Log in • Sign up. Traditional Japanese knives, for reference, tend to have a single bevel (also called a chisel bevel), in which the blade tapers to the edge on only one side. The HB-85 offers a good price-to-quality ratio, but our testing panel overwhelmingly chose the Tojiro DP F-808 as the better chef’s knife for the price. A pinch grip is the most secure way to hold your chef’s knife. Mac Professional 8-Inch is $107.20 more expensive than the average chef's knife ($34.95). The Classic Ikon’s gently curved blade also offered more control; the Zwilling J.A. $144.95. Because the Mac’s stamped blade is made of very hard steel (it has a Rockwell hardness of 59 to 61), it will keep its sharp edge longer than softer blades, such as those of the Victorinox Fibrox Pro and Wüsthof Classic Ikon, which are hardened to 56 and 58 HRC (PDF), respectively. In An Edge in the Kitchen, Chad Ward writes that the MTH-80 is “a treat to use.” Ward adds: “They are extremely popular among chefs and line cooks because they are comfortable, reasonably priced, high-quality knives that come with an aggressive edge and hold it for a very long time.”. Pour one out for one of the sharpest affordable knives we’ve ever tested. Although we think the Tojiro DP F-808 is a great knife, it needs a little more TLC than the Mac MTH-80. Mac. Never put any sharp blade in the dishwasher because it’s not good for the edge to bump up against other things, such as glassware and ceramic—materials that are harder than the steel. View Product. Hone your knife before each use, and you’ll be golden. The Mercer MX3 M16110 gyuto performed about as well as our runner-up pick from Tojiro, but it was considerably more expensive at the time of our tests. That's why I say the second knife should be a santoku. But it didn’t surpass the Mac Mighty MTH-80 for several reasons. Any knives that had trouble with the tomatoes, or that repeatedly cracked the carrots instead of cleanly slicing through them, were disqualified. The Classic Ikon’s blade is thicker than the MTH-80’s, measuring 0.1187 inch at the spine. However, at this writing, the TH-80 costs less than our top pick. But we saw one big problem with the 8-inch Classic Uber 4583-7/20: Its belly curve was much more articulated than those of other Wüsthof chef’s knives. Edge retention, steel hardness, and durability: A crazy-sharp factory edge isn’t worth much if it dulls quickly. For lighter knives such as gyutos, a bolster isn’t necessary. The whole idea of a santoku knife is that it's compact and deft, an easy knife for anyone regardless of how developed their forearms are. What about dimpled blades? But by paying a little attention to care, you will keep your Mac knife clean and spot-free. A ceramic rod is better because it’s harder than the hardest steel but has a smooth grit, so it won’t chew up the edge of your knife while it realigns the edge. Tens of thousands of pounds of vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish have crossed my cutting board over the years. The knife shapes are more of a classic European design with a good balance and a bit more heft. The way most pros do it is to point the tip of the rod up and pull the knife down toward the handle. $119.95. Since an 8-inch chef’s knife can tackle 90% of cutting jobs, you can sidestep the sticker shock of buying an entire knife set by getting one good chef’s knife, which you can use until you generate more funds to build out your cutlery collection. I’ve also covered knives for this site for more than two years, racking up over 120 hours of research and testing. In our tests, the dimples were merely mildly effective, and we noticed the difference only when cutting butternut squash. Mac. The Superior Series consists of 2.0-2.5mm thin blades for less wedging into cuts but with a slightly stiffer feel than the Original Series. The flat belly curve makes the Tojiro ideal if you use a push-pull cutting motion, and it’s excellent for fine cuts and paper-thin slices of vegetables and meat. We then sent the top-performing knives to the kitchen at Le Coucou in New York City (the James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant of 2017), where the cooks used them for prep and during service. Only 9 left in stock - order soon. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still pretty sharp, and it allowed us to dice onions, julienne carrots, and halve a butternut squash with relative ease and accuracy. Wirecutter is reader-supported. 10:35. 1. It made perfect carrot cuts, broke down a chicken with ease, and filleted a whole fish as if it were a fish-shaped block of butter. Mac Professional Bread Knife 26.5cm MSB-105 . Of all the pieces in a cutlery set, the chef’s knife is the most versatile and gets the most use. If you drop a Wüsthof into a sink or wait to clean it after cutting acidic foods, it shouldn’t chip, stain, or corrode. In 2020, we had to pare down our testing. Another honorable dismissal, this knife is sharp and precise. MAC knives are made of High Carbon Molybdenum Vanadium alloy and includes Tungsten Carbide, making them harder, sharper, and more durable than most other knives on the market. Many Japanese knives have single or uneven bevels. Review of the MAC Professional Series 9.5 inch Chef Knife - Duration: 10:35. Only 1 left! Though it's made in Japan, this knife features an even 50/50 blade geometry just like traditional Western knives, making it as well suited to lefties as to righties, and easier to sharpen for those who don't know how to apply the different angles many Japanese blades require on each side. The result is an extraordinary blade with a HRC is approximately 59-61 degree Rockwell hardness. The key with both styles of honing is to make sure the edge bevel is flush to the rod. Higher HRC ratings mean the steel is harder and more brittle. $119.95. