It’s the indispensable multi-tool of the kitchen. We sliced and diced our way through meats and veggies to find today’s best blades.

A GREAT KNIFE is a cornerstone on which a great meal is built. But if you ask three chefs what makes a great knife, you'll likely get at least five answers. The truth is that what makes the perfect knife for you will depend on many factors, including your comfort level with knives, the size of your hands, and what sort of food you like to cook.

That said, there's a reason the basic 6- to 8-inch chef's knife is ubiquitous: It's the most versatile knife. The chef's knife is capable of dicing veggies, slicing meat, smashing garlic, and chopping herbs and nuts. In a pinch, it'll even go through small bones without too much trouble.

There's a bewildering range of chef's knives available, from dirt cheap to very expensive specialty blades. To help you make sense of it all, we sliced and diced with dozens of knives until a simple truth emerged: A poorly-made $10 blade you sharpen every week is more useful than a $200 blade that's dull. Every knife needs to be sharpened, some just need it more than others. Much of the price difference in knives comes down to the quality of materials, which in turn often translates into how well the blade holds its edge.

We stuck mostly with 8-inch blades, the sweet spot for the classic chef's knife. Testing involved the stuff you'd do in your own kitchen—peeling, filleting, dicing, chopping, cubing, slicing, and all the other standard prep work for meats and vegetables. Here are our picks.

Updated December 2022: We've added a chef’s knife set for kids, Benchmade's Station knife, and updated pricing throughout.

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Best Beginner's Knife

Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife

Victorinox's Fibrox Pro chef's knife is the best value of any knife I have tested. It doesn't have the same high-quality construction as some of the others here, but it's usually available for around $40. It holds an edge well and has a nearly nonstick finish to it—hardly anything sticks to this blade, not even fresh cilantro. If you're just starting out on your cooking journey, this makes a great first chef's knife and will serve you well for years. Take the money you save buying this and invest in a good-quality sharpener,

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A Workhorse Knife

Richmond Artifex II

The Richmond Artifex II is a small update to the original Artifex, which I have used since my days as a line cook. It holds an edge very well for a knife at this price and makes a great first step into the world of Japanese knives. It's a bit longer than many of the blades here, but unlike a lot of Japanese knives, it has a Western-style handle. A Western handle, or Wa handle, typically has two pieces with flat sides on either side of the metal, whereas a Japanese, or Ho handle, can be any shape but leans toward round (octagon is also common). The Artifex is the closest I've seen a stainless steel knife come to matching the advantages of a carbon steel blade.

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The Cheapest Good Knife

Kiwi Stainless Steel 8-inch Chef's Knife

Kiwi knives have something of a cult following. They're dirt cheap, and the quality of the blade reflects that. But if you regularly sharpen your Kiwi, it'll perform just as well as knives costing hundreds of dollars more. If you put in the work, these will deliver. For a few dollars more you can grab a set of them ($15 at Etokra), which includes a small cleaver that I love for chopping herbs. Again, take the money you save and invest it in a good set of sharpening stones, and you'll have knives that will serve you well for a long time.

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Best For Young Cooks

Opinel Le Petit Chef

French knife maker Opinel—best known for its folding knives—offers this mini chef’s knife set for kids who want to help slice and dice in the kitchen. It’s a real chef’s knife, with a real edge on it, but the size is good for child hands and the red ring helps ensure they keep a good grip. It was a little small for my 10-year-olds, but my 7-year-old loves it. I think it's probably ideally suited for ages 4 through 8, but of course, every child is different, so you'll have to use your own judgment. 

I'm not convinced you need the finger guard. It does offer a good barrier to balance the blade against, and it teaches kids to form the "claw" grip you want to use with a knife, but it involves just two fingers, which might mean they'll need to relearn their grip when they graduate to a "real" knife. Still, the knife itself is well worth it if your younger child wants to help in the kitchen.

