Honorable mentions
Photography: Molly Higgins
New West Knifeweworks Joy Bauer Bauer 6 -inch chefs for $ 225: Like my new choice of West Knifeweworks above, this luxurious knife is absolutely wonderful with a bold red and white handle and accompany leather sheath in relief. Created in collaboration with the nutritionist and the television personality Joy Bauer, this 6 -inch blade is a Santoku Japanese style, with a lower blade and a robust higher slope made of a stainless steel 440c of American manufacture. I discovered that the food attacked on the sides of this blade, and there was a real resistance with tired foods.
Henckels Classic Precision 7 -inch Santoku knife for $ 80: I discovered that the flat blade and the straight edge of this Santoku -style knife are more effective for cutting and browsing the TAPs, with the low point and the flat blade effective to facilitate the sliding and transport of chopped vegetables. This Spanish manufacturing knife blade is made of German stainless steel with a satin finish, which also has a devot to reduce the food that sticks on the sides. The Mannekitchen Santoku model below is a little more robust, but this is a more convenient and lighter Santoku option than those I have tested.
Zwilling Four 8 -inch chef’s star for $ 100: This German manufacturing knife is made of high carbon stainless steel, which Zwilling claims is made with a “special formula owner of special formula that has been perfected for almost 300 years” and has a hardened blade by ice. The V -end blade for V, was designed to be harder and keep its sharpness longer. I discovered that the thicker blade required a little more strength for cutting and the cuts sometimes were not as smooth as other choices when it was dense foods like root vegetables. The plastic handle is large and extra, but I felt more difficult to check the cuts than other knives on this list. It is a solid choice, but the cut required a little more effort and cut was not so fast.
The classic 8 -inch 8 -inch Henckel knife for $ 75: This 8 -inch Spanish Henckels knife has a classic German -style German style blade. It is only feel Like a horse knife for heavy uses. The finely refined blade turns into an ergonomic triple shore handle. Although only 0.28 pounds, this knife feels heavier than comparable Zwilling, in part due to this handle, which is less comfortable with more serious and square edges than some others that I have tested. The blade was super sharpened and I quickly cut most of the products easily, even if a cut on thick foods such as potatoes was not so clean. In addition, Starcier products seemed to remain a little more to this knife than others.
Photography: Molly Higgins
7 -inch Mannekitchen Santoku MK71S for $ 130: This Japanese -style knife Santoku seems a little heavier than the majority in this list, although the triple handle is designed ergonomic and easy to contain, despite its large size. The heavy handle melts perfectly in the stainless steel knife and, despite being heavy, I felt in control during cutting. This heavy knife has a lower point, which makes it easier to eat and cut quickly without too much movement or arm/shoulder effort. The blade is also large and thick, making it a little more robust and easier to transfer the vegetables from the cutting board. This will not be my point of reference for everything I cut on the regs, but I liked it particularly for faster and more rough seams and cut things like herbs and cloves of garlic.
Japanese Hast Selection Series in 8 -inch chef carbon steel for $ 79: This elegant Hast knife is made of Japanese carbon steel (see above for more information on carbon materials) by the famous Koike steel manufacturer. Overall he feels light and slender and the ergonomic handle was very easy to grasp, even if he became a little slippery (and potentially dangerous) when he is wet. Overall, he does not feel as heavy as the others tested and slipped a little while it cuts more dense foods like potatoes. He was able to make super smooth cuts on softer foods and I felt able to easily control it while they trigger me garlic. This is an extraordinarily convenient option for a Japanese carbon steel chef knife that excels in making more precise cuts.
8 -inch ninja 8 -inch chef for $ 60: This knife was our best former choice and we love it again. It is cheap, the rounded handle is comfortable to keep and the knife is well balanced, making it easy to work. The stainless steel blade is hard, contains a edge and must not be sharp often.
Victorinox’s Fibrox Pro for $ 45: A long time ago, this knife was our best choice, and it is still a great knife. We are not the greatest fans of the plastic handle, but we adore the almost non -stick finish because almost nothing attaches to this blade, not also to fresh coriander.
