Chef's knife speed review: the best and worst chef's knives we tested in 2023
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2023
- Over the last 9 months, we tested 32 different chef's knives in our home kitchen. Some of them we love so much we made them our daily drivers. Others, we'd honestly feel guilty donating...
You can see all the scores and find links to each of these knives at cultflav.com! 
Развлечения
Damn, life really does come full circle.
Imagine this, sitting on the couch after a long day of work, doing what I usually do, watching random kitchen or cooking related videos.
Suddenly, something just hits me. Oh, them! Design Details and spectrum and also that one time Bryn got me an early access invite to check out Figma while it was still in beta.
Idk if it’s the nostalgia but for some reason randomly stumbling across this video makes me so happy
this is a ridiculously good video. I wish I could make it more than once. Not only did you give all the knives you tested and overall they all seem to make sense and I definitely left this video feeling more informed about the pros and cons of what I choose.
the perfect video for me as someone getting ready to start culinary school and start taking my cooking to a new level! i want to make sure the knives i purchase are of good quality and worth the money!
Excellent overview, including real-life usage, quite honest and to the point takes, nicely done. I'd disagree on some aesthetics judgments though, but to each his own (like the Meiji handle .. that's some of the most comfortable handles out there for me)
Thanks so much for the effort that was put into this video! A+ doesn’t do it justice so S+!
Love it. I hope you post more on youtube. Also get those affiliate links up in the description for your recommends!
"Miyabi is what Shun thinks that they are"
Subbed.
😄
lol
it's funny 'cuz it's true, the Miyabi Koh santoku was love at first cut, best knife for me, after the global G2 ( which they dissed by calling it nothing special in 2023). Shun you buy if they are 1/2 price and then you sell it and get a Miyabi, Mac, Kramer, Tojiro or Global....etc.
this is so thorough, hope u get the chance to make more!
great video. informative and precise. was wondering what your opinion on the TUO brand of knives is. its my go to favorite knife set.
Great review! I am considering a Steelport. Who would you recommend to do the blade thinning? Thank you!
FWIW a breakdown of wetstones and honing steels would be a good accessory to this series. I appreciate you guys going into the breakdown of the metals used and specific alloys(?) of different knives. But when knives get dull it helps to know how to sharpen them. I sharpened my married friends knives before they registered for some wustof's and it blew their minds.
There's hundreds of videos on whetstones. Another one would be superfluous at this point.
Time to build the wall from knives out!
proven to be a powerful deterrent against burglars.
I work in a college prep kitchen and im looking for a knife that works as hard as I do, so this was helpful. Thank you.
Great review! May I please ask you what knife you would recommend for a beating-horse knife, you know the one you don't feel bad about if it hits a bone, have to cut through acid stuff or let be a long time on the cutting board?
Great video!
Chef here, have a few nice Japanese knives but actually quite like my old wustof ikon. The heavy weight for some jobs paired with it not breaking when going through small bones or the countless times i've dropped it. Looking for a replacement for it atm
The Miyabi Birchwood handle is too small for me; I'm 6'3.
I had the Artison Miyabi; the handle was just okay, but the steel was the second-best I have ever used.
Shun is good if you get it for less than $100
It gets microchips in the blade too easily.
Meiji Santoku Kramer Zwilling knife is the best I have ever used.
The handle is the best ever.
It holds an edge like a champ.
I've sharpened it well over 100 times over the past 8 years.
And unless I work a job like Nobu lead prep again, it will last me the rest of my life.
I’ve been working in kitchens for over a decade and honestly have some pretty good knife skills, but I know next to nothing about them. I’ve just always used the Cozzini knives that my work supplies. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a $300 knife, but I never know where to start. Maybe I’ll check one of these out.
Just ordered the hedley and bennett knife for my bf bday this month. This video was so helpful because I know nothing about cooking. Thanks guys !
Hey Bryn, where can I find the video again from this clip at 6:37, been looking everywhere for it...I'm sure it was in RUclips? Cheers 🙏
Great vid and I’m hanging for a Hitohiro ..would be great if you guys could add some suggested links for places to try find/buy them 👍
Great review, I realize there are hundreds of knife brands so not possible to try them all. I kept waiting for a made in Canada Grohmann chef knife to get reviewed. Love the set I have. Cheers
I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!! this is a 10 out of 10 video!! you mentioned geometry, took shun and miyabi down a peg, pointed out bolters are annoying, and had a really cool and veried selection of knives. GREAT WORK
is there a list? You don’t leave the graphics up long enough to read.
