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It doesn't matter if you rarely cook or you chop and dice daily, a quality chef's knife is essential in any kitchen. Contrary to what you might be thinking, a sharper knife is safer because it requires less pressure and will slice rather than tear and slide. But with all the options available, how do you know that what you are considering is truly a quality knife?
A forged high-carbon stainless steel blade performs the best. It holds a sharp edge extremely well, but it is also the most expensive option. If budget is your primary concern, you might need to consider a stamped carbon steel or stainless steel knife. Either way, look for a durable laminate handle as wood can hold bacteria and plastic may crack.
Our top choice is the MAC Knife Professional Series 8-Inch Chef's Knife, which features a beautiful wooden handle that's comfortable to grip.
Editors’ Favorite
Blade Length: 8” | Weight: 6.5 oz | Blade Material: Alloy steel | Handle Material: Pakka wood | Dishwasher-safe: No
Made in Japan, the MAC Knife Professional Series 8-inch Chef’s Knife can help make all your daily food-prep tasks a little easier. Its alloy-steel blade is 8 inches long and 2.5 millimeters thick, allowing it to slice, dice and chop effortlessly through any food. The surface is also dimpled, which helps it get through sticky foods like apples, summer squash and potatoes without slowing down.
Whether you’re an amateur or a professional chef, the blade’s razor sharpness is sure to impress, too. It arrives perfectly sharpened, so you can use it immediately. Its sharpness makes it ideal for cutting even the most delicate foods, including fruit, and allows it to hold its edge through many recipes.
The knife has a genuine Pakka wood handle, giving it a high-quality look. It’s also ergonomically designed, so it fits comfortably in the hand. The handle’s smaller, thinner design makes it an ideal option for those with small- to average-sized hands, allowing you to feel like you have excellent control as you cut.
Great Value
Blade Length: 7.9” | Weight: 6.1 oz | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Handle Material: TPE plastic | Dishwasher-safe: Yes
The Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Chef’s Knife delivers precision and efficiency for all your chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing needs. It features a tapered, high-carbon stainless steel blade sized perfectly for all food-prep tasks and has a wavy edge that keeps you from constantly sharpening it. Best of all, it’s dishwasher-safe for quick, easy cleaning.
The knife’s design also gives it a well-balanced feel in your hand, making it easy to maneuver through a variety of foods. The ergonomic handle is made from thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) plastic that provides a nonslip grip even when wet, so you always have excellent control, too. The comfortable fit also ensures you won’t experience fatigue even through longer chopping sessions.
We especially appreciate the excellent value this Victorinox chef’s knife offers. Its affordable price makes it an ideal knife for beginners, but it provides the same sharpness, durability and balance as higher-end options. You can trust in your investment, too, because Victorinox offers a lifetime warranty against any issues that arise due to material or workmanship defects.
Best for Gifting
Blade Length: 8” | Weight: 7 oz | Blade Material: Alloy steel | Handle Material: Pakka wood | Dishwasher-safe: No
The Shun Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife doesn’t just look impressive — it’s a versatile, easy-to-use tool for any home cook. Its 8-inch blade is made of alloy steel and features 68 layers of Damascus cladding, which provides a razor-sharp, durable edge. That makes it an excellent knife for nearly any food-prep task, including slicing, dicing and mincing.
Handcrafted in Japan, this knife’s overall quality is top-notch, so it’s no surprise that it boasts a comfortable, well-balanced handle. Made of durable Pakka wood, the handle has a D shape that ensures a secure grip for both right- and left-handed users. Its ergonomic design means you don’t have to worry about your hand getting tired through marathon chopping sessions, either.
You can use this Shun knife right out of the box because it arrives fully sharpened. It has a factory-default 16-degree angle that makes it highly precise, so you can cleanly slice through delicate foods like fish.
While there are many different types of knives, the average home chef needs a minimum of these three: a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife.
This large, all-purpose knife has a straight edge – not a serrated edge – and is typically eight inches long. You can use a chef’s knife for mincing, dicing, chopping, and slicing.
A paring knife is similar to a chef’s knife, but it is smaller. Most paring knives have a three- or four-inch blade without serrations. You can use a paring knife to mince, chop, peel, and fillet.
These serrated knives generally have a nine- or ten-inch blade, and despite the name, they aren’t just for slicing bread – although they do that beautifully. You can use a bread knife to slice tomatoes and other soft fruits and vegetables, cut cake, and slice meat.
A utility knife isn’t mandatory, but it is a useful addition to your collection if you are an avid cook. In terms of length, utility knives fall somewhere between chef’s knives and paring knives – typically around seven inches. A utility knife is great for those times when your chef’s knife is a bit too big and your paring knife a bit too small.
There are two basic methods of knife construction: forging and stamping. Here’s a look at the specifics of each type.
