Kitchen Knife Review

Kitchen knife testing and comparisons

The best kitchen-knife reviews come from editors at Cook's Illustrated magazine. The tests at Cook's Illustrated are well documented; testers evaluate each knife for strength, ergonomics and balance while slicing winter squash, chopping onions and mincing parsley. Most recently, editors updated reviews of serrated bread knives and innovative chef's knives. Performance notes, ratings and recommendations are given for each of the knives tested.

Consumer Reports also has an excellent comparison of 42 kitchen knives in its Dec. 2007 issue. Editors don't say exactly how they conducted their testing, but knives are rated on comfort and out-of-the-box sharpness. While Consumer Reports rates a larger number of knives overall, we still prefer the kitchen knife reviews published by Cook's Illustrated, which are far more detailed and insightful.

We also found good knife reviews from Choice magazine, the Australian equivalent of Consumer Reports. The magazine enlisted professional chefs, home cooks and an outside lab for testing. Although some of the models tested are not sold in the U.S., all of the top picks are.

The 8-inch chef's knife, reviews agree, is the most important knife in your collection of cutlery, and many experts, including chef Cat Cora, host of The Food Network's "Kitchen Accomplished," say that most people don't need seven or eight different kitchen knives -- a single, top-quality chef's knife can handle most kitchen tasks. A paring knife and a serrated bread knife are also helpful, and santoku knives are gradually replacing chef's knives for light duty work in many kitchens.

Although most inexpensive cutlery doesn't perform well in tests, reviews are unanimous about one budget cutlery line – RH Forschner by Victorinox Fibrox (*Est. $60 for three). This brand receives very good reviews across the board, no matter who's doing the testing. We found nothing but excellent reviews for the Forschner Fibrox knives, which come close in utility, durability and ergonomics to pricier knives from Wüsthof and Global.

All of the top knives we saw in reviews are fine-edged blades. That means that they need regular sharpening at home, which experts say is easily done from time to time. Reviewers say that no-maintenance knives (such as Cutco), which use a serrated edge, are not the best value. One review finds that the Cutco 9-1/4 inch French Chef's knife (*Est. $100) was unable to cut scallions cleanly. Although micro-serrated knives, such as Cutco, lose their sharpness more slowly than fine-edged knives, they do eventually become quite dull, and they cannot be sharpened at home. Cutco does promise to sharpen blades for free for as long as you own the knives, but you'll have to mail them to Cutco for service.