Best Chef's Knives - Consumer Reports (2024)

Ask any chef about the one tool they can’t live without and chances are good most will say a sharp chef’s knife.

That holds up in my own kitchen, where (as a former chef and lover of kitchen gadgets) I have almost every chopper, slicer, and dicer ever conceived. And yet, whether I’m cooking for a crowd or just making a weeknight dinner for my family, I usually find myself reaching for an 8-inch chef’s knife, not a mandoline or food processor.

The chef’s knife is regarded as the cornerstone of cutlery, at least in most Western kitchens. It’s a tool designed to tackle everything from finely mincing parsley to deboning a chicken, and a good one is worth its weight in gold. “A chef’s knife can really do about 95 percent of your cutting in the kitchen,” says Branden Lewis, a chef who’s also an associate professor in culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.

How CR Assessed Chef’s Knives

Then we evaluated whether performance and design would hold up with slippery hands, similar to what might happen if you were working through a chicken breast. To do that, we used a basting brush to paint oil on the hands of the participants, and asked them to repeat the tests, noting whether each knife slipped or became difficult to handle. Each knife was also evaluated by our in-house ergonomics expert, Dana Keester, to see what factors contribute to good and bad knife design.

In addition, we wanted to know what makes a great knife in the eyes of real users to inform our reviews and picks, so we asked 15 home cooks about their habits and preferences, what they loved and hated about the knives they already use, and what they’d seek out in an ideal knife. We whittled our list down to those who owned a chef’s knife for a minimum of six months and used it at least weekly, though a majority reported using their knives almost every day.

Almost every single person reported that they sharpened their knives, though half didn’t hone the blade or know what honing was. And a vast majority rarely or never washed their knives in a dishwasher, opting instead for hand-washing, which is the way to go.

Lastly, as both a culinary-school grad and the primary preparer of food in my own household, I brought all eight knives home to try them in my own kitchen. I cook almost every night for my family, and with three kids with different tastes, I knew I’d get a chance to really get in the trenches with each knife.

I used each knife on my household staples—potatoes, garlic, onions, and chicken thighs, as well as for some finer work, chopping cilantro and scallions. My family loves a chicken and veggie stir-fry, and all the chopped ingredients lend themselves perfectly to an evaluation of knives. I opted for bone-in chicken thighs so I could really get a feel for deboning and cubing chicken with each knife, which I consider to be one of the hardest tasks you’ll tackle in a home kitchen. It’s a process that’s half surgical, and half, well, just plain gross—but the stakes are high because you’re making intricate cuts with slippery hands.

Read on for the details about the eight chef’s knives CR evaluated in our labs and in our kitchens. And remember that any knife works better when it’s sharp, and paired with the perfect cutting board. Check out our picks for best knife sharpeners and best cutting boards if you’re in the market for either.