Most of us have a knife block in our kitchen, but not everyone has the knowledge of a master chef. When you need to peel, chop or serate something, it pays to use a knife that was designed for the task at hand. This graphic explains the proper use of the nine main types of kitchen knife, along with a few useful tips.

A sharp knife makes a safe kitchen, but there are so many conflicting schools of thought out there that learning how to sharpen your own knives can be overwhelming. My philosophy is this: I'm a cook, not a bladesmith. I need a fast, reliable sharpening method because I don't have backup knives to use while mine are at the hardware store getting sharpened and I don't care to spend a couple decades mastering the art of honing a blade.

Knives are some of the most important tools in the kitchen, yet there are people who keep them in drawers, where they clang around, knocking into each other, getting all dinged up and sad. Do not do this. There are much better ways to store your knives, and some of them you can even make yourself.

When you're cooking with chillies, it's a good idea to remove those burning seeds before you toss them in. Here's a super fast method that completely sidesteps the seeding process altogether so you can get to cooking, and eating, faster.

There are few things more satisfying than slicing into a big loaf of fresh, crusty bread. However, if the loaf is bigger than your bread knife, getting a uniform slice can be a slight challenge, especially when you hit that bottom crust. Luckily, there is a very easy solution: just flip the loaf on its side.

A cake knife doesn't need to be sharp, which means you can make your own out of just about anything. Case in point, YouTuber I Like To Make Stuff made a knife out of some scrap wood.

Learning to sharpen a knife by feel makes sure your knives last longer and are easier (and safer) to use -- even more so than an automatic sharpener, which can grind your knives down and shorten their life. This method, from sharpening master Peter Nowlan, is a solid "four pressure" system you can learn at home.

You don't want to slice your finger open from slipping on a dull kitchen knife, but for whatever reason maybe you also don't have a whetstone or honing steel. The solution here would make MacGyver proud: flip a porcelain dinner plate over and use the bottom rim to hone your knife.

I once carried around a fruit knife for a week in my backpack. I had completely forgotten about it after bringing it to work because all the blades in the office were blunt. I didn’t think much of it back then but was it legal for me to carry the knife around in public? Let's find out.

When it comes to cutting up fresh herbs, you need to know how to properly slice, chiffonade and rock chop. In this video, J. Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats demonstrates each technique and explains which is best for certain types of herbs.

The knife is the most important tool in the kitchen. But over time, they develop those pesky red rust stains, either from regular use, or maybe because it didn't dry completely after a previous wash. The best way to clean those is to leave the knife in a mug of vinegar for five minutes.

A decent serrated bread knife should be able to carve through crusty breads, split cake layers, slice squishy tomatoes, and easily cut stacked sandwiches with ease. If you're tired of your knife making a mess out of your food, here's what you should look for in a new one.

Shallots are delicious in lots of things, but getting the best flavour and presentation from them demands you learn to slice them a little differently depending on what you're making. This video, posted to Instagram by Food52, shows you three different slicing methods, and the dishes each is best for.

If you're an outdoors adventurer, DIY-er, PC builder, or just like to be prepared for anything, you need a good multitool. The Leatherman Wave and SOG PowerLock are both reliable, sturdy, well-built and popular choices, but if you could only have one, let's decide which deserves to live in your carry-all.

You really only need three or four knives in your kitchen: an 20cm or 25cm chef's knife, a 7.5cm or 10cm paring knife, a serrated bread knife and maybe a 17.5cm or 20cm Santoku. Those will take care of most of your cutting needs, but once you master those, you might want to supplement your collection with a few choice additions.

There's a big difference between running your knife along a sharpening stone and actually sharpening it. Here's how much pressure a Master Bladesmith recommends you need when you're sharpening a knife with a whetstone.

As we've often said, dull knives are dangerous knives, not to mention a pain to use when it's time to cook. Keeping them sharp is surprisingly easy, and this guide from the folks at KnifePlanet is detailed and rich, but boils down to three simple steps: maintenance, honing, and eventually, sharpening.

We've mentioned that sharpening your knives with a whetstone (or water stone) is the best way to keep them sharp and safe, but this video will walk you through picking the right stones, learning the right angles and getting the perfect edge -- all in one sitting.

I don't really do resolutions like "running" or "clean eating," but I do enjoy the "take charge of your life!" energy that each January brings. Instead of harnessing that energy to start a diet, consider making a few resolutions that aim to improve your kitchen and kitchen-related skills.