Top 5 Chef Knives
Here is my definitive list of the best chef knives.
As already written in my chapter on Knives, you only really need two knives for the vast majority of purposes: chef’s knife and a serrated knife.
A bread knife is easy - cheaper is perfectly fine here. Get a cheap 10" Mercer Millennia® Wavy Edge Wide Bread Knife for like $15 - $20 and call it good.
A chef’s knife has a lot more factors. You really don’t need to be spending more than $200 on a knife, but mid-$200 is acceptable. However, spending less than $100 will be a rough time due to the amount of time and effort needed to keep it sharp.
These knives should be between 8” - 10” (200mm - 240mm) - anything smaller and it’s just a bit too small to handle some things, anything larger and it’s just a bit too unwieldy. Personally, I like 10” as the added length makes me be more deliberate with my cuts and actions.
In my Knives chapter, I recommended the MAC, Tojiro, Global, Shun, and Misono brands, and I will rank each here:
Pound-for-pound the best knives for the best price. This actually sits just between the MAC Chef Series and MAC Professional Series. If you want a really good knife and are willing to spend just a little more than a budget price point, this is the way to go.
Can’t go wrong with the Classic (Gyuto) 240mm.
These are a widely available powerhouse. These will work for just anyone. Unless someone already has a MAC, this cannot be a bad recommendation. They have a Chef Series for the budget-friendly, and the Professional Series for a little more of an investment.
Can’t go wrong with the Professional Series 9 1/2" (MBK-95) or the Chef Series 10" (BK-100).
The UX10 Series is the gold standard. You cannot get a better knife than this. But this is very expensive.
Can’t go wrong with the UX10 Series Gyuto 240mm or the Sweden Steel Series Gyuto 240mm.
These are one of the most widely available brands, but are still quite good quality. They are very expensive, though. This does not actually make them better than the others on this list, but can be a special gift.
Can’t go wrong with the Classic 10" or the Premier 10".
This is a solid brand and works very well, and is a great price. Basically one of the best bang for your buck there is. However, the handle style is pretty divisive, so I find it much safer to recommend others before recommending this.
Can’t go wrong with the G-2 Classic 8" Japanese or the G-16 Classic 9.5".
Sure, there will be plenty of brands not listed here that can be argued as being superior to any on this list. However, they are likely either hard to find and/or too expensive to realistically recommend.
Just please remember that anyone who recommends the Wüsthof Classic or Mercer Genesis is not to be trusted.