In the market for new kitchen knives? Salivating over some high-end knives but have a limited budget? Confused over the vast array of options available? This article will help set you straight.
I’m going to reveal three tips you can use to guide you in your search for great knives. Those tips will save you a bundle but, more importantly, will help you find great knives. If you’ve never used a razor-sharp and feather-light Japanese Chef’s knife, you’re in for a real treat.
Next I’ll reveal my recommendations - knives at each price level. Of course, choosing knives is a personal decision. You’ll want to consider your style of cooking, how often you cook and the tasks you frequently perform. But you really can’t go wrong with these recommendations. They’re great values, great quality and will be right at home in your kitchen no matter who you are.
The Great Kitchen Knife Revolution
Before we get started, it’s worth reviewing some kitchen knife history. Many people are unaware of the great upheaval that the kitchen knife industry has undergone in the last decade.
Needless to say, it has completely changed the landscape for buying cutlery. The short version of this great story is that the best knives available today were unheard of even ten years ago. Ten years ago, there were only two names in kitchen knives — Henckels and Wusthof. And it had been that way for many years.
Today, those German knifemakers are scrambling to keep up with new, superior knives introduced by Japanese knife making companies.
German knives still have their place in the kitchen, don’t get me wrong, but if you’ve been stuck using those knives for the last decade, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you try out a knife from Global, MAC or Shun.
Learn more about the rise and fall of the great knife-making companies.
3 Tips For Saving Money on Kitchen Knives
Some serious knife buffs will tell you that you can’t buy kitchen knives on a budget. “You get what you pay for”, they’ll say. Or “you can’t get decent quality for under $150″.
I don’t buy it. Granted, you’re not going to get a full set of the best quality knives without shelling out some serious dough, but there ARE some great values out there. And if you’re smart about how you spend your money, those values can be found.
1. Don’t Buy Too Many Knives
One of the first mistakes people make when buying a set of knives is to go out and get the largest set they can. “Why buy the 14 piece set when you can get the 21 piece set for just $75 more?” they reason.
The answer is simple… You’re never going to need all those knives!
Are you a professional chef who needs the perfect knife for every single kitchen task? Okay, then maybe you do need a lot of knives. But for the rest of us, we can get by with a small set of high-quality knives. Buying a seven piece knife set instead of a ten-piece set typically saves about 50%!
Which knives are essential and which can you live without? Click here to find out.
Knife Set or à la Carte?
So if you don’t need that many knives, should you even be considering a knife set at all? Or maybe you’ve already got a decent set and are just looking to upgrade a knife or two.
Most experts will tell you NOT to buy a knife set, but rather to buy knives one-at-a-time. That way, you get exactly the knives you want. Of course, there are times when a knife set makes sense. Click here to discover the pros and cons of each.
2. Sharpness Matters More Than Price
Wondering why your old kitchen knives can’t cut it anymore? Maybe you don’t need a new set. Maybe you just need them sharpened. The knives in most kitchens are too dull. If you don’t know how to maintain knives properly, you might be tempted to discard old knives before their time.
Or, worse yet, you might buy expensive knives in the hope that they will be sharper than an inexpensive set. Sadly, this is not always the case. Buying a new set of sharp knives and then keeping them sharp will put you way ahead of the game — regardless of how much your knives cost.
How to choose sharp knives and keep them that way? Click here to find out.
3. Know Your Steel
What is the single most important factor in buying kitchen knives? The name brand? The price? How they look?
All good guesses, but not right. It’s very simple — it’s the steel used in the blade. Better quality steel will last longer, stay sharper longer, and be easier to resharpen.
Many first-time kitchen knife buyers do not even consider the steel. This can lead to a costly mistake — purchasing a knife set with inferior steel. It might look good when you take it out of the box, but I guarantee you you’ll be regretting that purchase within a few months.
Don’t know anything about steel? Have no fear — read on to learn about the different types available and what type of steel you should choose.
Recommended Knives
Since we’re focused on value, I’m going to recommend knives in each of five budget ranges. If you’ve read the three money-saving tips above, it should could as no surprise that I’ve limited the recommendations to a small set of essential knives, that each knife is made of high-quality steel, is razor-sharp and can be kept that way.
If you’re buying à la carte, feel free to mix and match knives from each price level. You’re likely to save even more money doing that, as you may choose to get a high-end Chef’s knife but other knives from the lower-priced categories.
The Best $50 Knives
Cooks Illustrated’s recommendation — the Forschner 3-Piece Fibrox set — is a screaming bargain at current prices. It’s not beautiful and the steel is merely good, but at these prices you’ll be amazed at how well it performs.
The Best $150 Knives
Messermeister is not as well-known as Wusthof and Henckels. But their knives are a much better value. Their San Moritz Elite Knives are made of high-quality steel and are reasonably-priced.
The Best $350 Knives
At this level, you’re no longer making sacrifices. You’ll find great knives intended for serious amateurs as well as professional chefs. Global was the first knife maker to introduce the world to the joys of razor-sharp Japanese steel. The feel takes a little getting used to but the Global 5-piece set is priced right.
If you’re willing to piece a knife set together one knife at a time, MAC Knives make a great choice as well.
The Best $500 Knives
Shun is the current kitchen knife king. You can’t chop an onion without noticing their great press, and for good reason. The Shun Seven Piece Classic set epitomizes our three money-saving tips, making it the right choice in this range.
The Best $1000 Knives
There are so many great choices in this price range, and choosing one is really a personal decision. Nevertheless, you can’t go wrong with the basic 5-piece set from Hattori. Hattori knives are works of art, are exceptionally sharp and have centuries-old tradition to back them up.
