I have a cheap knife set from after college and am looking to upgrade. I need an all around chef knife to cube up meat and cut veggies, preferably one that stays sharp and is easy to sharpen. What is the best chef knife for under $200?
I use an old filet knife and it works great.
Yea, I’m cheap 
S.R.
get a good cleaver 6incher handy tool cuts anything from meat to a squash, Wusthof is a good brand.
Cutco has good stuff and you won’t spend that much. You can but you don’t have to.
Wusthof Classic. Thank me later.
I actually prefer a santoku but I have the chef’s knife and like it, too.
We have a block of Wusthof which are great but we also have outdoor knives in our kitchen. The outdoor knives do take and hold a better edge. Buck 136 boning knife ($22), 5” rapala fillet knife ($5). Happy to have all of them in the kitchen.
one that stays sharp and is easy to sharpen.
These two don’t go together. Tougher steels and stainless steels will be very durable which will make them more difficult to sharpen. If you’re going to spend $200 for a chef knife, you need to learn then intricacies of sharpening or you’ll want to have a pro do it.
I can’t help you on a high end knife but I do own a Wusthof set and am fairly happy. More and more though I am no longer liking the handles. I may be in the market for a high end chef knife as well.
I gave up on finding a quality knife set so now we just use whatever cheap junk knives we have around and if we need a better cut, I just get the filet knives or the electric filet knife out.
Global G2 chef’s knife. That’s all you need to know. Fantastic knives.
Good knives do not sharpen easily, but good chefs never let knives get dull in the first place. Sharpening is not hard, but it requires practice. Buy a good system or stones and learn to them.
Grouse
I’ve had good luck with older dexters, I can can get them very sharp unlike my cheap filet knives I can’t ever seem to get sharp.
That’s a hell of a budget for a single knife.
My favorite knife in our kitchen is a small and inexpensive 6″ Rachel Ray. According to the link I found it’s termed a utility knife, but basically a small chef knife.
The handles are awesome and very grippy. Hand wash them though.
I recommend this set before you go cRaZy spending a ton of money. I’m also a big fan of Update International (they’re super cheap industrial knives) and Victorinox.
Pick yourself up a carbide “V” sharpener. They’re dummy proof and put an easy steeled edge on to bite meat and veggies.
Here’s the Update International’s
Awesome knives at ridiculous prices. So much better than the crap at a lot of stores.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=update+international+knife&sprefix=update+int&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10
I went a different direction. Tojiro DP Gyuto. Japanese knives are a bit different. Lighter and thinner than Western knives. Love it. I’ve had mine since September and haven’t had to sharpen it yet, so I can’t comment on that. At under $100, its well below your budget. The Tojiro is a highly rated entry level gyuto.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojiro-dp-f-8081.html
tojiro-dp-gyuto-210mm-1051.jpg
My favorite is the New West petty knife. It’s a smaller knife, somewhere between a chef and a large paring knife.
Screenshot_20200117-054828_Samsung-Internet.jpg
I have Wusthof Classics as well and also find myself reaching for the 7″ santoku more than the 8″ chef’s knife. TBH I prefer the look/feel if the Wusthof Ikon line but was gifted a couple Classics and built out from there.
Other good suggestions here too, fishwater’s model is a nice little number and I particularly like Dirk’s model for the price. Be aware that if you do get a Japanese knife, either like Dirk’s or a satoku style, they’ll likely have a single bevel and/or a steeper angle edge vs a western style knife v-style edge so you’ll need to care for them differently.
Hope this helps, good luck with what you dexide
If you get a good quality knife I highly recommend throwing away any “cutting board” that isn’t plastic or wood you have. When I first moved in with my wife she had a glass “cutting board” and I had a really nice Wusthof chef knife, Apparently I was supposed to tell her that glass “cutting boards” are not supposed to be used for cutting boards at all. I came home one day and she’s using the Wusthof on the glass. That poor knife was never the same, even after numerous sharpenings you could still feel the glass texture in the metal and it would lose its edge incredibly quick. That knife was eventually donated along with the glass “cutting board”.
We bought a set of Chicago Cutlery knives in 1984 in Cass Lake MN. They are the walnut handle style. Those are still in our kitchen and the first knives to be used. I have a fillet knife also and it’s the best I have ever found.
https://www.chicagocutlery.com/products/5901/knives?sort_by=created&sort_order=DESC
Really like my kitchenaid professional series knives. I have every knife available at this listing. Love them; especially the fillet knife. I actually have 2 of the fillet knives.
If you’re looking for a individual knife look up Dalstrong shogun series.
Wusthof Classic. Thank me later.
I have two sets of these knives, both found at church rummage sales. Both came with the knife block and I didn’t pay over ten bucks for either set. One is in my garage work room where I process my deer, the other in the kitchen.
