The Best Chef's Knives According To 10 Of The Best Chefs In America

From slicing and dicing to chopping and cutting, a chef knife is a versatile addition to any cutlery collection. Its broad and thin blade makes prep work more efficient, while ergonomic handles keep you comfortable throughout the process. For the novice home cook, the simple duo of a paring knife and a chef’s knife helps get you started on classic dishes—they’ll allow you to make countless easy recipes. Be sure to stock the kitchen with a cutting board, too. If you’re more adventurous with cooking, a professional-grade knife block containing an assortment of knives in a variety of lengths helps prepare more complex meals. To maintain the edge of the blade, be sure to follow the care instructions and sharpen as needed.

The sharpening wheels they use have more give and will not rub off as much metal. But the knives I would recommend to anyone looking to spend less than $100 for a workhorse line of knives that perform far above their price point is the Tojiro DP series made from VG10 steel. I absolutely love these knives and have seen them sharpened enough as to be able to split a human hair with no downward force applied. Obvious this involves aftermarket sharpening by an expert, but the factory edge is quite outstanding for the price. Actually, believe it or not, when you are paying that much for a chef knife, Cutco is probably your go to.

Or, maybe you were out at your favorite sushi spot and the chef’s knife caught your eye, and as you watched him prepare the sushi, it looked super effective. Our innovative KAGAYAKI CarboNext product range uses a next generation carbon tool steel that we call “CarboNext” . Our CarboNext blades allow you to enjoy all the usual advantages of traditional high carbon steels, but they offer the additional benefit of improved rust resistance. Here, we wanted to show you the most popular, best-selling knives from our huge product range. Truly, each one of the Knife Makers and Craftsmen has their own distinct knife making philosophy and knife characteristics. We deeply respect all of the knife makers and craftsmen that we work with and, of course, each one of our fine Japanese knives.

Zwilling ® J A. Henckels Miyabi ® Koh 6″ Chef’s Knife

I went with the intention of buying the Miyabi Kaizen II which was on sale, big time. But they made my decision more difficult by having me testdrive some even higher-end knives. These are all stamped knives which, in German knives, I tend to stay clear of. That’s why I recommend the Messermeister Meridian Elite in my article above. I also think that the knuckle clearance in the 9-inch Meridian Elite would probably be enough for larger hands. The Anniversary is not fishy, just a great deal.

• The long stick handle kept jabbing into my wrist, and the cutting edge was only adequate.
• The area between a knife’s handle and blade is called the bolster.
• Knife makers claim the air pockets keep food from sticking to the blade.

Naturally, I do have my own opinions and biases, but I’m usually pretty up-front about them. In your opinion, which knife is the best, Victorinox or Kyocera. Don’t give me your answer from a selling point of view, just give me your thoughts, even if you happen to think they are both junk. Most of these knives have very different prices listed on the links provided . The slicing knife you would use for larger cuts of meat like roasts and slabs of fish, and the fillet knife you would use to nimbly cut around bones—both either with raw meat or cooked. If you don’t have a store nearby that carries the SAI, I would recommend buying it from Amazon and then returning if it doesn’t suit you.

I have to keep my fingers tucked and I must make modifications when using a knife for safety reasons and I, obviously, rely very heavily on my right hand. In the end, I chose a Wusthof 8″ Classic Ikon, Hollow Edge, and chef knife I am delighted with that choice. One can have regrets over spending $180 on a single knife. .but armed with the knowledge I gained from your extensive reviews, any possible regrets quickly morphed into pride and joy.

Bread Knives

The Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife is the best knife you can buy for under $50. It’s a favorite of several food publications and budget-conscious home cooks, and it has an ergonomically shaped plastic handle that appeals to most people. The factory edge isn’t as sharp as that of our other picks, so in our tests it left us with split carrots and unevenly halved butternut squash. However, most testers preferred the Victorinox for its maneuverability and comfortable feel, compared with the other budget knives we tried.

If you’re curious and want more on this, click on down the page. If you value sharpness and precision and often spend hours chopping and slicing, you might gravitate towards a light, sharp Japanese-made knife that keeps its edge for longer. The blades are thin, super sharp, and hard, meaning they hold their edge for longer (so you won’t have to sharpen them as often). Read on to learn what makes a great chef’s knife, and our detailed reviews of each knife. Depending on how you use it and how hard the blade steel is, you’ll probably need to sharpen your knife every six months to a year. In between, you can hone your blade on a honing rod before every use.

Japanese knives are desirable for so many reasons, but mainly for their hard steel and light, thin, super sharp edge. This makes them the ideal choice for slicing, dicing and more precise cutting jobs. Learn everything you need to know about the best knife sharpeners on the market. When was the last time you sharpened https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/viewtopic.php?t=47412&start=15 your kitchen knife? If the answer is “gee, I really can’t remember, it was so long ago,” your reputation as a chef might be in danger. The Santoku knife and the chef’s knife are multi-purpose knives that can be applied to a number of kitchen cutting tasks, such as chopping, slicing, mincing and dicing.

– The biggest question is German versus Japanese. If you are rough on your knives, then you should go German. If you can be careful and mindful, then Japanese is an option. But there are some foods you should NOT cut with a Japanese knife. Global is really kind of in the middle, straddling both worlds. Their knives are thin and sharp, but the steel they use is not as hard or brittle as the other two makers on this list.

The Tojiro DP Gyuto is an excellent entry-level Japanese blade. I assume you’ve read my observations https://allaboutpocketknives.com and only caveat in the comment above yours. I’d much rather work with a Tojiro than a Victorinox .

My story is I was a fan of Wusthof from way back when. About two years ago our Wusthof chef knife broke—my wife used it on ice, to try to pry it apart. I had these knives since 1991 with a set of Wusthof Silverpoint steak knives. If I were a professional like you, I would do whatever I could to save up and buy a quality all-around knife. It’s super-sharp and has a long, wide blade which can handle large amounts of food and also give you knuckle clearance.

By comparison, the Tojiro didn’t offer enough knuckle clearance for larger hands. Although the MTH-80’s handle is slightly short, most testers found it comfortable to grip. The Mac Mighty MTH-80 was one of the few knives in our test group to cut straight through the center of a butternut squash. Determining the “ideal” knife for any one person is both objective and subjective.