Let’s pull in the middle: the best knife is one who is clear. After dug him in the kitchen for hours and hours, I discovered that what makes a truly exceptional knife is a truly sharp edge. A boring knife is dangerous: you will have to apply more pressure while you are cutting, which means that when your knife slips, you cut yourself more deeply. In addition, a boring knife is not so precise or fast with cuts.
Especially with a more expensive knife, you will want to make that investment last as long as possible. This means regular sharpening to keep it in a pointed cutting form. Unfortunately, there is no acid acid to govern them all. Different materials and shapes of blade requires different rental techniques. For example, many stainless steel blades are too difficult to be effectively sharpened by traditional water calculations. The former chef and the current wired review Scott Gilbertson recommends water calculations for carbon steel and love them Shapton Stone.
Most chef’s knives can be (relatively) easily sharpened when necessary, which is generally performed with a stone for an angle of about 15-20 degrees, followed by a barrel or leather for the edge of the smoothing knife. I have always used popular (and easy to use) bus affiliated affiliates, which are more precise than steel and sharpened more quickly than mobile stones. But generally they are not recommended, especially for Serious Chefs ™, because they have lost some metal in the process, weakening the duration over time.
Most of the house chefs will only have to refine their knives about twice a year and use a heartbroken steel to keep the blades in shape other times. Even if a few years, we continue to return to this article from Epicurous On How to refine a knife in the right way In order to keep the knives in the best shape for as long as possible.
Should you buy a set of knives?
In a word: no. Despite what the door -to -door seller says or the mlm lover cousin, the sticks of knives are usually not a good investment. You just need some good knives. An 8 -inch chef knife will work better for most activities in the kitchen. I have a smaller hand, so I also like a small knife for some tasks and a serrated knife for bread, as well as chef knife. The chicken sets often cost double or triple as much as I buy just a good chef knife. Not to mention the fact that the wooden storage blocks also occupy useful spaces for counters, especially if you live in a small apartment in New York like me. We advise you to save your money by skipping a set instead and investing in a solid chef knife. (Also, one or two others if you want a little variety.)
What makes a knife a chef knife?
As mentioned above, it is the multipurpose tool used to cut meat, dice vegetables, cut walnuts or destroy garlic. The chef knife, in general, is made with many layers of forged steel and has a sharp end point and a prominent edge with an inclined curve, which helps with the rapid movement that allows chefs to quickly cut the food.
The chef knife is among the most versatile knives in the kitchen and can be used for anything, from cutting to cutting. Common uses for chef knife include cutting meat, cutting vegetables, cutting herbs and nuts. The flat side of the knife can also be used to crush the garlic. The versatility of this multipurpose knife makes it a must in any kitchen. It is important to avoid any hard surfaces that would make the blade opaque. Also, learning How to keep a knife It is an important first step to guarantee the best results when using it.
Most popular knife styles
The chef’s knives generally fall into two fields, Japanese Santoku and German. Both have their merits and you may need both in the kitchen, depending on what you are usually cooking. The Japanese blades are very thin and the best to be precise, while the knife of the German chef are thicker and more utilitarians.
German knives: a curved blade means that you will make the movement swinging back and forth to cut quickly. The German chef’s knives can be used for everything, from fresh herbs to dethicating a whole chicken.
Santoku Japanese knives: with a more straight edge used to be precise, you will cut straight, using the whole blade simultaneously. These are generally used for precision and specific purposes. They are usually made of harder steel, which can make them more fragile.
There is also the material from which the blade to consider is made: these days, most of the blades are made of carbon or stainless steel.
Stainless steel: this material is resistant to humidity, it can contain a more flexible razor nest and is more flexible than carbon, making it more effective in impact absorption. However, stainless steel takes longer to portray, which makes it more difficult to maintain without a professional affiliation system.
Carbon steel: this material has a high carbon content, which makes it a very hard steel and a stainless mutter when it comes to general sharpness. Very often, they also have a longer advantage and are easier to rework. Carbon steel is more sensitive to elements such as humidity or water, therefore they require more timely and complete cleaning and maintenance.
All knives on our list are measured in the Rockwell evaluation/measurement, indicated as the steel HRC. HRC measures the amount of brand that a diamond point can do in the metal with the quantity of weight; So, the smaller the sign, the harder is the steel and the visa pour.
Turn on with unlimited access to Wired. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscribers content that are too important to be ignored. Sign up today.