Have you tried any of the shun kanso knives?
I really loved this video and you guys deserve more subs for absolute sure.
Oh also my favorite knife is completely randomly your favorite knife. I didn't even know that before commenting. The Kramer carbon absolutely rocks. It's almost like a chef knife with the heart of a cleaver (not really but that thing is heavy)
I also have the 9.5 inch version of your Miyabi Birchwood arriving today (looked for years and finally found the 9.5 for $266 USD) so i'm a little sad you didn't like it, but we'll see how it goes.
@@nuggyfresh6430the handle is too heavy imo and has too big a gap that requires choking up or soley holding the handle no pinch grip. it also hates to take an edge.. I have a diff model but the handles are the same issue and gap.
I am a professional chef and my list for best chefs knife would be
10 inch Victorinox Chef knife
10 inch Wüsthof Classic Ikon
7 inch Chinese Chef Knife from Zwilling
I don't have the zwilling pro but i have used one at work and it feels great.
Great comparison video! I agree with all of what you said. My first knife I bought for myself was a 210mm Tojiro Gyuto from a recommendation of a good friend. I’ve been hooked on good knives ever since. Been running a thinned Takeda Gyuto for the last couple years. Aogami Super is by far one of my favorite knife steels along with 52100.
Love the takeda, the only knife I've tried that consistently doesn't let food stick while cutting.
@@ajq0301 too bad you can’t find them anymore…at least I can’t find anywhere they aren’t out of stock. Looking to add a 240mm Gyuto to the collection.
Which sub-model of Hitohira 180mm Santoku did you guys test?
Kikuchiyo Ren
Nice to see Pierre Thiam's cookbook "Senegal" in the bookcase. Chef's kiss!
Maybe I missed it but I was surprised not to see Masamoto's VG "Hyper Molybdenum Vanadium" in the mix. I love mine. And as I understand it, they are pretty much the go-to for every sushi chef.
Thank you.
Hey guys I would check out the Bradford knives chefs knife. It's an American company known for their high quality products. It's made in Magna cut steel which is said to be the best all-around steel available today.
Kind of in disbelief that two of my favourites are on rank 23 and 22 😧
Pretty spot-on with all of your assessments. I have the Miyabi knives, and now that my Japanese collection is growing, they just can't compare. I'll be selling them. The Dao knife also, I have that cleaver, and every time I use it the edge chips. It's ridiculous. Misen is a workhorse, sorry to hear they are going out of business. Hmm, maybe I should pick up another while I can. Have you guys tried Kaishin knives? For the price they compare to much more expensive Japanese knives. Their Gyuto is my favorite! Like butter.
Beautiful channel, beautiful video and a beautiful couple.
What more could a person ask for!
Thanks Jason for the recommendation. Subscribed!
Masamoto VG is the best knife I've ever owned.
if your doing a pinch grip, is the Miabi handle really a downside?
I have smallish hands and the miyabi 6000 MCt, similar style. I find the handle pretty much useless as I have to choke up due to the gap but then your thumb sits half on the metal bump, so it's best just to hold all on handle . Also handle is bulky & overly heavy , but so are shuns, & kramer is worse.
Great video, I make a chefs knife that I think would compete well in that line up.
Willing to take a look! cultflav.com/review-units 🙏
Can you put links in the description?
My wife just bought the hexclad knife set. Sad. She's super happy, I guess I will pretend not to know she got scammed by her favorite TV chef.
No timestamps or charpters 🤔
You missed the one from assio & engvall.. Highly recommend!
What about the Kramer Damascus line over the carbon version?
I would definitely prefer the carbon line performance-wise (also, Damascus is very much not the vibe for us).
I finally found an acceptable chefs knife in the Korin carbon steel 59 HRC. I need to keep it oiled, However it’s great.
In good news, unless you have VERY high humidity, the oiling shouldn't be necessary - just dry it after use!
It's kinda hard to believe I purchased a Tojiro DP 210 for $59.75 eight years ago. As a home cook, my only regret is not getting the 230, but I have a small kitchen and nowhere to safely store a 10' knife that it won't get damaged.
