The Importance of a Chef's Knife: A Guide to Finding the Perfect Tool for Your Kitchen

A chef's knife is an essential tool that every kitchen needs, and there are two main styles of knives that you can choose from: Japanese-style blades and Western-style blades. Our top choices today are all Western-style blades, although one knife, the Shun, is made of Japanese steel.

When it comes to finding the perfect chef's knife, size and fit are crucial factors to consider. The ideal length of a chef's knife is eight inches, but depending on your preferences, you might prefer a six-inch or 10-inch knife. Chef's knives can be an investment, but spending more money doesn't necessarily equate better quality. Look for knives with a full tang, which means that the blade goes all the way through the handle and makes the knife more durable.

Taking care of your knife is also important, so you should invest in an at-home sharpener or take it to get professionally sharpened a couple of times a year. If you're looking for a knife sharpener, our video with our top picks has got you covered. In testing, we first noted the size and feel of the knife before slicing anything. We sliced a Roma tomato to test sharpness, cut a medium-wide onion, and noted how easy it was to cut through, if anything stuck to the blade, and if our eyes watered.

We also cut one medium sweet potato to determine how the knife responded to a denser food. Chiffonading some basil was another test we used to evaluate the knife's performance. We sliced one raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast as part of our testing. These are just a few examples of the types of tasks that you can use your chef's knife for.

When it comes to choosing a chef's knife, there are several factors to consider beyond just the blade itself. One important consideration is the handle. The handles on our top picks, the Misen Chef's Knife and the Made-In Eight-Inch Chef's Knife, both feel comfortable in the hand and are balanced perfectly. However, people may prefer different types of handles. Some may like the grip on the Made-In Knife because it feels softer, while others may prefer the Misen Knife due to its slightly more "chefy" feel.

Both knives have a visible full tang, which means that the blade goes all the way up through the handle and makes the knife more durable. Both are designed for chef-quality performance at a home-cooked price, and culinary professionals have vouched for their quality. However, with the Made-In Knife, we found that the basil had moderate bruising and took a little more effort to slice through a sweet potato, while with the Misen Knife, it cut through everything pretty well but did need a little extra elbow grease to cut through the sweet potato.

Our budget pick is the Victorinox Swiss Classic Eight-Inch Straight Edge Chef's Knife. This brand is often used in professional kitchens and restaurants, and it's super affordable, making it a great second knife to have in your arsenal. It's also super lightweight and makes a great addition to any kitchen. However, keep in mind that this knife dulls a little bit faster than the other knives we tested, so you'll need to sharpen it more frequently.

If you're looking for a Japanese-made knife, our pick is the Shun Classic Western Chef's Knife. Shun are some of the most popular Japanese-made knives on the American market, and this one is made of Japanese steel, making it lighter and thinner than the other knives that we tested. It's ideal for delicate kitchen tasks like cutting fish or slicing herbs. This knife is also extremely well-made and feels and looks really special.

This knife is perfect for slicing through delicate proteins because we were really impressed with how well it sliced through fish, and how easy and clean the cuts were. However, we would recommend taking a little extra care when slicing through thicker foods like sweet potatoes, as the blade is thinner than other knives. As far as Japanese knives go, this one is at a great price point, but if you prefer a Western-style handle, it might not be the choice for you.

Overall, our key takeaway is that you should get a chef's knife and really, they're not as intimidating or scary as they might seem. They are very accessible, and at reasonable price points, making them perfect for home cooks and culinary professionals alike.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIf there's one toolyou need in the kitchen,it's a chef's knife.So chef's knivesgenerally come in twodifferent styles, theJapanese-style bladeand a Western-style blade.All of our top choices todayare Western-style blades,although one knife, the Shun,is made of Japanese steel.Before we get started,if you're new here,click that subscribe button.The perfect chef'sknife is all aboutfinding the rightsize and fit for you,but there are a few guidelinesthat you can follow.First, the handleshould feel comfortableand balanced in your hand.You don't want theknife to feel too heavy.We found that the ideal chef'sknife length was eight inches,but depending onyour preferences,you might prefer a six-inchor a 10-inch knife.Chef's knives canbe an investment,but spending more moneydoesn't necessarilyequate better quality.Look for knives witha full tang, whichis one piece ofmetal the full waythrough, making theknife more durable.It's important to takecare of your knife,so you should invest inan at-home sharpener,or take it to getprofessionally sharpeneda couple of times a year.If you're looking fora knife sharpener,you can find our videowith our top picks.In testing, we first noted thesize and the feel of the knifebefore slicing anything.We sliced a Roma tomatoto test sharpness.We cut a medium-wideonion, and notedhow easy it was to cut through,if anything stuck to the blade,and if our eyes watered.We cut one medium sweet potatoto determine how the kniferesponded to a denser food.We chiffonaded some basil.We also slicedone raw, boneless,skinless chicken breast.We recommend hand-washingyour knives only.Do not put themin the dishwasher,and then dry them right away.These are our top picksfor chef's knives.Before we get started,if you're new here,click that subscribe button.Our top picks bothcome in around $100,the Misen Chef'sKnife and the Made-InEight-Inch Chef's Knife.They're made of twodifferent types of steel,but perform equally well.They slice great, and they'reboth at a low price point,so you don't feel like youhave to be precious with them.The biggest differenceis the handles.People may like the Made-Ingrip, because it feels softerin your hand, while the Misenis a little more cheffy,but both have a sloped bolstergrip, which allows you to usea pinch grip on the knife.They both stay sharpfor a long time,so you don't have to worry aboutsharpening them for a while.They both have avisible full tang,which means thatthe blade goes allthe way up through the handle.Both are designed forchef-quality performanceat a home-cooked price,and culinary professionalshave vouched for their quality.Of course, they aren't perfect.With the Made-In, we found thatthe basil had moderate bruisingand took a little more effortto slice through a sweet potato,while, with the Misen knife, itcut through everything prettywell, but did need alittle extra elbow greaseto cut through thesweet potato, and wefound that the onionand chicken breastsslightly stuck to the knife.Our budget pickis the VictorinoxSwiss Classic Eight-InchStraight Edge Chef's Knife.This brand is often used intest and restaurant kitchens.It's super budget, butreally gets the job done.It's super lightweight, andmakes a great second knifeto have in your arsenal.It also dulls alittle bit fasterthan the other knives wetested, so you will haveto sharpen it more frequently.Our pick for aJapanese-made knifeis a Shun ClassicWestern Chef's Knife.Shun are some of the mostpopular Japanese-made kniveson the American market.This knife is madeof Japanese steel,so it's lighter and thinnerthan the other knivesthat we tested.It's ideal fordelicate kitchen tasks,like cutting fishor slicing herbs.This is one of ourmore expensive picks,but it feels andlooks really special,and is extremely well-made.We would recommendthis knife for slicingthrough delicate proteins,because we were reallyimpressed with how wellit sliced through fish,and how easy andclean the cuts were.It's durable enough to slicethrough the sweet potato,but we would recommendtaking a little extra carewhen doing so, becausethe blade is thinner.As far as Japanese knives go,this is at a great price point.Just note that, if you prefera Western-style handle,this knife might notbe the choice for you.So our key takeaway is youshould get a chef's knife,and, really, they're not asintimidating or scary as theymight seem.They are very accessible, andat reasonable price points.Subscribe to Food Network'schannel for more like this.\n"