Determine how you will use the knives and how many sets of commercial grade knives you will need

To determine how many sets you will need simply count the number of chefs in your kitchen, or how many stations you have in your food service business. To decide on which knives you need, you must first look at how they will be used. If you are operating a butcher shop, you need strong knives that will easily chop through bone. For delicate fruit bouquets, smaller, more precise knives are necessary.

I recommend: The Swiss Shop offers a collection of Victorinox professional forged commercial grade cutlery, the perfect knives for your restaurant. They offer a wide variety of the most commonly used knives, including boning, carving and paring knives as well as sharpening steel. Chef's Choice offers a large selection of high quality knives and kitchen shears made in the US.

Find where to buy commercial grade cutlery

If you are located in a larger city, it is likely you have a restaurant supply store nearby who will stock professional grade knives. You can usually open an account with them and take the knives you need with you immediately. Some companies offer reps who can meet with you, work up an order based on your needs, let you demo their knives and ship your order to you when it is ready. Find the best knife company for you and your business needs.

I recommend: Swiss Army offers two exclusive professional grade cutlery collections that are hand forged and made with extremely high craftsmanship. There is a complete collection or by item approach. Mercer Tool, located in New York, offers the Chef Cutlery Collection in six different knife collections, plus garnish and accessories collections.

Learn and teach others how to properly store, sharpen and maintain professional restaurant knives

How you clean, store and use your commercial grade knives is just as important as the knives themselves. There are a number of ways to store them, and accessories to keep them sharp and ready for action. It's important to take it a step further and train your chefs and food service professionals the proper way to store, clean and protect your knives as well.

I recommend: Chef Depot offers a wide variety of knife sheaths, guards and blocks. They also offer a number of different sharpening mechanisms including steels and stones. Accurate Sharp offers a selection of knife sharpeners for every shape and size knife in your block. They also offer a supply of magnetic strips and two day shipping to get your supplies to you quickly.