kitchen knife

A selection of various typical Western knife types found in a domestic kitchen. From the top: tourné, paring, utility, boning, cook's, bread, carving, chef's knife, meat cleaver

A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation, as opposed to a table knife used when eating, as part of a set of cutlery. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives—notably a large chef's knife and a smaller serrated blade utility knife—there are also many specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks such as a tough cleaver, a small paring knife, and a bread knife. Kitchen knives can be made from several different materials, though the most common is a hardened steel blade with a wooden handle.