bread knives, four cleavers (two Chinese and two meat cleavers), and a smattering of other random blades (including a vintage sashimi knife I rarely use, but it’s beautiful).
The one blade I didn’t have for an embarrassingly long time was a chef’s knife—I often turned to my cherished petty knife for all my prep tasks. But, as time wore on, I knew I couldn’t call myself an avid cook without having at least one chef’s knife. So I got three: One was the Mercer Millennia, which I once used as a test kitchen intern, and then I quickly found my way into the Japanese-style knife realm, acquiring a Mac and a Misono. I fell in love. Chef’s knives really are great! They’re big and hefty enough to tackle large projects, like boning a pork shoulder or cracking into a winter squash, and they also have the precision to tackle teensy tasks like mincing garlic or slicing shallots. I’ve been singing their praises ever since, trying to convince my friends who only ever use a paring knife for food prep that they need at least one chef’s knife.
We’ve tested (and retested, and re-retested) chef’s knives for years, and my latest round of hands-on reviewing shored up many of our top picks once again; they’re still excellent.
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