The Best Chef's Knives

This knife is a work of art. I loved using it, but just looking at it—she's purty. The knife is hand-hammered, creating a rippled finish that is not only beautiful but also helps reduce drag while cutting and promotes less food sticking to the blade. Shun claims each knife is crafted in a 100-step process “inspired by ancient swordsmiths,” and the blades are crafted in Seki, Japan's 700-year-old center for samurai swords. The blade's steel core has 34 layers of micro-thin, high-carbon Damascus stainless steel on each side for increased stability and durability (with 68 total layers), and a 16-degree blade angle. The resin-infused blonde birch handle is not only beautiful, but has an ergonomic design that is comfortable to hold. This knife is lightweight, a bit short, and easy to use. I love using it for smaller, more precise tasks, although it did stand up pretty well when cutting more dense root vegetables. I minced and diced super quickly with this li'l guy, but food chunks tended to stick to the sides of the blade.

This sleek Hast knife is made of Japanese carbon steel (see above for more about carbon materials) from renowned steel maker Koike. It overall feels lightweight and svelte. The ergonomic handle was very easy to grip, although it got a bit slippery (and potentially dangerous) when wet. It felt superlight, but overall didn't feel as heavy-duty, and flip-flopped a bit while cutting more dense foods like potatoes. It was able to make supersmooth cuts on softer foods, and I felt able to control it easily while mincing garlic. The ultrathin blade made of Japanese carbon steel won't get discolored as easily as others, but the lack of information regarding the hardness of its blade gives me pause as to its performance in the long term. After much searching, I found that the knife was made in China. Still, this is a remarkably affordable option for a Japanese carbon steel chef's knife that excels in making more precise cuts.

Kiwi knives have sort of a cult following because they're cheap but have a thin, light blade that WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson finds holds an edge just as well as knives that sell for well over $100. Since the knives have a low carbon content, they are softer, with a hardness rating of around 50 HRC. Therefore, the blade will need to be sharpened approximately once a week to maintain its razor-sharp edge. We wouldn't choose the Kiwi for tougher projects like cutting up a chicken, but this simple, cheap knife works excellently for most other small kitchen tasks. Just remember to invest in a good sharpener and sharpen regularly to keep this cheap workhorse in tip-top shape.

This German-made knife is crafted from high-carbon stainless steel, according to Zwilling, which claims it is made from a “proprietary special-formula steel that has been perfected for almost 300 years,” and features an ice-hardened blade. The fine V-edge, forged blade is engineered to be harder and retain its sharpness for longer. I found that the thicker blade required a bit more force for cutting and the cuts were sometimes not as smooth as other picks when it came to dense foods like root vegetables. The plastic handle is large and extra grippy, but I felt like it was harder to control cuts than some other knives on this list. It's a solid pick and I almost made it runner-up, but it required a bit more effort, and chopping wasn't as fast.

This 8-inch, Spanish-made Henckels knife has a classic German-style blade made from German stainless steel. It just feels like a heavy-duty workhorse knife. The finely honed blade transitions to an ergonomic triple-rivet handle. Although only 0.28 pounds, this knife feels heavier than the comparable Zwilling, in part because of this handle, which is less comfortable with more severe, squared edges than some other picks on the list. The blade was super sharp and I quickly cut most produce with ease, although it wasn't as clean of a cut on starchier, more dense foods like potatoes. Plus, the starchier produce seemed to stick a little more to this knife than others.

This heavy-duty knife feels a bit heavier than the majority on this list, although the three-beveled handle is ergonomically designed and easy to hold, despite its large size. The hefty handle seamlessly blends into the stainless steel knife, and despite being heavy, I felt in control while cutting. This Santoku Japanese-style knife has a lower point, which makes it easier to dice and chop quickly without too much arm/shoulder movement or exertion. The blade is also wide and thick, making it feel a bit sturdier and easier to transfer veggies from the cutting board. This wouldn't be my go-to for everything I cut on the reg, but I especially loved it for quicker, rougher dicing and chopping of things like herbs and garlic cloves.

This knife from Mannkitchen is designed for large to XXL hands, and Mannkitchen doesn't play when it says that. This knife is heavier, longer, and wider than other standard chef's knives, with a hybrid edge shape for versatile tasks. The extra-wide blade adds more distance between the board and your fingers, and the heft of the knife adds more power to every downward motion. Mannkitchen states that this unique design is inspired by Viking longboats, with a downward slope at both ends that helps prevent blade wedging and facilitates a more natural arm/wrist position while cutting. The extra-wide blade is the largest of those tested, making it easy to transfer chopped food from the cutting board. It worked well on a variety of foods, especially superdense root veggies and large cauliflower, although the foods tended to stick to the blade's sides.

One of my biggest complaints while testing these knives was about food sticking to the sides while chopping. Especially with some of the bigger knives, like Mannkitchen's, the chopped food would begin sticking so badly I'd have to take breaks to push down the pieces to have more to cut. But, we love this knife (9/10, WIRED recommends—WIRED contributing reviewer Joe Ray especially appreciated its extra-large dimples that help prevent food from sticking to the blade. The dimple sides can be chosen depending on the user's dominant hand—lefties like me order theirs with the dimples on the left, and righties get them on the right. The steel blade is hard, a 59 HRC, with a mix of chromium, carbon, molybdenum, and vanadium. That combination creates a hard, thin, and durable blade that resists rust and holds a tough edge.