How to Choose and Use the Right Knife

Any avid home cook knows that a well-functioning kitchen is built on choosing the right tools. You don’t need overflowing drawers, specialty gadgets for every single task or a countertop crowded with equipment to cook well. What matters most is having a small collection of thoughtfully designed tools that feel comfortable in your hands, store efficiently in your drawers and reliably show up for the everyday rhythm of cooking: prepping produce, breaking down ingredients and moving smoothly from cutting board to stove with minimal friction and cleanup.

Good knives sit at the center of that kitchen ecosystem. They’re the tools you reach for first and use most often, which makes smart design (safety, grip, precision, durability and storage) especially important in real-world home kitchens where space, speed and safety all matter.

That’s the thinking behind OXO’s Good Grips Gadget Cutlery, a streamlined collection of essential knives built for everyday cooking, small spaces and shared kitchens. Each knife balances performance and convenience, while featuring sharp stainless-steel blades that resist corrosion. Comfortable non-slip handles provide a secure grip—even when your hands are wet or greasy. Plus, the knives come with locking sheaths, so you can keep them safely stored in a drawer without damaging or dulling the blade edge.

The lineup includes four core kitchen knives that cover the vast majority of culinary tasks. Together, they handle slicing, chopping, dicing, mincing and julienning with straightforward, functional design—the kind that makes cooking feel more intuitive and less fussy. It’s a practical approach that supports confidence in the kitchen, whether you’re whipping up a quick weeknight dinner, meal-prepping for the week or tackling an involved weekend cooking project.

A Paring Knife Makes Peeling Fruit Easy

When you need accuracy, not power, go with OXO’s Paring Knife. Its compact size (3.5 inches) makes it easy to control for close-up work and fine detail tasks. Consider it for fruit cups or shrimp appetizers.

Best for:

• Peeling apples, kiwis and pears
• Hulling strawberries and trimming mushroom stems
• Deveining shrimp
• Segmenting oranges and grapefruits
• Cutting garnishes such as lemon twists or radishes

For Cheese and Bread Slicing, Try the Serrated Utility Knife

Some foods—like tomatoes, rolls, citrus and soft cheeses—need a knife that cuts cleanly without crushing delicate interiors. That’s what the 5-inch Serrated Utility Knife is designed for. This gentle slicer is precise, forgiving and surprisingly versatile for everyday prep, whether you’re portioning out burrata or prepping tomatoes.

Best for slicing:

• Ripe tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
• Soft cheeses like fresh mozzarella or burrata
• Crusty rolls, bagels and sandwich bread
• Delicate foods with soft interiors that compress easily

Get Chopping With the Santoku Knife

For fast, confident vegetable prep, the 5-inch Santoku Knife is the go-to choice. Its broad blade and straight cutting edge make it excellent for chopping vegetables, slicing herbs and producing neat, uniform cuts. Grooves in the blade help prevent food from sticking, which is particularly useful with dense or moisture-rich vegetables like cucumbers, squash, potatoes and zucchini.

If you want more control than a full-size chef’s knife and also more cutting power than a paring knife, the Santoku hits that sweet spot. It’s an ideal everyday chopper for home cooks who do a lot of veggie-forward prep.

Best for:

• Chopping cucumbers, zucchini and bell peppers
• Dicing potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes
• Slicing squash and eggplant
• Chiffonading herbs like basil and mint

For All-Around Excellence, Use the Chef’s Knife

A chef’s knife is the must-have tool in any kitchen, and the new Good Grips Gadget Cutlery 8-inch Chef’s Knife earns its spot as the all-purpose powerhouse. Designed for chopping, mincing and dicing, it handles everything from aromatics and bulk vegetables to tougher or larger cuts of meat. When you need reach, power and versatility in one tool, this is the knife you grab.

Best for:

• Chopping carrots, celery and onions
• Mincing garlic, shallots and parsley
• Breaking down dense vegetables like butternut squash
• Slicing proteins such as chicken breasts or steak

How to Care for Your Knives

OXO Good Grips Gadget Cutlery is designed for everyday use. Following these simple care steps helps maintain performance and safe storage.

• Hand wash with warm, soapy water and promptly dry to help maintain the stainless-steel blade. Don’t put knives in the dishwasher.
• Store knives in their locking sheaths to keep them secure and help retain the blade edge.
• Use the dual-stage knife sharpener only on straight blades; do not sharpen serrated knives.

For more kitchen essentials, weeknight dinner ideas and expert tips, visit the OXO blog.