Kitchen Knives, according to chefs

Only claims about kitchen knives made by people we have grounds to call chefs. The unrestricted kitchen knives evidence is on the kitchen knives page.

4 people we have grounds to call chefs make 30 quoted claims about kitchen knives across 5 sources. Membership of the chefs group is recorded per person with its own evidence, and authority is scoped to kitchen knives rather than to fame.

Which kitchen knives do chefs recommend?

Endorsements and objections about kitchen knives from chefs, together, strongest evidence first.

Mac filleting knife

1 voice 3 claims 1 objection

3:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I like the weight of them. I like the way they sit in my hand and I like how sharp they stay. So I'm a big fan of those partic that particular brand of knives for a filletin knife.

handling uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites edge retention, handle, weight

3:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

But they're super sharp. They're really fine. The blade's super thin. So if I want to slice peaches, slice tomatoes, whatever it is, I just know that I'm going to get a really fine slice.

performance uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites edge retention, flexibility

3:31 objects Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I kind of dispose with them. I use them and, you know, use one a year or something.

durability uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites durability (against)

Mac chopping knife

1 voice 2 claims 1 objection

4:01 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

So if I want to chop chop through some duck carcasses or perhaps move through some the cartilage in chicken thighs and things like that, I'll use a knife like that that's got a bit of weight behind it.

use-case fit uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites weight

4:01 objects Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I'm not going to really cut so many herbs with it because it's not razor sharp.

performance uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites edge retention (against)

Misono kitchen knives

1 voice 1 claim no objections from chefs

1:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

So, I'm a big fan of this particular brand. I'm not paid, by the way. No affiliate link. I just love the brand. Um, and I've always used misono knives.

recommendation uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

What do chefs say about kitchen knives in general?

Not a recommendation for a specific product — technique, materials and what to look for in kitchen knives. Citable on its own terms.

0:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I would say it has to be my chopping board and my knives. Once I've got a great chopping board, great knives, sharp knives, the rest is easy.

recommendation uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites edge retention

0:30 supports David Chang Chef

this is like five bucks six bucks if you lose this you can replace this I certainly have a really nice pairing knife but I tend to always use this because it's easily replaceable it's something you use all the time

best in class uses it professionally, daily Momofuku's David Chang Reveals What You Need in Your Kitchen | GQ

Cites repairability, price

4:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

That's the one I prefer. Just a really big guard on the front because I've lost lots and lots and lots of parts of my fingers going into the oyster. So, actually, a guard for me is good.

recommendation uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites safety

3:01 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

but they are far sharper and and the blade resistance for me is much nicer. So, I really like carbon steel knives.

performance uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites edge retention

2:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I really believe that when you're carving meats and proteins and fish after they're cooked, it is that carve that really gives you that finish on the plate that is taking your food to another level.

use-case fit uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

2:31 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

Always have a really nice uh non serrated carving knife. This is a Japanese knife that was made for me in Kyoto in Japan. So it's a bit special, but um ultimately it's not serrated, so you get that really clean finish.

performance uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites shape and form

1:00 supports Gordon Ramsay Chef

the secret behind a great set of knives is in the handle if you're comfortable holding the handle your cutting is going to be so much easier the firmer the grip the better the chopping the heavier the handle the more control you've got over the blade

handling uses it professionally, daily Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Kit | What You Need To Be A Better Chef

Cites handle, weight

5:01 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

I can pretty much do every task that I want to do with that set of knives.

use-case fit uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites versatility

3:01 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

So, I think that's a really important that's razor sharp and uh and has done me proud for at least last five, six years.

durability uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Owned 5 years

Cites edge retention

0:30 supports Gordon Ramsay Chef

basically need three knives a heavy duty chopping knife followed by a small pairing knife which is brilliant for prepping vegetables and then this baby here a serrated edge knife for carving and slicing

recommendation uses it professionally, daily Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Kit | What You Need To Be A Better Chef

Cites ergonomics

before you buy a knife hold it in your hand and make sure it feels right for you

0:30 supports David Chang Chef

basically any serrated knife that's cheap with a rubber handle is important

recommendation uses it professionally, daily Momofuku's David Chang Reveals What You Need in Your Kitchen | GQ