The link you gave us doesn't work when I typed it in it says the domain is for sale. Might be my phone but I don't think so I double-checked the address and it still comes up domains for sale.
Too bad I really wanted a new chef's knife if you're going to fix the link I hope you do.. I'm going to try it again
Added link to the description. Not sure why that wasn't there in the first place 🤔
Thanks for the review, this covered alot of territory!
You should definitely try get your hands on a takamura knife, you won't regret it
What about zwilling 1731?
😭😭😭 dalstrong is ranked so low. It’s ashamed, I’ve used many of dalstrongs knives
I thought the the same. I own three, including the one they reviewed. They couldn't be more wrong about that knife. I personally love it, and it's a daily user for me in the busy kitchen I work in.
@beckynelson8758 it objectively was the second-worst construction and finish of the bunch and the performance didn't live up to the price tag for us. Glad you love it though, nothing wrong with that.
@@Nailenthusiast1981Dalstrong is 99% mysogynistic marketing , 1% extras aka sheaths & pins, All to hide from the poor china made construction & material. Dullest knives I've ever tried & dollar store value. Anyone that says they are good havent tried a good knife, as even mercer ultimate is sharper otb. No one needs bougie handles, that's all gimmick. Good Kitchen cooks use carbon steel anyway, or reliable commercial brands like Victorinox /Dexter/ Mercer ,which cost 1/3 for better quality . A material knife, tojiro or misen is better and those are sub $80.
they are all marketing but Chinese made crap and they only make the handles. You can literally buy their blades for 1/4 what they charge on temu and other sites like that
Maybe oil the Miyabi handles, oiled wood vs raw vood is a world of difference
Yup, they were oiled!
Hey, you’ve tried the Zwilling chef’s knives 38401 which has a more curvy tip. The traditional Zwilling chef’s knife 38411 is way better. I use it for my “heavy duty” and a Nakiri for my delicate work
knife likeness can be subjective. ni find the willing perry mediocre and the handless scratch easily .
Masamoto ks best knife I've ever used
Idk how the Misen out beat the Material. The prob with Misen is they rust like crazy even with wiping & the petty is atrocious known for snapping & dullest otb knife i ever bought. I sent both back. Material knives are super sharp otb great handle and weight. I got their petty & 8in for under $80. The tojiro dp wont take an edge easily, i find the miyabi 6000 mct is sharper but need a diamond stone. No mention of misono is odd cuz they are great.
Easy answer: we've never encountered any of those issues across several Misen units and we didn't like the Material as much. Sounds like we've had pretty opposite experiences across the board though, as DP has been super easy to sharpen for us, as have the super hard miyabis.
Misono not mentioned because we had to pack in a bunch of knives within our a budget for the review and they didn't make the cut. This review was already ~$5k out of our own pockets.
Why don't you guys test the Tramontina Century series, these are affordable chef knives, at least in my experience they are comparable to the Victorinox and the Wüsthof in their quality, they also use the same type of german steel of these brands. It's a big brand and they're quite well know in some countries. Many Gastronomy students outside the first world use a Tramontina kit as their first high quality knives since they're more affordable.
Love your dual presentation on this! Great work!
Can you review f dick red spirit series knifes?I own the set and I would like your opinion
Steel wise, it's probably around with Victorinox, although I haven't had one in my hands personally it doesn't look like a handle I'd enjoy.
Japanese knife for me carbon steel
I love my Miyabi, it is expensive but in Kyoto I bought the grade b birchwood for 40% off which is a steal. Would highly recommend Miyabi as it looks good in the kitchen but would definitely try going for a carbon kramer
Tojiro ❤
My favourite knives are these really cheap, honestly quite shite, Kiwi Brand knives.
They don't hold an edge, but are so easy to sharpen.
I heard well of them but they are not available in my country. My favorite chef knife is Xituo Butcher, the one with the blue turquoise ring.
I'm not sure about smashing the knives...
