"A chef's knife is probably the single most-used kitchen tool of all time. Air fryers and Instant Pots will come and go; you may rotate between stainless steel, nonstick, and cast-iron cookware on any given night; but cooking starts with chopping ingredients, no matter what you're making or where you're making it. Still, just because something is a kitchen workhorse doesn't mean you can automatically justify shelling out major money for it."
"Knife pricing is undoubtedly confusing. It's possible to find damascus steel knives with hand-carved wooden handles for upwards of a thousand dollars on the internet. Meanwhile, Amazon is full of unheard-of brands hawking nice-looking Japanese-style knives for $20-$30, and trendy budget direct-to-consumer brands offer seemingly high-quality steel knives for just $50. What's the actual right amount to spend? Where does your dollar stop benefitting you in terms of performance and contribute purely to aesthetics?"
"While our favorite knives from our years of testing tend to run in the $150-$200 range, we've found a few knives under $100 that punch way above their weight. You'll find our recommendations for inexpensive-but definitely not cheap-chef's knives below, along with some guidelines about what your money is actually paying for when it comes to knife quality."
More than a dozen chef's knives under $100 were tested, and a few models sliced thinner than the rest. A chef's knife remains the most-used kitchen tool, essential for chopping regardless of other appliances or cookware. Knife pricing varies widely, from sub-$30 mass-market blades to handcrafted damascus knives costing thousands. Many high-performing knives commonly cost $150–$200, but some sub-$100 knives deliver exceptional performance. Key factors that drive cost include steel attributes such as hardness and corrosion resistance, which can trade off against one another in blade performance.
Read at Bon Appetit
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