I also have two sets of Chicago Cutlery. One I took to the cabin and the other is a companion to the better stuff in the kitchen.
If you’re buying just the one knife, get the Wusthof.
Shun Classic 8″ chefs knife. Everything Shun that I have is fantastic.
Shun Classic 8″ chefs knife. Everything Shun that I have is fantastic.
Shun X2. I’ve had my set for almost 5 years and they are just the best. You can’t really go wrong with any high carbon steel knife(wusthof, global, etc), find something that fits you well and take care of it. DON’T PUT IT IN THE DISHWASHER!!!!
I have two sets of these knives, both found at church rummage sales. Both came with the knife block and I didn’t pay over ten bucks for either set. One is in my garage work room where I process my deer, the other in the kitchen.
WHAT?!? That’s awesome.
I have the Gerber Balance Plus knives, received as a wedding gift in the Stone Age. For 3+ decades they have done everything asked of them. Maintenance has been pretty simple, occasional sharpening and reminders to my wife that they should be washed and dried after use. Gerber ceased producing them many years ago, they go for $20 each on eBay.
Shun Classic 8″ chefs knife. Everything Shun that I have is fantastic.
Agreed! We have a Shun classic and it gets by far the most use of any knife in the kitchen.
As for sharpening, get a set of sharpening stones and learn how to use them. Will save you money and time in the long run. I am a total amateur at using the stones, but I will still get the knives MUCH sharper than any of the sharpening places I’ve taken them.
Good on you for investing in a good chef’s knife, I always tell people to stay away from 8,12,15 piece knife sets because you will end up using 2 of the knives 95% of the time.
Also, I believe Bed Bath and Beyond carry the Shun Classic line, keep an eye out for one of their 20% off coupons that they send out all the time.
I’ve had good luck with the J. A. Henckel brand and I believe we paid $200 for the set.
When picking out a chefs knife, you’ll want to hold it in person. The grip is every bit as important as the steel. If it doesn’t feel comfortable and steady, don’t buy it.
I have Wusthof Classics as well and also find myself reaching for the 7″ santoku more than the 8″ chef’s knife. TBH I prefer the look/feel if the Wusthof Ikon line but was gifted a couple Classics and built out from there.
Same here. Found it odd but the santoku was my go to. Get it, get it 
Okay, bad humor aside. I even dropped down to a 5″ santoku for most of my work. The last 6 months I’ve forced myself back to the chefs knife and now it’s what I grab.
Gifted Ikon line for wedding presents and very happy. I do like the handles a lot. I think it’s the same steel as Classic.
Lastly, note the comment above about cutting boards. No sense getting a great knife and killing it.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tom Sawvell wrote:</div>
I have two sets of these knives, both found at church rummage sales. Both came with the knife block and I didn’t pay over ten bucks for either set. One is in my garage work room where I process my deer, the other in the kitchen.WHAT?!? That’s awesome.
One set was owned by a doctor and his wife that were here on a 8 month stint with Mayo Clinic. They did not want to pack heavy for their return to their real home and donated them to the church’s youth sale. We were about the 4th or 5th to get in the door and I went where Ma and everyone else wasn’t and passed the set on the way to where I wanted to go. Since it was for the youth trip I gave them ten bucks….they had five on the sticker.
Lastly, note the comment above about cutting boards. No sense getting a great knife and killing it.
I have a couple solid maple cutting boards along with 6 or 7 of the 15″X24″ Acrylic boards.
The Acrylic boards I take over to a buddies place every couple years and run them thru the planer, taking about 1/64″ inch off both sides. The maple boards haven’t needed any special care other than keeping them oiled. I never scour the wood boards, just wash with warm water and a sudsy dish cloth. I never put detergent directly on the wood. I have a commercial chopping block in the garage that I’m going to sand the surface of. Its been run thru a planer and is rough right now but sanding it will have that smooth as a baby’s butt. Its solid maple throughout and weighs about five hundred pounds…..gonne be a real treat to set up as the legs were removed for the planing.
I worked as a professional chef for 15 years, learned a lot and had fun doing it. I started off with a wusthof classic, a nice knife, good piece to start with. A few chef buddies of mine had shuns and they were nice knives as well. Basically, wusthofs are a little heavier and feel a little more solid, whereas shuns are lighter and I have seen them deconstruct a little bit after heavy use.
Personally, the last ten years I have been using Japanese blades purchased online, and my father has been putting handles on them, they range from $80 for a nakiri, which is your vegetable knife, as it features a blunt end, allowing you to place your fingers close to utilize all of the product. He also makes higher e d chef knives, they range from 6-12” and vary in price from $90-$260 depending on steel quality (layers) and the material you desire for the handle. I’m biased, but I believe they are the best value available. Let me know if you have any more questions or would like some pictures of some knives.
Tight Lines!
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