A really great chef knife will be insanely sharp, yet retain its edge easily, and be well balanced and welcoming to hold. These days a decent high-grade chef knife can cost between $100-$200. Several cooking publications (including Cook’s Illustrated) recently identified a bargain $27 chef knife that in their tests rated just about as good as the $100 plus knives. This is the one we use.

The Forschner Victorinox is a hybrid of a thin Japanese blade with its 15 degree edge (western knives have a 20 degree edge) but with the longer, broader blade of European knives. It is lightweight, nicely balanced, and lethally sharp. It has a comfortable very grippy handle that won’t slip even when wet. We have 5 cooks at our household and this is the knife they all grab first. It may not be as super great as the chef knives