Best kitchen knife sets, tried and tested by a food writer

More often than not, our kitchen knives are blunt. It's also very likely that anything that once resembled our best knife set is now a random collection that lives among everything else in the utensils drawer, while knife blocks are full of mismatched knives, or empty.A decent set of knives brings plenty to the table, and as soon as you use a new, sharp knife, you'll instantly see the difference. But when it comes to finding a set right for you, it can be a little overwhelming, especially when there are so many, and it's not always obvious what each knife is for, so we've detailed this below.A good place to start is having the core three knives: a chef's knife, which has a long thing blade and can be used on anything from vegetables to meat, a serrated bread knife; and a paring knife, which has a small short blade and is used for more intricate jobs like peeling, but can also be used for chopping. Best kitchen knife sets at a glanceBest overall – Wüsthof Classic 3-piece Starter Knife Set: £319, Wusthof.co.ukBest budget buy – Stellar Classic, 5 Piece Knife Block Set, Pine: £80, Stellar.co.ukBest for built-in sharpener – Shark Ninja Foodi StaySharp Knife Block: £199, Sharkninja.co.ukBest for beginners – Pro Cook Professional X50 Contour Knife Set: £139, Procook.co.ukBest for serious chefs – HexClad 6 pc Japanese Damascus Steel Knife Set: £459, Hexclad.co.ukTo prolong the life of these knives and to look after them properly, it's best not to put them through the dishwasher, especially ones with wooden handles. Read on for our review of the best knife sets. How I testedI prepped everything from vegetable egg-fried rice to aubergine parmigiana with these sets Emma Henderson/The StandardI used the set of knives for chopping everything needed for my usual go-to meals, from vegetable egg-fried rice to aubergine parmigiana. I always used them on a wooden chopping board to ensure a fair comparison. I was looking for a sturdy knife with great precision. I considered the material the knife was made from, how well they were able to cut what they're designed for, the weight of the knife and whether it felt balanced in the hand, the comfort of holding it, and its value. I also considered whether the knives are full-tang or not (whether the steel runs right through into the handle), which gives extra strength, and how sharp they are out of the box, which I tested by doing the slicing paper test.One of the most important factors I considered was how to store the knives and prevent them from being damaged and too quickly becoming blunt. Wüsthof Classic 3-piece Starter Knife SetEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★★Best: Overall kitchen knife set What we love: Excellent simple designTake note: Not as affordable Wüsthof is one of the top brands when it comes to kitchen knives. This set is at the higher end of the spectrum for three knives, but they are really excellent quality. Look after them properly, and they should last a lifetime – making them worth the investment.The set includes the most useful three knives: a chef's knife, a bread knife and a pairing knife, all of which are full-tang. There's no trendy Damascus finish here, or a storage block, but they are well–made, ergonomically designed knives with sharp edges.Made in Solingen, Germany, each is forged from a single piece of Wüsthof’s special stainless steel, giving the blades impressive strength. The chef’s knife is beautifully balanced, and the pairing knife makes light work of vegetables: it’s incredibly smooth and precise to use. But the real star of the set is the bread knife. Thanks to little teeth along the blade, it glides through bread with ease – a dream addition to any kitchen. I also like that there's a green handle option too, which makes a nice change from the usual black handles.No. of knives: 3Set includes: Chef (20cm), bread (23cm), pairing (9cm)Blade metal: Premium forged stainless steelHolder included: NoStellar Classic, 5 Piece Knife Block Set, PineEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆What we love: Excellent valueTake note: Wooden block feels lightFor a really classic set, look to Stellar. Coming in a wooden block made from simple pine, the knives are full-tang and feature black handles with three rivets. They're strong, well-weighted and look smart on the countertop. Best of all, their reasonable cost makes the set a great buy for students or anyone setting up their first flat – particularly with their lifetime guarantee. Each knife is hardworking and makes a good everyday option, they're not too heavy and the standout is the chef's knife, which considering the price is really price, and slices nicely as it has a really thin bladed edge. The only negative is the wooden block, which feels a bit light and not that solid, though it does have feet on the bottom to keep it in place.No. of knives: 5Set includes: Chef (15cm), bread (20cm), carving (20cm), utility knife (10cm), Blade metal: Stainless steel Holder included: YesShark Ninja Foodi StaySharp Knife Block with Integrated Sharpener 6-Piece SetEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆Best: Knife set with a built-in sharpenerWhat we love: Well-designed, includes a knife sharpener, and scissors