The 7 Best Chef Knives for Your Kitchen (2023): Affordable, Japanese, Carbon Steel
Kitchen full of gadgets and innovative technology, but the cornerstone on which great food is built remains simple: you need a good knife.
But this seemingly simple device probably causes more confusion and headaches for most of us than a set of deep fryers and slow cookers. What makes a knife ideal for you will depend on many factors, including your comfort level with knives, the size of your hands, and the kind of food you like to cook.
Most of us should start with a regular 6″ to 8″ chef’s knife. It is the most versatile knife capable of slicing vegetables, meat, mincing garlic, herbs and nuts. A staggering range of chef knives are available, from the cheapest to the very expensive specialty blades. To help you make sense of it all, we tested dozens of knives until we found out a simple truth: the best knife is sharp. A poorly made $10 blade that you sharpen every week is more useful than a dull $200 blade. Here is our selection.
Special Offer for Gear Readers: Get 1 year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our printed magazine (if you like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Best for most people
The Victorinox Fibrox Pro chef’s knife is the best knife I’ve ever tested. It doesn’t have the same quality construction as some of the others here, but it’s usually available for around $50. It holds an edge well and hardly sticks – almost nothing sticks to this blade, even fresh cilantro. If you’re just starting out on your culinary journey, this knife makes a great first chef’s knife and will serve you for years to come.
Take the money you saved by buying this and invest it in a good sharpener. If you are a beginner, I suggest the simplicity of a two-stage electric sharpener such as the Presto EverSharp ($35 on Amazon). If you know how to sharpen with a stone, I like Shapton medium grit (1000) ceramic stone ($68 on Amazon). If you have never used a stone, fear not; it’s not that hard. YouTube is full of videos to get you started, but I really like Ricky Tran’s videos. Burfection Guides.
Our Favorite Budget Knife
Kiwi knives have something of a cult following. They are cheap and the thinness of the blade reflects this, but this is the knife I use 90% of the time. I like a thin, light blade and have found that for reasons I can’t explain, a kiwi will hold an edge just as well as knives that sell for over $100. I sharpen it at least once a week and it stays razor sharp. Due to its thin blade, this is not our top choice. I don’t pick up a kiwi when I need to carve a chicken, but when I’m done testing out all the fancy knives below, this is the one you’ll find in my hand most of the time.
If you decide to go down this path, I suggest you spend a few more dollars and get a set that includes a chef’s knife and a half-cleaver ($15 on Amazon), which I love for grinding herbs. Again, take the money saved here and invest it in a good sharpener.
work knife
Richmond Artifex II is a small update to the original Artifex that I have been using since I was a line cook. It holds a sharp edge very well for a knife of this price and makes a great first step into the world of Japanese knives.
It is slightly longer than many of the blades here, but unlike many Japanese knives, it has a Western-style handle. The Western or Wa pen is usually in two pieces with flat sides on either side of the metal, while the Japanese or Ho pen can be any shape but tends to be round (an octagon is also common). Artifex is the closest of those stainless steel knives I’ve seen to match the benefits of a carbon steel blade.
Best for Young Chefs
Best known for their folding knives, French knife maker Opinel offers this mini chef knife set for kids who want to help slice and dice in the kitchen. It’s a real knife with a real blade, but it’s sized to fit a child’s hand, and the red ring helps ensure a good grip. It was a bit small for my 10 year olds but my 7 year old loves it. I think this is probably perfect for kids ages 4 to 8 but of course all kids are different so you’ll have to use your own judgment.
I’m not sure if you need finger protection. It offers a good barrier to balance the blade, and it teaches kids how to form the “claw” grip you want to use with a knife, but it only includes two fingers, which could mean they’ll have to re-learn how to grip when they turn into a “real” grip. knife. However, the knife itself is worth it if your youngest child wants to help out in the kitchen.
A proven workhorse in the kitchen
The Global G-2 8″ Chef’s Knife is popular with working chefs – it’s been the most common kitchen knife in every restaurant I’ve worked at. It is light, easy to handle and holds an edge very well. In fact, it’s very similar to a carbon steel blade, but without the maintenance issues of carbon steel knives.
