Kitchen Knife Buying Guide: How To Pick The Best Knives For Your Kitchen

Looking to upgrade your kitchen knives? Our kitchen knife buying guide will help you determine which set will best fit your needs and budget.

Buying a new set of kitchen knives can be a daunting task whether you’ve done it before or not. However, it should also be an exciting task because it means you’re either outfitting a new kitchen, or getting yourself a well deserved upgrade in the kitchen. Good kitchen tools are essential to making cooking easier, and let’s face it, more fun. (Seriously, who doesn’t love feeling like a professional chef with a fancy new knife in their hand taking down onion after onion?) 

This guide is by no means a complete and comprehensive course on all things kitchen knives, but it will take you through the process of understanding the basics as well as a series of important questions that will help you find the right set of knives for you. If you’re just looking for knife recommendations, you can skip to the end of the article. However, we highly recommend first answering each of the questions below as they are critical to finding the set that works best for you.

Kitchen knives are a big investment in the kitchen so we want to make sure you find the set that works for your needs and your budget.

Table of Contents

• The Basics
• Spotlight: Henckels Statement Knife Set
• Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying
• Deep Dive Questions
• Bottom Line
• Our Kitchen Knife Recommendations

The Basics

First things first, a little about kitchen knives. Here are the first three knives that you want to make sure you get:

• Chef’s knife – You are going to want a go-to workhorse that can be used for just about anything. Generally many people prefer a chef’s knife for this, but a santoku would also work well here, especially if most of your work is done with produce.
• Paring knife – This is your smaller, all-around workhorse. Basically a tiny chef’s knife, paring knives are great for making any precise cuts or prepping smaller cheese, meats, or produce. 
• Bread knife or serrated knife – We recommend getting yourself a bread knife, but a smaller serrated utility knife would also work here. If you are ever cutting bread, bagels, etc. you’ll need a serrated knife. 

There are many other types of knives past these three, so if you want to learn more, head over to our introduction to kitchen knives (coming soon!). However if you just stop with these three kitchen knives, you’ll also be okay! They’ll be able to cover most, if not all, of your basic kitchen work.

Disclaimer: This post is better suited for those who have owned a knife set already and are looking to upgrade. If you are looking for your first set of knives, we highly recommend starting your journey by checking out our Introduction to Kitchen Knives (coming soon) to learn more. After that, head over to our review for the Henckels Statement 12-piece set which is our recommended starter set and great for anyone who doesn’t really know what they are looking for.

Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying

Here are a couple questions that will help you better determine where to start:

What knives do you currently own? Is there anything in particular you do or don’t like about them?

We don’t want you to end up with something that gives you the same frustrations with what you own now. However if your answer is “a random assortment of knives in a drawer,” then anything you find recommended from us will be a much enjoyed upgrade. 

What do you spend the most time preparing? What knives do you use most frequently, and which are just collecting dust?

This is a couple questions in one, but the idea here is simple: look for the knives you are actually going to use, and avoid ones that you won’t. Are you really going to start using a carving knife just because you got a new one? Or maybe you want to use your santoku more, but your current one just doesn’t cut it.

Do you need any specialty knives such as a boning knife, a filet knife, or a cleaver?

If you are often cleaning a fish or breaking down full meats you’ll likely benefit from the proper knives. If you just do so occasionally, then you’re probably good without anything special.

Do you need any special tools or storage included or are you good with what you already own? I.e. steak knives, honing rod, kitchen shears, storage block, etc.

You can find sets with or without these items. If you already have perfectly good kitchen shears or don’t need steak knives, don’t waste the money on a set that includes them. Simple as that.

Do you plan to invest the time in sharpening your knives?

Sharpening your knives can be really easy, but if that sounds like more than you want to take on, perhaps a set with a self sharpening block is right for you.

Should you buy a set or a la carte?

