Having a higher steel-to-carbon ratio, the blade is more durable and holds its sharpness longer than its higher-carbon counterparts (though it may not get quite as sharp as a Japanese knife immediately after hitting the whetstone), and it’s also a bit more durable on the use and care front, as the steel isn’t as likely to rust or discolor over time. We love its deep, rounded belly, which makes any kind of rocking motion on the cutting board feel like you’re gliding through soft butter, and its heft is an asset for punching through tough vegetables and proteins. Comfortable and easy to pinch-grip, you really can’t go wrong with the Wusthof Classic if a heavier, Western-style knife is what you’re looking for.
What we didn’t like about the Wusthof Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife
Some may find the heft off putting – if you’re more accustomed to a lighter knife, this will take some getting used to. And because it’s a lower carbon blade, its sharpness isn’t quite as pronounced as the Japanese style knives we generally prefer.
How we tested chef’s knives
The first step in evaluating a knife is getting a feel for the tool: We looked for a well-balanced, ergonomic knife. We spent some time with each of the chef’s knives just holding them in our hands, observing the quality of the metal and sharpened edge, the feel of the handle, and the overall weight of the knife. We tested sharpness right out of the box with the paper test (slicing cleanly through a piece of paper held up in the air), and then put our knife skills to use chopping a bounty of vegetables, from raw sweet potatoes, kabocha squash, fresh ginger, and onions to soft tomatoes and citrus, tender herbs, and a whole chicken. We chose not to make ease of washing factor in our decision as almost all of the best knives require handwashing and are not dishwasher-safe. But we did evaluate knives on the following factors:
1. How heavy is the knife?
To some extent the ideal weight of a chef’s knife is a matter of personal preference. If you tend to use a rocking motion while cutting, a heavier knife with a curved blade will keep your hand stable in one place. If you prefer a slicing motion, a light, thin blade will be easier to maneuver back and forth.
2. How thin is the blade? What shape is it?
Generally we liked thinner blades, which make slicing easier and smoother and also weigh less overall. In testing we found that we preferred the flatter belly characteristic of a Japanese or French knife to the pronounced curve of a German-style knife; the latter requires a bit more force. Thinner blades do have a downside, however: “Chips are going to happen to any knife after a while, especially to ones that are thinner and have less metal behind the edge when you’re slicing through tough vegetables like butternut squash,” test kitchen director Chris Morocco says. You can combat this by sharpening your knife regularly.
3. How does the handle feel? How responsive is the knife?
Naturally, we wanted a knife with a comfortable handle, which we interpreted as lightweight and smooth rather than heavy and long. When it comes to responsiveness, Morocco explains that you want a knife that feels “alive in your hand.” You can determine the responsiveness by tapping the blade against the cutting board or counter—a responsive knife will vibrate in your hand. When you chop something, you’ll feel like you have greater control over the cutting motion and more of a connection with the knife.
4. How sharp is the knife? How effectively does it slice through tough vegetables?
We sliced through raw sweet potatoes and kabocha squash to test each knife’s sharpness and smoothness. We didn’t want blades that would catch on the veggies—we wanted the clean, easy slicing that comes from the sharpest chef’s knives. We also tested the knives on onions and juliennes of ginger to examine their precision when slicing and dicing. Certain knives yielded thinner, more even, and more precise slices than others.
5. How does the knife handle more delicate tasks?
In addition to handling the heft and toughness of something like a sweet potato, we wanted a knife that could handle paper-thin slices of tomato and make a feathery pile of minced herbs — no squashed tomatoes or muddled parsley.
6. Are the materials high-quality?
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 a bolster that runs between the knife blade and the handle. This makes the knife heavier and better suited for rocking motions. 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. But again, this comes down to personal preference: A bolster does allow a user to choke up on the blade more easily. As for steel quality, we generally preferred high alloy stainless steel blades over high carbon-steel blades, which, while generally sharper, are prone to corrosion and chipping without proper care. The Mac knife was the only higher carbon steel of our current top picks. 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.
Other chef’s knives we tested
Sekimagoroku Akane 8-inch chef’s knife
Very sharp right out of the box, the Sekimagoroku made translucently thin slices of tomato and onion. But it struggled with hardier vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash, causing us to question its durability and overall strength. The handle also seems quite cheap and light, which is to be expected given the price point, but so much so that the knife feels off balance.
Our Place Everyday chef’s knife
We love that the Our Place chef’s knife comes with a blade protector, and if you’re a fan of a pronounced belly, the knife will likely feel nice and steady for rocking motions like mincing herbs and dicing onions. And the full-tang construction provides proper balance and support when dealing with hardy vegetables and proteins. We found the grip design to be a little strange though — it’s a “guided grip,” seemingly to encourage a pinch grip on the bolster, but perhaps it’s meant for particularly small hands.
Tojiro Professional chef’s knife
If you’re accustomed to a heavier, Western-style knife but want to dapple in a Japanese design, the Tojiro might be one to consider. Its rounded bolster is comfortable to grip, and it’s noteworthy for both its sharpness and sturdiness, making wispy shavings of tomato and onion while also feeling smooth and steady on the cutting board. Its relative narrowness even makes it seem longer than it actually is.
