There are two main attributes you want in the steel of an everyday knife: hardness and corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, they can work against one another because the elements in steel that make it corrosion resistant, like chromium, also make it softer. The carbon content in a steel is what makes it hard, and a harder blade, higher in carbon, holds its edge better. The trick is to find a balance. Some high-end knife companies go to the trouble of developing proprietary steel blends, but even there are some good mass market steels used by budget brands as well. All the knives we recommend are made of high-carbon stainless steel steel, designed to have that balance between rust resistance and edge durability.
You’ll see the term “full tang” thrown around a lot in this review. This refers to a knife-making technique where the metal forged for the blade extends all the way back through the center of the knife’s handle. Scales (the wood or plastic pieces you actually grip) can then be attached to that metal spine. Full-tang knives are more balanced. Balance matters in a knife because you don’t want a heavy blade tilting your knife forward as you chop. A full tang knife is also more durable because the blade can’t separate from the handle (definitely something that can happen to cheap knives). Of course, this means that more forged metal—the thing we just discussed as being expensive—is required to make the knife. Naturally, full-tang knives tend to be priced higher.
It should be noted that not all balanced knives are full tang (like the Global knife we recommend here) nor are all full tang knives meaningfully more expensive than partial tang knives.
Steel quality and handle construction will have the biggest impact on the performance and longevity of a knife, but the finish quality will play a role in the price too. Expensive knives often have design features like beautiful wooden handles and elegant metal forging patterns—Damascus steel knives are a good example of that. Inexpensive knives might have utilitarian-looking blades and plastic handles, though we think there are some nice looking options among our budget picks.
What counts as a cheap chef’s knife?
The knives featured below all cost less than $100 dollars. That price has the advantage of being a nice, round number but also brings in several recommendations that all met important quality standards: higher quality metal and with an edge they kept through rounds of rigorous testing.
The Best Inexpensive Chef’s Knife
Mercer Culinary Renaissance 8″ Chef’s Knife
Mercer Culinary Renaissance 8-inch Chef’s Knife
What we love: The Mercer Culinary Renaissance feels extremely well made given its sub $60 price, and the brand is one that frequently shows up in the kits for newbies at culinary school. During testing, the knife felt balanced in our hands, making comfortable, precise work of chopping tough vegetables like sweet potatoes and butternut squash. We also repeatedly went back to measure how the knives kept their edge during our testing by slicing through sheets of paper and maintained its paper slicing ability after repeated rounds of chopping produce.
What we’d leave: This knife features a lower steel quality than pricier knives like The Mac Professional Series Chef’s Knife, which means it will need more frequent sharpening. It’s also heavier, and while some cooks prefer the leverage a heavier knife offers, it’s less suited to delicate, precision knife work.
Victorinox Swiss Classic 8″ Chef’s Knife
Victorinox Swiss Classic 8″ Chef’s Knife
What we love: A former budget favorite, the Vitctorinox is used regularly in the BA test kitchen during recipe development. Though it’s sharp, this is a visibly unprecious knife—and if we’re being honest with yourself, it’s nice to own a knife you might throw in the dishwasher, which we have on occasion (this will make it go duller faster, FYI). This knife is sharp out of the box and we also know from years of using them in our home and test kitchen spaces that they sharpen well. It’s also lightweight, making it a favorite for more delicate knife work.
What we’d leave: There’s no way around the fact that this looks pretty cheap. The knife is not full-tang, and its handle is made of nonslip plastic. If we were choosing one inexpensive chef’s knife to rule them all, the Mercer option above is a similar price, made of higher-quality materials, and has full-tang construction, so it would win out every time. However, we think there’s value in having a supplemental chef’s knife that you can really rely on without having to baby it or worry about care. And if you’re looking for just that, this is a great option to have in the drawer on those days when more than one person might be working in the kitchen—and probably one that you’ll find yourself reaching for as much, or more, than your other knives thanks to its comfortable handle and light weight. It’s the knife you’ll pack to take on a picnic, or to your airbnb.
