The Best Chef’s Knives of 2025. We Tested Nearly Two Dozen to Find Our Favorites

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Honorable Mentions

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New West Knifeworks Joy Bauer 6-Inch Chef Knife for $225: Like my New West Knifeworks prime above, this luxe weapon is perfectly gorgeous, with a bold red-and-white grip and an accompanying embossed leather sheath. Created successful collaboration with nutritionist and TV property Joy Bauer, this 6-inch weapon is simply a Japanese Santoku-style weapon with a downward leaf and a sturdy apical slope, made from American-made 440C stainless steel. I recovered that nutrient stuck to the sides of this blade, and it dragged much with starchier foods, but it is perfectly gorgeous and amended for smaller tasks.

Henckels Classic Precision 7-Inch Santoku Knife for $80: I've recovered this Santoku-style knife's level leaf and consecutive borderline are astir effectual for slicing and tap-chopping, with the debased constituent and level leaf being effectual for casual sliding and transport of chopped vegetables. This Spanish-made knife's leaf is made of German stainless alloy with a satin finish, which besides has divots to trim nutrient sticking to the sides. The Mannkitchen Santoku exemplary beneath is simply a spot sturdier, but this is simply a much affordable, lighter Santoku enactment of those I've tested.

Henckels Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife for $70: This 8-inch, Spanish-made Henckels weapon has a classical German-style leaf made from German stainless steel. It conscionable feels similar a heavy-duty workhorse knife. The finely honed leaf transitions to an ergonomic triple-rivet handle. Although lone 0.28 pounds, this weapon feels heavier than the comparable Zwilling, successful portion due to the fact that of this handle, which is little comfy with much severe, squared edges than immoderate others I tested. The leaf was ace crisp and I rapidly chopped astir nutrient with ease, though it wasn't arsenic cleanable a chopped connected denser foods similar potatoes. Plus, the starchier nutrient seemed to instrumentality a small much to this weapon than others.

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Männkitchen 7-inch Santoku MK71S for $130: This Santoku Japanese-style weapon feels a spot heavier than the bulk connected this list, though the triple-beveled grip is ergonomically designed and casual to hold, contempt its ample size. The hefty grip seamlessly blends into the stainless alloy knife, and contempt being heavy, I felt successful power portion cutting. This heavy-duty weapon has a little point, which makes it easier to dice and chop rapidly without excessively overmuch arm/shoulder question oregon exertion. The leaf is besides wide and thick, making it consciousness a spot sturdier and easier to transportation veggies from the cutting board. This isn't going to beryllium my go-to for everything I chopped connected the reg, but I particularly loved it for quicker, rougher dicing and chopping of things similar herbs and ail cloves.

Hast Selection Series Japanese Carbon Steel 8-inch Chef Knife for $79: This sleek Hast weapon is made of Japanese c alloy (see supra for much astir c materials) from renowned alloy shaper Koike. It wide feels lightweight and svelte, and the ergonomic grip was precise casual to grip, though it got a spot slippery (and perchance dangerous) erstwhile wet. Overall it doesn't consciousness arsenic heavy-duty arsenic others tested, and flip-flopped a spot portion cutting much dense foods similar potatoes. It was capable to marque ace creaseless cuts connected softer foods, and I felt capable to power it easy portion mincing garlic. This is simply a remarkably affordable enactment for a Japanese c alloy chef's weapon that excels successful making much precise cuts.

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Material the 8-Inch Knife for $105: This hefty, beauteous weapon from Material has rapidly go my go-to ample weapon for bigger cutting tasks. I noticed vegetables don't instrumentality to the broadside arsenic overmuch arsenic different models, and it was amazingly capable to marque ultra-thin cuts with power contempt its ample size. It's a small longer, astatine 13.5 inches total, making it bigger and sturdier to usage than the smaller styles I thin to spell for. Each weapon is hand-polished, heat-treated astatine 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and cryogenically tempered astatine -250 degrees to marque the alloy harder and much durable. The leaf is made of sturdy Japanese high-carbon and stainless steel, with an oval-shaped, grippy, and matte composite handle, and the leaf extends into the grip truthful value is distributed much evenly. Plus, you tin personalize this weapon for a amusive upgrade.

Misen 8-Inch Chef's Knife 2.0 for $94: This chef's weapon is made from Japanese high-carbon stainless alloy with a precocious chromium contented to defy rust, and features a agelong leaf implicit 8 inches. The grip has an ergonomic rounded spine, which is sturdy, but wasn't the grippiest oregon easiest to clasp from those I've tested. This weapon works excellently if you request longer, much precise cuts (I would ideate it'd beryllium bully for making scoring cuts oregon filleting a brushed fish), but things tended to instrumentality connected the sides, and the sheer magnitude of the leaf made things little accelerated arsenic I dealt with drag.

I tested the lone mode I knew how: fumbling, cutting, slicing, and dicing successful the kitchen, with a weapon of the week, a cutting committee (I utilized some woody and integrative boards), and a assortment of foods. I utilized each of these knives for a week portion I made each of my meals, utilizing them to bash large tasks similar chopped done heavy basal vegetables, thinly portion cucumbers, astir chop herbs, mash garlic, and adjacent unfastened integrative packaging. It's besides important to cognize however to bash a fewer indispensable weapon skills successful the room to marque champion usage of your knives.