Steelport 8-inch chef’s knife
Steelport’s chef’s knife is a straight up showpiece with a gorgeous burl wood handle, distinctive shape, and a razor-sharp carbon steel edge. Steelport uses a proprietary heat treatment that they claim extends the sharpness of the carbon-steel cutting edge, and feels incredibly balanced and durable through the full-tang construction. The blade shape is also interesting, with a finger groove at the heel that provides protection during a pinch grip and lengthens the blade a bit. It requires a bit more work on the maintenance front, since it will rust if not cared for properly, and weighs in at over 2 ounces more than the Mac Professional. Ultimately, the thing that kept it from our top picks was its price point, which puts it out of reach for some people. But it’s a very special knife if you’re looking for one to invest in and care for.
The Shun Classic Blonde chef’s knife
This Shun is a lovely, relatively lightweight knife, with a deep, well curved belly and a strong, sharp cutting edge and beautiful blade that’s designed for smooth, slicing motions. We really enjoyed using this knife for how comfortable it is and the distinctive touches on the textured blade and soft wood handle. Side by side, we didn’t find it to be as razor-sharp for making paper thin cuts as either the Mac Pro or the Global Classic, but still believe it’d be a timeless addition to your collection.
Shun Kazahana chef’s knife
The Shun Kazahana Chef’s Knife has a similar shape to our top pick, the Mac Pro, and with its full tang and quality steel blend, it’s reliably sharp and durable. It performed well but we found the handle to be a bit uncomfortable to hold.
Made In chef’s knife
The Made In chef’s knife was extremely sharp out of the box and sliced through a sweet potato more easily than some of our winners, but it dulled quickly with each subsequent use. It also couldn’t handle the more delicate jobs of slicing tomatoes and tender herbs nearly as well as our winning knives.
Bulat chef’s knife
The Bulat chef’s knife sliced through the tough sweet potato with force, but it was too heavy and bulky to handle delicate knife jobs well—it resisted cutting through the skin of the onion and crushed the parsley a bit.
Brandless chef’s knife
The Brandless chef’s knife isn’t a great knife—it felt slippery in our hands and did a lackluster job with both sweet potatoes and tender herbs.
Mercer Culinary Renaissance chef’s knife
The Mercer Culinary Renaissance chef’s knife felt clunky and choppy, especially compared to the Mac and Victorinox, both of which glided as they chopped.
Miyabi Kaizen chef’s knife
The Miyabi Kaizen chef’s knife 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. It is very sharp, made of high-quality materials, and compared to similar knives on the market, isn’t too expensive. But it wasn’t quite as responsive as the Mac knife.
J.A. Henckels Classic chef’s knife
The J.A. Henckels Classic chef’s knife 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. 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 potatoes.
Wusthof Gourmet chef’s knife
The Wüsthof Gourmet chef’s knife was pleasantly light—lighter than what we’re accustomed to from Wüsthof. It was sharp and effective for delicate knife work, but had a bit of trouble handling the tough sweet potato.
Misen chef’s knife
The Misen Chef’s Knife is a great, comfortable knife with a low price for its quality. Like the Mac Professional, it has a bit of a hybrid shape with a moderately rounded belly and a higher-carbon blend, but we didn’t find that it held its sharpness as well as our top picks.
Material chef’s knife
The Material chef’s knife comes in a few neutral colors and is certainly a chic choice. It was heavy and a little unwieldy to use comfortably, but very sharp out of the box.
Five Two chef’s knife
The Five Two chef’s knife from the in-house brand at Food52, weighs nearly nine ounces, making it the heaviest knife we tested. Also available in a few color options, the knife is good-looking, but it feels too heavy duty and is a bit burdensome to use, requiring too much force to complete the testing tasks.
Zwilling Professional chef’s knife
The Zwilling Professional chef’s knife was comfortable to hold and relatively lightweight. As a German knife made with carbon steel, it features a thicker blade, but it was still easy to maneuver. The downside was that, even when slicing an onion, this model required a bit more force than we felt comfortable using on the regular.
Messermeister Oliva Elite chef’s knife
The Messermeister Oliva Elite chef’s knife was very pretty, but the extra-long wooden handle makes the knife feel bigger and more unwieldy despite having the same size blade as all the rest.
New West Knife Works chef’s knife
The New West Knife Works chef’s knife has an exceptional blade with a light and comfortable handle. The cutting edge holds up well to wear and use, requiring less frequent honing than cheaper competitors. However, at this price point we think this knife is more appropriate for knife enthusiasts. The artistry and craftsmanship that goes into making the knife means its quite expensive—as such, we don’t think it’s practical for everyday home cooks.
Zyliss Control chef’s knife (discontinued)
The Zyliss Control chef’s knife is a true beginner’s chef’s knife with lots of design choices to support someone unfamiliar with an 8-inch knife: “safety touch points” at the top of the blade to help with the rocking motion, a divot for your thumb on the top of the handle, and easily gripped spots under the handle. But in the budget category, it wasn’t as easy to use or as sharp out of the box as the Victorinox. It’s also currently available only as part of a three knife set.
Does blade sharpness equal quality? Yes and no
Yes and no. Buying a new 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 particular knife. If you buy a high-quality knife, don’t expect the cutting edge to last without care. All knives eventually need honing and sharpening, no matter how nice they are. What’s more, a blade is only as sharp as the knife sharpener can make it. In the hands of someone very skilled, even cheap blades from the supermarket can become exceptionally sharp.
