Buying guide
Chef knife or full knife set? What your kitchen really needs.
Big knife sets look generous in the box, but most home cooks reach for the same two knives every day. Here is what each knife does, when a large set is worth it, and how to compare knife set prices in Pakistan.
The short answer.
Two knives do around nine-tenths of daily cooking: a chef knife for chopping, slicing and dicing, and a paring knife for small, precise work. Add a cleaver if you cut through bones (Eid meat, whole chickens) and a serrated knife if you slice a lot of bread. Everything else is optional.
What each knife does.
| Knife | Typical size | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Chef knife | 6–8 in | Onions, tomatoes, vegetables, boneless chicken and meat |
| Paring knife | 3–4 in | Garlic, ginger, chillies, peeling, trimming |
| Serrated (bread) knife | 8–10 in | Bread, cakes, soft tomatoes |
| Cleaver (chhurri, toka) | 6–8 in, heavy | Bones, frozen meat, qurbani meat |
| Utility knife | 5 in | In-between jobs, sandwiches |
| Boning knife | 5–6 in | Removing meat from the bone |
When a big set makes sense, and when it does not.
A 5 to 8-piece block set is worth it if you cook large quantities of very different things and will really use each knife. Often, though, the budget is spread across many blades: at the same price, each knife in a big set is usually thinner and softer than one or two good knives. Several pieces end up never leaving the block.
How to compare knife set prices in Pakistan.
Do not compare the number of pieces. Compare what you pay for the knives you will actually use:
- Which steel and which hardness are the main knives made of?
- How long is the chef knife, and how heavy?
- Is delivery included, and is there a warranty?
Our full price comparison: chef knife and knife set prices in Pakistan.
Build your set step by step.
- Start with a good chef knife and a paring knife.
- Add a cleaver if you cut bones or prepare qurbani meat.
- Add a serrated knife only if you slice bread or cakes often.
- Buy a honing steel: it keeps every knife sharp for longer (how to use one).
Our two-knife set.
The LEOPARD chef knife set gives you that core pair: a 6.5-inch (16.5 cm) chef knife and a 4-inch (10 cm) paring knife in 3Cr13 stainless steel (54–58 HRC), with teak or sapphire-blue resin handles, gift-boxed, PKR 6,700 delivered anywhere in Pakistan. For more help choosing, read best kitchen knife in Pakistan.
See the Teak set See the Sapphire set