There’s a reason why knives are everyone’s go-to weapon in the kitchen. They’re an extension of your hand, always there with you, and your go-to partner in turning ingredients into delicious dishes.

The 3 Knives

Many chefs regard their knives likes athletes treat their rackets.Yet, for all the talk of knives—and for all the great ones out there—there are only three knives that every kitchen ultimately needs: the chef’s knife, the bread knife, and the paring knife.

Multipurpose knives can do incredible things when used together：mincing meat, chopping fresh garlic, preparing strawberry stuffing, slicing crusty bread, peeling lemons, chopping juicy, bursting ripe tomatoes—you get the idea! They are the foundation of food preparation and plating, and their versatility means any recipe or buffet is within reach. To better understand why a chef’s knife, paring knife, and bread knife are each better than the sum of their parts, let’s take a closer look at these versatile kitchen companions.

The Chef's Knife

A chef's knife is an essential knife in the kitchen. Blades are usually between 8 and 10 inches long, but 6-inch or 12-inch chef's knives are not uncommon—especially if your hand is more suited to a smaller, lighter blade or a larger, heavier blade. Western-style chef's knives tend to have rounded tips and a slightly curved belly, which facilitates a rocking motion when slicing and chopping. Asian-style chef's knives usually have flat or rounded tips and a straight blade.

With a chef's knife, you're ready to tackle any recipe, slice cakes or cheese and fresh vegetables. Use your knife to debone chicken, mince herbs, slice onions, thinly slice fish fillets, peel squash, turn seasonal produce into a colorful salad, or cut triangles for your favorite sandwich. Aside from cutting bones for soup (you'll need a cleaver or butcher knife for that job), a chef's knife will be your most used and trusted chopping partner.

The Bread Knife

A bread knife is a specialty knife with a long, serrated blade that is used to cut through crusty bread without tearing or crushing the softer interior. This knife is perfect for cutting any type of bread or baked goods: golden baguettes, plump wheat kernels, soft white sandwich bread, buttered rolls, bagels, layer cakes, pound cakes, sponge cakes, banana bread, and more.

But the bread knife is also a high-performance all-rounder that does more than just cut bread. Use it to carve thick-skinned squash or slice tomatoes without crushing the flesh. Want to split a bunch of sandwiches? Use the bread knife to cut them in half without squeezing any ingredients out the sides. Want to slice a delicate Paris-Brest cake filled with praline cream? The bread knife's long serrated blade cuts clean and even slices with minimal pressure. Want to cut the baked choux dough in half to make delicious cream puffs? You know the drill!

The Paring Knife

Think of a paring knife as a small chef's knife: just as useful, but more nimble. With a shorter blade of only two to four inches and a compact handle, this knife is perfect for more intricate and detailed tasks, such as pruning, peeling, and decorating. Use a paring knife to core an apple, peel a peach, trim fat from small cuts of meat, devein a shrimp, deseed a lemon, cut a pan of brownies, or carve interesting details into fruits and vegetables for serving or decoration.

At the end of the day, the knives in your kitchen should work for you, no matter the ingredients you work with, the size of your hands, or your experience level. While it’s worth exploring the wide variety of general and specialty knives out there—carving knives! All-purpose knives! Boning knives! Hard cheese knives!—it’s important to build a solid foundation first. If you have a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife, you’ve got three of the top knives every kitchen needs. Now it’s time to get cooking!