It’s hard not to rave about MAC knives. They’re some of the sharpest knives you’ll ever encounter, out of the box. They’re gorgeous and perfectly balanced. They feel great in your hand and their light weight won’t wear your down. To top it off, they’re priced at least 20% below other high-end Japanese knives.
So what’s the downside? Well, buying them can be a bit tricky. There’s no neat 5-piece set like you get with the Global knives. You’ll need to seek out each knife individually as well as finding a sharpening steel and storage piece. Also, MAC knives are notoriously hard to find, so you’ll need to hunt around a bit.
MAC’s Superior series is known as the best bargain around, but I recommend you splurge a bit and get the 8″ Professional Chef’s knife (MAC #MTH-80). It has two features that the Superior Chef’s knives don’t — a half-bolster for a better balance and dimples (or “grantons”), to keep food from sticking to the knife.
For the rest of your knives, the Superior series is great. The 7″ utility knife (#SA-70) and 5″ paring knife (#SP-50) are available at a slight discount as part of a two-piece set. Next up add the Superior Carving Knife (#SB-105), which can also double as a bread knife. See our review of that MAC bread knife here.
All MAC knives are made of high-carbon steel with Molybdenum and Vanadium for sharpness, edge-retention and stain-resistance. They also include Tungsten Carbide which increases hardness and, as a result, sharpness. These knives are usually hardened to a rating of 60 on the Rockwell hardness scale. This allows them to be among the sharpest knives we feature on this site.
You’ll notice that the combined price of our recommended knives is actually closer to $250 than to $350. This is so that you’ve got some room in case prices have changed and to purchase any other accessories (sharpening steel, and/or magnetic storage strip) you need.
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