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest recipes and tips! It aced every single test that we threw at it, with a super-sharp edge that made a beautiful chiffonade of basil. If you’re not sure what kind of balance you prefer, go to a kitchen store and handle as many knives as possible to see what feels right. It’s an extension of your hand that can slice and dice most vegetables, chop a mound of herbs, and handle simple meat cuts like cubing beef or slicing chicken into strips. FREE SHIPPING . It was the best overall for basic mise en place.”. The curve of the blade was too severe and made chopping difficult. After that, I decided it'd be fun to put the santoku's name to the test, using each knife to cut vegetables, break down a chicken, and fillet a whole fish. Mac Professional 8-Inch is a very popular option at the top of the price range. Like the Tojiro DP F-808, it lacks knuckle clearance for large hands, but the Tojiro is a better value. In fact, we had the same issues using the Made In that we did with the strikingly similar Zwilling Pro. If the Tojiro isn't available, I also liked MAC's Superior Santoku Knife, which is priced similarly and also performed well in all the tests. This blade shape is sometimes called a sheep's foot blade, which is fairly common for paring knives. The flat belly provides the most control if you cut using a. You’ll never find a gyuto with a full bolster that extends to the edge (unlike with German knives). Rank . You’ll also develop faster knife skills, and that’s awesome. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Tojiro’s steel core is harder than the surface material; that hardness helps the blade hold a better edge, but it appears to be more brittle than Mac’s homogeneous construction. We’ve ruled out any small-batch blade crafters, since forging a knife by hand is time consuming, costly, and usually a custom-order affair. To measure each santoku knife's prowess with meat, I used each one to break down a whole chicken, then cut the meat into smaller pieces. In our tests, it performed excellently, except for one single carrot round that cracked midway through slicing, though all carrot cuts before and after that one misfire were fine. It performed well with the fish, making easy, clean cuts, and broke down the chicken efficiently. Bolster: Bolsters are metal cuffs that can help balance knives with a heavy blade—such as the Wüsthof Classic Ikon—where you want more weight in the handle. Like the other budget knives, it turned green basil leaves into black-lined strips. $72.00. For this guide, however, we focused on gyutos with even bevels, which are easier for home cooks to sharpen and maintain. Here are the knives we've come to love after decades in professional and home kitchens. The Zwilling J.A. Full bolsters add weight to the knife and require a professional sharpening service to grind away the extra steel at the heel of the blade. Mac Knife Professional Paring/Utility Knife, 5-Inch 4.5 out of 5 stars 99. Simply hand-wash and dry it thoroughly after each use. Mac Knife Series Hollow Edge Chef's Knife, 8-Inch, 8 Inch, Silver 4.7 out of 5 stars 217. A. Henckels Pro 7 Rocking Santoku Knife, Wüsthof's 8" Santoku Hollow Edge Classic. Your knife should remain sharp through moderate use for six to 12 months, as long as you hone it regularly, wash and dry it by hand after each use, and store it so the edge doesn’t get dinged up. The cut edges of basil stayed mostly green with very little oxidation, meaning the Mac’s razor-sharp edge broke very few of the herb’s cells. The late Charlie Trotter endorsed Mac's Professional Knife Series. Free shipping. This model was one of the knives we gave to pro chefs to try, and no one mentioned it in any of our interviews as a favorite. The sharper a knife starts out, the more of a head start it'll give the user before requiring an intervention. When a blade is thin and made from a hard steel, the edge can take and hold a tight angle. Compared with the Mac Mighty MTH-80, this Wüsthof knife was less agile and sharp when peeling the skin from butternut squash. It’s good for folks who don’t want to spend a lot, and especially good for beginner cooks because it’s durable. The MAC Chef's Series should really be called the MAC Line Cook series since these knives are aimed directly at professional line cooks that want a simple, no nonsense blade that is easy to care for and can take a good edge with durable handle. Score. Dull kitchen knives