These are made from a solid piece of metal that has been heated to an extreme temperature and pounded into shape. The production process is quite elaborate, and as a result, forged knives are more expensive than stamped knives. They are usually a little heavier and thicker than stamped knives, and they tend to hold their edge very well.
These are machine-punched out of steel and then sharpened. Although there are some excellent stamped chef’s knives – and they are less expensive than forged knives – most serious cooks prefer a forged chef’s knife. However, we urge potential buyers to not automatically discount this type of blade. If you don’t have need for a chef’s knife that often, a stamped chef’s knife could be all you need.
There are three common metals used to make kitchen knives: stainless steel, carbon steel, and high-carbon stainless steel. Each has its pros and cons.
The most common metal you’ll find in the average kitchen. It’s also the least expensive.
Pros: Doesn’t rust, durable, easy to sharpen, doesn’t stain
Cons: Doesn’t hold a sharp edge as well as other metals
The preferred blade material of many chefs, but you’ll pay more for this premium metal.
Pros: Holds a sharp edge, easy to sharpen
Cons: Tends to discolor or develop a patina, pricier than stainless steel, rusts
It has more carbon in the steel mixture than regular stainless steel, giving it superior strength without the problematic tendency to rust or discolor found in carbon steel. You’ll pay a lot more for this metal, however.
Pros: Excellent performance without a tendency to rust or stain, holds a sharp edge very well
A quality chef’s knife feels good in your hand and has a well-balanced, comfortable handle. Many chef’s knives have ergonomic handles that are specifically designed for ease of use.
There are three common handle materials used for kitchen knives: wood, laminate, and plastic.
This classic knife handle material feels good in the hand. However, wood can hold on to bacteria and is not as durable as other materials.
A composite of wood and plastic, laminate knife handles look like wood but are far easier to care for and more durable, too.
Easy to maintain and lighter than wood, but a plastic knife handle can crack after exposure to high temperatures or UV rays.
When shopping for a chef’s knife, you may come across some unfamiliar terms. Here’s a brief glossary of important terms to know.
Tang: The tang of a knife is the part of the blade that extends into the handle and holds it in place. If you look at a good chef’s knife, you’ll generally see a strip of metal running through the middle of the handle; that’s the tang. A full tang, which is the most desirable, is thick enough to show on both the top and the bottom of the handle. Full-tang knives are very stable and feel balanced in the hand. A partial tang extends only down the top or bottom of the handle.
Edge: The edge of a chef’s knife is the sharp side.
Spine: The spine of a chef’s knife is the slightly flattened side of the blade that isn’t sharp.
Point: The point of a knife blade is its very tip.
Blade: This term refers to the entire knife, save the handle.
Butt: The butt is the end of the knife’s handle.
Rivets: A knife’s rivets are those metal “dots” you see along the knife’s handle. There are usually three, and they secure the tang inside the handle.
Heel: The heel is the wide “bumper” at the bottom of the blade right before it attaches to the handle. This adds balance to the knife and also serves as a handy edge for chopping harder items like nuts or carrots.
Bolster: The bolster is the thick part of the blade right in front of the handle. It helps keep your fingers from slipping while you use the knife. Not every chef’s knife has a bolster.
A. There are inexpensive chef’s knives that cost less than $25, and there are chef’s knives that cost well over $100. For the average home cook, the sweet spot is somewhere between the $30 and $60 mark. For this kind of price tag, you should expect a product with quality construction, good balance, and a comfortable handle.
A. While buying a complete knife set is undeniably easy, you could end up with knives you don’t need and will never use. And the more knives you have, the more storage space you need; for those low on space, this is a definite consideration.
Ultimately, the choice between a knife set and a single chef’s knife is up to you.
A. Good knives deserve respect. Don’t toss your chef’s knife into a jumbled drawer or leave it blade-down in a knife block; both of these actions could dull the blade or damage the knife. Keep your knife blade-up in a knife block, attach it to a magnetic knife holder, or keep it in a drawer with a utensil holder that safely separates sharp blades from other kitchen utensils.
A. While Japanese knives are indeed fine utensils, they are not necessarily better than western knives. Japanese blades are generally very hard and sharp with thin, lightweight blades. That makes them easy for some people to wield, but it also means they are more likely to break during heavy use. Western chef’s knives, by contrast, tend to be heavier, thicker, and sturdier.
With so many chef’s knives on the market, sorting through all the options can be overwhelming. To identify the best models, we considered customer reviews from several online retailers to determine which knives best lived up to expectations. Specifically, we evaluated how well the knives cut, how well they maintained their edge and how comfortable they were to hold. Overall, we analyzed over a dozen chef’s knives and chose our top picks based on performance, sharpness, comfort, balance and durability.
