Affordable Chef Knife: The 6 Best for Everyone

The knife is an essential part of the kitchen and without it your Kitchen is incomplete. Nowadays there are separate knives to do everything, you cannot use the same knife to cut bread, vegetables, and meat. There are even small knives to carve the meat in a certain way. So, we decided that we should write an article about it and we will inform you on how many types of knives are there and what to look for in an affordable Chef Knife.

The Chef’s Knife is the most used tool in the kitchen. And it is the only tool that is used in the preparation of all kinds of food, be it curry, pasta, or salad.

Being a home cook and a food lover, I am well aware of the specific level of romanticism between a chef and food. The best quality equipment is the foundation of high-grade food in which the knife is the most essential one.

While choosing a chef’s knife, you don’t need to be spendthrift. You only have to consider certain factors; the type of cutting you want from the knife, the size of your hand, the quality of the handle, the size and sharpness of the blade, and the knife’s weight.

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Keeping in view the factors mentioned above, we have sorted out some best options that completely match the criteria of a fantastic chef’s knife.

Wusthof 4582/20 Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife

A Wushtof chef knife is a German-style knife. It is heavier but perfect for cleanly slicing tomatoes, chopping hard foods, and bones a chicken easily because it is a sharp and easy-to-handle knife. It can retain its edge with a little honing. And when it comes to the blade, is made up of stainless steel.

Victorinox Fiber Pro Knife, 8-Inch Chef’s FFP

Victorinox chef knife is an affordable, quality knife. Its blade is made up of lightweight European steel. Its long, sloppy shape is perfect for mincing and chopping smoothly, and the blade has a bright non-stick finish to it, barely anything sticks with it.

The handle of this knife is made of non-slippery material for improved grip which makes it an ideal chef’s knife for a new cook.

Granton Edge Santoku Knife

A Santoku knife is similar to a chef knife. It is ideal for expert chefs who spend their whole time chopping, dicing, and mincing. It is a Japanese-style knife having a flat edge and a “sheep foot” blade that curves down into a point.

This Santoku knife is manufactured from 67 layers of steel that delivers a hard and sharp edge. It has pitted sides that keep ingredients from sticking to the blade and a composite handle that won’t break.

Santoku vs. chef knife:

Santoku is an ideal knife for cutting, chopping, and mincing vegetables and fruits. The pits on its sides prevent the chopped food from sticking to the blade. If you are a professional chef or someone, who has to spend whole time chopping and cutting, then it’s perfect for you.

Whereas the chef’s knife is an all-rounder tool. It is often used for general purposes either for filleting meat, or chicken, disjointing cuts, and chopping vegetables, and fruits. In short, it is designed to perform multiple tasks in your kitchen.

Shun Classic 8 Chef’s Knife with VG-Max Cutting Core

The Shun classic chef knife consists of a 7-inch blade that is super sharp. It is sharpened to a very narrow and acute angle, which makes it extraordinarily sharp. The blade is manufactured with stainless steel containing high carbon, which makes it quite hard, but when it is mixed with a quantity of molybdenum, it lessens the brittleness and becomes more flexible, less likely to chip. It’s light, and its shape is easy to handle.

The blade of the Shun Classic Chef knife is a Japanese Damascus steel blade, and this Damascus steel coating gives the knife a distinctive ripple. It also consists of indentations that reduce friction.

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Global 8” Chef’s Knife

The Global chef knife is another durable blade whose design is both Japanese and Anti-Japanese. It is made up of stainless steel which is corrosion and stain-resistant. It offers excellent and exceptional slicing properties.

Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Chef Knife Set

Victorinox chef knife set is an affordable chef knife set consisting of a chef knife of 8-inch, a paring knife 3.25-inch as well as 10-inch honing steel to keep the blades sharp.

These knives are made of high-grade no-stain steel and are designed to stay sharp for a long. The knives feature a 15-degree blade angle with high quality and incredible sharpness.

But, in my point of view, the knife set would be expensive to buy. For proper preparation of cuisines, you need only three kinds of knives.

A paring knife for doing light-duty tasks like peeling fruits and veggies, a serrated blade for cutting ingredients with a hard exterior and soft interior, and a chef’s knife for general usage. So, instead of getting a set, invest in a knife sharpener.  

If you are searching for a sharp and good quality knife that makes your cooking session fast and fun, then skim through the entire post below where I have compiled some well-researched points to look for in an affordable chef knife along with a few options that perfectly match the criteria of a perfect chef knife.

How to select the best affordable chef knife:

That’s not necessary for an expensive knife to have a sharp and perfect blade; a cheap knife can also have one. You just need to check whether it would fit the best in your hand, is light in weight, and is easy to move while working.

Style:

There are different styles of knives. The major ones are 

• German-style knife 
• Japanese style knife  

Matsushima once said, “Every cook, including a new cook, needs a chef’s knife. The style is a personal decision”.

Whatever style you select, it should suit you the best in terms of both design and performance. 

