The Best Chef’s Knives

Buying Guide

Whether you make your living as a professional chef, or you simply love spending time in the kitchen cooking up delicious meals for friends and family, you’ll need a good quality set of chef’s knives. These knives are designed to make chopping fruits and veggies a breeze and slicing meats smooth and painless. Before choosing a chef’s knife, there are a few things you’ll want to consider.

“A chef’s knife is like an extension of you,” says Julie Chernoff, food journalist, dining editor of Better magazine and member of Les Dames d’Escoffier. “It must feel comfortable in your hand and be well-balanced, which makes buying one online a little troublesome. Ideally, you should go to a kitchen store where you can actually test it out in person.”

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To start with, there’s size. An 8-inch knife suits most cooks better than the larger 10-inch, which is too large for many domestic kitchen chores, or a 6-inch, which is too small.

First, examine the blade of the knife. You need a knife made of steel, like the Shun Classic 8-In Chef’s Knife. This knife features a specially formulated VG-MAX steel blade that has extra tungsten. The blade is sharper, less susceptible to rust and strong enough to slice through tough cuts of meat.

You may also want to purchase a blade based on the types of food you plan to prepare. The Mac Knife Hollow Edge 8-In Chef’s Knife has dimples across the bottom of the blade that make slicing stickier fruits and vegetables much easier.

While you’re examining the blade, look for how the sharpness of the knife’s blade measures up against industry standards. There are models, for example, that have an Initial Cutting Performance (ICP) of 130 (anything above 110 is considered excellent) and a Total Card Cut (TCC) of 601 (anything above 550 is considered excellent).

“The blade should be curved from its tip to the heel, which allows a gentle rocking of the blade when cutting without losing contact with the cutting board,” explains Chernoff. “I also prefer a full-tang knife, meaning the knife is one solid piece of mental from the blade tip to the end of the handle. The handle pieces are attached to either side with pins — this adds both strength and durability to the chef’s knife, although it does make the knife heavier.”

Of course, you’ll want your chef’s knife to have a solid handle. You may opt for a traditional wood handle, or a uniquely designed plastic handle, like a thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) handle. Not only does this type of handle keep your hands from slipping as you repeatedly cut through produce, but its ergonomic shape also works to reduce hand and wrist fatigue, which is a lifesaver when you’re cooking for a large group.

“I like a handle that is easily gripped and has a good solid bolster — the thick part of the blade above the handle — to protect my fingers and add stability,” Chernoff notes.

Finally, hold the knife in your hand and see how it feels. Do you prefer a lightweight and thin model, or one that is more heavy and wide? Are you looking for a classic style, or does a modern style suit you better? Sometimes choosing a chef’s knife comes down to your personal preferences.

But remember: you’ll get the most out of your knife if you take good care of it.

“Most importantly, respect your knife,” Chernoff says. “Keep it sharp and keep it clean. Never put a quality knife in the dishwasher; it will dull.”

• Take care when cleaning your chef’s knives. Many brands are not listed as safe to put in a dishwasher. Instead, you’ll need to wash them by hand with traditional dish soap and hot water. Dry them afterward with a lint-free towel to prevent the possibility of rust, which can occur on certain types of steel blades.
• Store your knives in a knife block, or cover them with a plastic sheath to protect the blades.
• Keep the chef’s knives out of the reach of small children. As you teach your older children how to safely use knives for food preparation, you’ll want to supervise them at all times. Every knife should be viewed as a dangerous tool that could cause harm when not used carefully, especially when used by pre-teens and teens that may not fully understand how sharp the knives are.
• Always place a cutting board under the food you’re slicing with your chef’s knife. This reduces the wear and tear on the blade of the knife that happens when you cut on other surfaces, like granite and marble.
• Check to see whether the knife you’re interested in has any accolades or awards that further reinforce that the utensil is top-quality. For example, if you see “National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) approved” on the packaging label, you can feel confident that the knife was tested and successfully met a set of strict requirements to earn that NSF certification.
• When shopping for the best chef’s knives, you’ll want to compare prices of knives that are of similar length. When it comes to 8-inch knives, you’ll find the Mac Knife Hollow Edge 8-In Chef’s Knife and the Shun Classic 8-In Chef’s Knife are on the higher end with a price tag of about $150.