Another thing that makes it popular is the softness of the steel. It’s not carbon steel – it’s soft, but much thinner and softer than most European knives and therefore easier to sharpen. One thing to be aware of is that the factory bevel is 15 degrees rather than the more standard 20-degree bevel. Keep this in mind when sharpening the stone, as you will need to hold it slightly differently to get it back to its original sharpness.
The best Japanese knives
There are entire books, websites and YouTube channels dedicated to comparing all varieties of Japanese knives. It can be overwhelming, and for the most part, it has nothing to do with helping you make good food. However, if you want to spend some money, there are worse ways than investing in a good Japanese carbon steel knife. Here are some of our favorites.
I have had a very similar Korin Gyoto knife for almost 20 years (I recently gifted it to a friend) and it remains one of the best knives I have ever used. Togiharu is Korin’s own brand, made by a Japanese knife manufacturer. They are very well made and not very expensive. This model is sharpened to the razor edge and holds this edge quite well. If you have small hands or just want a smaller blade, Korin small knives (5″ to 6″ blades) are also very good.
Like Western-style knives, Gyotos are double-edged, meaning sharpened on both sides, rather than the single-edged blade of most traditional Japanese knives. Many Gyoto knives do not have the 50:50 V-shape of Western knives, and to make them as sharp as possible, you need to maintain the ratio (often 70:30) to achieve maximum sharpness.
DP Gyutou from Tojiro is a great performer at a great price. It holds the blade almost as well as blades twice as expensive, and it has a wonderful firm feel in the hand. The blade is able to cut very precisely and very thinly, for which I usually use a carbon steel blade. The only thing you should pay attention to is the height of the handle, which is a little lower. I’ve tapped my knuckles on the cutting board more than once while using it. If you have big hands, you’d better take something else.
Best Mandolin/Slicer
While the chef’s knife is the backbone of the kitchen, there are other important slicers as well. Another instrument I highly recommend is the mandolin, especially if large knives scare you. As I chop vegetables—kale for salad, cucumbers for dipping, tomatoes for sandwich—I reach for the mandolin. It’s fast, accurate and, dare I say it, easier.
However, one mandolin is too disposable for me. I love this slicer combo from Garrett Wade. It has a mandolin and three graters and takes up almost no space in your drawer. Between those two, I can chop, grate, and grind to get just about any size I need. The rubber base prevents them from sliding on the countertop, and the stainless steel construction makes the tool strong and durable. They don’t have any fuses or protection, so I suggest picking up cut-resistant gloves as well. i like these Dex Fit Gloves ($13). They protect your fingers and knuckles from cuts, and the palms have a nitrile coating that makes it easier to grip wet vegetables.
★ Alternative choice: This Muller Mandolin ($30) it is also multifunctional, although it is made of plastic.
Should I buy a set of knives?
In a word: no. Unless you’re making a serious deal, knife sets are usually not a good investment. You don’t need many knives; you need some good knives. In fact, you only need one good knife: an 8-inch chef’s knife. Some people also like to have a paring knife and I have one, but all it does is open bags of chips. A chef’s knife is all you need to prepare almost any dish. Knife sets often cost twice as much as buying one good chef’s knife. Large wooden storage blocks also take up useful counter space. Skip the kit and invest in a sharpener instead.
Do you need a sharpener
A dull knife is dangerous. You compensate for the lack of sharp edges by applying more pressure while cutting. This means that when your knife slips, you cut yourself deeper. When I was a professional chef, I had to spend a couple of nights in the emergency room thinking about it, and I became somewhat religious about knife sharpening.
In a perfect world, there would be one sharpener that would rule them all, and I would just link to it here. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Different blade materials and shapes require different sharpening methods. In particular, many modern stainless steel blades are too hard to sharpen effectively with traditional waterstones. (However, waterstones are great for carbon steel; like I said, take these Shepton stones.)
For most people, I recommend an electric sharpener. As noted above, Presto EverSharp ($35, Amazon) is an excellent choice for most of the knives in this guide, with the exception of Japanese knives. The softer steel and offset bevel of most of the Japanese knives we recommend means you’ll want to sharpen them with a stone.
To learn more about sharpening options and get some tips on how to improve the sharpness of your new knives, check out this guide from Epicurious at how to sharpen a knife.