• German-style

The German-style chef knife’s blade is made with steel alloy and is fatter than a Japanese sword, making it easier to sharpen. It is angled at 20 degrees to 25 degrees. Their rounded belly enables them to chop things more conveniently. The German-style knife is a bit thicker and more substantial.

It is designed to be used on hard and heavy-duty tasks like filleting chicken and mincing meat. Therefore, it requires more force to work. Its blade gets dull earlier than Japanese-style chef knives.

• Japanese-style chef knife 

Japanese-style knives have fine and thin blades, made up of harder steel that keeps them sharper for a long time, but when it gets dull, the sharpening process can be very tiring and hectic. They are pointed at the angle from 10 degrees to 16 degrees.

So that’s why these kinds of knives are perfect for delicate slicing of veggies, julienne cutting, and bruising herbs and vegetables. These styles of chef knives require less force for working than German-style knives. 

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Types 

Steel tang is the blunted side of a chef’s knife blade. It lengthens into the handle of the knife, where it is packed between two wooden or plastic pieces. The weight of an affordable chef knife depends upon its construction.

There are two types of chef knives in the market.

• Full tang 
• Hidden tang

What you select depends on the service you want from your assistant chef.

• Full tang

The full tang knife is more substantial than the other because the blade made up of metal extends into the handle. It can be used for hard stuff like meat or chicken, mincing meat. If you want a knife only for chopping vegetables and fruits, then go for hidden tang.

• Hidden tang

The hidden tang chef knife is lighter than the full tang one. Its blade is also made of metal, partially extending into the handle. Full tang is a significantly more affordable chef knife than a hidden tang.

Points to consider:

Price:

While selecting a knife, keep in mind, not to depend on the amount because, according to my experience, there are knives with exceptionally high rates but have poor performance; either they don’t fit our hands or are made of poor-grade material. Just keep your conditions and requirements in mind while shopping for an affordable chef knife, and if a cheaper knife matches your needs and you find it perfect, just hurry to get one.

By the way, the price may also depend on the amount of labor the knife required, that’s why many professional-grade chef knives and handmade chef knives available in the market are pricier. Again, it depends on your needs.

Blade:

The first thing is that whatever metal your knife’s edge is made up of make sure that you sharpen it twice or thrice a year to keep it in good condition.

Many of you would be aware of the honing tool that comes in the chef knife kits. That tool is used to sharpen your knife as soon as it gets dull. That sharpening removes the steel from the knife to create a new edge, realigning the wire in the edge of the blade to keep it working.

The blades of chef knives are made up of two types of metal, one is carbon steel, and the other one is stainless steel. 

• Carbon steel knife:

A knife made of carbon steel is better because it is a hard metal. The harder the blade’s metal, the sharper it will be, and it has fantastic edge retention. But the problem is that it is delicate and is more sensitive to rust and damage. And if this happens, your knife becomes useless.

So, when you are buying a carbon steel-bladed knife, then make sure that you take proper precautions to delay the rust attack.

• Stainless steel knife:

The blade of stainless steel cannot remain as sharp as the carbon steel knife. Stainless steel is softer but is more robust, and it won’t be that much susceptible to corrosion or rusting.

But avoid using a stainless steel knife for cutting ingredients with high pH levels.

Handle:

The handle is the major part of a chef’s knife. It is equally important to the blade. While shopping for an affordable chef knife consider the one whose handle suits you the best.

It should be made up of a material that offers a firm grip even when the hands are wet. Be it wood or plastic, the knife should be comfortable to hold while working.

Weight:

While buying a knife, don’t consider anyone’s suggestions, just choose what suits you. Some people think that thick and more oppressive chef knives are more suitable. Because they cut the hard ingredients like carrots and cabbage more efficiently and quickly.

Whereas some believe that lighter blades are better because we can control them and move them quickly while working otherwise, the cooking process becomes a frustrating chore.  

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How to keep your knife happy

Today or tomorrow, your knife would get blunt and dull. But you can delay the process by taking some precautions.

• Don’t keep your knife in a drawer with the rest of the spoons and forks; it might hurt your hands and get blunt sooner.
• Don’t wash your knives in dishwashers; if the food is left on the blade, the acid in the food can damage it, prefer to clean them with soap and hot water.
• Choose the right knife for the task at hand, as different knife blades are designed for various chores.
• Invest in sharpening steel for regular honing of the blade; this will minimize the minor chips in your knife’s edge and keep it ready to use.

Conclusion

An affordable chef knife is the most used tool in a kitchen. Every chef wants it to be perfectly fit in his hand. Whether it’s a home chef or a professional chef, he wants his knife to be affordable, sharp, easy to handle, and lightweight so that it can be maneuvered easily while dicing, slicing, mincing, and chopping.

And if you are someone who loves cooking, then I would recommend you to get the Wushthof affordable chef knife which is perfect for all kinds of cooking chores.

The rest is your choice. So, happy cooking.