If you cook at home, you know that a good kitchen knife is essential. Not only does it make meal prep faster and easier, but it can also help you create restaurant-quality dishes.
When it comes to choosing a kitchen knife, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, consider what types of food you'll be cutting most often. If you do a lot of slicing and dicing, then you'll want a knife with a sharp, straight blade. For chopping, look for a knife with a wide, curved blade.
Next, think about the size of the knife. A smaller knife will be easier to handle if you have small hands. Conversely, if you have large hands, a larger knife will give you more precision. Finally, think about the material the knife is made from. Stainless steel is a popular choice because it's durable and easy to care for. However, carbon steel is also a good option if you're looking for a sharper blade.
To help you find the best kitchen knife for your needs, we've evaluated numerous options available on Amazon. We examined knives from brands such as Global, Wusthof, Furu, Victorinox and more.
We picked the Global Classic Cooks Knife as the best overall option you can get online. With a decent price tag and durable build, this knife has gained tons of positive reviews. It also earned a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
This kitchen knife features a CROMOVA 18 stainless steel blade, which is a mixture of molybdenum, vanadium and chromium for durability and performance. The brand claims its edge also retains its sharpness while resisting rust and corrosion.
Apart from a textured handle, this model is ice tempered and hardened to Rockwell C56-C58. The shape is also smooth and contours seamlessly, so you can cut through ingredients easier without wasting food. The shape eliminates dirt traps, too.
Finally, this knife is pretty lightweight and balanced. It makes meal prep effortless, especially for busy people. It's also relatively affordable compared to other knives in the market.
We recommend the Kai Shun Premier 7-inch Santoku Kitchen Knife as the best Japanese kitchen knife. This premium knife has gained a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 1,300 reviews.
This Santoku knife has an ergonomic handle, allowing you to cut through ingredients with ease. It is also well-balanced and can handle all your basic cutting tasks. Made of VG-MAX super steel, the knife features 34 layers of steel on each side.
Numerous buyers were impressed by the knife's sharpness, performance and durability. While it's not the cheapest option you can get, it's a fantastic Santoku knife that boasts versatility and user-friendliness. The PakkaWood handle isn't slippery and offers better control of the tool.
Finally, this knife is also easy to clean and doesn't get rust spots. A few said it does require frequent sharpening but this seems to be a minor issue.
If you're in the market for a Western-style option, check out the Victorinox 10-inch Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife. Not only is it affordable, but this knife is also beginner-friendly too. That is why it's earned a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
Expertly crafted in Switzerland since 1884, Victorinox knives are of high quality at affordable price points. This 10-inch option is just shy of $100, but it's extremely beginner-friendly, allowing you to chop, mince, slice and dice thanks to its razor-sharp, laser-tested edge.
For a comfy grip, there's a non-slip Fibrox Pro handle that you can easily use even with wet hands. And because the knife is dishwasher-safe, cleaning the tool is a breeze. A few found the handle a bit cumbersome for smaller hands, but this seems to be a minor issue.
Our pick for the best kitchen knife set is Global's G-773889 Classic Kitchen Knife Set. This 3-piece option has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
This Global knife set comes with a 9cm paring knife, a 20cm cook's fluted knife and a 13cm cook's knife. Made from CROMOVA 18, the knives are durable and offer razor-sharp edges for easy cutting. Additionally, they are ice-tempered and hardened to Rockwell C56-C58 for the utmost durability.
At $208, this knife set offers all the tools you need for dicing, mincing, cutting and other knife tasks in the kitchen. The handles are textured and easy to grip, but a few customers said they tend to get a bit slippery with wet hands. For peace of mind, you also get a lifetime warranty against defects in material from the brand.
With a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon, we selected the Mercer Culinary M20405 Genesis 5-inch Forged Utility Knife as the best utility option available online.
With an ergonomic Santoprene handle, this knife is comfortable to handle and has a non-slip grip for ease of use – even with wet hands. The blade itself is made of high-carbon, no-stain German X50CrMoV15 steel that is rust-, corrosion- and discolouration-resistant.
Customers gave positive feedback on the knife's ease of use, value for money and comfy handle. It doesn't have the sharpest edge but with proper sharpening and maintenance, the knife is a good all-rounder. The blade is also taper-ground, which allows for better stability and easy honing.
To keep your knives in tip-top condition, we recommend the AccuSharp 001C Knife Sharpener. One of our choices for the best knife sharpeners, it has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
Featuring an ergonomic handle, the AccuSharp 001C is a beginner-friendly sharpener suitable for fillet, chef's, paring and other knives in your kitchen arsenal. It has a diamond-honed tungsten carbide sharpener that's meant to last you a lifetime.
This also has a full-length finger guard for safety as well as being dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. Customers said knife sharpening only takes a couple of minutes with this tool. Some added that it reinvigorates their dull knives. However, they cautioned that the AccuSharp 001C can take too much material from the edge.
