7 Best Chef's Knives of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

We loved the Made In 8 Inch Chef Knife for its sturdy construction (it’s fully forged from a single rod of premium metal) and ability to tackle any cutting task with excellent results. Hardly any effort was required for tasks like slicing tomatoes and cutting through an unpeeled onion and slicing it. This knife required a little more elbow grease for cutting denser foods like sweet potatoes, and though it was easy to chiffonade basil, we noticed that the leaves were moderately bruised. It feels sturdy yet not too heavy in the hand, weighing in at .5 pounds and the handle provides a comfortable grip that’s conducive to a rhythmic rocking motion for slicing. It washed up easily by hand with warm, soapy water, though it needed extra scrubbing after dicing sweet potatoes. We appreciated that it came with a sheath for storing the knife and liked the polished packaging, complete with a branded bandage (just in case!). Overall, this is a great workhorse knife and its price makes it a great value, especially when compared with other name brand manufacturers with a similar design.

Another solid, all-around chef’s knife at a great value is the Misen Chef’s Knife. If you’re just getting comfortable with using a chef’s knife, the 8-inch Misen is lightweight and easy to maneuver, which can be helpful for beginners. It performed all of the cutting tasks with ease, though we found that some ingredients like onion slices and chicken breast strips stuck to the knife. As with the Made-In, extra pressure needed to be applied to cut the sweet potato in half, but it performed better on the basil chiffonade, leaving minimal bruising. It wipes clean after most cutting tasks though extra scrubbing was needed to erase the marks left from dicing the sweet potato. The Misen also comes with a card insert that provides helpful tips for holding the knife and care instructions to extend the life of your knife. It was among the least expensive knives we tested, and we appreciated that it comes with a 60-day home trial so you can try it out risk-free. If you decide to keep it, it comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Victorinox has earned a reputation for its Swiss-made knives and this model is a great all-around knife at an affordable price. It delivered on its promise of a non-slip ergonomic handle, offering a sure, comfortable grip that makes it an ideal choice for beginners, too. It easily sliced through a tomato, onion and raw chicken breast with little-to-no sticking. In addition to requiring more pressure to cut through the sweet potato, we also had to push down on the blade to cut it in half. After the task to chiffonade basil leaves, we detected a moderate amount of bruising. The Victorinox Fibrox also claims that the tapered knife edge, ground in two directions, helps it hold a sharp edge longer. But we observed that the knife was noticeably duller after completing the testing process; we tested this by cutting another tomato at the end of testing and noted that it didn’t pierce the tomato’s skin as easily as when the knife was out-of-the-box sharp.

The knife washed up easily with warm, soapy water, though it required extra scrubbing after cutting the sweet potato and we noticed visible marks on the knife after it was washed and dried. The knife is dishwasher safe and we didn’t note any discoloration or changes in the knife after running it through the dishwasher (though to protect the blade and extend the knife’s sharpness, hand washing your chef’s knife is a good rule of thumb to follow). The knife is relatively inexpensive, so the packaging is a simple plastic clamshell (which was hard to open) and doesn’t come with any user manual or helpful hints. But overall, this is a great option for heavy prep use at a wallet-friendly price.

This brand has a reputation for crafting kitchen gear that’s made for chefs, by chefs, so our expectations were high. And from the first slice of tomato, we could tell it was going to be a winner. This knife costs a little more than some of our top picks, but it offers great value by delivering on several promises: It has a comfortable grip, feels light-weight yet solid in the hand, and boasts a razor-sharp edge with a 23-degree blade angle (it even cut some of our kitchen towel when drying it, so take extra care!). We found that the knife yielded consistent control and results when used on a variety of ingredients, whether slicing onions and chicken breasts, chiffonading basil or dicing sweet potatoes (though it does require a little extra pressure help to cut denser foods in half, like the sweet potato). The three-layer Japanese steel promises an ideal blend of sharpness and durability, which the manufacturer backs with a lifetime guarantee. It comes in three colors — enoki white, shiso green or caviar black — with handsome brass rivets, making it a stylish addition to your kitchen arsenal, too.

This German-made knife is forged from a single piece of sturdy high-carbon steel and built for durability. It is a solid knife that performs well on a variety of kitchen prep duties; it felt slightly heavier and harder to maneuver than the Made-In or Misen chef’s knives when it came to tasks like slicing a tomato or chiffonading basil. However, this heft is an advantage for slicing denser foods like sweet potatoes or the thick outer layers of onions. We also liked that ingredients such as onions and raw chicken breast didn’t stick to the blade during slicing.

This knife claims to resist stain and corrosion, and we found that to be true for the duration of the testing process. The care directions specify to rinse and dry the knife immediately after handwashing it in warm water and mild detergent. We found that the knife washed up easily and didn’t require as much scrubbing after cutting the sweet potato and didn’t note any stains.

We loved that this knife capitalized on the best of Western and Japanese styles. It is Japanese-made, but the steel blade is thicker than traditional Japanese cutlery and has a 22-degree cutting edge modeled after European chef’s knives. As a result, the knife can be used for heavy-duty cutting tasks while still retaining a sharp edge. The handle is made of pakkawood, which is lauded for its durability, and the D-shape handle makes it comfortable to grip.

It performed very well on all of the cutting tasks with little effort; we were particularly impressed with how precisely it cut raw, boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips with minimal effort. As with the other knives, we needed to apply some extra pressure to cut a sweet potato in half, but not as much as some of the other knives. Overall, this knife performs well and offers good value at a mid-range price point.

This Miyabi Birchwood was the most expensive knife we tested, but we felt that the sharpness of the blade and the precision of its cuts were unmatched. Its wafer-thin asymmetric blades create an exceptionally sharp blade and smooth cutting edge, making it live up to the product’s tagline: Beauty of sharpness. The knife was a pleasure to use and yielded precise cuts for all of the prep tasks: Slicing into a tomato was like cutting through paper, our eyes didn’t water at all while cutting into and slicing an onion and there was virtually no bruising on the basil and no sticking when slicing through a raw chicken breast. As with the other knives, more effort was required to cut the sweet potato in half, but it performed the best of all the knives when dicing it. As a result, this knife is best suited for dishes that require ultra-precise cuts, such as sushi, ceviche or tartar, or on delicate ingredients and garnishes, such as herbs and vegetables. It’s not recommended for use on frozen food or shellfish.

The knife itself is beautiful, emblematic of Japanese knife craftsmanship and it came in a beautiful box, as well as two outer sleeves and an interior plastic piece to keep the knife in place and protect it during shipment. If you’re making the investment in a knife like this, heed the care instructions: immediately clean blades after contact with food to avoid rust or discoloration and don’t leave it wet or dirty for any length of time. If you don’t plan to use the knife regularly, the manufacturer recommends wrapping it in cloth or newspaper.

This is a Japanese knife, which means it is sharpened at an angle on only one side and requires a different sharpening technique. Make sure you’re familiar with sharpening Japanese blades or have a qualified professional do it for you.