Best $20 Chefs Knives

[timothyadams]

I'm a professional chef of 30 years and use Mercer Millenias exclusively for the comfort of the handles and all-around durability . The 8" Chef knife is my workhorse and the one i'd pick if I could only have 1. I do have a Millenia Nakiri in my Amazon cart though, and I'd like to try the 8" Hollow Ground wide chef knife. The steel is good and gets run through a Chef's Choice electric sharpener twice a week to keep it sharp. At $25 or so, it wouldn't break my heart (or bank) to get new ones if I lost one. They aren't full tang or weighty but they do the job. They are 53-54 HRC (Rockwell Scale) which isn't the best but makes them easy to touch-up with a sharpener. Made in New York too.

[motownman]

I'd like to see the Mercer go against the Victorinox

[KingBarney]

I love watching knife sharpening videos and whatever else, they're just so soothing. But I normally skip things here and there to get to the interesting parts, or if a part has been going on too long, but for some reason I can't bring myself to skip any part of your videos, you're just a charming character as a whole.

[BlueF]

I love literally everything about your channel, I am a little late with watching these but happy that I found you.

[Annibals]

Yes. This is the video I was looking for

[titianarasputin]

If this was an edge retention test like you said, then yeah you should have sharpened them all first.

[bahawks]

My dream knife is the $7 knife sharpened and engraved with your signature

[Wendy-xegk]

Very informative, for those of us who cook at home everyday. Thanks for this take on how to buy a decent knife without breaking the bank. Much appreciated!

[BradGryphonn]

18:40 Yes, it's plant fibre. Compost it or use it as kindling (or authentic stuffing for old school car seats).

[AGC]

That's actually a very good point...about the "full bolster"...easy to overlook...So why do manufacturers even have "full bolsters"? Seriously. You'd think they'd know or assume the owner will be sharpening the knives...maybe in THIS price category people won't. Buy the knives...use them till they dull enough--then throw them away.

[johnbarthol]

Love your channel and I totally agree with your pick of the Mercer in this video. I recently bought a Renaissance 8" chef knife and absolutely love it. I also have some knives I bought from a guy in Japan that are hand made but they are not for everyone as the hardness allows them to be chipped easily if not used correctly. I took one that my son damaged a few years ago to a guy that sharpens knives and he said the knife was sort of skating over the diamond plate he was using to reform the edge. That knife (a gyuto) and the $50 Mercer are my go to knives in the kitchen...

[NicoLuna]

I just find your channel, I started to get some interest in cooking some months ago and I feel like this kind of video is awesome for most of people like me. As you said most people don't want to spend/won't notice that much difference from a decent 20 dollar knife to a 100+ in the very beginning, and also they may have fear to ruin it trying to sharpen it, so it's really good to have a base guide on good, affordable purchases

[Skier]

Awesome Videos Riki - In one of your videos you were sharpening a Kuma, but you listed a Mercer . I purchased a KUMA VG10 Damascus Chef Knife on Amazon this week. Should I have purchased the Mercer instead?

[hrhamada]

just remember, as ryky said at about 24 minutes, out of box sharpness is just one factor and not necessarily the most important one. Some companies purposely don't sharpen super high because they cater to a professional clientele. they know we're probably going to sharpen it ourselves. Most Japanese hand made knives are this way. Or it might be insanely high out of the box like a miyabi artisan (I'm purposely trying to back off the bevel over time). Or it might just be a marketing gimmick.

Also as ryky said at about 25 minutes in. Sharpness does NOT relate to edge retention, nor does it have to do with over all construction, beauty, reputation, reliability, ergonomics, blade geometry, etc. A knife might be pretty, or it might be UGLY, but that doesn't mean that it is bad or it is good.
As ryky said, there are some people that use a knife 5 minutes a day and there are those that use one 10 hours a day.

This was an important test and I really appreciate the discussion at the end. GREAT video.
You do NOT need to spend a lot of money to get something that will last a long time, or that will service you well.Another point to mention is that none of these knives are going to be "chippy" for aq beginner to use like VG10. All will be no maintainence required, and all will be very easy to sharpen.

You do NOT need to spend a ton of money if you only cut veggies 5 munutes aq day 4 days a week.

Also there might be aq good reason for "throw away" knives. A knife like the Thai "kiwi" or their sister "kom kom" (same company very slightly better quality) are great when we go to a picnic or a pot luck because we don't care if we lose them (which is why victorinox used to be used in most kitchens). Kiwi/Kom Kom is great to see if you like a style of knife. It's better to lean about the point of a kiritsuke style knife on a 8 dollar knife than a 150 dollar knife. they are NOT good knives, they're throwaways, but there IS a reason for them.

I think another "sweet spot" for quality for the dollar VALUE might be in the 40-50 dollar range.

We really appreciate that ryky is actually going through physical PAIN for us. Now that's commitment!

[RickMackey]

Thank you for demonstrating budget knives! I am in the market for some new knives and many reviewers are "snobby" as if you can't cut with anything that doesn't cost a fortune. I will spend more than $20 on a new chef's knife, though. I am hooked on your videos now, learning about knives and sharpening!

[inquisitor]

Farberware forged Chef's Knife and also the Farberware meat cleaver which you can buy from Wal-Mart. The Farberware handles are large and a bit squared off which is great for grip and leverage while chopping. A lot of the more expensive knives have too narrow of a handle for medium-large or large hands and I simply do not like rounded handles on my knife.

[jupitereye]

Where did you get that board and how much? It's awesome!

[lighteningwawa]

For $20, I think IKEA 365+ is a really good one. X50crmov15, HRC 58, decent design and hand feel. I think it's a very good knife for the price.

[Krawurxus]

The price of a knife is not always indicative of it's quality. You can pretty much sharpen any piece of steel and have it cut through most foods like a.. well.. hot knife through butter.

I own a paring knife that cost me 2 Euros 8 or 10 years ago, and since I've started maintaining and grinding my knives myself it's the sharpest one I have. I just do some touching up with a honing steel before and after using it and I've not had to sharpen it in years.

[afrog]

I recently got a Coline 8 inch chef knife, for 199NOK (24USD)
("Clas Ohlson Line", Clas Ohlson is a scandinavian chain with many different products like tools, kitchen stuff, supplies etc etc, and they have their own lines of products, Coline is one).
It didn`t come as sharp as I`d like, BUT, after giving it a few passes on a stone, and stropping it on my old german leather belt (How I roll ;)) It is actually very sharp, it has a DIN X50CrMoV15 blade.
Not 100% on what the rockwell rating on it is, I think it`s 54-56HRC, so it probably won`t hold it`s edge all that well.
But I polish it up every time I use it anyway, and so far, it`s been great.
By far my cheapest kitchen knife apart from my utility knife and a couple of paring knives, but for the money it does the job very well.
It`s great for practicing sharpening as it`s not super hard, very affordable, and has a mild curve, so it`s forgiving for n00bs like me :)
Loving my cheapo Coline knife ;)