster.<ref>{{Cite book |author=The Culinary Institute of America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YpbxFXrr4kMC&dq=chefs+knife&pg=PA16 |title=In the Hands of a Chef: The Professional Chef's Guide to Essential Kitchen Tools |date=2007-12-26 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-08026-9 |language=en|page=8}}</ref>
* Stamped: A stamped blade and cut to shape directly from [[Cold work|cold rolled]] [[steel]], [[Annealing (materials science)|annealed]] to be worked, [[Tempering (metallurgy)|tempered]] for toughness, and heat-treated for strength. It is then ground, sharpened, and polished.  This is typical of cheaper, machined, mass-produced knives, but with refined and more detailed processes more frequently high quality knives are made this way, as well.

The [[blade]] of a chef's knife is typically made of carbon steel, stainless steel, or a laminate or folded sandwich of both metals, otherwise it will be a glass-like [[ceramic]]:

* [[Carbon steel]]: An alloy of [[iron]] and approximately 1% [[carbon]]. Most [[carbon steel]] chef's knives are simple carbon iron alloys without exotic additions such as chromium or vanadium. Carbon steel blades are both easier to sharpen than ordinary stainless steel and usually hold an edge longer, but are vulnerable to [[rust]] and stains. Some professional cooks swear by knives of carbon steel because of their sharpness. Over time, a carbon-steel knife will normally acquire a dark [[patina]], and can rust or corrode if not cared for properly by cleaning and lubricating the blade after use. Some chefs also 'rest' their carbon-steel knives for a day after use in order to restore the oxidizing patina, which prevents transfer of metallic tastes to some foods. While some cooks prefer and use carbon steel knives (especially in Asia and the Middle East), others find carbon steel too maintenance-intensive in a kitchen environment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=farahatif |date=2022-12-18 |title=Kiritsuke knife vs Chef Knife - A detailed article |url=https://kitchenvillas.com/kiritsuke-knife-vs-chef-knife/ |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=kitchenvillas.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''[[Stainless steel]]'': An alloy of iron, approximately 10–15% of [[chromium]], [[nickel]], and/or [[molybdenum]], with less than 1% of carbon. Lower grades of stainless steel cannot take as sharp an edge as good-quality high-carbon steels, but are resistant to corrosion, and are inexpensive.  The addition of [[list of blade materials#Common blade alloying elements|other alloy materials]] — such as [[manganese]], [[niobium]], and [[vanadium]] — to improve hardness with ability to form and keep a sharp edge, so can substitute the need for carbon, but this can make the steel harder to work and typically cost more. Pioneered in Japan, higher grade stainless steels with the addition of other alloys: [[cobalt]], [[vanadium]], and [[tungsten]], (sometimes as a carbide), produced with a very fine grained structure — as in the [[list of blade materials#VG series|VG series]] culminating with [[VG-10]] manufactured by Takefu Special Steels<ref>{{cite web|title=VG10 Features|url=http://www.e-tokko.com/eng_vg10.htm|website=Takefu Special Steel Co., Ltd.|access-date=11 November 2016}}</ref> — resulting in extremely sharp blades with excellent edge retention, and equal or outperform carbon steel blades.
* ''[[Laminated steel blade|Laminated steel]]'': developed from high quality blade using steels of differing tempers — tough and flexible versus hard but brittle — as seen in [[san mai|san-mai]] steel blades either folded together many times over giving a [[Damascus steel]] blade or forge-welded together with the hard steel for the edge and tough steels for the spine and flats of the blade. A laminated knife tries to use the best of each material within this [[Japanese swordsmithing#assembly|layered sandwich of different materials]], with the softer-but-tough steel as the backing material for the general blade resilience and a sharper/harder — but more brittle — steel as the edge material.
* [[Ceramic blades]] hold an edge the longest of all, but they chip easily and may break if dropped. They also require special equipment and expertise to resharpen. They are [[sintering|sintered]] to shape with [[zirconium oxide]] powder. They are chemically non-reactive, so will not discolour or taint / change the taste of food.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Handles are made of wood, steel, or synthetic/composite materials.

=== Edge ===
[[Image:Chef's Knife.jpg|thumb|360px|A German-style of chef's knife with arrowhead triangular tip]]

The edge may be [[grind|ground]] in different ways:

*a [[grind#typical grinds|double or compound grind]], V-shape, with either a single or double bevel<ref name="beveltypes">{{cite web | title = Knife Edge Grind Types Illustrated | publisher = zknives.com | url = http://zknives.com/knives/articles/knifeedgetypes.shtml | access-date = 2010-05-07}}</ref>
*a [[grind#typical grinds|convex grind]]<ref name="beveltypes" />
*a [[grind#typical grinds|hollow grind]] with a concave edge<ref name="beveltypes" />
*a [[grind#typical grinds|single grind]] or chisel edge — resulting in a 'handed' knife, in most cases ground for right-handed cooks — typical in Japanese knives, termed ''kataba'', but rare in European ones.<ref name="beveltypes" />

In order to improve the chef's knife's multi-purpose abilities, some users employ ''differential sharpening'' along the length of the blade. The fine tip, used for precision work such as mincing, might be ground with a very sharp, acute cutting bevel; the midsection or belly of the blade receives a moderately sharp edge for general cutting, chopping and slicing, while the heavy heel or back of the cutting edge is given a strong, thick edge for heavy-duty tasks, for example disjointing beef.  This differential sharpening suits European chef's knives with the heavy heel of the blade at the base at the bolster.