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A Great Carbon Steel Knife

Korin Suisin Carbon Steel Gyuto

I have owned a Korin Carbon Steel knife for nearly 20 years, and it remains one of the best knives I have ever used. Korin's house-brand knives are very well made and not terribly expensive. This model sharpens to a razor edge and holds that edge for longer than any of my other knives. 

That said, caring for carbon steel takes more work than caring for stainless steel. If you don't care for this blade, it will quickly turn into a rusty, ugly thing you don't want to use. All you really need to do is wipe down your knife every time you use it (but especially with highly acidic foods like lemons and tomatoes). Regularly wiping your knife is a good habit to be in from a cleanliness standpoint as well, and it will ensure your carbon steel blade doesn't rust. If you have small hands, or just like a smaller blade, the Korin Petty knives (about 5- to 6-inch blades) are also very nice.

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Best German-Style Knife

Wüsthof Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife

I will confess a general preference for Japanese knives. The shorter, lighter blades work well for me. That said, I love this German-style Wüsthof chef's knife. I've had it for many years, and it's currently the main knife I use. It's easier to get a fine edge on this than on other stainless blades I've tested, and the Wüsthof holds that edge for a long time. A couple of quick swipes on honing steel to refine the edge before each use is all you need. The Wüsthof is definitely a larger, heavier knife, but it's very comfortable to hold and will easily handle anything you throw at it.

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Best Lovable Oddball Knife

Benchmade Station Knife

Benchmade is probably best known for its pocket knives, but the company also makes some impressive, highly customizable chef’s knives. You can choose between several types of steel, as well as different handle colors. I tested the 440C stainless steel blade.

I don't love the Station's shape from an aesthetic standpoint, but I've come to appreciate it with us. It has the wide blade of a chef's knife, but angles down to a sharp point, which makes it useful for getting into tight spots: coring out the stem of a fruit, like a tomato, for example. It's also handy for cutting around small nooks of bone, something I'd normally do with a much thinner blade. If you're looking for one knife that can do it all, the Station knife is a good choice. My only gripe is that it's pricey, but you do get Etokra's lifetime guarantee, which includes free resharpening, oiling, and adjusting (you have to send your knife to Etokra, of course).

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Best Budget Japanese Knife

Tojiro DP Gyutou

Tojiro's DP Gyutou is a solid performer at a great price. It holds an edge nearly as well as blades twice its price, and it has a wonderful, solid feeling in your hand. The blade is capable of precise and very thin slicing that I would normally use a carbon steel blade to achieve. The only thing to watch out for with this one is the handle height, which is a little on the low side. I rapped my knuckles against my cutting board more than once using it. If you have large hands, you're better off with something else.

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Best Almost Carbon Steel

Global G-2 8-Inch Chef Knife

Global's G-2 8-inch chef's knife is popular with working chefs—it was the most common knife in the kitchen at every restaurant I've worked in. It's lightweight, easy to handle, and holds an edge very well. In fact, it's very much like a carbon steel blade but without the hassles that come with maintaining carbon steel knives.

The other thing that makes this popular is the softness of the steel. It's not carbon steel—it's soft but much thinner and softer than most European-style knives and therefore easier to sharpen. One quirk worth knowing: The bevel from the factory is 15 degrees rather than the more standard 20-degree bevel. Keep that in mind when sharpening on a stone, as you'll want to hold it a bit differently to get that great edge back. This one has been in and out of stock on Etokra so I've changed the link to a version that includes a sharpener. It's $15 more than the knife itself, but a good deal if you don't already have a sharpener.

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Best Kitchen Knife for Camping

NoBox Chef Knife

NoBox markets this knife as perfect for "the backcountry chef or traveling cook," but really it's great in any kitchen, on the trail or off. One distinctly backcountry appeal is that you can clean fish with this one in a pinch, thanks to its thinner shape. That said, it took a while for me to adjust to the more curved blade, so spend some time with it before you head off yonder. It's a well-balanced knife, holds its edge well, sharpens easily, and offers a full-length edge (meaning the cutting edge extends all the way to the rear of the blade).

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