Pros of buying a set:

• Cost effective if you use everything included
• Consistent style and brand across all your knives
• Can include a storage block and other knife care essentials like honing rod
• Simple solution to buying all the knives you need

Cons of buying a set:

• May have knives or accessories you don’t need
• May be lacking specialty knives you want
• Large expense up front

Pros of buying a la carte:

• Buying individual knives can be cost effective because you only buy what you need and nothing more
• Allows you to get the best knife for each job
• Can grow your collection over time as needs and finances change

Cons of buying a la carte:

• Requires more research to collect all the knives you need for your kitchen
• Knives may not all match in style and brand
• Can become addicting

Lastly, what are you actually comfortable spending on new knives?

While there are outliers, knives (and kitchen gear in general) are typically a “get what you pay for” situation. Good knives are expensive which is why we want to make sure you get a set you love. However a good set can also last you a lifetime, so buying something nicer now can easily save you money down the line.

Deep Dive Questions

If you are looking for a little more nuance to your selection, here are some deep-dive questions to help:

How often do you use your knives?

The more use a knife gets, the faster it will wear. And of course there is a lot of nuance to this as the blade material, cutting board material, what you’re cutting, and more all contribute to wear. The more you use your knives, the more they’ll wear, and the more they’ll need to be sharpened. And in the worst case scenario, the more likely they are to break. High quality knives will better stand the test of time and use.

Do you have a preference between Japanese vs German make?

We go into more detail in the differences between Japanese and German knives in our Introduction to Kitchen Knives (coming soon), but we’ll go over a couple differences here that can affect your buying decisions. There are also differences in what types of knives are available in either Japanese or German make, however that is changing as different knife styles become more popular. 

• Blade hardness – Japanese blades tend to have a higher hardness rating than their German counterparts. This means the blades can have a sharper edge and will keep their sharpness for longer, but will be harder to sharpen when needed. Harder blades are also more likely to chip. The softer German blades on the other hand are easier to sharpen (and can still be plenty sharp), and are more likely to dent instead of chip.
• Blade weight – Japanese blades tend to be lighter than German blades, in case weight is a factor to you.

Overall, Japanese knives are better for precision cutting thanks to the light and sharp blades. German knives on the other hand excel if you need a knife that can do a little of everything without worrying about it.

How important is the look and vibe of your knives to you?

As with many things, the better the knife looks the more expensive it is. You can get a boring looking knife that performs just as well if not better than a more expensive fancy looking knife. For some people (me included) the looks matter. Just know you’ll be paying up for it.

Do you have a preferred handle shape and material?

There are so many different types of handles and materials that you can get for your knives. The best way to understand what you like is to get your hands on some knives. Whether you’ve used enough over the years to know your preference or need to stop by a store and actually shop in person, nothing beats getting the feel for shape and material yourself. For more information on common handle shapes and materials check out our Introduction to Kitchen Knives (coming soon).

While there are too many specifics in this post to give you the best knives for YOU to buy, we can break down a couple scenarios and provide some examples of our favorite recommendations. 

If you are looking for a la carte knives, most of these sets can be purchased as individual pieces as well.

Our Kitchen Knife Recommendations

Small Knife Sets

Budget:

• Henckels Statement 2-piece Knife Set
• Cangshan Helena Series 3-piece Knife Set

Mid Range:

• Material Kitchen Knife Trio
• Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set

High End:

• Wüsthof Classic Ikon 3-Piece Starter Knife Set
• Shun Cutlery Classic 5-Piece Starter Block Set

Large Knife Sets

Budget:

• Cangshan Helena 12-piece Knife Set
• Henckels Statement 12-piece set

Mid Range:

• Zwilling Twin Signature Knife Block Set, 19-pc, Light Brown
• Mercer Culinary Züm 8-Piece Magnetic Board Knife Set

High End:

• Wüsthof Classic 15-Piece Knife Block Set
• Shun Premier 8 Piece Professional Block Set

Self Sharpening Knife Sets

Budget:

• Henckels Statement 14-piece Self-Sharpening Knife Block Set

Mid-Range:

• Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star 7-piece Self Sharpening Set