We picked the Mercer Culinary Millennia 7-Inch Santoku Knife as the best kitchen knife for under $50. On Amazon, it has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 40,000 reviews.
This knife is made of stain-free Japanese steel and features an ergonomic handle with slip-resistance textured finger points for a comfortable grip. It is also NSF-certified, which means the knife has met the standard needed for safety, quality and performance.
When it comes to durability, the knife promises to be rust-, corrosion- and discolouration-resistant so you can use it for a lot longer. It is also quite affordable, with the 7-inch option costing just $35. Customers added that it's a pretty versatile kitchen tool ideal for slicing, dicing and chopping.
However, a few reviews mentioned that the knife's angled edge bevel is not enough for cutting thicker meat slices.
The Brodark Damascus Chef Knife is our pick for the best professional Damascus option. Made of high-carbon stainless steel, this knife is durable yet easy to use. That is why it has earned a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
This professional Damascus chef knife is crafted using 67-layer premium Damascus high-carbon stainless steel with a VG-10 Japanese core for ultimate durability. The handle is also made of olive wood which the brand claims to be handpicked for its texture and good tactility.
This knife has a 14-inch ultra-sharp edge per side that is made with V-shaped grinding by the brand's artisans. It is comfortable to grip and glides easily through thick slices of ingredients, while making dicing, mincing and other cutting tasks a dream.
Finally, the Brodark Damascus Chef Knife does have a bit of a learning curve, but customers said once you get used to the knife's sharpness, it'll be your best bud in the kitchen.
Amazon prices last updated on 29 April, 2024 at 01:01 pmeBay prices last updated on 28 April, 2024 at 11:15 pm
Methodology
24 Brands considered
85 Products compared
8 Best products chosen
Why you can trust our picks
Every effort has been made to create this list. Our team looked into hundreds upon hundreds of kitchen knives listed on Amazon. We evaluated models from the following brands:
Brodark
Cedara Living
Citiknize
Furi
Global
Henckels
Kai Shun
Kamati
Kitory
Kiwi
MAC
Mercer Culinary
Mitsumoto
Orblue
Paudin
Roccar
Royal Doulton
Sharpal
Shun Cutlery
Stanley Rogers
Tukul
Victorinox
Wiltshire
Wüsthof
We narrowed down our choices based on customer ratings and reviews (as of October 2022). We also considered each knife's features, including size, build, ease of use and value for money. For the best cheap category, we evaluated knives under $100. Then, we came up with what we believe are the 8 best kitchen knives you can buy online.
When should you get new kitchen knives?
If the knives you own are blunt, rusty, stained or just unsafe to use, they can add a lot of time and stress to the cooking process. By investing in one or more high-quality kitchen knives you can make food preparation quicker, easier and safer. There is a wide range of knives specially designed to perform specific tasks in the kitchen, including models made to effectively cut through meat, fish, bread and even bone.
Once you've experienced using a sharp and well-balanced chef's knife from a reputable manufacturer, you'll wonder why you persevered with your old and cheap kitchen utensils for so long.
However, you might be surprised at just how long decent-quality kitchen knives will last if they're looked after properly. If you're having trouble chopping and slicing with the knives currently in your kitchen drawer, consider whether a little bit of TLC and maintenance could improve their performance.
What types of kitchen knives are available?
There are many different types of kitchen knives to choose from, each of which is designed to perform specific tasks:
Also called a cook's knife, this is the most important knife to have in your kitchen. The chef's knife is a versatile all-rounder and can be used to chop, slice and dice a wide range of foods. These usually have a blade length of around 20cm, and the blade's curve allows for a smooth rocking motion when chopping.
This small knife is used for delicate tasks like peeling and cutting small vegetables and fruit or trimming fat from a piece of meat. Maximum blade length is usually around 10cm.
This is similar to a chef's knife in that it's designed to perform a wide range of everyday tasks, for example, chopping an apple. However, it's usually more compact than a chef's knife.
With sharp blades of between 10cm and 15cm, boning knives are used to cut through bones, ligaments and tendons when preparing meat, poultry and fish.
If you cook a lot of fish or work with raw meat often, the thin and sharp blade of a filleting knife is useful for removing skin and small bones and performing other fine tasks.
With a long, thin blade leading to a sharp tip, carving knives are designed to help you cut thin slices of meat. Blade lengths generally range from 20cm to 40cm.
A long blade with a serrated edge helps this knife cut through bread easily.
This Japanese-style knife is an alternative to a chef's knife. It features a blunt tip and dimples on the blade to help prevent food sticking to the knife.
These are the most popular choices, but there are plenty of other options you may like to consider depending on the type of cooking you do. For example, you may want a cleaver for chopping meat and poultry bones or a palette knife for preparing pastry.
