When it comes to cooking, having the right chef’s knife is essential. But not all knives are created equal and not all of them will be suitable for every task. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the 4 best chef’s knives for American housewives.
All four of these knives are affordable and made from high-quality materials. They also come with excellent reviews from happy users, making them perfect choices for those on a tight budget.
Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife: Renowned for its quality and balance, the Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife offers a sharp and versatile blade, durable construction, and a comfortable handle that provides excellent control.
Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife: A budget-friendly option without compromising quality, the Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife features a highly ergonomic handle, a sharp stainless steel blade, and is known for its durability and versatility.
Mac Knife Professional Hollow Edge Chef's Knife: From the respected Japanese brand, the Mac Knife Professional Hollow Edge Chef's Knife is lightweight and well-balanced with a razor-sharp edge. Its thin, narrow blade is perfect for precise slicing and dicing, and the hollow edge helps prevent food from sticking.
TURWHO Chef Knife: TURWHO is a reputable brand known for producing high-quality chef knives. The TURWHO Chef Knife offers a combination of exceptional craftsmanship, sharpness, and durability. It features a comfortable handle and a versatile blade suitable for various kitchen tasks.
When choosing the best chef's knife, it's recommended to consider individual preferences, hand size, and the specific needs in the kitchen. Trying out different options in person, if possible, will help determine the knife that feels most comfortable and suits personal requirements.
If you are looking for a very high quality high carbon steel chef knife that won’t cost you a fortune, then this particular one is a great option to keep in mind.
This particular kitchen knife is made out of VG 10 Japanese stainless steel. Of course, as you probably know by now, this is one of the best types of steel that you could possibly use for a chef’s knife.
It is extremely hard, strong and durable, yet also retains a good deal of flexibility and maneuverability. Moreover, the blade here is also extremely hard and it comes very sharp out of the box. Add retention is definitely not a problem that this knife suffers from. Also, the edges are honed to such a degree that it allows for precision cutting.
What you also get here is a semi-soft Ultra Comfort G10 handle. This material is waterproof and very durable, yet also has a good feel and texture that provides you with a non-slip surface to grip onto, not to mention that the handle is contoured to fit the shape of your hand. Just in case you were wondering, yes, and this is a full tang knife, which means that it also features excellent balance.
This particular Japanese kiritsuke knife is made out of high carbon 440C stain resistant steel, a very high quality steel that is rather perfect for kitchen knives.
If the blade is perfectly sharp, it will glide through the sheet of paper without serious pressure or scratching.
Under a microscope, you would see that the edge of a knife is made up of thousands of small cutting teeth. Through use, the fine teeth will eventually become misaligned, resulting in a dull knife. It is important to realign the teeth on a regular basis, aka honing, to renew the cutting edge.
The best way to sharpen Damascus Steel Kitchen Knives is to use a Whetstone.
Damascus steel is high-carbon stainless steel. Their hardness can reach 59-62 HRC that is harder than general steel.
This will let it 60-70% sharper than other knives. And the Damascus pattern makes these knives look awesome.
About Whetstones
Whetstone knife sharpening is by far the best method to sharpen your knives, but it takes time, practice, and skill to master. As with all abrasives, you’ll want to start with a lower-numbered (coarse) grit to remove steel and sharpen, and work your way up through the higher-numbered (finer) grits to fine-tune and clean up your edge.
To sharpen, you can use a sharpening stone. Before using, immerse the stone in water for approximately five minutes. Then, place the non-slip side of the stone facing down into a wooden base. For best results, maintain the wetness of the stone throughout the entire process. A grey liquid is produced during sharpening. This is normal and improves the effectiveness.
Now hold the handle of the knife firmly in one hand and, with the blade facing you, place it on the sharpening stone at an angle of 10 – 20 degrees. Make sure that there is a gap less than a 1/4 inch between the back of the blade and the sharpening stone. Place your free hand on the blade, but never directly on the cutting edge. We are pretty serious about this one. Touching the cutting edge can lead to some serious injuries so please be careful.
Now move the blade – with a little pressure – in regular strokes up and down across the sharpening stone. Always maintain the angle between the blade and the stone. You will notice a burr becomes visible after five or so strokes. Mentally divide the blade into three parts if the knife has a large blade. Always start with the tip and work back towards the bolster.
Now turn the knife so that the blade is no longer pointing towards your body. Continue to maintain the angle of 10 – 20 degrees and the gap of approx. 5 mm from the back of the blade to the sharpening stone. Slide the cutting edge up and down over the sharpening stone. Grind both sides of the blade alternately, around five to ten times on each side.
To remove the resulting burr from the knife, draw the knife in a curve from top left to bottom right across the sharpening stone. Then hold the knife under running water to remove all residue and dry it carefully. Store the stone in a cool, dry place – away from direct sunlight.
You can find a lot of useful videos about how to use Whetstone on YouTube!
