The chef’s knife is an integral part of every kitchen. It’s the most versatile knife you can use for food prep, after all. Whether for mincing garlic, chopping carrots, or slicing up steaks for cooking on the indoor grill, it’s usually the knife everyone grabs to take to the chopping board. It doesn’t mater how many specialty tools you have on the knife block – the chef’s knife is the one you will instinctively reach for each time out.
The best chef’s knives come in an assortment of sizes. Some will have smaller six-inch blades that are easier to handle, while others are equipped with larger blades, sometimes even reaching up to 14 inches. Most people will stick with blade lengths around eight inches, since they’re easy enough to handle while giving you a long enough edge that can take on more challenging cutting tasks, such as slicing through a large watermelon. However, those with smaller hands might want to consider going with a shorter knife (six or seven inches), while those that have bigger hands will probably find slightly bigger chef’s knives (nine or 10 inches) more comfortable.
What should you look for in the best chef’s knives? As a rule, you want a chef’s knife that’s sharp out of the box and stays sharp for as long as possible. It’s going to get a lot of use, after all, so the longer it can retain its edge, the less maintenance you’ll have to do. You want the knife to feel balanced when you hold it in hand, while being light enough to wield and comfortable enough to use many times over.
These are the best chef’s knives to handle all your cutting duties in the kitchen.
Mercer Culinary 8-Inch Genesis Chef’s Knife
Pros
- Full tang blade
- Sharp edge
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Chunky grip
- Snags occasionally when cutting bone-in meat
Materials: High-carbon German steel (blade), santoprene (handle)
Blade length: 8.5 inches
Weight: 8.8 ounces
Edge type: Plain
Don’t want to spend more than $50 for a good chef’s knife? We understand the sentiment. Spending a hundred bucks or more for a kitchen knife just feels a little too much, especially if you mostly cook for yourself or a small family. This knife comes in at a fairly inexpensive price, all while excelling in all common slicing and dicing tasks. It has a wider, thicker blade that’s characteristic of German-style kitchen knives, which gives this one a bit of added heft, although it also snags a fair amount, especially when taking on big slabs of meat and fish with the bones still inside. The molded plastic/rubber composite handle is a bit on the chunky side, so it’s not as comfortable as more premium options in the list, but it does have a full tang blade, which is pretty rare among knives in this price range. While it’s not a knife we’d recommend for serious chefs who cook multiple hours in a day, it’s definitely good enough for home cooks looking for an inexpensive chef’s knife for their kitchen.
Victorinox Swiss Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Pros
- Makes short work of meat and hardy produce
- Belly works great for rocking motions
- Sturdy construction
Cons
- Not as balanced as others
- Not full-tang
Materials: High-carbon stainless steel (blade), TPE (handle)
Blade length: 8 inches
Weight: 6.4 ounces
Edge type: Straight
Victorinox’s budget chef’s knife is inexpensive enough for most home cooks, all while gliding through every cutting task we put it through, smoothly cleaving through the joints of a whole chicken and slicing through a thick pile of cabbage with ease. Sure, the materials are far from premium, but the blade is sharp and the knife has very solid construction, allowing you to feel confident the whole time you’re driving it down towards the cutting board. The blade has a rounded belly that enables a smooth rocking motion, while the flat spine makes it easy to press down on the blade when you need the extra force. Like our more inexpensive option above, the blade is on the wider side with a bit more thickness, so those with smaller hands might find a little hard to use for more delicate slicing tasks.
Global 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Pros
- Perfect balance allows precise control
- Seamless build
- Thin blade slices smoothly
Cons
- Handling takes some getting used to
- Thin blade requires extra force on spine for tough root vegetables
Materials: Stainless steel (blade and handle)
Blade length: 8 inches
Weight: 7.8 ounces
Edge type: Plain
This chef’s knife has a blade and handle both made from the same piece of stainless steel, with no seams, which make it all that much easier to clean. It also gives it the knife a more durable build, since there’s no way the handle can ever detach from the blade, while the molded handle with dimpled texture ensure a safe and secure grip. Do note, the grip is still stainless, steel though, so you want to pat it dry when it gets wet, since the metal can feel a bit slippery in that state. We love the responsive feel of this knife, by the way, which is achieved by filling the hollow interior of the handle with a precise amount of sand to create a perfect balance that adapts to how the knife is handled (the sand shifts inside automatically), although some people find the handling to be a bit odd. For us, this results in a knife that feels like an extension of your hand, letting you rip through slabs of pork, heads of cabbage, and all sorts of other food items with relative ease. We also love the thin blade, the flat spine, and the proprietary steel blend that feels like it will hold up for a long time.