I'm vegan, truthful I had immoderate of my carnivorous friends and colleagues usage these knives to besides carve beef and chopped up a full chicken, to marque definite the blades could withstand each types of textures. As stated earlier, the champion weapon is simply a crisp one, and each of these came retired of the bundle deadly sharp. I chopped myself much than erstwhile successful the process, each for the greater bully to find which cook weapon belongs successful your kitchen. (But a acquisition was learned: Be extra cautious erstwhile utilizing a new, ace crisp chef's weapon for the archetypal time.)

Let's get this retired of the way: The champion weapon is 1 that's sharp. After duking it retired successful the room for hours connected end, I've recovered that what makes a weapon genuinely large is simply a earnestly crisp edge. A dull weapon is dangerous—you'll request to use much unit arsenic you're cutting, which means that erstwhile your weapon slips, you chopped yourself much deeply. Plus, a dull weapon isn't arsenic precise oregon speedy with cuts.

Especially with a pricier knife, you'll privation to marque that concern past arsenic agelong arsenic possible. That means regular sharpening to support it successful tip-top slicing shape. Unfortunately, determination isn't One Sharpener to Rule Them All. Different leaf materials and shapes necessitate antithetic sharpening techniques. For example, galore stainless alloy blades are excessively hard to efficaciously beryllium sharpened by accepted h2o stones. Former cook and existent WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson recommends h2o stones for c alloy and loves these Shapton stones.

The bulk of chef's knives tin beryllium (relatively) easy sharpened erstwhile needed, which is typically done with a whetstone astatine astir a 15 to 20 grade angle, followed by honing rod oregon leather for the smoothing knife's edge. I've ever utilized fashionable (and easy-to-use) pull-through sharpeners, which are much precise than alloy and sharpen quicker than whetstones. But they are mostly not recommended, particularly for Serious Chefs™, due to the fact that they shed rather a spot of metallic successful the process, weakening the durability implicit time.

Most location chefs volition lone request to sharpen their knives astir doubly a twelvemonth and usage a honing alloy to support the blades successful signifier astatine different times. Although a fewer years old, we support going backmost to this nonfiction from Epicurious connected however to sharpen a weapon the close mode successful bid to support your knives successful the champion signifier for arsenic agelong arsenic you can.

Should You Buy a Knife Set?

In a word: no. Despite what the door-to-door salesman oregon your MLM-loving relative says, weapon sets are usually not a bully investment. You conscionable request a fewer bully knives. An 8-inch chef's weapon volition enactment champion for astir tasks successful the kitchen. I person a smaller hand, truthful I besides similar a tiny paring weapon for immoderate tasks, and a serrated weapon for bread, successful summation to the cook knife. Knife sets often outgo treble oregon triple arsenic overmuch arsenic buying conscionable 1 bully cook knife. Not to mention, the woody retention blocks besides instrumentality up utile antagonistic space, particularly if you unrecorded successful a tiny New York flat similar me. We urge you prevention your wealth by skipping a acceptable and investing successful a coagulated chef's weapon instead. (Plus, 1 oregon 2 others if you privation a spot of variety.)

What Makes a Knife a Chef's Knife?

As said earlier, it's multipurpose instrumentality utilized used to chopped meat, dice vegetables, chop nuts oregon smash garlic. A chef's knife, generally, is made of galore layers of forged alloy and has a crisp extremity constituent and a salient borderline with a sloping curve, which helps with the accelerated rocking question that allows chefs to chopped nutrient quickly.

A chef's weapon is among the astir versatile knives successful the room and tin beryllium utilized for thing from chopping to cutting. Common uses for a chef’s weapon see cutting meat, dicing vegetables, slicing herbs, and chopping nuts. The level broadside of the weapon tin adjacent beryllium utilized to crush garlic. The versatility of this multipurpose weapon makes it a must-have successful immoderate kitchen. It's important to debar immoderate hard surfaces that would render the leaf dull. In addition, learning however to clasp a weapon is an important archetypal measurement to guarantee the champion results erstwhile utilizing it.

Most Popular Knife Styles

Chef's knives mostly autumn successful 2 camps, Japanese Santoku and German. Both person their merits and you conscionable whitethorn request some successful your kitchen, depending connected what you're usually cooking. Japanese blades are other bladed and champion for precision, portion German chef's knives are thicker and much utilitarian.

German knives: A curved leaf means you'll bash the rocking back-and-forth question to chop quickly. German chef's knives tin beryllium utilized for everything from chopping caller herbs to de-boning a full chicken.

Japanese Santoku knives: With a straighter borderline utilized for precision, you’ll chopped consecutive down, utilizing the full leaf astatine once. These are mostly utilized for precision and circumstantial purposes. They are usually made with harder steel, which tin marque them much brittle.

There's besides the worldly the leaf is made retired of to consider—these days, astir blades are made from c oregon stainless steel.

Stainless steel: This worldly is resistant to moisture, tin clasp a razor-sharp borderline for longer, and is much flexible than carbon, making it much effectual astatine absorbing impact. However, stainless alloy takes longer to re-sharpen, which makes it much hard to support without a nonrecreational sharpening system.

Carbon steel: This worldly has a precocious c content, which makes it a precise hard steel, and edges retired stainless erstwhile it comes to wide sharpness. Most often, they besides clasp an borderline for longer and are easier to re-sharpen. Carbon alloy is much delicate to elements similar humidity oregon water, truthful they necessitate much timely and thorough cleaning and maintenance.

All of the knives connected our database are measured successful the Rockwell rating/measurement, referred to arsenic HRC of the steel. HRC measures however overmuch of a people a diamond constituent tin marque successful the metallic with the magnitude of weight; so, the smaller the people is, the harder the steel, and visa versa.

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