Best Knife Sets for Chefs: Are They Worth The Expense?

From time to time we get emails asking if our site can review complete chef knife sets. They range from whether or not the 3-piece Henckels set is a good deal, to what you really should pay for a monster, Wusthof 32-piece set. (Hint: not that much).

Our take

While we appreciate a beautiful block set just as much as the next chef, they really aren’t a necessity. Gorgeous, yes. Needed? No. For the most part, over their careers true professional chefs will rely on only a handful of knives and they will fiercely protect the edges. They’ll put that knife through 100 times more punishment in one year than most kitchen cooks will do to a knife in a lifetime. That one knife is an extension of their arm and never far from reach. You won’t see them deciding which of a 25+ piece set they’re going to use at the moment.

What You Do Need

In our opinion (and lots of pro chefs, too) you really only need around 4 basic knives in your arsenal to get rocking in the kitchen. You need:

A quality chef’s knife. This is the workhorse of your kitchen. Never used off the cutting board.
A quality paring knife. For use in all peeling/trimming while holding the food in your hand.
A quality bread knife. For breads, sure, but also for carving large meats.
A good cleaver. Note this doesn’t have to be an expensive cleaver since it will be abused. But it’s indispensable for large hacking jobs like coconuts, lobsters, etc. Will also help keep your expensive chef knife from too much punishment.

Expanding past the 4th knife, we’d recommend a good boning knife-they’re fantastic for filleting or taking apart a whole chicken. Certainly not necessary, though, to finish out your own set. Heck, those 3-5 knives alone will see nearly all the work in your kitchen-and if you buy quality they’ll last you a lifetime.

But all of a sudden, we change our tune

Having said all that, we at Best Chef’s Knife recognize that you can get some great deals by buying complete knife sets. Most of our individual top reviewed knives can also be found in bundles by the manufacturer-and it’s usually at a large discount. Getting a good honing steel is a plus and the block rounds it out well.

That’s not always the case-so it pays to do a little homework. Don’t buy based on the quantity-there are usually knives in there you’ll never use. The Wüsthof Classic 36-Piece Knife Block Set at Williams Sonoma for example has at least 5 different paring knives. A little excessive, if you ask us. Our rule of thumb is that at a minimum you pick a set that has the chef knife in it you were going to buy anyway (from reading our reviews, of course!) and then work up from there. If the main chef knife in it is not one you would purchase separately then don’t buy the set.

Here’s a tip: If you’re buying a whole knife set only because you want something that looks cool on the counter, then skip the packaged set and build your own. Not to pick on Wüsthof, but you can get branded blocks (empty, of course) for around $50. Here’s an awesome cherry wood one at Amazon, for example. Then you fill them with the knives YOU want to be part of the set. It says Wüsthof on the outside (or Shun, J.A. Henckels, etc.-whatever knife brand you favor) and is way cheaper than the full sets.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not against kitchen knife sets at all. They make terrific wedding (or any occasion) gifts and if you are looking to purchase several knives at once it’s usually the way to get the best deal instead of buying individually.

Best Chef’s Knife Sets

To that end, here are the ones we feel offer the best bang for the buck and still come with awesome main chef knives:

Click Pic to Check Prices @ Amazon	Brand	Review
	Shun Classic 7-Piece Block Set with Bamboo Block	"You get all the knives mentioned above: 8" Classic Shun Chef's, 9" bread knife, 3.5" paring, 6" utility plus the sharpening steel, shears and a great block. "
	Wusthof Classic Ikon 8-Piece Knife Set with Block	"Wusthof Classic Ikon Creme is an awesome 8" chef, plus you get 3-1/2-inch parer, 4-1/2-inch utility, 6-inch sandwich knife, bread knife, sharpening steel, kitchen shears and block. Creme color is hard to find but we think it rocks."
	Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Knife Set with Block	"We're big fans of the Professional S series Chef knife that starts off this set. Along with that you get a 3" paring, 5" santoku, 6" utility" among others plus the steel and block. Great combo deal."
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