Best Kitchen Knives for Chefs

Best Kitchen Knives – Traditional Chef’s Knives

Traditional Chef’s knives are heavier and longer than Santoku chef knives. The two most popular high end knives are the Wusthof Classic Chef Knife and the JA Henckels Pro S Chef’s knife. Just like the aforementioned Japanese knives, both of these knives are exceptional. It all comes down to user’s preference.

One thing to mention is that these traditional knives do not come out of the box as sharp as they can be. Give them a little love, sharpen them, and you will see their true potential. They will never be as sharp as the Japanese knives, but they can come close. And once they are sharp, they will stay sharp for far longer than Japanese knives. Let’s look at these two in a little more detail.

The Wusthof knives have a forged blade made from high carbon stainless steel with a bolster and a polypropylene handle riveted to the full tang. Some with larger hands find the handle to be too thin, others adore it. The blade is thicker than that of other traditional knives. This knife is weighty, durable, and well balanced. The Wusthof Classic can handle almost any job you throw at it.

The popular Henckels Pro S also has a forged blade of high carbon stainless steel with full tang, but the blade is welded to the handle instead of the entire knife being forged at once. JA Henckels knives are sometimes criticized for this but the weld is invisible and the company claims that the welds are actually stronger than steel. The knife features Henckels popular triple-riveted Novodur handles and feels surprisingly light for the amount of power the knife possesses.

Best Kitchen Knives – The Budget Buy

Victorinox kitchen knives, mainly the R.H. Forschner, is by far the top chef knife in the under $40 range. Don’t let the price turn you off. Some reviewers state that they rather reach for this knife instead of other expensive knives in their block.

Forschner knives, made by Swiss craftsman, are made from stamped, high-carbon stainless steel with no bolster. Most think that the best chef knives are forged, but this knife is the exception. The Victorinox’s handles are made from slip resistant Fibrox fiber and are ergonomically designed for balance.

The knife cuts well and keeps a good edge, but some miss the heft found in the higher end forged knives. The R.H. Forschner Chef’s Knife is dishwasher safe. Really. A lot of the higher end knives discussed above also claim to be dishwasher safe, but I wouldn’t recommend it. My Forschner goes in the dishwasher every time, and it is fine.