How to compare kitchen knives
Cook's knives start at around $10 and go right up to over $300. You may prefer the performance and feel of a high-quality knife and be willing to pay a premium for improved cutting ability, or you might find that a budget knife does everything you need. But cost isn't the only factor you should consider.
The best way to test the quality and suitability of a knife is to physically pick it up and hold it. You'll need to determine how comfortable it is to use – some people prefer lightweight knives, others prefer something that feels more substantial – and whether it feels evenly balanced between the blade and the handle.
Before buying a kitchen knife you'll need to take into account the blade and handle material, how comfortable the knife is to hold and how easy it is to clean. Consider the following features:
Material and length
The material used in the blade affects the knife's price, performance and durability. Stainless steel and carbon steel are the two most popular choices. Stainless steel is affordable and resists stains but requires regular sharpening whereas carbon steel is hard and sharpens easily, but is expensive, has no stain resistance and requires special maintenance to prevent rust. There's also high carbon stainless steel, which is essentially designed to offer all the benefits of stainless steel but with extra durability. Other options include ceramic blades (very hard and sharp but can chip or crack), tool steel and Damascus steel (looks beautiful but can be expensive).
Length
Check the length of the blade to see whether it will be easy and practical to use for all the tasks you need. Chef's knives usually have a blade length of 20cm, but shorter and longer blades are available. If you have smaller hands, a shorter blade length may feel more comfortable.
Handle
Knife handle materials include stainless steel, plastic, wood and composites. They all have their pros and cons – for example, wood can warp over time but stainless steel can be slippery when wet – and in terms of which one feels the most comfortable to hold, it's all down to personal preference.
It's also important to check the size of the handle, as people with large hands may find some smaller handles difficult or even unsafe to use.
Tang
The tang refers to the metal part of the blade that extends into the handle. A full tang is when the blade runs through the entire handle, and this design offers better balance and control. Knives with a partial tang are also available, with the tang either extending along the top of the handle or as a thin strip of metal which is enclosed in the handle.
Additional features
Forging or stamping. Forged knives are created by taking a piece of molten steel and then cutting and beating it into the right shape. They're heavier, more durable and stay sharper than stamped knives, which are made by machine and punched out of a sheet of steel. Stamped knives are a more affordable option and can still offer performance that is more than adequate for most home cooks.
Safety. Does the blade have a smooth heel? Is there a finger guard to help prevent any nasty accidents? If the handle is slippery, does it have a unique shape or textured surface to make it easier to grip?
Cleanability. Many kitchen knives are not dishwasher safe. Even those manufacturers that do claim their knives can go through the dishwasher still recommend hand washing as the preferred cleaning method. Is there anything else you'll need to do to look after your knife? For example, carbon steel requires regular maintenance to prevent corrosion.
Warranty. Check the length of the manufacturer's warranty and what it covers. Some knives come with a lifetime warranty, but make sure you check exactly what that covers so there are no nasty surprises.
Choosing a kitchen knife set
If you're thinking of buying a new kitchen knife, you may be tossing up whether you should just buy a standalone knife or invest in a whole new knife set. The answer to this dilemma really depends on your personal needs. For example, if your entire knife drawer is in need of an overhaul, buying a set that features a chef's knife, paring knife, utility knife, bread knife and more could be a good idea.
However, there's also the risk of paying for knives that you don't need and will never use, so make sure that you actually require every item in the set before handing over your hard-earned cash. There's also the fact that you may not get the chance to physically hold each knife in the set and test its balance – something that is an important part of the knife-buying process.
If the price of a cheap knife set seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Frequently asked questions
For home cooks, Victorinox and Global knives are the best options. Apart from being easy to use, the brands offer affordable and durable knives. For professional use, we recommend Brodark. The brand offers razor-sharp knives meant to withstand a daily beating in a busy kitchen.
Some of the most popular steels used for knives include stainless steel, carbon steel and tool steel. Stainless steel is a type of steel that contains chromium, which makes it resistant to rust and corrosion. Carbon steel is a type of steel that contains carbon, which makes it more complicated than other types of steel. Tool steel is a type of steel that is used for tools, and it is very strong and durable.
There are a few different ways to sharpen knives, and the method you choose will depend on the type of knife you have and your own personal preferences.
If you're using a honing rod or sharpening stone, the first step is to find the right angle to hold your knife. You'll want to hold the blade at around a 20-degree angle and then run it along the rod or stone until it's nice and sharp.
The process is a little bit easier if you're using an electric knife sharpener. Run the blade through the sharpener a few times until it's sharp.
Either way, once you're finished sharpening your knife, be sure to wipe it down with a clean cloth to remove any debris. And that's it!
Why you can trust Finder Shopping best guides
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Ericka Pingol is a writer for Finder specialising in reviews. She has previously written articles about property investment, finances, and health. She’s a huge fan of Tina Fey, bubble teas and dogs. Ericka has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of the East, Manila and is currently writing her thesis for a Master’s degree in Communication
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