I Tested 27 Chef's Knives: Best & Worst Revealed

Which chef's knife is the best? I tested 27 popular options, and in this video, I give you my honest opinion on each one in less than 30 seconds. I explain what I like and dislike and whether they're worth your money. These knives have 8-inch blades and range from $18 to $380. I review them in order from least to most expensive. At the end, I give you my top picks and a comparison table that you can use to see how they all stack up side by side.

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0:00 Intro
0:30 Henckels Solution
0:51 Caraway
1:13 Ninja Foodi Premium
1:40 Cangshan Helena Rocking
2:06 Victorinox Swiss Classic
2:36 Dalstrong Phantom
3:03 Lamson Vintage
3:30 Misen
3:56 HexClad
4:22 Zwilling Four Star
4:46 Wusthof Gourmet
5:13 Made In
5:36 Dalstrong Shogun
6:02 Cangshan Yari
6:28 Cangshan Haku
6:49 Lamson Premier Forged (Fire Handle)
7:24 Lamson Premier Forged (Sierra Handle)
7:31 Zwilling Pro
8:12 Zwilling Professional S
8:32 Victorinox Grand Maitre
9:00 Wusthof Classic
9:38 Cutco
9:55 MAC MTH-80
10:26 Cangshan Thomas Keller
10:57 Wusthof Classic Ikon
11:27 Shun Classic
11:47 Oishya
12:18 Comparison Table
13:06 Best and Worst Chef’s Knives

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Featured in This

Disclaimer: We may earn a fee if you buy via the affiliate links below (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Note: The prices listed on screen in this video are based on each manufacturer's website and are subject to change. They may differ from the prices you see when you click the links below.

[nickkambitis]

I have one of those Japanese knives. I only use it with vegetables. I never submerge in water when washing. The guy who made it was a national treasure in Japan and his apprentice who sharpened the knife was 78 when I bought it. Probably both dead now as I’ve owned for 10 years or so. Their signatures are engraved on the blade.

[letzgobrandon]

Wusthof Classic for me. Collected the whole set over 5-6 years.

[theredbar-cross]

One thing that 99% knife reviewers miss is food RELEASE. Those smooth mirror finishes tend to stick to food like glue because of how well they maintain suction.
The little hollow cuts called grantons can help a bit, but not much.
It's only the Japanese knives with the kasumi lines and hammered finishes that can get good food release.

[NoZenith]

Shun Classic here. My brother bought me the three-piece starter set on sale somewhere a decade ago. Took me until covid to get comfortable using them and now I have collected up several more! Love them

[danielcluley]

Honestly my go-to are mostly the cheap Victorinox. Lightweight, cut well with the thin blade, good shape, and I am not at all afraid to abuse them. Sure you have to sharpen more often, but I use a ceramic rod and strop after every use, so not that bad (plus, I actually enjoy sharpening my kitchen knives, it is kinda therapeutic, lol). I will say I have used my mom's Wusthof, and they are definitely awesome and probably worth it, but I can't justify spending that much for a blade when the Victorinox work so well for what I need with no worries.

[mshmslv]

I have 7 Miyabi knives, all from Kaisen and Artisan series. The choice was purely based on the shape of the handle. Bought the first one over 10 years ago and slowly built my collection. For 'guest chefs' in my kitchen, I provide Ikea VG-10 series, which are quite amazing for the price but it won't break my heart if they get mishandled.
Never use dishwasher, always wash by hand and wipe dry immediately. They still look brand new.

[bohemiansusan]

Most of my knives are NSF certified, so I have no issues when I take them to work. They also have my initials engraved on the blades. I prefer the handle end to be heavier as it doesn't aggrevate my arthritis. The other thing is that most of my knives are quite cheap but workable. Otherwise knives miraculously disappear.

At home I have basically cheap knives but they are nice to work with. My favorite is a Chinese chef's knife that is 7 inches long by 4 high. I found it on a Chinese website and its NSF certified. Cost me $25. My favorite utility knife is a carbon steel bought at a grocery store in the 70s.

I avoid full bolster knives like the plague. I want easy sharpening. I do like Choice from restaurant stores and also Mercer knives. I do own a 12 inch chef's knife from Dalstrong. It cost me $90 and looks a bit like a pirate cutlass. It screams derranged serial killer, which is part of its charm. I have it to go though melons, pineapple and other harder items.

Biggest thing for me is that the knives are sharp as possible, easy to use with my very small hands and foster straight up and down chopping. Rocking chops cause my hands to swell up ans become useless along with severe pain. If this was happening when I was a teenager, imagine how much worse it would be now that I'm in my late fifties.

On the wooden handles... Its very easy to buy a small can of food grade marine varnish than give them a coat or two.

[Tom_Losh]

I have several "chef knives" but the one I most often reach for is my Victorinox Classic (mine is old enough that it bears the Forschner name).

[kcgunesq]

1. If you can afford it, the Zwilling/Henckles or Wustof forged knives made in Soligen with the traditional composite riveted handles are almost certainly your best choice. They work well, last forever and in my experience are guaranteed. I once lost track of my Wustof serrated knife. I found it a week later under the bottom oven element with the handle melted off. For $5 shipping, the store let me walk out with a brand new one. Your grand kids will be using them. I know, because I have a couple I inherited.

2. There are excellent Japanese knives. But the vast majority of Americans don't know how to use them or understand that they have different use cases than western knives. If you cook a lot and understand what you are getting, they are a great choice. But if you are buying them because you saw them on a cooking show or TikTok, you may be very disappointed.

