The knife was once seen merely as the sharp metallic hunk for occasionally cutting up the veggies. However, with time there came a lot of specifications. Some were designed for the exact task such as tomato knives, etc. and there are major differences. Is it bought from the Japanese Knife Store or the European Knife store? How is the edge of the knife? What kind of handle does the knife have?

The most common texture of the blade is flat. However, some of the knives may have different textures. To enhance the performance, knives are dimpled, hammered, or textured like Damascus.

  • Smooth: The smooth standard steel on the flat blade is easy to produce for most manufacturers. It is easy to machine polish one flat surface with the natural grinding procedure. One of the issues with the perfectly smoothen surface is that food sticks more readily especially the wet items. Now the scraped bits of garlic or tomato are obviously too annoying. Hence, the textured surface is developed.
  • Dimpled: These knives are wrongly labeled as hollow ground knives. It basically refers to the shape of the knife edge and not the grinding of hollows into the blade. Dimpled knives are becoming common. They have hollow dimple ground usually near the edge. The idea behind the little pits is to absorb the air inside which prevents food from sticking to the blade. This results in the smoother and easier cutting of food.
  • Hammered: Hammered blades are deliberately textured and dented during the manufacturing stage. The uneven surface results in a similar effect as the dimpled ones. These features are more commonly seen in Japanese styled knife especially the high-end traditional ones.
  • Damascus Steel: Damascus steel is a softer steel layer that is available in different styles of knives. They are most common in Japanese knives. Since they are made up of several layers of steel, they do not have typically smooth finishing. It has a rough texture which prevents food from sticking during cutting to the blade. People preferably buy damascus steel knives from the stores.

Though all the blades of knives are known to be superb at the slicing job, one must make sure to have a knife as per requirement.