Other great high-end Japanese knife makers include Misono, Blazen, Glestain and Nenox just to name a few!
One Knife to Rule Them All?
Perhaps you’ve read this far and you’re sold on the virtues of Japanese knives. And perhaps you’re not quite ready to sign up for a whole set. Can you buy just one reasonably-priced knife to test the waters a bit?
Of course you can. Select an 8″ Chef’s knife from any of our recommended sets and you’ll never look back. Either the Shun Classic or the MAC Professional would make a great start to a new Japanese-themed set.
More Info
Can’t get enough kitchen knives? I’ve tried to give you an introduction to the world of kitchen knives and some great recommendations. But I’ve only scratched the surface.
If you’re a true knife head, then you already know about KnifeForums.com and Foodie Forums. Some very knowledgeable and friendly people hang out there and are happy to answer any and all of your questions.
Chad Ward is one of those friendly and knowledgeable knife buffs, but he went one step further — he wrote a book. “An Edge in the Kitchen” is a comprehensive book about Kitchen knives. It’s a great read — you can learn more about it here.
Drop Me a Line
Buying and using kitchen knives is a very personal experience. Have you tried out some of these knives and loved them? Don’t agree with our money saving tips? Leave a comment below or send an email and let me know what you think.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Good job on your knife articles Ken! I personally got my set of Wusthof a few years ago and have loved them. I still want more knives though and that “one knife to rule them all” (LOL) is looking pretty sweet.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:01 am
I personally only use one knife and that is a 7″ cleaver like all good Chinese people. Never needed another. However, I’m in the market for a “sword” of sorts. I host quite a few parties and end up buying large cuts of beef. i.e an entire New York Strp or Ribeye from Smart and Final. They weigh about 15 lbs or so. I need a much longer knife to make clean slices through the beef. Any suggestions?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Just excellent. Your really know your steel.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
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May 15th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Nice site! I have Forschner chef, boning, and bread knives which I’m most happy with. It probably proves I’m not a true knife aficionado but one of the things I like about them is that they can go in the dishwasher.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Excellent article. You definitely know your stuff!
I’m probably one of the $50.00 guys. I don’t do a lot of cooking, but I do like a sharp knife.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:38 am
holy moly, didn’t know knives could be as expensive as this! Thanks!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
[...] So what’s not to like? Tojiro knives are a bit hard to find, and they’re not available in a set. If not for those caveats, they easily could’ve been one of the recommended sets in our recent Best Kitchen Knives for Any Budget. [...]
May 18th, 2008 at 11:38 am
As a good home cook and former camp cook, I know the value of a good knife. A sharp knife is an indispensable tool in any kitchen.Ken’s guide is one of the best I have seen and certainly has something for every budget. Well done aticle, Ken!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:30 am
You provide some really useful advice, Ken. Thank you so much. I splurged on some Wusthof knives a few months and got just 3 or 4 that I use all the time, and they’re well worth the investment. Sharpening frequently is key, though, no matter how cheap or expensive the knife.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
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June 2nd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
[...] Read about what to look for in a knife and how to look for ones that will perform much better.http://www.onlyknives.com/the-best-kitchen-knives-for-any-budget/Find Automatic Coffee Machines, Shun Knives, Jura-Capresso …Purchase the latest automatic coffee [...]
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 am
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June 6th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Incredible Blog
Greatings from Buenos Aires
June 10th, 2008 at 8:15 am
[...] it can serve as an essential part of a small set of high-quality knives. If you’ve read our Kitchen Knife Guide, you’ll know we recommend MAC knives as part of any great [...]
June 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I have the Forschner and they kick ass. I cook about 4 times a week and they will slice meat and veggies with ease. I love my 8-inch Chef and 4-inch Paring. I am saving up for the Global cleaver. I want to start hacking at bones.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:55 am
[...] can do better than these for sure. Read our extensive Guide to Kitchen Knives if you’ve got a moment. Or, if you don’t, just go check out a set of Shun Classic [...]
June 29th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I cook in a LARGE volume college dining hall where cutting a whole case of veggies or slicing 90 lb of pork tenderloins,or quartering 80 chickens may be all part of the day’s chores. Best slicer? My 12″ Forschner smooth. I’ve used the Granton type and the smooth edge is a tinner,whippy blade. Trick is you re-edge it,radically steep angle.This is tricky since the blade flexes. Once it’s right it’s not only a slicer but is freat for trimming,even for sashimi and being very low drag does well as a bread knife. My 10″ Forschner is my workhorse. Again,sharpening technique can make it better than “out of the box” The stamped Forschner has a bit higher Rockwell than German knives and is thinner than any forged type. It can do fine work due to nice balance (Wood Handle model) but is very rugged-which is why a lot of Pro cooks use them.
A sleeper,if you can find it is the 7″ Kershaw 7700 clad. It has a VG 7 core,which is not quite VG 10 (no Cobalt) but comes rather close. All steel,great comfortable handle. The blade is rather thin and almost more like a petty than a Chef’s but it can really get SHARP for a knife you can find below $40. The other cooks at work love to borrow it,it always make them smile because it’s the sharpest they ever used. I’d bet I could get a better edge on a Shun or a Blazen, but I got my 7700 on a sale at 1/4 the price of those high end blades.
A chef I briefly worked with elsewhere had a beautiful 10″ Kasumi with a VG10 core. Sadly…he didn’t know much about sharpening-so it was not as sharp as my Forschner. I spent about a half hour on it and got it pretty close to it’s potential. I was impressed. When I can afford-I want a VG10 knife.