It’s your cooking in the kitchen that makes the magic happen, but a great kitchen knife set certainly helps the process along! Here at Home Kitchenary, we’re your go-to product review website, and for good reason: we’ve spent hours doing the research so you don’t have to. When it comes to kitchen appliance reviews, we have you covered. This week, we’re thrilled to let you know our picks for the best kitchen knives.
Aspiring chef? Amateur at-home experimenter? You’re looking for the best knife money can buy? You’re looking for the best kitchen knife for a budget? You’re filling out a wedding registry? You’re shopping just for fun? For these and all other needs and budgets, we have you covered. The best kitchen knives ~for you~ are just a few clicks away.
Best Overall
WÜSTHOF 8 Inch Chef Knife
One of the most commonly used knives around the world, the chef’s knife is the standard tool of the kitchen. For meats, veggies, spices, and more, the chef’s knife is one of the best kitchen knives to have on hand. With certain kitchen tools, you may not always need the highest quality and most expensive product each time. With a chef knife, though, which you use incredibly often, you’re going to want something of quality.
When we talk about the best kitchen knives, we are looking for quality sharpness, how long that sharpness lasts, ease of cutting, and longevity. The WÜSTHOF 8-inch chef knife hits all of those standards and more. If you’re tired of cheap knives and want something that will put in the miles along with you, then this is the best chef knife for you.
- Big enough for meats but small enough for garlic, veggies, etc.
- Good weight when using it
- Perfect “do-everything” knife
- Some people have complained about its balance
- Because it’s so sharp, it can be dangerous
Best Affordable Chef Knife
imarku Chef Knife 8 Inch
Not everyone is ready to drop hundreds of dollars on a knife and that’s OK. If you’re looking for a solid budget-friendly option, then this is the knife for you. It’s still the most commonly used knife in the kitchen, has a solid construction to it, and it’s easy to sharpen.
Some reviews online have mentioned that it dulls quickly, but its application in the kitchen is easy and useful. If you’re concerned about potential dulling with this 8-inch knife, then invest in a quality knife sharpener to have on hand. If you’re looking for your first chef knife to start your collection, then this is a solid choice.
- Affordable, good for the price
- Sharp
- Easy to use
- Useful for all cooking situations
- Dulls quickly and needs to be sharpened often
Best Japanese Knife
Zelite Infinity Chef Knife 8 Inch, Japanese
Japanese chef knives are a special choice for your kitchen when you are looking for better, quality cuts. Most European style knives have two bevels; this results in thicker cuts of meat and veggies. However, Japanese knives only have one bevel, which can result in specialty cuts and even paper-thin meat and vegetables.
When it comes to the best Japanese knives, there are hundreds out there to choose from. This 8-inch Japanese knife has outstanding reviews and a decent price, so look no further. The Zelite chef knife has solid 4 and 5 star reviews that mention its quality weight and cut. In addition to this, professional cooks and chefs recommend this knife.
- Big enough for meats but small enough for garlic, veggies, etc.
- Good weight when using
- Chefs have bought this and recommend it
- Perfect “do-everything” knife
- The handle is a weird shape
- It’s a very hard metal, so new chefs can damage it if not careful
Best Affordable Japanese Knife
FAMCÜTE 8 Inch Japanese Chef Knife
If you’re looking to experiment with a Japanese-style knife but don’t want to break the bank right away, then you need to look at the FAMCÜTE 8-inch knife. This knife doesn’t cost too much, but it still has solid reviews. While it still has the Japanese-style one bevel, it’s been noted to have the size and weight of some European knives, which might be especially nice for initially getting used to a Japanese chef knife. Buying and using this knife will help you experiment with a Japanese knife while still feeling comfortable with something familiar.
- Incredibly sharp
- Weight of a German knife with the superior blade of Japanese style
- Quality far outweighs the price
- Weak grip
- Heavy
- Could come apart over time; not full tang
Best Big Knife – Cleaver
ZWILLING Twin Signature 7-Inch Chinese Cleaver
If you haven’t added a cleaver to your kitchen, then you are missing out. Cleavers can make garlic, big vegetables, and even tough meats a breeze to cut. Stop struggling with (and damaging) smaller knives and let the size and weight of a cleaver take the bulk of the work for you! This ZWILLING cleaver has thousands of reviews mentioning its sharpness, quality, and weight that make cooking even easier.
The only consistent negative marks on this knife have been comments on its handle size being difficult with people with small hands. Certainly keep this in mind, but if you’re looking for one of the best cleavers on the market, this is the one.
- Large handle
- German-made quality
- Incredibly sharp
- Good balance and weight
- No rust
- Spine of the knife isn’t rounded and can become uncomfortable when cutting for a long time
- Large handle (Yes! We listed this as a pro as well.)
Best Affordable Big Knife – Cleaver
TUO Nakiri Knife – Cleaver
Same notes as above. A cleaver can make your cutting even easier, so now is the time to invest in the best kitchen knife you could add to your collection. If you want to experiment with a cleaver — but don’t want to chop off an arm or a leg for it — try the TUO Japanese cleaver. Not nearly as big or heavy as the ZWILLING, the TUO cleaver still maintains a sharp edge, good weight, and makes cutting easier.
This price is certainly lower than others, but note that it’s likely because of a plastic handle rather than a wood handle; however, for this price, it’s a solid introduction into cleavers, and it’s certainly a top rated kitchen knife for your collection.
- Sharpens easily
- Great for heavy-duty work and smaller, more detailed work
- Easy to maintain
- Good weight
- Handle is made of plastic
- Machine made
- Inconsistent quality
Best Knife Set
ZWILLING Professional S 7-pc Knife Set with Block
We’d be remiss to review the best kitchen knives without recommending at least one kitchen knife set. This ZWILLING 7-piece set has thousands of recommending reviews spanning many years. ZWILLING has produced this product for than a decade with solid praise.
This is the kitchen knife set that allows you to enjoy your purchase without fretting over each and every single knife you buy. From the chef knife down to the paring knives, this is a top-rated kitchen knife set for a reason: each one has solid German construction, quality, and usability. This knife set even comes with a sharpener to help you maintain your knives. The only downside that has been noted over the years is that the scissors are made in China and do not have the longevity of the other pieces. Regardless of the scissors, this set has some of the highest reviews on the market and can last you a lifetime.
- German-made quality
- Versatile for the kitchen
- Good handle
- Metal is tough but flexible
- Scissors aren’t very good
- Block has inconsistent results (some don’t like its weight; others think it’s great)
- Very sharp! Be careful
Best Kitchen Knives
Ultimately, the best kitchen knife out there is really the one that’s the best for you: it fits your budget and meets your needs. We hope this buyer’s guide helped you compare some of the top rated kitchen knives so that you can make an informed decision.
If you end up buying one of these knives, let us know in the comments! Until then, all the best and have a knife day.
Leave a Reply