Take note: Large plastic block and heavy knivesKeeping things simple and all in one place is Shark Ninja's knife block with an integrated sharpener. SharkNinja always goes the extra mile with its premium products, and including the sharpener in the knife block means there's one less thing to be rummaging around the drawers for, as little is more annoying than misplacing a knife sharpener when your knives are starting to lose their edge.Made from German rust-resistant stainless steel, the full-tang knives feel sturdy but comfortable in the hand, and each piece – including the scissors and block – is well ergonomically designed. They are the heaviest set tested, and though I thought that would be good for the bread knife, it needed more pressure than others to get a slice of bread. The smallest knives, the utility and pairing knife both have flat edges rather than slightly curved. For this reason, I found they made chopping little cherry tomatoes that love to roll around on the board really easy. Though Ninja is known for its dark grey tones of plastic and chrome, it would have been nicer to have a wooden block, and perhaps a smaller one, as it's quite hefty.No. of knives: 5 plus scissors Set includes: Chef (20cm), bread (20cm), carving (13cm), utility knife (13cm), pairing knife (9cm)Blade metal: German rust-resistant stainless steelHolder included: Yes Sous Chef Chef ARC Edge Damascus Steel Knife TrioEmma Henderson/The Standard ★★★★☆What we love: Damascus steel pattern, good selection of knives, and deeper blades than othersTake note: More expensive compared to someAt under £80 per knife, these knives are a great buy for the budding chef looking to upgrade their kitchen equipment. They're made from 73-layer Damascus steel, giving them that professional-chef look with its rippling appearance across the blades, meaning they're great to display in the kitchen on a wall-fixed holder or magnetic holder on the worktop.The handles aren't wooden, but have a wood-like effect known as pakkawood, where thin layers of hardwood are compressed into the handle. I did find the handles to be slightly heavier than other similar knives, though it doesn't really affect their use. The set includes a chef’s knife, bread knife and bunka, a Japanese all-rounder that quickly became my favourite. It's a multi-use Japanese knife and cuts with excellent precision. It's nimble and is a joy to use for everything from finely chopping herbs to slicing vegetables. The blades of the chef and bunka knives are also deeper than many others on the list, which can make them safer if you use the knuckle method of chopping to protect your fingers, while also adding weight to cut through bigger items. No. of knives: 3Set includes: Chef (20cm), bread (25.5cm), bunka (15cm)Blade metal: Damascus steelHolder included: NoKatto 3-piece knife setEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆Best: British-made knife setWhat we love: Handmade in UKTake note: Thicker blade than others No doubt these are the best-looking set on the list, but what's even better is they're handmade in Sheffield. The hammered detail on them is unusual and really eye-catching, which gives way to a smooth blade at the bottom. The blades are quite thick, especially compared to some of the other brands, owing to being handmade. It's not all about aesthetics though, as they're really sturdy knives. There's no knife block, but the knife boxes they come in are sturdy enough to be kept and reused to protect the knives. Handles come in either walnut (as I tried), olive or ebony. They can be bought separately to build up a collection slowly, but you get a 10 per cent discount on buying as a set. The brand also offers free sharpening.No. of knives: 3Set includes: Chef (20.3cm), santoku (17.8cm), utility (15.2cm) Blade metal: Japanese AUS-10 steelHolder included: NoPro Cook Professional X50 Contour Knife SetEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆Best: Knife sets for beginners What we love: Very good value, great designTake note: Handle print lets them down This set of five knives is incredibly good value at £139. The oak wall-mounted rack is also a great design for kitchens low on worktop space, as the magnetic rack neatly keeps everything out of the worktop's way. I was very impressed at the strength of the magnet, where the knives snap onto the rack and don't move at all, while other brand knives did and didn't sit properly straight. So there's no need to worry about them being knocked and falling off. Each knife has really good precision and feels nice to work with, with my favourite being the utility knife, which slices so thinly with such ease, making dicing onions a breeze.It's an excellent choice for someone's first knife set. The only thing letting down such a good-value and well-designed set is that the handles have a faux black-and-white wood grain from the pakkawood finish, but in black and white, which looks slightly pixelated and slightly cheapens the set compared to other knives' brown versions of this finish.No. of knives: 5Set includes: Chef (15cm), carving (25cm), bread (25cm), utility (13cm), pairing (9cm)Blade metal: German stainless steelHolder included: YesJosephJoseph Elevate Steel Knife Set with In-drawer Bamboo Storage TrayEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆What we love: Fits in a drawer, affordable priceTake note: Knives make a metallic twang For anyone who hates a bulky knife block hogging the worktop, this is a clever alternative. I really love the knife holder design, which fits neatly into my kitchen's top utensil drawer, as it stops loose knives from getting blunt in drawers – or worse yet, risking cut fingers on sharp knives. It also has non-slip feet; it doesn't move around when opening and closing it. The knives look quite simple and are made from Japanese stainless steel, but are really nicely balanced. Better yet, when you lay it down on the worktop mid-cooking, the blade doesn't touch the worktop, keeping both cleaner. Unusually, the set is a small serrated pairing knife, which was especially good for cutting lemons and tomatoes. I like that it includes a santoku knife too, which, when slicing an apple, produced thinly cut pieces that didn't stick to the knife. The knives are colour-coded with a small coloured dot on the handle, but there's no corresponding colour-coded slot for them. The only issue with the knives is they do have a metal-twang sound when chopping, which is a little annoying. No. of knives: 5Set includes: Chefs (20cm), bread (20cm), santoku (14cm), serrated pairing (11cm), pairing (9cm) Blade metal: Japanese stainless steelHolder included: YesHexClad 6 pc Japanese Damascus Steel Knife Set w/ Magnetic Knife BlockEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆Best: Knife set for serious chefs What we love: Comes with a sharpener and magnetic standTake note: Most expensive on the list Known for its laser-etched hexagonal non-stick pans, HexClad also applies the same serious approach to its knives.They're made from 67 layers of Damascus steel, which are ground to a fine 12-degree angle on each side. This makes them sharper than standard Western knives, bringing together high-end Japanese blade designs with durable Western-style construction.They feel very high-end, and this set is the most expensive on the list, but for the higher price tag, you also get a lifetime warranty. Plus a knife sharpener, which is really helpful and isn't usually included in most sets, and a rather chic dark wooden magnet stand. Each knife allows for smooth chopping and is easy to control. The standout from the set is the fantastic bread knife, which feels like it slides through cutting bread, instead of having to feel like you're sawing. I also liked the second largest paring knife, and the fact that the dark wooden magnetic holder is double-sided, so everything fits on it without commandeering much worktop space.No. of knives: 5 plus a sharpener Set includes:Blade metal:Holder included: YesSabatier Six Piece Knife Set with Olivewood HandlesEmma Henderson/The Standard★★★★☆Best: Six-piece knife setWhat we love: Sharpener included and fits inside the block, and olive wood handles Sabatier knives are made in France, using traditional forging methods, hand-finished and sharpened, and they stand out from the crowd with their olive-coloured wood handles. This six-piece set covers practically every job you'll be tackling in the kitchen, and when they need it, you've got a sharpener which also fits inside the block to ensure they're never dull. The knives are full tang and look very traditional, and have a nice weight to them. They're also quite narrow and forgo any chunkiness in their design. Also forged from a single piece of steel, these are lovely knives which are full-tang and are finished with delicate olive wood handles (so keep them away from dishwashers). They're pleasing to hold and have a nice weight to them.Sabatier also has some high-street sub-brands which are much cheaper, but are not of the same quality. To ensure you're getting the handmade knives from France, look for the elephant engraved on the blade along with the four stars. No. of knives: 6Set includes: Sharpener (25cm), cooks (15cm), bread (20cm), santoku (17 cm), pairing (10cm), pairing (8cm)Blade metal: SteelHolder included: YesWhat are the best kitchen knife sets?The Wüsthof set does have a price tag of more than £300, but they're incredible quality, very well balanced and are incredibly smooth to use, making you feel like a real pro in the kitchen. They're a buy-once set that should last a lifetime. And for any sourdough fans, the bread knife will make light work of even the chunkiest of loaves. Stellar is a long-standing, reliable name, and this set of five knives is excellent value, especially on offer at £80, making each knife £16. The knives are well made and perform well, making them a perfect starter set. Why trust me? I've been testing products for over a decade, bringing readers the best in consumer journalism, as I was the former editor of The Independent's product review section, IndyBest. I specialise in reviewing all things food and cooking-related, from cast iron casserole pots to coffee machines, and wines to butters, as I was also the former editor of The Independent's food and drink digital magazine, IndyEats. As a freelancer, I've also written about food and drink, restaurants, chefs and food trends for national publications such as Condé Nast Traveller, National Geographic Traveller Food, The Caterer, The Good Food Guide and House & Garden.