10 Best Kitchen Knives in 2022 (Chef-Reviewed)

The chef’s knife, also known as a cook’s knife, is an all-purpose kitchen knife that provides speed and efficiency when slicing, chopping, dicing, and mincing. Chef’s knives have a longer, slightly rounded blade. They come in various lengths, but the most popular run from eight to 10 inches.

The curved blade allows the knife to rock back and forth for fast chopping and dicing of vegetables. And its long, sharp edge is great for slicing meat, as well as separating meat from bones. 

Here’s another all-purpose kitchen knife with roots planted firmly in Japan. The santoku knife is excellent for slicing, chopping, and mincing almost anything - fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat. Compared to a chef's knife, it's lighter and shorter, with the blade typically measuring six or seven inches. 

Santoku knives have a flat blade with a curved tip, allowing for more of an up and down motion when chopping, compared to the rocking motion of a chef's knife. The wide blade is useful to help scoop chopped ingredients into a pot or bowl. 

Santoku knives come with either smooth, standard blades or Granton blades. Granton blades have little hollows along the sides that create tiny air pockets when chopping, preventing ingredients from sticking together. This is especially helpful when cutting meat, fish, and herbs.

Paring knives are very handy. They’re small knives with short blades, generally two and a half to four inches long. Since the blades are so small and thin and they have such small tips, paring knives are ideal for peeling, slicing, or trimming small fruits and vegetables. 

They shouldn't be used to cut large or hard vegetables, but they can pull off intricate work, such as deveining a shrimp or carving a sculpture from an apple.

Carving knives are designed to slice large portions of meat into slices - think roasts, hams, and poultry. They're constructed similarly to chef's knives, but with a longer blade that can range from eight to 15 inches long. They're also thinner than chef's knives, which allows them to cut thin slices of meat.

A cleaver, also known as a butcher’s knife, is a large, heavy knife used to cut through bones. They're rectangular in shape, with a heavy-duty edge made to withstand the force necessary to chop through bones, sinew, and cartilage. 

Cleavers are more common in restaurants than in home kitchens. But if you like to buy whole chickens or large cuts of meat and break them down yourself, a cleaver is a must-have.

Bread knives can be used to slice other foods that don't play well with chef's knives. For example, a large fruit like a canteloupe tends to stick to and trap a chef's knife inside, but a serrated bread knife will slice right through it. They're also great for slicing tomatoes without crushing them.

Stainless steel blades are durable and – as their name suggests – don’t really discolor or rust. The edges tend to dull more quickly than high carbon blades, so they need to be honed and sharpened more frequently.

A caveat is that stainless steel doesn’t mean that the knife is invincible. If the blade is damaged or repeatedly exposed to salt, acid, and moisture, it can corrode. To prevent this, make sure to wash and fully dry the blade after each use, and avoid the dishwasher.

High carbon steel blades are stronger than stainless steel and very sharp. They keep their edge longer than stainless steel blades, so you won’t need to pull out your whetstone as often. And they're also easier to sharpen.

The downside is that they tend to rust easily. They can also get stained when they come in contact with acidic foods such as lemons and tomatoes. In order to prevent rusting and discoloration, avoid letting the knife sit on wet surfaces for prolonged amounts of time, and wash and dry it thoroughly after use.