My Victorinox Rosewood isn't even in the top 10 :(. Time for a upgrade.
i have used the curved serrated rosewood vic since 87.im on my 7th one now. $30 great cheap commercial knife.i also have the dalstrong 12.5 " devastator awesome bone breaker and show piece.
for about $40 the Dexter Duo Glide is an incredible USA made knife that punches way above its weight class.
y'all should check it out
I was disappointed that you didn’t go over the drawbacks of Japanese and carbon steel knives in more detail. The lack of corrosion resistance and brittle edges make these knives a poor choice for the average home cook who is not a knife hobbyist. Your #1 rated Zwilling/Kramer Carbon is certainly a nice knife but would not be an appropriate recommendation for a vast majority of people.
And that's why it's not our default recommendation which we have an entire video about. We also have an entire video about knife chemistry and the impacts of chromium.
@@cultflav My point is that if someone cruises in and takes this particular video at face value, they very likely will be disappointed if they make a purchase based upon your top recommendation. Providing more context would be more helpful.
@@acbarnard Same, i own some japanese knives that are all stainless (cause im not stupid enough to go carbon), and even then 1 time forget to rinse/dry one it will get rust spots..
@@acbarnard They clearly say that their most recommended knife is the hedley and bennett, which is made of AUS10 stainless. I think you mean to say that if someone just looked at the number one spot they would be disappointed, which isn't their fault at all.
@@larsvegas1505 well it's stain less not proof. That said, Ive mistreated my stainless but none rust. I have a global, Miyabi and material knife and none rust after a year. Carbon is ok if u wipe it which is easy to remember to do if u make it a habit. Depends on the composition tho
Great Video thanks 🎉
$300 knives? wow
Just remember kids, one hell of a lot of us have bench grinders and taking a little off a bolster is a matter of a couple of seconds. If you’re young and don’t remember the knifegrinder’s truck coming round once a month to all the pro kitchens, I’m sorry. I have knives without bolsters, I just don’t find myself using them.
"The Andrew Tate of knives."
And subbed.
The problem with Misen knives is that they sent good quality knives for yt reviewers but what they actually sell has horrible quality control. The only review I saw from someone that actually bought the knife had such a bad finish it was certainly not worth the money.
We have never been sent a review unit - we exclusively bought them ourselves.
@@cultflav I researched about them a while ago and that was the only self bought knife I found. Maybe you guys got lucky. Or maybe he got unlucky. It's hard to know with only two reviews.
@thiago.assumpcao if it helps, this was the 4th one we've tested.
S35 should have given you the best knife on the list. I doubt it was real.
Steel isn't the only factor in a knife though... zdp189 + sg2 (e.g. the Miyabis) are both cpm steels like s35 and would have a lot of the same benefits. The grind and geometry for the Dalstrong were complete trash, which were the real issues.
Whoever does he editing is a real one, love the office references.
Ive heard way different things about wustof knives, plus they have a great warranty program ive heard
No Dexter Russel tested..?.
As an ex professional chef, my 10" wustie classic was awesome then, and awesome now albeit a little overkill for home use. For the few Japanese knives I've used, have and tried, they are a little on the light side for me
The nice thing about japanese knives is the craft/precision and edge retention.. but i like chinese chefs knifes for most jobs.. i like to chop stuff op fast for home cooking.. and the extra weight/height and flatness of the blade makes that perfect for the job. And after the chopping u can use it as a scoop aswell..
Disagree on IKEA VÖRDA knives. For a 9,5 euros for bigger knives and 6,5 euros for smaller knives they are pretty good and more than adequate for majority of people for the fraction of the price of other knives. Knives are made of X50CRMOV15 steel which is used in much more expensive brands. The handle and balance and shape of blades is really good, and handles do not slip in hand even if hands are wet or greasy. Unless you are a professional chef you can go by really well with these. I do use honing rod on them before any bigger cutting, yes, but when you take their price into consideration I'd say they are pretty good knives. Not to mention they will not rust or stain.
Yup, they're cheap. That's their best feature and we did give them points for it. That x50 steel is so soft though that it requires constant maintenance as you mentioned. I would not consider that a good knife - just a cheap knife.
Re: x50 in more expensive knives, we took materials points away from those knives bc of that since it's such a budget steel. There's a deep dive video on knife chemistry on this channel that has more details on why we don't recommend any of the 4116 formulations.
@@cultflav Even the expensive knives need constant honing, as is even suggested by every chef out there.
@zoned1361 I think there's a couple things to unpack there.
