The 6 Finest Knife Manufacturers for 2024, Based on Our Assessments

With a fame for high quality and merchandise that carry a lifetime guarantee, Wüsthof is amongst our most trusted knife manufacturers. The Wüsthof 8-inch basic chef’s knife is one we’ve known as a workhorse following our in depth testing of the must-have kitchen staple, prizing this mannequin for its sturdiness and reassuring weight that permits it to slice by dense greens or break down a hen with ease. We’ve additionally named Wüsthof’s basic 10-piece knife set as our choose for greatest general knife set, beating out 41 different units with its affordable worth in relation to its high quality elements.  

Wüsthof has an in depth choice of knives, together with cleavers, boning knives, serrated knives, and a 7-inch santoku we’ve additionally fortunately reviewed. Staying true to their roots — a transfer we will all the time respect — Wüsthof’s restricted product line solely pertains to blades, from lovely slicing boards to shears to sharpening instruments. 

Miyabi is a line of Japanese-designed knives from the German model, Zwilling, which we’ll additionally get into under. These knives are made with precision — the model’s web site touts 100 steps and 42 days to make only one Miyabi knife — and the vary is spectacular. We’ve praised the Miyabi Kaizen 9.5-inch bread knife for its magnificence and extremely sharp, serrated blade; and we’re additionally followers of the Miyabi Koh chef’s knife, which has a gently curved blade that makes it excellent for rocking and chopping, but is light sufficient to slice by delicate tomato pores and skin with out squishing the fruit. 

With Zwilling’s distribution (and lifelong guarantee), Miyabi knives are broadly out there — but the standard and craftsmanship that Japanese knives are identified for usually are not compromised. These are some severely refined, high-performance knives.

Shun makes some actually eye-catching cutlery — simply take a look on the Gokuji 6-inch boning and filet knife — and is one in all our favourite manufacturers for Japanese knives. We named the Shun 8-inch basic chef’s knife the perfect high-end chef’s knife after proving its potential to create paper-thin slices with its rust-, stain-, and stick-resistant blade. 

Should you’re up for a splurge on a full set of Japanese knives, Shun’s basic knife block is a worthy funding. These are positively knives you’ll need to you should definitely care for correctly, together with washing by hand, drying totally, and honing often. As with different prime knife manufacturers, Shun knives include a lifetime guarantee — nevertheless it received’t cowl neglect.

Like Wüsthof, Zwilling knives are made in Solingen, Germany, however this model has been round even longer — since 1731. The complete model identify is Zwilling J.A. Henckels and there’s an enormous product vary of knives and kitchen merchandise designed for house {and professional} use. 

We predict the Zwilling Professional 10-piece knife block set is a good worth for the standard, putting a pleasant steadiness between ultra-luxe and fairly priced units. There are three knife manufacturers that function underneath the Zwilling umbrella — Zwilling, the aforementioned Miyabi, and budget-focused Henckels — so the selection might be overwhelming when you’re ranging from scratch. We desire Zwilling’s Professional line for constant high quality and sturdiness. 

We’ve been so happy with MAC knives throughout our testing that we’ve named the 8-inch hole edge chef’s knife the perfect general chef’s knife, in addition to the perfect on a regular basis Japanese knife. Meals & Wine’s personal editor-in-chief, Hunter Lewis, declared this MAC knife “evenly balanced between the load of the blade and the deal with,” making it “really feel stable and good in my hand.” 

Whereas any good chef’s knife is flexible within the kitchen, MAC’s is much more so, due to its hole notches that assist cease meals from sticking to the blade. The Pakkawood deal with, in the meantime, feels safe and non-slip for limitless chopping. And whereas MAC doesn’t provide a lifetime guarantee like some opponents, they do again their knives for a beneficiant 25 years.

If the Hedley & Bennett identify sounds acquainted within the context of kitchen aprons, properly, you’re proper — the model makes a few of our favorites. After we discovered that they’re now providing knives, we have been initially skeptical however shortly discovered that Hedley & Bennett knives aren’t only a advertising ploy. The chef’s knife is a worthy competitor in a busy ring, impressing us with its comfy deal with and a pointy blade that made fast work of each paper and tomatoes throughout our testing. 

We’ll regulate Hedley & Bennett as a knife model over the approaching months, however thus far? We like what we see.