In the restaurant world, kitchen knives are to chefs what Air Jordans are to sneakerheads. These tools of the trade are fetishised, pawed over and collected, a physical extension of the craft and personality of their owners. Those who obsess over them might debate whether the hand-crafted Blenheim Forge paring blade is better than a Japanese gyuto. Yet there is always one knife that holds a special force of attraction over its owner. Here, three London chefs discuss their relationship with the blade.

“I have knives for herbs, fish, all sorts. My current carving knife is a Miyabi. It comes out once or twice a week. But my latest is the Sujihiki, a Blenheim Forge speciality. It translates as ‘Flesh Slicer’ and has a long narrow blade for slicing meat and fish. The quality and craftsmanship of these hand-forged knives mean they’re a joy to use. James Ross-Harris and Jon Warshawsky [co-founders of Blenheim Forge] are self-taught blacksmiths and truly love their craft.”

“It’s nickel and iron Damascus clad, so it’s stunning. Different knives suit different people. We had a chef here with an £800 knife, but it didn’t suit my posture, so it’s not always about expense. I like a brushed-steel blade, not carbon, as it’s not ideal for Western cooking. In Japanese cookery, there isn’t a lot of acidity whereas we have onions, leeks, citrus, etc, which can affect the patina. Sharpening is imperative. I’ve known chefs who clean and sharpen their knives for 30 minutes after every single service. For me, just a couple of strokes on a steel will do. My final advice is don’t let anyone go near them. They’ll mess them up. We learn that right from the start in our industry.”

“I used it on a bone in ribeye the other day and it was perfect.”

thequalitychophouse.com

“My go-to is a beautiful 20cm chef’s knife and a paring knife by Florentine Kitchen Knives. The knives are custom made, both with a gorgeous handle of alternating stacked rings of coloured micarta, leather and metal. Florentine Kitchen Knives are made in Barcelona by an Israeli designer called Tomer Botner. The amount of work that goes into each knife is astounding.”

“They’re perfectly balanced and great to handle. The chef’s knife has a great weight to it without being too heavy and the paring knife is nifty. Maintenance is key. Always wash them by hand. And keep them sharp. As chefs, we spend long days in the kitchen, so when we get home we like easy, useful tools and these have the added bonus of being pretty, too.”

“I like to make a chopped salad with the chef’s knife. It’s amazing for finely chopping herbs for zehug, our favourite coriander relish.”

honeyandco.co.uk

“My knife set is an extension of myself as a chef. Different tasks call for different knives, so I have a collection. Most of them are Japanese, but I also have a few German and French ones and one Italian. There is one I’m more attached to – my meat butchering knife. I recall one of my first butchering knives being flexible and one of my chefs telling me it was rubbish. I went home and looked through my mum's knife collection. I happened to find one that met the criteria I was looking for: sharp, inflexible blade and with a perfect shape. I didn't ask my mum before swapping it with my lesser knife.”

“There are important differences between Japanese and Western knives. For example, Western knives tend to be heavier. Japanese knives have a finer-angled blade. Additionally, they often have a single bevel, which means they are only angled on one side of the blade, which enables extremely delicate slicing. My butchering knife is perfectly balanced. It is equally weighted on each side. I store it in a leather knife sheath.”

“They play a part in almost every dish on the menu at Zuma London. I enjoy using them all every day.”

zumarestaurant.com