1. Most chefs in the world don't use high-end knives (and they shouldn't).
Food workers outside of super high-end or very customer-facing roles want cheap stuff that can get damaged without too much issue and they often have sharpeners come in on a weekly (or at least monthly) basis, so soft isn't too bad for them.
2. A massive majority of home cooks almost never sharpen their knives and don't know anything about honing either (e.g. the prevalent myth that "it doesn't sharpen, it realigns the edge"). There's this idea that's prevalent rn that home cooks should use commercial tools bc they're somehow better. Really, they're just different things.
3. Higher-end steels do require sharpening, but depending on the steel, it's often much less frequently which saves home cooks loads of time over the lifespan of the knife.
In general, we advise honing when it starts to feel dull. That'll give it a little more bite through adhesive wear. If that doesn't fix it, time to sharpen. I have zero patience for anything approaching a dull knife and I only need to sharpen every few weeks bc I prioritize edge retention over corrosion resistance (basically the opposite of x50).
@@cultflav Yes, I agree that expensive knives are better and have better quality, better edge retention, no deny about that.
But I don't agree that expensive knives are better for beginners or most of home cooks.
First thing everyone needs to buy, along expensive knife, is honing rod and then sharpening stone and learn both honing and sharpening, which is not that hard to learn but it takes time. Second, and often, it comes the maintenance such as oiling the knives so they don't rust.
How many people want that? It is not very practical for most people.
If you chip an IKEA knife, no big deal, but if you chip a 300 dollar knife it is a different story. Wouldn't you agree?
I bet knives like IKEA's are more practical to beginners and home cooks. Once they learn how to handle knives and what is working for them and what is not, once they learn how to hone the knife then sky is the limit. But for home cooking the knife that cuts, is well built, does not slip in hand and has almost 0 maintenance, apart from occasional honing may be the way to go for many people. And you can use those commercial sharpening gizmo's on these knifes. No harm done and they will cut.
And lastly, I liked your review and the span of knives you guys used, really amazing!
Also it's super amazing that you even tested IKEA knives!
I just tried to show another point of view.
Anyways, Happy New Year and all the best! :)
I think going too cheap can hurt consumers too, because many then feel like they don't need to take care of it at all. That's why our main recs are in the middle ground between your examples here - right around $100 - where imo it maximizes the bang for your buck.
Appreciate you jumping in either way, just trying to expand on why we ranked them this way. Happy new year!
you guys rule
I guarantee my kitchen knife is worse lol
“Andrew Tate as a knife.” 😂😂😂😂 Hilarious
I have a set of global knives and and a set Martha Stewart knives neither one of them are worth a s*** if they're not sharp .
Nothing from Yaxell? This test is biased.
In what sense? There are tons of knife makers not represented here. We tried to cover as many mainstream brands as possible within a $5000 review budget
@@cultflav Yaxell / ENSO is one of the big names in fine Japanese cutlery. They also offer exceptional value in their lower-tier lines, especially when you catch them on-sale. ENSO SG2, Yaxell Super Gou, and Ypsilon are works of art. I use Yaxell RAN+ in my kitchen.
@@TheCyberMantis
Are you a Burrfection fan?
@@jks3190 I have watched some of his videos. He seems like a cool dude.
@@TheCyberMantis
I just asked because he was heavily promoting their knives when he was endorsed by them.
I'm just curious, where are you getting this info that Yaxell is one of the big names in Japanese cutlery?
I used to be a chef in Japan and frequent online knife forums, but I don't see anything that aligns with that statement.
I'm definitely going with that Andrew Tate knife 😂
Thanks for the overview. Gotta say that I find your website highly impractical. It's like 99% form and 1% function. All I see are big blobs of color, image and text that cannot be quickly scanned to parse out the useful information. There's no way to filter and sort results for easy comparison. Good design aids utility whereas this design hampers it.
- _Some guy on the internet with an opinion_
No. Global suck. Because if the handle gets wet its really slippery.
Why are y'all talking so fast? Can't understand half of what you are saying.
Slow the playback speed down.
yeah. you guys passed on alotta great knives. pass on the video
I wished I watched this video before I invested in a set of messermeister knives. Have you tested their chef knife?
Shun below average! Come on man
When they make above-average knives, we'll change it! 😂