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Afterward, we tested them side by side to see whether we could still distinguish a difference in the cutting edge. In the hands of someone very skilled, even cheap blades from the supermarket can become exceptionally sharp.įor our 2022 review update, we took several previously tested knives at a range of price points to get professionally sharpened at the Korin showroom in New York City. What’s more, a blade is only as sharp as the knife sharpener can make it. All knives eventually need honing and sharpening, no matter how nice they are. If you buy a high-quality blade, don’t expect the cutting edge to last without care. The downside was that, even for slicing an onion, this model required a bit more force than we felt comfortable using on the regular.ĭoes blade sharpness equal quality? Yes and noīuying a knife that’s razor sharp straight out of the box is a good indicator of manufacturer quality, but it isn’t necessarily the best way to judge the quality of a knife.

As a German knife made with carbon steel, it features a thicker blade, but it was still easy to maneuver.

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The Zwilling Professional chef’s knife ($116) was comfortable to hold and relatively lightweight. Also available in a few color options, the knife is good-looking, but a bit burdensome to use, requiring too much force to complete the testing tasks. The Five Two chef’s knife ($69), from the in-house brand at Food52, weighs nearly nine ounces, making it the heaviest of any knife we tested. It was heavy and a little unwieldy to use but very sharp out of the box. The Material chef’s knife ($75) comes in a few neutral colors and was easily the chicest knife we tested. They’re sharp and effective for delicate knife work, but had a bit of trouble handling the tough sweet potato. The Wüsthof Gourmet chef’s knife ($100) and Wüsthof Classic chef’s knife ($108) were both pleasantly light-lighter than what we’re accustomed to from Wüsthof. It was extremely sharp and sliced an onion with ease, but it required more force than we would have liked to cut through sturdy sweet potato. Henckels Classic chef’s knife ($70) features a squared-off handle that we thought would be hard to hold, but was actually one of the most comfortable knives of the bunch.

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But it wasn’t quite as responsive as the Mac knife. It is very sharp, made of high-quality materials, and compared to similar knives on the market, isn’t too expensive. The Miyabi Kaizen chef’s knife ($180) is a Japanese-style knife, and though the blade is super thin and allows for real precision, the handle has some bulk, which makes the knife feel steady. The Mercer Culinary Renaissance chef’s knife ($43) felt clunky and choppy, especially compared to the Mac and Victorinox, both of which glided as they chopped. The Brandless chef’s knife (a shockingly low $10) isn’t a great knife-it felt slippery in our hands and did a lackluster job with both sweet potatoes and tender herbs. We felt that the ideal knife set for the average home cook would consist of cutlery that’s more forgiving and tolerant of mild neglect. As for steel quality, we were preferential to high alloy stainless steels over carbon-steel blades, which, while generally sharper, are prone to corrosion and chipping without proper care.

But again, this comes down to personal preference: A bolster does allow a user to choke up on the blade more easily. We ultimately liked a smoother transition without the cuff as it resulted in a lighter knife that made for an easy and comfortable slicing motion.

This makes the knife heavier and better suited for rocking motions.

How nice is the steel? How are the transitions between blade and handle? Is the handle made of a high quality material? Is the blade smooth and even? Again, understanding the difference between a German-style knife and a Japanese one is important here: German-style knives tend to have that bolster, mentioned above, that runs between the knife blade and the handle.

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