The Best Kitchen Knives of 2021

J.A. Henckels is one of the most recognizable names in the knife making industry, so it’s not surprising that this knife rose to the top of our list. The Henckels Zwilling Pro is a serious workhorse, pulling ahead of the pack in nearly every one of our tests and earning the top spot as Best Overall Chef’s Knife.

This high-carbon steel German knife weighs in at 9.5 ounces, making it one of the heftier knives we tested. The weight gave it the strength to handle the heavy-duty tasks we threw at it, cutting through butternut squash with ease. A heavier knife can be less adept at precise cuts, but the Zwilling Pro has a super sharp edge that sliced up a tomato without issue. The design of the wide, tapered bolster made this knife easy to grip and seriously comfortable to use.

Overall, this is a really solid, well-balanced blade with excellent control, allowing you to confidently work through large cuts with precision and comfort. It's a perfect starter knife for beginners and would make a great addition to any pro’s knife collection.

Read our full report on the best chef's knives.

The Wüsthof Classic 3.5-inch High Carbon Steel Paring Knife is on the high end of knives we tested (coming in just under $50) , but it’s completely worth it. It immediately pulls away from the pack with its perfectly balanced handle and streamlined design. It has great maneuverability and a high level of control. When the sharp blade made quick work of every task we threw at it (including a perfect apple peel and beautiful orange segments), we knew it was a shoo-in for our top paring knife.

Read our full report on the best paring knives.

To be honest, we were a bit wary of people who bought the Shun DM0705 Classic 9-Inch Bread Knife. “You spent how much money on a knife that you can’t sharpen?” As it turns out, the joke’s on us: This knife is a joy to use, absolutely acing our tests and earning an unprecedented perfect score. It slices through crusty baguette like butter and soft bread falls into perfect slices on the cutting board. The blade moves effortlessly through tomatoes, barely requiring any sawing motion at all. In addition to a high-performing, ultra-sharp blade, this knife is also completely gorgeous with a Damascus finish and an ebony PakkaWood handle. It might cost a pretty penny, but Shun also has a reputation for creating blades with super-sharp edges that stay that way for years.

Read our full report on the best serrated bread knives.

We knew very early on in testing that the Wüsthof Classic 6-Inch Flexible Boning Knife would be a favorite. It's incredibly sharp and the blade is just flexible enough to weave around chicken joints with ease. Of all the knives we tested, this one got closest to the bone, sacrificing the least amount of usable meat as we carved. The thin blade can expertly remove the skin without creating any jagged edges. If you’re looking to buy one knife that can work with meat, poultry, and fish, you definitely can't go wrong with this one.

Read our full report on the best boning and fillet knives.

We tested boning and fillet knives at the same time. So while our top two picks were boning knives, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 7-Inch High Carbon Fillet Knife came in third. Admittedly, we went into these tests thinking that the top five knives would all be boning knives. After all, the shape of a boning knife could fillet fish easily, while long, skinny fillet blades would have a difficult time working around chicken joints. Well, this fillet knife certainly proved us wrong.

Not only does it cleanly remove silverskin from pork tenderloin, it can also break down a whole chicken without issue. Our only gripe is that the long, straight blade is a touch awkward around the tinier chicken pieces like the wings, but the blade is flexible enough to make it work. In addition to all that, this knife is a fan favorite here at Reviewed, especially for removing fish skin. If you work more with fish than meat, this is definitely the knife to get.

Read our full report on the best boning and fillet knives.

To earn our top ranking for knife sets, we were looking for a set that had it all: Knives with sharp edges, comfortable handles, and sets that include the right types of knives for a starter kitchen, all available for a great value with a promise of longevity. We’re not asking for too much, right? Apparently not, because the Wüsthof 8845 Grand Prix II 7-Piece Block Set had it all. We’ll start by saying these aren't the lightest knives we tested. In fact, they have quite a bit of heft. We didn’t count that as a negative, though, because they were also perfectly well-balanced, keeping our hands from tiring out after extended use. That heft also helped the sharp blades effortless cut through a variety of different size, shape, and textured ingredients.

Most of the knives in this set were our favorites in the group as we tested: The chef’s knife was not only super sharp, but it was also very maneuverable as we chopped onions and sliced through delicate basil leaves. The paring blade was perfectly lengthed for on- and off-the-cutting board tasks, like peeling apples or segmenting oranges. The utility knife had no problem slicing soft tomatoes and hard cheese alike, and the bread knife tore through crusty baguette like it was butter. As a bonus, the shears are the same highly-ranked pair that we liked when we put kitchen shears to the test.