3. The super vast majority of commercial kitchen knives are likely most similar to the Victorinox Swiss Classic, except possibly the steel. Most commercial kitchens do not use high-end knives. Instead, they use very utilitarian knives that are replaced 2-3 times per week by a knife service.

4. Wood handles look nice, but the only German forged knife I've had utterly fail was a 50 year old paring knife with wood handles. Sure, you could have the scales replaced or even send it back for replacement (if they still do this), but why? As the wood swells, it will be uncomfortable and unable to be properly sanitized long before it totally fails.

5. You should NEVER wash your knives in a dishwasher and you should never soak you knives in a sink. Yes, commercial kitchens do. But they aren't their knives and they aren't expected to last decades.

[smacfe]

Great review! I have to disagree with you about the Zwilling 4 Star. Of the variety of knives we keep the 4 Star is the most used and the middle hardness steel is the perfect balance between durability and edge retention. My favorite hands down, though, is the Wusthof Ikon.

[BrunoAlbouze]

The 💯 % made-in Japan knives are the best. All the rest are fancy heavy copies. Period.

[davidf]

I have to confess that I am addicted to the Shun line of knives. I have had several of them for 12 years and they still work wonderfully for my style of homecooking.

[lieminhson]

Nice video, thank you. I totally gave up on western style kitchen knives, handles are too heavy, too bulky for me ... i have like 20-30 of them sleeping in the drawers. I prefer japanese style, i only use pinch grip with push cut and chopping. I only use the handle to store it. I have now 20 of them.

You don't have to worry much about damaging your Oishya, VG10 is quite tough even with a heat treatment of 62 instead of 60. I have Sukenari gyuto ZDP189 at 65-67 HRC that should have around the same toughness and never had any chipping (i'm a home cook though, no heavywork). The cutting board is very important for your edge you need to invest in a good wood cutting board with end grain or a rubber one like Asahi and Hasegawa. And of course, no cutting hard stuff that your own teeth would not be able to chew.

For me nothing beats japanese knives in 100-350 euros in value, performance and availability. Ton of choices. Then above 350 euros you are starting to have custom knives from blacksmiths in USA and Europe that uses great steels like Apex Ultra, AEB-L (in 62-64 hrc), MagnaCut, 52100 (65 hrc), CPMs ... but the availability is very bad, the number of knives produced is very low.


I hope to see you test classic japanese steels like Shirogami 2, Aogami 2, Aogami Super, Ginsan and then the more modern ones like SG2, HAP40, ZDP189, SKD, SLD ...

Your Oishya is very expensive, VG10 is more an entry level steel that is very well balanced that you usually see in knives in 60-200 euros. You are paying the extra for the higher heat treatment and also the handle. Handles are expensive ... more than people think. European maple burl would be like 100-150 euros i think. Because of this a lot of japanese knives even high quality stuff have a simple magnolia/ho wood handle with buffalo horn to keep the price down (50 euros for this handle). For 380 dollars you could have bought a knife that has both the toughness of a western knife and the edge retention of a japanese knife in HAP40/REX45, Magnacut, SKD/A2, AEB-L/14C28N and 52100 with high Heat treat (62-65hrc). Of course the knive geometry stay the most important factor to consider.

Take a look at knifesteelnerds website for infos on steels if you are interested. Bye !

[elkario]

Most of these are pretty bad knives for the price, from highly marketed brands that get shilled a lot - Dalstrong especially is overpriced Chinese trash.
All the German branded knives tend to be way too heavy and use extremely outdated, cheap steels like X50CrMo14, which are finished too soft (~56HRC).
All of the integral Damascus blades shown in the video are mass-produced blade blanks welded onto mono-steel bolsters - try etching the bolster and you will quickly see a welding line.

For anything approaching and exceeding the $300 mark, just get a custom or small batch production knife with a stainless PM super steel (e.g. CPM MagnaCut, M390, Vanax) or a proper Japanese knife with great craftsmanship. Pay attention to edge grind and blade geometry, and check the choil.
On the cheap end of good knives just get a Tojiro DP.
Mercer and Dexter-Russell are comparable alternatives to Victorinox but at a much lower price point.
If you're really hurting for money get a Kiwi kitchen knife and maybe consider re-handling it later down the line.

[mauriciolacruz]

ARCOS (Made in Spain) should be there. They even make several series for the most known German brands (not in vain this Spanish brand is even older than those).

[beastmastreakaninjadar]

Just get a 12" Dalstrong Crixus like I did. LOL Honestly, a video could be done just on Dalstrong 8" chef knives, since they have so many models. Kind of kidding about the Crixus, though. It's more of a hybrid chef/scimitar/cleaver. I bought it for both practical and personal geeky reasons. But the 8" version could be a versatile knife to have in your kit.

[ryburnsjr]

I have a wustof trident set of knives for 30 some years..nuff said !!!!..worth every dollar spent

[kyzercube]

My chef's knife is an Imarku ( a $70 Japanese/German hybrid style 8 inch knife ) and I LOVE it! Like the Wusthof Classic, it's back heavy but only by a 1/2 inch from the blade and I actually really like this because I have large hands so it works great for me. It keeps a fantastic edge, but I can tell by the amount of work that it takes to require a sharpening that the hardness is around 58 ( hardness specs are 57 +-2 ) which is fine because I butcher whole chickens a lot and getting through the joints for leg quarters and wings isn't good for a super hard knife.

[rogwheel]

I use all Lamson knives because they are made in the USA with a lifetime warranty