For years we’ve been convinced that the best knife sets are made, knife by knife, by considering what you cook, how you cook, and the size of your space. Knife sets have their place, but really, we think of them as a stopgap as you assemble your own personal knife roll.
Building a knife collection is extremely personal—the look, feel, and utility of each knife will read differently from person to person. And after all my time testing knives, the blades that became my go-tos have surprised me. I never expected a nakiri knife to be one of my daily drivers, and I never expected myself to own different styles of chef’s knives for different tasks. Not everyone is going to keep a gyuto around just to slice meat, but I was able to perfectly cut the flatiron steak I grilled the other week into thin strips that almost melted in my mouth because I had one.
So this guide walks you through all the different categories of knives we’ve tested and how necessary they’re likely to be in your kitchen. Even though there’s a case to be made that you only need three knives, I think you should give yourself the opportunity to be surprised by some of the incredibly useful blades out there, just like I was.
The essential knife
You’re going to need a chef’s knife. Full stop. Many people prefer the durability of a Western chef’s knife, but some people might want the precision and steel quality of a Japanese chef’s knife. Most people will pick one or the other, but it’s also common for many home cooks to have one of each.
Chef’s Knife
The chef’s knife is the do-it-all star of any professional or home kitchen. This versatile blade can chop, slice, dice, even peel and core if you’re in a pinch. Generally defined by its tall heel, curved belly, and fine point, a good chef’s knife should be one of the first purchases you make for your kitchen. But because they have some of the most varied designs in the knife world, my full review of chef’s knives breaks down a large variety of top picks to help you find exactly what type of chef’s knife works best for you.
Western chef’s knives tend to be sturdy, heavy, and made with slightly softer and more forgiving steel; Japanese chef’s knives (known as a gyuto), on the other hand, are designed to be sharp, nimble, and excellent slicers. Gyutos have finer edges made from harder steel, which helps them stay sharper longer but also makes them more vulnerable to chipping. If you’re looking for more precision and don’t mind a bit more maintenance, you might snag a Japanese chef’s knife for your daily use.
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Read our full chef's knife review
Important knives you’ll use constantly:
No matter how good your chef’s knife is, it won’t cut bread as well as a serrated knife. It will also feel ungainly for peeling or coring. That’s work for a paring knife.
Bread knife
Serrated knives cut bread without squishing it, which chef’s knives really can’t pull off. The best serrated knives are sharp, long enough to tackle big loaves, and sturdy enough to cut through a defined crust. They’re also useful for delicate tasks, like slicing tomatoes, and their overall size can help with big tasks, like splitting or peeling a watermelon.
Read our full bread knife review
Paring knife
Paring knives are great for coring and peeling, and their short blades give the user more control over small movements than a full-size chef’s knife or even a mid-size utility knife. They’re also useful for ultra-small tasks like slicing and hulling berries. But not all paring knives are designed the same, some have longer handles, some have narrow blades, some really can’t be sharpened. We tested and reviewed a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and price points to help you snag the type of paring knife you’ll find most useful.
Read our full paring knife review
Useful knives you may not own:
Adding a mid-size specialized knife to your kit, like a santoku, nakiri, or petty knife, brings more versatility while taking some workload off your other knives (meaning they’ll stay sharper longer). Most home cooks won’t need all three; most knife enthusiasts couldn’t imagine their collection without them.
Santoku knife
Named after the “three virtues,” santoku knives are great at chopping, slicing, and dicing. Their shape takes inspiration from a trio of other knives: the straight edge of the nakiri, the overall length of a petty knife, and the slight curve of a gyuto. They also have extremely pronounced sheep’s foot tips for precision point work. Santoku knives are great for a large variety of tasks and are often prized for their daily use for things like slicing cheese, cutting an apple, breaking down an onion, or chopping herbs.
Read our full santoku knife review
Nakiri knife
Nakiri knives are traditional Japanese vegetable cleavers that feature a sturdy spine and a straight edge. These knives are great for breaking down tough vegetables like sweet potatoes and hard-skinned squash, and the straight edge is ideal for matchsticking carrots and cucumbers because the entire edge cuts all the way through to the cutting board (unlike the curved edge of a chef’s knife). If you have a fine-edged gyuto for an everyday chef’s knife, you might want a nakiri with its sturdy spine and heftier weight to handle some tougher jobs.
Petty knife
Petty knives are small Japanese utility knives that are great for precision work and slicing. Shaped like a gyuto, but with blades just a smidge longer than a paring knife, a petty knife is great for tasks like breaking down a whole chicken because they can easily fit between joints. The length of the blade gives you more freedom to tackle everyday tasks, and while they’re ideal for small tasks like dicing a shallot or cutting hard cheese, their nimbleness also makes them adept at slicing a steak.
Nice-to-have knives:
You may not ever need a heavy-duty meat cleaver, but you might be surprised at how versatile a Chinese cleaver is. Neither is essential in a kitchen, but both are great to have on hand when you need one. Same goes for the boning knife: You might not always bring home an entire striped bass, but on the occasion you do, you’ll be glad you have a boning knife on hand.
Meat cleavers and Chinese cleavers
Heavy-duty cleavers tend to be blunter than most knives, but that’s on purpose. Their edges are designed to crack through bone, so don’t expect them to slice through a delicate steak easily. Chinese cleavers, on the other hand, are thin and sharp, designed for precision push cuts. Our review breaks down the difference between the two in detail, while also showcasing why you might need one or the other more than you think.
Boning knife
Many home cooks get by just fine asking their butcher counter to portion their meat and fish, but more intrepid folks might find that breaking down a whole chicken, filleting a fresh-caught sea bream, or portioning a T-bone gives them more control over the meal they want to cook. A good boning knife is nimble, sharp, and easy to maneuver—it may be a specialized knife, but it excels at the task it was designed for.
Read our full boning knife review
And don't forget…
You’ll probably want to pick up a knife sharpener and honing rod to keep your knives pristine.