These precision-forged knives are made from a single piece of continuous high-carbon stainless steel, so they’re super sharp and won't rust easily. The full-tang blade is seamlessly attached to a comfortable polypropylene handle that didn’t slip in our hands, even when they were wet. It’s certainly not a set for the budget-conscious, but these are incredible knives. With proper care, we have no reason to believe they won’t last for a long time. Add in the fact that Wüsthof provides a limited lifetime warranty, and these high-quality knives impressed us enough to be named our Best Overall.

This set includes five knives (an 8-inch chef’s knife, an 8-inch bread knife, a 4.5-inch utility knife, a 6-inch utility knife, and a 3.5-inch paring knife) along with a honing steel, kitchen shears, and a large, wooden block.

Read our full report on the best knife sets.

It's easy to like the Mercer Culinary Genesis 6-Piece Forged Knife Block Set with Tempered Glass Block. The set provides the essential knives plus a bonus boning knife, although it's one of the few that didn’t include a honing steel or shears. In the end, we found it hard to complain considering you’ll receive five impressively sharp knives that performed as well as sets three times its price. In addition to the sharp blades, each knife has a great balance and we love the grip of the handles. To top the cake, the serrated knife is one of our favorites in the group.

After testing the knives, we can see why the Mercer brand is the common supplier of culinary school knife kits. Because of its performance and low price, it's easy to choose the Mercer Culinary Genesis as our Best Value pick.

This set includes five knives (an 8-inch chef’s knife, a 3.5-inch paring knife, an 8-inch serrated bread knife, a 5-inch utility knife, and a 6-inch boning knife) which are stored upright in a thin, glass case.

Read our full report on the best knife sets under $200.

As soon as we held the OXO Good Grips Kitchen And Herb Scissors, we knew they would be a contender for the top of our list. They were so comfortable, we felt like we could use them all day long without fatiguing our hands. The finger bows on the handles were both wide and long enough for small and larger hands, and there wasn’t any uncomfortable pressure from the handles as we worked with them. The thick, squishy pads on the inside of the handles cushioned our hands and kept them from slipping as we worked (even when oiled up with cooking oil). It wasn’t just the handles that vaulted the OXO to the top of our list; these shears were well designed all the way around. They never accidentally came apart as we used them, but it was simple to detach one blade from the other for easy cleaning. And other than the satisfying “click” when closing the blades, they operated smoothly and quietly.

When it came to performance, we had no complaints. The ultra-sharp shears have one micro-serrated blade that grips onto slippery food like raw chicken while the other blade slices through the product with ease. They struggled ever so slightly to get through the breastbone of the chicken, but that wasn’t unusual; every other set we tested (other than the Shun) struggled more. As far as other materials go, the OXO had no problems chomping through cardboard, hard plastic clamshells, and twist ties, and it cut through delicate items like herbs and kitchen twine cleanly without creating torn edges.

It’s worth noting that these shears don’t have many additional features—they do have an herb stripper for taking herbs like rosemary and thyme off the stem, but we didn’t really miss any of the extra bells and whistles from the other models. The OXO is a solid pair of shears that gets the job done—no matter the material—and they’re available for a value price. What more can you ask for?

Read our full report on the best kitchen shears.

If you have a serious collection of pricey knives, this is the sharpener you want. The Trizor XV EdgeSelect (yes, it's a very silly name) has three stages of sharpening which gradually build up a smooth, even, incredibly sharp knife edge that glides right through a ripe tomato and will stay that way longer than blades sharpened by other methods. Because it's electric, the diamond abrasives in each stage move very quickly. That means they not only work faster but do a better job of fine honing. It's just about impossible to use the Chef's Choice incorrectly because guides hold your knife at the correct angle. The manual that comes with this sharpener is extremely thorough; if you’re a real knife geek, you’ll appreciate all the info about customizing your blade. You can also use the Trizor to sharpen serrated knives. While not large for an electric appliance, you will need to find some room for it in a cabinet or deep drawer.

Read our full report on the best knife sharpeners.

In a matter of minutes, this handheld model brings a totally dull knife back to life. There are trade-offs when compared to the Trizor XV EdgeSelect, however. It didn't produce as even an edge and, as you cut, the blade "bites" a little rather than glides. That said, the two-stage ProntoPro gave us a more refined and sharp edge than any other manual sharpener that we tested. And because you sharpen your knives in a back and forth sawing motion, it's also the fastest. Although the ProntoPro can be used by lefties, they'll find it somewhat inconvenient because the numbers on the slots are only visible when it’s held in the left hand and the right hand is swiping the knife. It can be used for serrated blades as well and is small enough to stash in a kitchen drawer.

Read our full report on the best knife sharpeners.