Henckels pro s chef knife review

Every cook should have a great chef's knife. It’s a go-to tool for cutting everything from vegetables to meat and is capable of tackling all your slicing, dicing, chopping, and mincing needs. The right steel knife can feel like an extension of your arm, an all-purpose kitchen tool for prep work.

With this in mind, we selected more than a dozen of the best chef's knives from all price points to find their strengths and weaknesses, relying heavily on testing procedures instead of just personal preference. We put them in the hands of a trained chef (yours truly) to test how well each kitchen knife could tackle the most common tasks.

After hours of testing, we came away with some solid recommendations: the winning Hedley & Bennett Chef's Knife (available at Hedley & Bennett) that's capable of handling any kitchen task, the slightly more specialized knife Mac Professional Series 8" Chef's Knife With Dimples (available at Amazon) for experienced cooks, and the budget-friendly Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef's Knife (available at Amazon) that went edge-to-edge with some of the more expensive knives. Trust us, we've done the work to find the right chef's knife for you.

Credit: Reviewed / Timothy Renzi

The Hedley & Bennett knife aced all of the tests we threw at it, earning its spot as the best overall Chef's Knife.

Credit: Reviewed / Timothy Renzi

The Victorinox 8-inch Fibrox Pro is an excellent value choice, with a sharp edge and great control for rocking, chopping, and slicing.

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay D. Mattison

The MAC Professional Hollow Edge knife is an incredibly sharp and well-balanced knife, earning it our nomination for Best for Experienced Cooks.

Other Knives We Tested

How We Tested Chef's Knives

The Tester

Hi, I’m Jenny Dorsey! I’m a professional chef, writer, and the founder of a nonprofit community think tank called Studio ATAO. I've tested pressure cookers, meat delivery services, and more for Reviewed. As someone who is often reminded they don’t “look the part” of a professional chef, I’m acutely aware that most chef products are not made for me. When it comes to knives, much of what’s been lauded of the “best in class” have long been fairly unidimensional: heavy, thick-wrought pieces meant for tall, hefty, men.

And I’m Lindsay Mattison, a trained professional chef and the original tester for this list. I tend to use a chef's knife for most of my cutting tasks, as they last a lifetime if you take good care of them. They're also the perfect tool for cutting a large steak or prepping vegetables due to their straight, rigid blades. If you're working with a flexible budget and don't mind the maintenance, a chef's knife really is really an essential part of the kitchen.

The Tests

Credit: Reviewed / Jenny Dorsey

We tested each knife on sharpness and control, which meant a lot of slicing and dicing.

A good chef’s knife should be able to tackle the majority of your knife work in the kitchen, so it needs to be well-rounded and capable of handling almost any task you can throw at it. We tested each knife on three major criteria: sharpness, strength, and control.

A dull knife is a dangerous knife! When it isn’t sharp, it’s more likely to bounce off food than cut through it, which could result in serious injury. To test sharpness, we put each knife to the precision work test: If it could get through tomato skin without snagging and cut basil without bruising the delicate herb, we deemed it sharp enough.

We tested strength by throwing heavy duty ingredients at each blade, seeing if it could get through butternut squash’s hard exterior without sticking and slice a large block of cheddar cheese without crumbling or tilting.

Finally, we tested overall control by monitoring how the knife felt as we tackled each ingredient, assessing how its weight and balance felt in our hand. We paid attention to comfort additions like beveled bolsters and curved handles and measured how the knife tackled chopping versus rocking motions.

How to Choose the Best Chef’s Knife for You

Unlike a paring knife (a knife with a small blade) or a serrated knife (a knife with a toothlike edge), a Western-style chef's knife typically has a straight, rigid blade. It's a multi-purpose tool, meaning you can use it to dice vegetables or trim meat. You can also use it to disjoint large cuts of beef.

Chef knives are usually made of either stainless steel or carbon steel. There's actually quite a big difference between the two. Carbon steel knives cut better, but they're more fragile and prone to rust. Stainless steel knives, on the other hand, are made of softer steel and easier to maintain.

One of the major things to consider is whether or you want to keep up with regular maintenance. If you're willing to sharpen your chef knife a few times a year, you're going to have a product that'll last you a lifetime. If you're not comfortable sharpening your own knife, you can always bring it to a professional.

The one thing you should never do with a chef's knife is put it in your dishwasher. The high water pressure and detergent will absolutely ruin it by dulling the edge and messing up the handle. That's why you should only wash it by hand.

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Meet the testers

Lindsay D. Mattison

Professional Chef

@linzdmattison

Lindsay is a professional chef, recipe developer, writer, and developmental editor. After years of working in restaurant kitchens, she turned to writing to share her passion for local, organic, and seasonal ingredients with home cooks and food enthusiasts.

Monica Petrucci

Editor, Kitchen & Cooking

@monicatpetrucci

Monica is Reviewed's Kitchen & Cooking editor and an avid home cook; she's been testing a wide range of kitchen products at Reviewed for two years. Previously the Digital Editor at Culture Cheese Magazine (and a former barista), she's also had her work published in The Boston Globe, Modern Luxury, Boston Magazine, and more.

Jenny Dorsey

Contributor

Jenny is a professional chef, author, and speaker specializing in interdisciplinary storytelling fusing food with social good. She leads a nonprofit named Studio ATAO and runs her own culinary consulting business. Her food and work has been featured in outlets such as Food Network, Oxygen TV, Eater, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, among others. Her full biography, food portfolio, and bylines can be found here.

Danielle DeSiato

Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances

@kissthecake

Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.

Checking our work.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.

Are there different grades of Henkel knives?

They are essentially two brands under the same company Zwilling JA Henckels. They are also in different grades. Zwilling is the premium brand in the company's portfolio, while Henckels, also known as JA Henckels or Henckels International, is the entry-level brand.

Is Henckels a good brand of knives?

These knives keep their sharpness and are easy to sharpen when they do feel a bit used. Very pretty, very sturdy, and worth the price you pay! This is a very high quality knife set perfect for everyday use.

What is the best knife brand for professional chefs?

Our pick. Mac MTH-80. The best chef's knife. ... .

Runner-up. Tojiro F-808. An affordable Japanese knife. ... .

Also great. Wüsthof Classic Ikon 8″ Chef's Knife. A classic German knife. ... .

Budget pick. Victorinox Swiss Classic Chef's Knife 8-Inch. Sharp and affordable..

What is the difference between ZWILLING and Henckels?

ZWILLING, being the premium line, hosts a more extensive range of professional-grade products that cater to serious home cooks and professional chefs alike. On the other hand, Henckels International offers a more value-oriented range, focusing on quality products for everyday use.