Best Chef Knife Under $100 Review and Buyers Guide

1. DALSTRONG Chef Knife 8" Gladiator Series

Though it is an American registered company, Dalstrong manufactures their knives abroad in China. Their gladiator series chef knives come with a bold design featuring a forward skewed bolster and a slickly curved handle. Its grip is quite smooth and comfortable with a small tapering to the front. The handle is made of Pakkawood, which not only looks sleek but also offers a reliable grip for everyday use.

This chef knife oozes outstanding craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. It is incredibly razor-sharp with a blade made of imported high-carbon German steel. Highly polished edge at 14 to 16 degrees each side, its blade is stain and tempered resistant. The knife is pleasing to hold in the hand, thanks to its perfectly designed balance with sustaining heft and presence.

It is seamlessly weighted to handle thicker, heavy-duty cuts as well as more delicate cuts.

In terms of durability, this knife is rated 56+ Rockwell, so while it is slightly softer compared to other knives, it still has a decent hardness that can offer many years of service. It is also very sharp and cuts through any vegetables and meat with ease, though you may need to sharpen it time to time to keep up the performance.

2. Global Oriental Chef’s Knife 7-Inch

This is a uniquely designed chef knife. Instead of a traditional polymer handle, it comes with a full metal handle, thus at first, it may look like an antique collectible rather than kitchenware.

Despite the smooth metal handle, the Oriental knife offers a strong and comfortable grip that will not slip easily from your hands while using. This is because it features small, tiny dimples carved around the handle.

One thing you will admire about this knife is how sharp it is, straight out of the box, no need to sharpen. The design of the edge is also a little bit different, where instead of the regular shallow bevel; it has a straight edge with a sharp angle. Though unusual, this simple design change makes a whole lot of difference as it makes the knife maintain its sharpness for a long since most of the pressure scatters over the sides when using rather than over the edge.

For enhanced durability, the knife is made from Cromova 18 stainless steel with an alloy that is wear-resistant.

3. J.A. Henckels International

Classic Chef’s Knife

For those who love the longevity of the brand, Henckels is one of the oldest cookware manufacturers currently and is known for making authentic kitchen products over the years. With the International Classic Chef’s Knife series, you will get to see what a true classic knife functions.

This knife is affordable and made from a tough steel formula with a high content of carbon. It also comes with a conventional polymer handle, which is secured by three rivets that gives it a classical look.

You will like the knife’s non-tapered full bolster, which provides a much-needed balance when using it as well as protection to your fingers against sliding over to the sharp blade. While on the subject of the blade, this chef knife has a comparatively broader blade than your normal knife. The added weight that comes with this design ensures that the knife easily cuts through your raw potatoes with very little effort.

4. Victorinox 6” Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife

This chef knife is loved by both home chefs and professionals thanks largely to its ability to handle almost all every kind of kitchen task. It was designed with a highly comfortable handle, superior weight as well as the right balance and razor-sharp edge that do not require constant re-sharpening.

Ever heard the phrase "Swiss army knife"? You will appreciate that this knife is also made in Switzerland.

The Fibrox features a 6” blade with a slight tang glued to its thermoplastic polymer handle. It is extremely and very flexible, thus it is a perfect kitchen slicer. So if are generally chopping soft veggies, fish, and meat, this is your best option.

When it comes to cleaning, the Victorinox Swiss Army advises that you wash the knives by hand using a soapy fabric and dry them immediately. This is despite the fact that the knives are dishwasher safe. Dishwashers tend to spray water at a high pressure which can knock the silverware, leading the knives to collide and dull the edge.

After some time, you will need to sharpen the knives, which can be done by using a honing steel.

5. Kutt Chef Knife Set

One thing I loved about Kutt Kitchen Knife is that it will last long before you need to re-sharpen it again. That is because it is made from a high-quality German stainless steel that allows it to retain its sharpness longer.