aren’t just a bummer to use—they’re also more dangerous than a razor-sharp edge. Adam Brach, sauté cook at Le Coucou, said, “I’m pretty sure [out of all the cooks] I do the most knife work in the morning as far as chopping shallots and onions and stuff. Sharpness: A brand-new knife comes with what’s called a “factory edge,” which is usually very sharp. Steel alloys for knives are formulated to increase stain resistance, machinability, and hardness; to improve grain structure; and to increase shock resistance. Most manufacturers have jumped onto the Santoku bandwagon and created their own versions within the last 10 years, but MAC perfected this design over 40 years ago and it's still beating out the competition. The Tojiro DP F-808 Gyuto Chef Knife, however, while also a good product at this price point, doesn't stack up against its competitors quite as well. The Mac MTH-80 has dimples on both sides of the blade to reduce the chances of food sticking to the knife. The G-2 also comes highly rated by Cooking For Engineers. Before we halved our first onion, we consulted Chad Ward’s book An Edge in the Kitchen, along with reputable editorial sources such as Cook’s Illustrated (subscription required), Good Housekeeping, and Cooking For Engineers. To be clear, though, balance is not an absolute and easily measured quality; it, too, is personal. The daytime kitchen crew at Le Coucou used the MTH-80 for prep and during lunch service for a week and praised its outstanding performance on vegetables, herbs, and fish. MAC Superior Knives offer an ergonomically upswept handle, thin blades, rounded tip, and a hole in the blade for hanging. The long stick handle kept jabbing into my wrist, and the cutting edge was only adequate. The Tojiro knife is thinner and more brittle than our top pick, so its edge is more vulnerable to microscopic chips when you use it on dense vegetables like butternut squash. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. As for the MAC Knife Professional Series 6.5" Santoku Knife MSK-65 analysis - it impressed reviewers at Serious Eats, a source that's known for its objective testing and well-thought-out methodology - it performed great in its "The Best Santoku Knives" roundup and earned the "The Best Santoku Knife" title. Photo: Michael Hession, Senior editor Marguerite Preston (foreground) and New York Times food editor Sam Sifton tested chef’s knives in our test kitchen. A. Henckels Twin Signature 7" Hollow Edge Santoku, Messermeister's Meridan Elite Kullenschliff Santoku Knife, Zwilling J. Hold the handle with the edge facing downward and look along the spine to make sure the blade is perfectly straight. MAC Knives are made within Seki City, an area within Japan that has a rich history of being the epicentre of Japanese sword-making. They also offered good value at their respective price points. But we found the handle uncomfortable due to the sharp edges on the spine, which kept digging into our forefingers. Mac vs Shun. In our tests, the MTH-80 didn’t feel as delicate when cutting through tough vegetables like butternut squash, but it still had the smooth slicing feel of a thin blade. Filleting a fish is a task few home cooks feel comfortable doing, but it's one a good santoku should be able to accomplish. It'd be like paying $400 for a pair of sweatpants: It misses the whole point. Mac Professional 6.5 in. If you’re investing in a quality, expensive knife, like our main pick, we still believe that a whetstone used properly will provide the sharpest, smoothest edge. Mac Chef Knives have thin blades (2.0-2.5 mm) made with molybdenum, and feature a handle that is straight with the spine of the blade. Former deputy editor Michael Zhao, who uses both the Mac and the Wüsthof Classic Ikon regularly at home, said that the Mac is noticeably harder. Dear Wirecutter: Will an Electric Sharpener Ruin Your Expensive Chef’s Knife? German knives generally weigh more and have thicker blades than their Japanese counterparts, making them great for tough jobs like breaking lobsters and splitting bone-in chicken breasts. Scott Markowitz, sous chef at Le Coucou, said, “[The Mac] was the favorite of all the cooks. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd. You don’t have as much control with a dull edge, which increases both your prep time and your chances of cutting yourself. Mac Knife Superior Santoku Knife, 6-1/2-Inch, Silver 4.5 out of 5 stars 329. Henckels Zwilling Pro 38401-203 drop-forged knife was just awkward. For each update, we look at new releases, up-and-coming brands, and more knives from the producers of our picks. Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Since 2013, we’ve racked up over 150 hours researching and comparing more than 100 knives. I'm getting a new knife soon, and have recently been using a santuko, which I really like, although it was just 10 bucks. 9.7 . After putting in over 150 hours of research—and chopping more than 70 pounds of produce with 23 knives—we recommend the Mac Mighty MTH-80. It aced every test, cutting perfect tomato slices, gliding through dense carrots, butchering the chicken, and neatly filleting the fish. It’s important to wash and dry the knife thoroughly after use (especially after cutting acidic fruits and vegetables). 