February 01, 2021

Everything You Need to Know About F. Dick Chef Knife

A chef knife is an all-purpose kitchen knife that originated in France and spread quickly throughout the western world. Due to its multipurpose nature, it has become the go-to knife for general tasks in most kitchens. F Dick is a German company which manufactures and distributes kitchen cutlery all over the world. They have different knife series which feature varied designs of knives, including the F Dick chef knife. F Dick combines function and aesthetics to create a unique brand of chef knives. Check out some of their features.

What They're Used For?

An F Dick chef knife can rise to any occasion. It can julienne carrots, chop up herbs, mince garlic, slice ham and even carve the chicken.

The Steel Blade

The F Dick chef knife is made from high-quality stainless steel and a little carbon. The stainless steel itself is an alloy of metals such as molybdenum, nickel, and chromium, which all combine to give the steel an extremely high level of corrosion resistance. With proper care, an F Dick chef knife should last you a long, long time without corroding.

Although carbon is prone to rust, it is useful in balancing out the softness of stainless steel. It keeps the blade tough enough not to bend under pressure.

The Shape of the Blade

Most F Dick chef knives have the traditional shape consisting of a sharp tip and an edge that slopes upward from the handle to the tip, forming a belly. This shape allows you to make rocking cuts. Rocking cuts are done by placing the ingredient in the middle of the blade and then rocking the knife from the tip to the heel to cut up the item. Thus, different parts of the knife blade come into contact with the cutting board. You can't use this method with a flat-bellied knife.

One F Dick chef knife that defies this shape is the F DICK Red Spirit AJAX Chef's Knife 20cm. Designed as a blend of tradition and modernity, it looks like a cross between a French chef knife and a meat cleaver.

In fact, the name Ajax is a result of F Dick's penchant for naming meat cleavers after mythological gods and heroes. Its blade is broader than the typical chef knife, while its tip tapers down to a sharp point, unlike a meat cleaver which has a blunt, straight tip. This chef knife can be used for both meat and vegetables.

F DICK Red Spirit AJAX Chef's Knife 20cm

Scalloped Blades

Sometimes ingredients stick onto the blade as you cut, forcing you to keep stopping to push them off the blade. To prevent this from happening, some knives have semi-circular indentations or scallops along the edge. These create air pockets between the food and the knife, reducing friction and ultimately reducing sticking. An edge with this kind of indentations is called a Granton edge.

The F Dick Premier Plus Chef's Knife Kullenschliff 21cm features oval scallops along the edge of the blade for this purpose. It's very useful if you're cutting a large number of ingredients because you'll save a lot of time.

F Dick Premier Plus Chef's Knife Kullenschliff 21cm

The Tang

Have you ever had a knife blade suddenly get detached from the knife handle as you cut up ingredients? This can happen if the knife is partial tang, with the blade only reaching about halfway through the handle.

F Dick chef knives are full tang, meaning that the blade runs right through to the end of the knife handle, and doesn't stop somewhere in the middle. This gives the knives added strength and balance.

Straight Vs Serrated Edge

Most chef knives have a straight edge, but you can find one or two with a serrated edge. An example of an F Dick chef knife with a serrated edge is the F Dick Pro-Dynamic Chef Knife Serrated Edge 26cm. It works just like any other chef knife, but the serrated edge comes with a number of advantages:

It stays sharp for a much longer period of time than a straight-edged F Dick chef knife.
The serrated edge allows it to make short work of ingredients with a tough outer cover and a soft interior, like tomatoes.

Serrated edges, however, have one drawback: Although they stay sharp for a long time, eventually they do go blunt. Sharpening a serrated knife is more difficult than sharpening a straight edge knife.

F Dick Pro-Dynamic Chef Knife Serrated Edge 26cm

The Handles

F Dick chef knives come with handles of different shapes, colors, and sizes, but with a number of common features. Here are some of them.

Ergonomic - The handles are designed to fit comfortably in the hand, following the contours of the hand to make you feel at one with the knife.
Water-resistant - The knife handles are impervious to water, even when they're made of wood, like the F DICK 1778 Series Plumwood Chef Knife 24cm, which has a plum wood handle. This prevents dampness, which attracts harmful germs that can contaminate food.

F DICK 1778 Series Plumwood Chef Knife 24cm

Non-slip - To inspire confidence, a knife needs to feel secure. There is nothing as bad as a knife that keeps on slipping out of your hand when you're cutting wet ingredients. Every F Dick chef knife has a non-slip, secure handle that stays firmly in the hand.

The Chinese Chef Knife

Chef knives originated in France, but the Chinese also have their version of the chef knife. Unlike the traditional chef knife which sports a sharp-tipped blade, the Chinese chef knife features a broad, rectangular blade with a flat tip. In fact, you would almost confuse it with a meat cleaver, although it is finer and lighter.

The F DICK 1778 Series Plumwood Chinese Chef Knife 18cm is ideal for chopping up fruits, vegetables, and even poultry. Its plum wood handle is ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in your hand and deliver a firm grip. You can also place your thumb and forefinger at the back of the blade for extra balance.