The 16 Best Kitchen Knives

Cheese Knives & Cutting Board

Not all knives have to cut through tough meats, some were meant for more refined things. Like cheese. The sterling silver knives match the sterling silver used as handles on the board. The handcrafted board is painted with a tribal-inspired design. No ‘cut the cheese’ jokes allowed.



BespokeGlobal, $4,750

Black Walnut Cutting Board

This sloped cutting board has a trench carved into it to catch any runoff or extraneous pieces of meat. The reverse side is flat so it can be used as a serving tray or traditional cutting board.



Kaufman Mercantile, $115

7-7/8″ Chef’s Knife

Designed in the land of the Vikings and forged in Germany’s steel capital, Solingen, the Boker Gorm chef’s knife is an exercise in cutting-edge design and functionality. Its striking high carbon stainless-steel blade features a cutaway that makes for easier handling, and it is mounted on a beautiful, high-tech composite handle.



Boker Gorm, $150

Contemporary Cutlery 2-pc. Carving Set

Leave all images of electric carving knives where they belong, comedies from the ’90s. Instead, impress guests with these beautiful high carbon, no-stain German steel carving utensils. The knife slices with ease while the fork holds the meat down firmly so it won’t end up on the floor. Sorry to say, no one will be looking at your perfectly cooked roast.



Calphalon, $100

Boning Knife

There are a lot of gorgeous knives from Chelsea Miller and each one is handcrafted with handles made from wood found on her childhood farm. This boning knife has a handle of spalted maple and a blade of high carbon steel repurposed from a Vermont Farrier’s horseshoe rasp.



Chelsea Miller, $450

Furtif Evercut Knife

The French-made Evercut has the cutting edge of a Louis C.K. sketch. The blade is made via a laser bonding technique that keeps it slicing consistently well for up to 25 years before it needs to be sharpened. If there is a rock star among knives, this is it.



Couteaux-Futtif.fr, $80-$140

French Carbon Steel Steak Knives

When it comes to eating steak, everyone at the table needs his own tool. These carbon steel steak knives retain a sharper edge longer and better. Made with olive wood handles, the knives come in a beautiful beech wood storage box.



Kaufman Mercantile, $650

Kiya Izutsuki Deba Kitchen Knife

A good number of chefs will admit that their favourite knives are made in Japan or by Japanese artisans. This blade is both. This traditional Japanese knife is made with a Magnolia wood and horn handle. The angles and edges of the blade are sharper than usual thanks to the blade being heated, hammered and sharpened to a single-ground edge.



TRNK-NYC, $345

Black Diamond Knife Block

Designed by Christian Bird, this sculptural knife block will make you look like you know what you’re doing in the kitchen, at least from an aesthetic standpoint.



Edge of Belgravia, $100

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Sharpening Stone

Novice knife-users will need to stick to a regular sharpener to get the best performance out of their utensils. But you, you need something called a Diamond Two-Sided Sharpening Stone. The incredibly abrasive, hard surface creates a new sharp edge. Like we said though, it’s not for men new to the kitchen: improper use can serious warp a knife and ruin it for good.



Korin, $110

Philippe Starck Log Knife

Adorned with a bark-like pattern on the handle, these were designed by Starck for Forge de Laguiole, the famed French cutlery maker. The table knife looks small and is not serrated, but it’s mighty and can slice through vegetables easily.



Forge de Laguiole, $540 for six

Knife Magnet Holder

When you have knives as beautiful as the ones we’re showing you here, it’s a shame to keep them hidden in a drawer. This 42-inch magnetized knife holder practically floats on the wall and take the knives with it. Keeping them on a wall also helps prolong their sharpness as they’re not constantly coming into contact with out utensils, which can dull a knife quickly.



Stelton, $100

Michael Bras Boning Knife

Created in collaboration with Kai, the producer of Shun knives, this knife features the optimal blade width for the precision tasks of boning and trimming meats and poultry. Fitting comfortably in your hand, the knife’s unique blade design is perfect for the task at hand.



Williams-Sonoma, $413

Chef’s Choice 2100 Knife Sharpener

This heavy-duty knife sharpener is ideal for anyone doing a lot of sharpening on a daily basis. In seconds you’ll have a newly sharpened knife in your hands; it’ll be as close to a new knife as you can get without actually buying one. Use it to sharpen kitchen knives, cleavers, pocket and sporting knives.



Williams-Sonoma, $600

Shun In-Drawer Knife Tray

If a knife block takes up too much counter space, there is a drawer-friendly option for your knives that comes without the threat of letting them go dull. This Shun 11-slot knife tray acts like a knife block and keeps your utensils sharp inside a drawer. Made from hard bamboo, the tray is nice enough to be kept out as a a conversation piece.



Metro Kitchen, $82

Shun Fuji Santoku Knife

Eastern knives like this Shun Fuji Santoku are lighter and more capable of meticulous cuts than heavy Western varieties, resulting in unbruised sliced vegetables and perfectly trimmed steak. The knife’s razor-thin edge comes from nickel-stainless Damascus steel, which is hard enough to support a 16-degree edge, one of the sharpest available. The process of making Damascus steel also forms the distinctive ripple effect along the blade and end cap, so you don’t have to sacrifice style for function.



Williams-Sonoma, $520

Stelton Pure Black Chef’s Knife

There’s an art to trimming spare ribs: the more adept you are in your trimming, the more meat you end up with—and the better it tastes. Stelton’s Pure Black chef’s knife is a piece of art in it’s own right, too. It’s forged from a single piece of stainless chromium steel and covered in a pitch-black surface treatment for grip and easy cleaning. You never know how messy things can get.



EQ3, $400 for a complete set

Takamura HSPS Pro Gyuto

Made with High Speed Powdered Steel (HSPS) this blade can slice through most anything with minimal difficulty. The edge retention on this knife is thanks to higher amounts of metal alloys which are mixed in in powder form.



MtcKitchen, $318

Takeda Aogami Super Mini Pairing Knife

Handmade by a third generation master blacksmith, Takeda knives are painstakingly forged out of Blue Aogami Super Steel. To maintain its razor-sharp edge (be careful taking it out of the package, they come ready to slice) it is suggested that you use a sharpening stone instead of a honing steel.



Chubo Knives, $240