4.6 out of 5 stars 97. The slicing action was rough, and the edge felt a little toothy. But the Classic Ikon’s blade is made of softer steel than that of our top pick, the Mac MTH-80, which means it will dull faster. That means it won’t hold an edge as long as our picks. A great chef’s knife can revolutionize your daily meal prep. This classic German knife is best if you prefer a heftier model for heavy-duty tasks. Mercer’s Millennia M22608 was not very sharp; the stamped blade split carrots and was uncomfortable to use. Our former budget pick, the 8-inch Wüsthof Pro, is no longer available. There are many debates over which knives are the sharpest, most durable, or best bang-for-your buck. In Stock. This extremely sharp Japanese knife is one of the best deals we’ve found in cutlery. If you want a big, burly knife, just buy a large German chef's knife and be done with it. Here are notes on the other models we tested for this review: Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. This process includes (but isn’t limited to) annealing, quenching, and tempering. MAC Knife MBK-85 Professional Series 8½" Chef's Knife , Made in Japan. Mac Knife MSK-65 Professional Hollow Edge Santoku Knife, 6-1/2-Inch, Silver. If you decide to make the jump from German to Japanese knives, this motion will take some getting used to. MAC SA-80 Utility Chef Knife 8" Japanese Kitchen Molybdenum Steel Made in Japan. We still believe this model is one of the best values in kitchen cutlery. We found the Rada Cutlery R131 French Chef’s Knife to be comically flimsy. Learn more on our Terms of Use page. If you learn how to sharpen your own knives, you will have tools that are truly yours. Today, you can also find a lot of santoku knives with an even double-bevel edge, from both Japanese and Western knife-makers. If you see any light reflecting back at you, that indicates a roll spot in the factory edge. I suppose at 80$ price it isn't exactly a high end knife, although for most of the non knife people that's way too much for a bread knife, but that's besides the point. The Wüsthof Classic Ikon comes with a lifetime limited warranty (PDF) that covers manufacturing defects and damage occurring under “normal use and conditions.” Damage from accidents, misuse, and abuse are not covered. Here, too, it showed its strengthâan incredibly affordable blade with excellent performance. This granton edge, as it’s called, has long been a common feature on slicing and santoku knives. Mac is also starting up its own Amazon storefront, called Mac Knife, and it’s slowly adding inventory. While using the Ikon at home almost every day, he had to sharpen it every six months or so; the Mac, meanwhile, can go at least a year between sharpenings. It’s well balanced and easy to maneuver.”. Comfort: The best knives have handles that fit comfortably, which can vary depending on the size and shape of your hand and the way you grip the knife. Use your knife only on a wood, plastic, or rubber cutting board. Determining the “ideal” knife for any one person is both objective and subjective. VG-10, made by the Hitachi Corporation, is the most popular alloy and is what people think of when they think of Japanese steel. Comments can take a minute to appear—please be patient! $159.95. We tested the Made In 8-Inch Chef’s Knife against our German knife pick, the Wüsthof Classic Ikon 8-inch, because they’re both Western-style kitchen knives. Victorinox covers the 8-inch Fibrox Pro knife with a limited lifetime warranty that excludes normal wear and tear, misuse, or abuse. PKF-30. For the 2017 update of this guide, we invited six friends and colleagues of all culinary stripes to our test kitchen to participate in a chopping panel. At first glance, the 8-inch Misen Chef’s Knife checked all the boxes—a half-bolster, a pointed tip, a sharp factory edge, an affordable price—but in our tests it fell flat in performance. Add Question. If you’re looking for the sharpest knife out of the box, the Victorinox isn’t it. We had difficulty maintaining control of this knife in our tests. The Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife is the best knife you can buy for under $50. Only 10 left in stock - order soon. As you watch a chef whipping a knife down the rod toward their hand at lightning speed, it’s easy to see yourself taking a thumb off. But we can’t recommend this Five Two knife because it’s made from a low-grade steel (420J2) with a Rockwell hardness of 52 HRC—which is pretty soft for a kitchen knife. Tojiro doesn’t offer a warranty on its knives sold outside of Japan. Although at this writing it has a lot of favorable Amazon reviews, like all the knives in our testing sample, the negative reviews complain of the blade chipping. That is partly due to the thickness of its spine: This Mac knife’s 0.0976-inch spine is relatively thicker than those of other gyutos we tested, and that gives this knife some heft. After all the subsequent testing with vegetables, meat, and fish, we repeated this test with the remaining knives, just to make sure none had lost their edge after a short period of use. $74.95. The lack of extra steel allows you to sharpen the knife yourself, because you can evenly grind the edge all the way to the heel on a home sharpener or whetstone. The seven-piece Classic Ikon set is a great option if you know you like German knives and have the cash to drop on a whole set. That problem didn’t happen for us, though. Shop for MAC Chef Knives at Cutlery and More. Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. Every knife is shaped, assembled, polished, and sharpened by professional Japanese craftsmen in a series of up to 64 steps to guarantee that every knife … 4.7 star rating. The santoku would never be my first pick for this type of taskâthe tall blade and lack of a true point make it less than ideal for butchering. MAC offers razor sharp edges sharpened at 15 degrees vs … It lacks the weight and the smooth transition from blade to handle, though, and we found that it simply wasn’t as comfortable to use. But it has a slightly less durable blade, and the handle doesn’t provide as much knuckle clearance. Mac Superior Series (1) Color Black (1) Blue (1) Orange (1) Pink (1) Price ... MAC - 9.5" Professional Series Chef's Knife. Even for those who find cooking to be a chore, a quality chef’s knife might make the task feel easier. Mac’s proprietary steel isn’t as brittle as the super-hard Japanese VG-10 steel that manufacturers use for most gyuto knives. How balanced a knife feels in the hand depends on who's holding it, how they hold it, and how they like the weight of the knife to rest in their hand. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy. MAC Knives are made in Japan using high carbon steel, chrome, vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten. We liked how easily it maneuvered around curves when cutting away butternut squash skin and citrus rinds. The MAC Professional Hollow Edge Chef’s Knife was easily my favorite knife throughout the tests. All the knives that had made it through the early rounds of testing were sharp enough to cut through chicken skin without sliding, and they had no trouble slicing through the meat and cutting a path through joints. Never throw unprotected knives into a drawer, where they will dull quickly. In our tests, the thin, razor-sharp edge cut through vegetables with the precision of a scalpel. Knife makers like Mac and Tojiro heat-treat their blades to make them just as strong as forged steel. Was: $300.00 Add to Cart. Cooking For Engineers rated the Mac MTH-80 as the top pick, after an exhaustive test of chef’s knives. But because it’s made of quality materials, we think it could last a lifetime, with proper maintenance. Read more about blade steel below. Slices of squash stuck to the blades of every knife we tested, but removing them from the Mac’s blade was much easier. Its blade is softer than that of our top pick, so you’ll need to sharpen it more frequently. What feels right in my hand may not be what feels right in yours. We think an 8-inch knife is the perfect length for most people because it’s long enough to halve large vegetables but still manageable for most home cooks. Given the fact that the Mercer did a commendable job with all the tasks I put it through, plus its affordable price point, this one seems like a no-brainer to add to the knife drawer. Steel at the lower end of the scale is softer and more durable. The MTH-80’s blade shape strikes the perfect middle ground between German and Japanese chef’s knives. Most testers, including Sam Sifton, named the MTH-80 as their top choice of all the contenders. Shop Mac Chef Knives . It was the standout favorite for all our testers, regardless of their cutting style or the size of their hands. With my research I had settled on the MAC Professional Santoku (6.5") as the knife I would get once I found a good deal on it. We strongly urge you to train yourself to use the pinch grip. This means it’s less likely to chip (which the Tojiro DP F-808 did after we used it to cut hard butternut squash). This knife is comfortable to use, durable, and pretty sharp. It's lightweight, well balanced, sharp as can be, and comfortable to hold. Its lack of a curve in the belly makes cutting with a rocking motion awkward, so if that’s what you’re used to, we suggest learning the push-pull cutting style. These flawless tools are assembled, shaped, polished, and sharpened by professional Japanese craftsmen who create knives in a variety of different styles and series. We still think the Wüsthof Classic Ikon is the best German-style knife and well worth the money. © 2020 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company, Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, A classic German knife: Wüsthof Classic Ikon 8-Inch Cook’s Knife, Budget pick: Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife, Zwilling J.A. The latest recipes and tips, 2006 12:42 AM 2 German-style knife and continue four. Before requiring an intervention and lefties. ) whether any of these knives have Chef. Hard blades that they made simple cutting tasks magnetic strips—such as the Mag-Blok... 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