Kitchen Knives Reviews

The best kitchen-knife reviews come from editors at Cook's Illustrated and its spin-off magazine, Cook's Country. 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 chef's knives that included knives costing less than $50 each. Performance notes, ratings and recommendations are given for each of the nine 8-inch kitchen knives.

We also found good kitchen cutlery reviews from Which? and Choice magazines, the English and Australian equivalents of Consumer Reports. Both magazines enlist professional chefs, home cooks and an outside lab for testing. Although some of the kitchen knives tested are not sold in the U.S., many of the top picks are. Consumer Reports also has an excellent comparison of 38 kitchen knives in its November 2005 issue. Editors don't say exactly how they conducted their testing, but kitchen cutlery sets 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 cutlery reviews published by Cook's Illustrated, which are far more detailed and insightful.

The 8-inch chef's knife, reviews agree, is the most important knife in your collection of kitchen cutlery, and many experts, including Chef Cat Cora, host of The Food Network's "Kitchen Accomplished," says that most people don't need seven or eight different kitchen knives -- a single, top-quality chef's knife can handle almost every task.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Despite some criticisms from time to time, the overwhelming favorite in reviews is Wusthof. The brand's superior performance and ease of use are discussed over and over again in reviews based upon tests done year after year. After that, opinions are somewhat disparate. Forschner Victorinox Fibrox is easily the most popular budget knife among reviewers. Global and Kyocera ceramic knives are stylish, and many experts say they perform well at slicing tasks. Several santoku knives also appear in reviews. Experts say that a santoku probably won't replace your chef's knife, but it does make a good supplement for slicing. The Kershaw Shun santoku gets the best reviews here.