Mac Professional Series 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Pros
- Very responsive
- Thin and lightweight blade
- Perfect for delicate cuts
- Easy to sharpen
Cons
- Dulls faster
- Small belly not good for rocking motions
Materials: High-carbon stainless steel (blade), pakkawood (handle)
Blade length: 7.9 inches
Weight: 6.5 ounces
Edge type: Hollow
Of all the chef’s knives in the list, this is easily our favorite for slicing fish, with the hollow edge really minimizing friction, so it smoothly cuts through with zero snags. It’s relatively thin and lightweight, which allows for precise and agile control, making it a joy to use for making thin slices and confetti-like strips, although it still delivered enough off a steady strength to cleave through hardy produce and root veggies. The pakkawood handle is easy to grip and felt secure in hand at all times, even when wet, which definitely helps with its overall precision. Simply put, there are few knives that can match its agility when it comes to those delicate cuts. The catch here is the blade material, which is easy to sharpen but also dulls faster, so you’ll want to learn how to work with a honing steel and a knife sharpener if you want this in your kitchen for the long haul.
Wusthof Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Pros
- Sturdy and well-built
- Well-balanced
- heavy duty
Cons
- Heavier than others
- Not as sharp Japanese-style blades
Materials: High-carbon stainless steel (blade), polyoxymethylene (handle)
Blade length: 8 inches
Weight: 9.5 ounces
Edge type: Plain
At this price range, some people want the most lightweight chef’s knife they can get their hands on. That’s not the case with this model, which tips the scales at 9.5 ounces, giving it a hefty and sturdy feel in hand that makes you confident it can through anything you put in its path. As the name says, it’s a “classic” Western design, with a blade forged in a high-carbon stainless steel and a full tang that should stay securely intact through the toughest slicing jobs. While it’s not as sharp as the thin Japanese chef’s knives (it has a higher steel to carbon ratio), it certainly slices through everything from dense produce and hard root vegetables to all sorts of meat slabs with ease, with all that extra heft coming in handy for tackling tougher food items. The knife has a full bolster, which we like for those times we’re cutting with a pinch-grip hold, although some people don’t like it since that makes the knife harder to sharpen. Your own mileage may vary on that end. Simply put, if you want a classic Western chef’s knife with a hefty feel, a rounded belly, and a solid build, this does the trick nicely.
Misono UX10 Chef’s Knife No, 712
Pros
- Incredibly lightweight
- Very sharp and precise
- Retains edge very well
Cons
- Hard to sharpen
- Asymmetric edge makes it tougher for lefties
Materials: Swedish stainless steel (blade), wood composite (handle)
Blade length: 8.2 inches
Weight: 5.6 ounces
Edge type: Plain
Misono is one of the more popular Japanese chef’s knife brands and their products are priced accordingly, which is why this top-of-the-line model gets a premium price tag. For the money, though, you get a blade cut in pure Swedish stainless steel, which holds an edge far longer than most other knives on the list, although it’s also going to require a bit more skill to sharpen (because of both the material and the 70/30 bevel on the edge), so you’ll probably want it done by a professional when the time does come. The blade has a thin and light build, which makes it nimble and spry, with the whole thing tipping the scales at just 5.6 ounces. It’s incredibly precise, too, letting you chop up delicate herbs very cleanly, with a belly that craftily drives through thick and dense food items with ease. From the superior sharpness and the featherlight weight to the gorgeous Japanese-style blade shape, it’s an artfully made knife that’s absolutely well worth the asking price.
