The Best Chef's Knives
Ask any professional chef if they were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one kitchen tool, and they'd probably pick a chef's knife. While other kitchen knives, like serrated knives and paring knives, have more individualized uses, a good chef's knife can do it all, from slicing and dicing to more complicated tasks, like carving a chicken and cutting a pineapple. We rounded up the top-tested knives that we think are universally appealing for everyone's needs — here are the ones that made the cut!
Wüsthof
amazon.com
This Wüsthof 8-inch chef's knife is razor sharp and super versatile. It was one of the only knives in our test that could cleanly slice tomatoes, chop onions, cut up carrots, bone a chicken, and create thin ribbons of basil. The German classic is fully forged and has a full tang, which helps it feel perfectly balanced and ergonomic in your hand. It's dishwasher safe (a rarity for cutlery), but we recommend hand-washing to extend its lifespan.
HENCKELS
This excellent J.A. Henckels Classic Chef's Knife has the heft, shape, and performance of a splurge-worthy chef's knife but comes at a much nicer price point. It's a quintessential, all-purpose tool that does an ace job of blitzing parsley into dust, dicing onions, or deboning a chicken.
Shun
Shun's beautiful chef's knife literally glides through ripe tomatoes with its sharp edge. The rounded black pakkawood handle is comfortable even for small hands to get around, and if an 6-inch size feels too small, we think the 8-inch blade on this one will be a perfect fit.
HENCKELS
amazon.com
The Kramer by Zwilling J.A. Henckels Chef's Knife is one of the top selling knives on Amazon. We've been using the same one for years and can vouch that it stays sharp a long time between honings. It does just as excellent a job at slicing through delicate ribbons of basil as it does plowing through a rough-and-tough butternut squash.
Mercer Culinary
amazon.com
This Mercer Culinary chef's knife felt good in our hand from the moment we picked it up. It felt sturdy and not too heavy. With its high-carbon, no-stain German steel blade, it effortlessly sliced through tomatoes and cut carrots — we barely had to use any pressure because the blade was so sharp! It sliced through onions very easily, too.
Wüsthof
amazon.com
We almost feel like we're cheating by including this knife in our "Best Chef's Knives" story. This 7-inch Craftsman is a chef's knife, boning knife and carving knife in one. That means it can perform all your chef knife tasks, like chopping and slicing, as well as boning and filleting with the tip and clean slicing with its "hollow-edge design."
This knife was a top-performer in almost every test. It was extra sharp and cut through chicken best. It even cut through bone without even trying. We also especially enjoyed slicing tomatoes and cutting carrots with this knife — it was almost too easy!
pamperedchef.com
Pampered Chef's unique bolster makes it very easy and comfortable to hold. It practically guides you to hold the knife exactly how you should (by pinching the bottom of the blade.) The handle sits in the center of your palm, making this knife a true extension of your hand.
This fully forged, high-carbon German steel knife cut through almost every task very easily. It also comes with a protective plastic covering, making it extra safe to store.
madeincookware.com
When there's a product everyone's talking about on the internet, we know we have to get our hands on it. The Made In 8-inch Chef's Knife did not disappoint. In addition to being very pretty to look at, it performed every cutting task well. We loved how easily it diced onions and how smoothly it sliced celery.
The Chef's Knife may be bought individually or as part of a 3- or 4-piece set. It comes in cute packaging that is not only safe and easy to open, but also instructs you how to hold the knife and how to use the entire blade like a pro.
The Best Chef's Knives
Ask any professional chef if they were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one kitchen tool, and they'd probably pick a chef's knife. While other kitchen knives, like serrated knives and paring knives, have more individualized uses, a good chef's knife can do it all, from slicing and dicing to more complicated tasks, like carving a chicken and cutting a pineapple. We rounded up the top-tested knives that we think are universally appealing for everyone's needs — here are the ones that made the cut!
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