Cites ergonomics, price

1:00 objects David Chang Chef

you can't really sharpen this so it's sort of a disposable thing after a certain point you're going to just have to throw this away

durability uses it professionally, daily Momofuku's David Chang Reveals What You Need in Your Kitchen | GQ

Cites sharpness (against)

5:01 supports Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

And I just carry a little handy knife like this. I carry that around during the day and I can just sort of turn stuff with it, do little bits with it, cut string with it, things like that.

use-case fit uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites versatility

3:01 objects Adam Byatt Buy It For Life Enthusiasts

It's carbon steel, so they are dirtier. They do need more sharpening

appearance uses it professionally, daily 35 Years of cooking equipment - What I use everyday

Cites appearance (against), maintenance (against)

9:33 supports Billy Parisi Chef

another knife that I love number 22 here the paring knife you may not need a peeler maybe you always want to hone those cooking and knife cutting skills so grab a paring knife

recommendation These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

9:03 supports Billy Parisi Chef

it's not only good for slicing bread but it's also great for peeling large melons or even watermelon or even slicing pies what happens is the serrated edge will allow you to kind of saw a thing so it doesn't smash down

use-case fit These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

Cites shape and form

0:00 supports Billy Parisi Chef

this is your workhorse use it for chopping cutting slicing heck I've even peeled with it before

performance These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

Cites versatility

0:30 supports Billy Parisi Chef

get yourself a great chef's knife it should cost you at least $100 and it won't go all the way up to 5 or 600 bucks make sure you've got a good one

recommendation These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

3:31 supports Billy Parisi Chef

this is one of my favorite go-to knives whether I'm cooking outside or in this is the Midway point between a chef knife and a pairing knife

ownership owns and uses it daily Cook Like a Pro with These 15 Must-Have Kitchen Tools

9:33 supports Billy Parisi Chef

and you can pair away at those potatoes at carrots you can peel anything also it's good if you have a lot of little foods that you're cutting up or need to kind of get that knife in small areas

use-case fit These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

Cites versatility

9:03 supports Billy Parisi Chef

get a good serrated knife

recommendation These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

3:31 supports Billy Parisi Chef

but it's also versatile enough that you could debone a chicken or easily thinly sliced beef

use-case fit Cook Like a Pro with These 15 Must-Have Kitchen Tools

Cites versatility

3:31 supports Billy Parisi Chef

however the blade is small enough to get those Precision Cuts on produce and can also easily shift and OD fresh herbs

performance Cook Like a Pro with These 15 Must-Have Kitchen Tools

Cites edge retention

9:33 supports Billy Parisi Chef

a good paring knife goes a long way be sure to always keep it clean

durability These 30 Kitchen Essentials Changed My Cooking

Cites durability, maintenance

How do kitchen knives score among chefs?

Computed only from claims about kitchen knives by people we have grounds to call chefs, so the axes answer “according to chefs” rather than “according to everyone”.

Domain authority

1 recommender, weighted by demonstrated expertise in kitchen knives. Weighted by expertise in this category, never by audience size.

0.06

Independent consensus

1 independent voice across 2 sources. How many independent voices converge, unweighted.

0.08

Long-term ownership

3 dated ownership reports, median 2 months. Volume and length of dated first-hand ownership reports.

0.03

Performance

23 performance claims. Claims about how well it does the job.

0.07

Value

8 claims about price relative to what it does. Claims about what it costs relative to what it does.

0.15

Repairability

no repairability claims yet. Claims about whether it can be maintained or rebuilt.

—

Community breadth

2 distinct communities. How many distinct communities converge, rather than one echo chamber.

0.00

Recency of evidence

most recent evidence from 2026. How recent the evidence is. Old evidence is not wrong, just older.

0.17

Objections raised

4 negative claims, mostly performance and durability. Weight of negative claims. High is not bad — it is well-documented.

0.16

These are separate measurements, not components of a score. They are never added together, and there is no overall rating — which of them matters depends on what you are buying the thing for. A dash means no evidence on that axis yet, not a low result.