The Best Chef Knifes in 2023 : TOP Budget & Reviews

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: Stainless Steel

• Brand: Wüsthof

• Color: Black

• Handle Material: Stainless Steel

• Blade Edge: Chef's Knife

Product’s Highlights

Any meal requires the use of this WÜSTHOF 8" Classic Chef's Knife. Chopping, slicing, mincing, and dicing are all possible with this multi-purpose chef's knife.

The 8-inch chef's knife from Wüsthof is extraordinarily sharp and extremely versatile. It was one of the few knives in our testing that could slice fruits, chop vegetables, cut up carrots, debone a bird, and make delicate basil ribbons. 

The completely forged German classic features a full tang, making it feel pretty well balanced and comfortable in hand. It can be put in the dishwasher (a rarity for flatware), but we advise hand-washing to lengthen its life.

What We Like

• Razor-sharp and extremely versatile

• Balanced and ergonomic

• Dishwasher-safe

Things to Consider

• Some users report that it will break after drop 

#2. Global - 8 inch, 20cm Chef's Knife - Best Design

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: Carbon

• Brand: Global

• Color: Silver

• Handle Material: Stainless Steel

• Blade Edge: Plain

Product’s Highlights

The famous 8-inch chef's knife from Global has Japanese-style blades, which means it has a razor-sharp edge and a light, agile feel. The grip and razor blade of the Global are fashioned of a single collection of high metal, and the grip is packed with sand to provide weight. 

The 8-inch chef's knife from Global is well, and it will suit all of your standard mise en place requirements. The Global makes slicing, chopping up, slicing, and even tearing down a chicken simple.

This chef's knife was the clear winner in our chef's knife tests, and it continues to be among the best all-around cook's knives available at a reasonable price. The knife's blade is more robust than the incredibly simple Mac described below, and it simply feels better in the palm.

What We Like

• Dimpled handle for good grip 

• Razor-sharp edge 

• Lightweight

Things to Consider

• Small handle

#3. Mac Knife Professional 8 Inch Hollow Edge Chef Knife  - Best Japanese-Style

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: High Carbon Steel

• Brand: Mercer Culinary

• Color: Chef's Knife

• Handle Material: Santoprene, Santoprene

• Blade Edge: Plain

Product’s Highlights

The efficiency of Mercer's Culinary Millennia chef's knife was the biggest revelation of the trials. It's not along with the Zwilling or Wusthof razors, which both have a long-lasting full-tang construction (which means the razor's metal runs from the trailing edge to the butt of the grip in one piece). 

On the other hand, the grip is ideal for teaching newbies how to grip and operate a chef's knife by directing your finger and thumb to the knife's bottom. It was well-balanced and seemed like an appendage of the arm when we prepared various vegetables, fruits, and meats for our testing.

Because of the lightweight and low price, you won't get the same long life or complete versatility as a powerhouse such as the Wusthof. Still, this Mercer is a fantastic choice if you're looking for a beginner chef's knife to train on while saving for a major investment.

What We Like

• Textured finger points for good grip 

• Ergonomic handle 

• Japanese steel blade, which is easy to sharpen

Things to Consider

• Lightweight may need more force to use

#5. ZWILLING Gourmet 8-inch Chef’s Knife - Best Durability

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: Alloy Steel, carbon

• Brand: HENCKELS

• Color: Black/Stainless Steel

• Handle Material: Stainless Steel

• Item Dimensions LxWxH: 16.8 x 9.8 x 5.5 inches

Product’s Highlights

The Zwilling Gourmet 8-inch Chef's knife from J.A. Henckels is a beautiful affordable alternative. It lacks the base of a heavier-duty knife such as the Wusthof or J.A. Henckels Classic, and it is well and produces clean cuts on fruits and herbs, dices onions quickly, and starts to break down a chicken easily.

