Best kitchen knives

Wusthof Knives ♦ Global Knives ♦ Henckels Knives ♦ Victorinox Knives

THE HEAD-TO-HEAD SHOWDOWN

Australia’s equivalent of  Which? put these knives through their paces, testing handling and checking cutting performance while a specialist laboratory assessed how sharp they were.   Who came out top?

The Contenders

The workhorse knife of any kitchen knives range is the cooks knife or chefs knife as it is sometimes called. The chefs knife of each of these ranges was chosen so that the comparison was as accurate as it could be.

The actual knives tested were:

Henckels Knives (Zwilling J.A. Henckels) Review
For the most part these are excellent German-made knives.  The most popular and best of the Henckels ranges are Professional S and Four Star.  You’ll see Jamie Oliver using Henckels knives in particular the Professional-S line. Read the full review…

 

 

Wusthof Knives Review
Like Henckels Wusthof are another top-quality German knife company. If you buy any Wusthof knife, you are sure to have bought a great knife. There are no “cheap” Wusthof knives. Read the full review…

 

 

Global Knives Review
All stainless Japanese kitchen knives with hollow handles which makes them comparatively light.  Global makes great knives which are, mostly, not forged but are laser cut and then welded to a handle. They are relatively easy to sharpen and very durable. Read the full review…

 

Victorinox Knives Review
Victorinox are made in Swtizerland and are typically not forged – they are stamped out of stainless steel and then fixed to a variety of handle styles.  Because they are not a forged knife, the steel is relatively soft which means they do not hold an edge for as long. On the positive side though they are very easy to sharpen and are very durable and very inexpensive.  Read the full review…

The Head-to-Head Test

PERFORMANCE: The home economist put one set of the cooks knives through their paces, slicing and dicing various foods:

  • sliced carrots to assess the knives’ ability to slice hard food evenly without slipping and without resistance
  • sliced cucumber to check how each knife could perform delicate work: slicing as thinly as possible without slipping or resistance that would result in uneven slices
  • used the knives to chop parsley rapidly, to see if they could chop finely without bruising, crushing or mashing
  • cut and cubed steak to see how well the knives cut through fat and sinew without much effort and without slipping
  • a male assessor and a left hander also checked each model for comfort

SHARPNESS: A second set of knives was sent to a specialist laboratory to assess how sharp they were:

  • immediately after purchase
  • after 50 slicing strokes into a specially calibrated aluminium rod, which is known to blunt the cutting edge
  • after a further 50 blunting strokes

 The Results

Performance Scores
Features
Specifications
Brand / model (in rank order)

Price

Overall (%)

Cutting (%)

Sharpness (%)

Dishwasher-safe

Forged/ Stamped

Weight (g)

Global Cook’s Knife 20cm G-2

£78

84

90

69

Stamped

174

Victorinox Cook’s Wide Blade Fibrox

£20

81

85

72

Y

Stamped

190

Wüsthof Classic 4582/20cm

£80

79

85

64

Forged

251

Zwilling JA Henckels Four Star 20cm Cook’s Knife

£85

75

80

63

Forged

219

Notes: The overall score is made up of 70% for cutting performance and 30% for sharpness.

best restaurant in the world award The Winner:  Global Cook’s Knife 20cm G-2 £78

Comments: A stamped knife, very lightweight and one-piece seamless metal knife.

GOOD POINTS

  • High initial sharpness: sharp enough for immediate use by a chef.
  • Cutting performance is excellent.
  • Well balanced.

BAD POINTS

  • Male assessor found the handle a little small.
  • The handle isn’t smooth and some people could find it uncomfortable to use.

 

second best restaurant in the world award Runner Up: Victorinox Cook’s Wide Blade Fibrox £20

Comments: A stamped knife, fairly lightweight and reasonably priced.

GOOD POINTS

  • Very good cutting performance.
  • A fairly comfortable knife, with a good-sized handle and non-slip grip.
  • Fairly well balanced.
  • Very high initial sharpness: sharp enough for immediate use by a chef.

BAD POINTS

  •  None.

 

 third best restaurant in the world awardThird Place: Wüsthof Classic 4582/20cm £80

Comments: A forged knife, heavy and expensive.

GOOD POINTS

  • Very good cutting performance.
  • Well balanced.

BAD POINTS

  • Handle curve can feel uncomfortable for a larger hand.
  • Not quite sharp enough after purchase for immediate use by a chef.

 

 Commended: Zwilling JA Henckels Four Star 20cm Cook’s Knife £85

Comments: A slightly heavy knife.

GOOD POINTS

  • Cutting performance is ‘very good’.
  • Fairly comfortable handle.
  • High initial sharpness.

BAD POINTS

  • Can sit on its back with the blade facing upward, which is a cutting hazard.
  • Slightly flat curve on blade.
  • Blade slightly heavy.

 

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