The knife is also lightweight and perfectly balanced so you can easily dice, cut, and chop. Instead of a metal handle, it comes with an ergonomically designed Pakka wood handle that fits incredibly into your hands, thus allowing for greater swiftness and comfort that allow you to work with great ease and achieve smooth cuts of foods.

It has between 58-63 Rockwell hardness, which is harder than most standard knives on the market. This professional-quality chef knife is perfect for the kitchen of any chef. What is more, it has an odor removing soap that removes any lingering odors in just a minute to keep your hand always clean and fresh.

6. Imarku Chef Knife

The Imarku 8” chef knife is designed to be used by all professionals including food caterers, culinary experts, chefs, and even beginners. What I liked the most about this knife is that it is multi-purpose and can accomplish an array of kitchen tasks including chopping, cutting, slicing, and dicing fish, fruits, vegetables, meat as well as removing flesh from bones and smashing or pounding garlic.

Just like most knives in this lift Imarku 8” is also designed using Garman engineering techniques with a hardened stainless steel blade. The blade consists of about .75% carbon for extra strength and enhanced durability.

The handle is around 5 inches and along with the 8 inches blade, the knife is 13 inches, which is approximately the standard length of traditional knives. It is rust-resistant thanks to the chrome material coating of the steel blade.

Imarku Chef Knife is strong, durable, and ideal for tough tasks. It will also retain its toughness for a long time.

Last but not least, this knife is user-friendly and ergonomic. It has a perfect weight balance and its ergonomics reduces the possibility of writs arches or cramps on your finger.

7. Mad Shark 8” Chef’s knife

This set of knives is made from industry-grade stainless steel that is rust, discoloration, and corrosion-resistant. Its razor-sharp edge can slice through any food or fruit with ease while the solid handle with two rivets feels comfortable in the hand.

This is knife is loved by chefs across the world for its non-stick function and an 8-inch blade that is the ideal size for every type of daily use.

Construction-wise, Mad Shark feature a full-tang blade that is double riveted to its ABS plastic handle.

If it loses its edge after some time, you can just hand-sharpening it and it will be back as new.

8. ORBLUE 8 Inch Kitchen Chef’s Knife

Made of 100% stainless steel with a sleek look that befits a contemporary kitchen, Orblue 8” Kitchen Chef’s Knife stands out from the competition thanks to its non-moving part construction. Yes, you heard that right, the ultra-sharp blade and handle are made without the use of moving parts that usually wear out after a few years of use.

The handle is about 5 inches long and comes with a comfortable, ergonomic non-slip grip for enhanced comfort and safety.

In terms of construction, this knife features a sleek, stylish design with a perfect blade-to-handle weight ratio.

The blade is incredibly sharp and can retain this feature for a long time. just like most sharp blades, the grip in this knife prevents your fingers from slipping forward.

9. Sky Light Chef Knife 8”

Just like most German knives that we have reviewed so far, the Sky Light Chef Knife 8” also features a full tang that is riveted to polymer handle. It has a glossy bolster for extra grip and hand protection from the razor-sharp blade.

This is one of the cheapest knives you can find on the market. Its style aims to bring the art of classic craftsmanship to your contemporary kitchen with advanced modern tech. It has a straight spine and slightly-curved blade compared to other knives.

Its blade features vanadium, chromium, molybdenum stainless blade with Rockwell 58+ hardness, which is pretty decent. But the blade is less sharp out of the box and you may need to sharpen it first before using, though it tends to hold its edge far better than most knives.

Weighing around 8.6 ounces, the Sky Light might be one of the heaviest knives on the market, which is not a bad thing since this gives it a firm cutting power.

10. Wusthof Classic Cook’s Knife

Last but not least, we have Wusthof Classic full-tang knives, the workhorse of all kinds of kitchen. It is one of the most highly-coveted kitchen tools on the market despite the fact it has a 6-inch blade, which is shorter than a normal kitchen knife.

The full-tang attached to the synthetic fused handle with triple rivets speaks volumes about the quality of construction of this blade.

A thick bolster offers protection to your fingers by preventing your hands from sliding onto the sharp blade while also providing a comfortable anchor for a strong grip.