Because the Zwilling Gourmet is a printed blade instead of a cast one, it will likely lose its edge more quickly than the Wusthof. It's also lightweight, so you won't be ready to direct your fingers as soon through a tomato or other delicate foodstuff.

All in all, this Zwilling's cuts were dependably clean, it got comfortable in our hands, and we'd gladly add it to our galley.

What We Like

• Manufactured in Germany

• Precision honed blade and laser-controlled edge

• 57 Rockwell hardness

Things to Consider

• Not the best one

#6. Misen Chef Knife - 8 Inch Professional Kitchen Knife  - Best High-Performance

Important Specifications

• Brand: Misen

• Handle Material: Alloy Steel

• Color: Blue

• Blade Material: High Carbon Steel, Alloy Steel

• Blade Length: 8 Inches

• Item Weight: 1.34 Pounds

Product’s Highlights

Misen's chef's knife is composed of Japanese AUS-8 carbon-based stainless steel, robust, resilient, and razor-sharp. Its blade has a 15-degree angle, which is crisper than classic Western-style blades, which have a 25-degree angle. It includes an angled bolster that helps you maintain a correct pinch grasp when using it. It seemed balanced, strong, and comfortable in our exams. 

The blade is somewhat thinner than other chef's knives we examined, which worked well for cutting. It's elegantly designed - knives of this caliber usually cost more than twice as much!

What We Like

• Balanced, sturdy, and comfortable

• Great value

• Tough and durable

Things to Consider

• Misen manufactures its knives in China and doesn’t share a lot about the manufacturing process and standards

#7. Mercer Culinary M23510 - Best Comfortable Handle

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: High Carbon Steel

• Brand: Mercer Cutlery

• Color: Chef's Knife

• Handle Material: Delrin, Delrin, Delrin, Delrin

• Blade Edge: Plain

Product’s Highlights

From the time we collected the Mercer Culinary chef's knife, it felt excellent in our hands. It was solid and not overly hefty. It smoothly sliced through tomatoes and chopped carrots. We barely exerted any force, including its high-carbon, no-stain German steel blade, since the edge was so crisp and sharp! It also chopped through onions with ease. 

Its taper-ground edge provides more excellent stability, simplicity of sharpening, long-lasting crispness, and improved cutting and slicing performance.

Thanks to its long variable blade, this M23510 Renaissance could be used for various tasks, such as chopping, mincing, and dicing. This chef's knife will effortlessly cut through meat, fish, or veggies.

What We Like

• Durable but not overly heavy

• Super sharp for effortless cutting

Things to Consider

• It might be too big for some tasks 

#8. KRAMER by ZWILLING EUROLINE Essential Collection 8" Chef's Knife - Best Long-Lasting Knife

Important Specifications

• Blade Material: Alloy Steel

• Brand: HENCKELS

• Color: Black, Silver

• Blade Edge: Plain

• Item Dimensions LxWxH: 17 x 5 x 2 inches

Product’s Highlights

The Kramer Chef's Knife is one of Amazon's most popular knives. We have used the one for years and can attest to the fact that it maintains its sharpness for a long period between honing. It's just as good at cutting through delicate lavender ribbons as it is at cutting through a stubborn sweet potato.

We had to wait a long time to get our hands on any Zwilling Kramer knives since We are not much of a chef and a Kramer knife never seemed something we needed.

Zwilling has developed a few other Kramer variants: a little more budget-friendly stainless edition. While something like a jackass pounding nuts with an ax blade rather than filleting a salmon in a restaurant still feels odd, the stainless steel Zwilling Kramer is almost as friendly as the Wusthof Classic Ikon. 

That makes me feel better about putting it to the exam to see how effectively it can cut through the strange plastic ring they place on half-gallon frozen yogurt.

What We Like

• Stays sharp between sharpenings

• Reviewer favorite

• Great across delicate and challenging tasks

Things to Consider

• A lot of food stick

• It doesn’t fit any standard knife block or saya