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Best Chef Knife Under 100 Dollars – My Top 5 Recommendations!

A chef’s knife is one of the most important things in kitchen. But, when anyone asks what is the best chef’s knife, there is no exact answer.

You may buy an expensive knife and think as the best; but, the price is not only the factor which can define the quality. Actually, there is no single feature which can make a knife the best.

Individual chef has his own requirements, particular needs, personal preference and how perfectly the knife serves his purposes, all of these combinedly can make a knife the best to him. So, finding a knife that will work best for you depends on many variables like- the size of your hand, what types of foods you want to cut and prepare, how do you feel the knife at your hand and how much control you have over that etc.

You will find the blades of different knives come with different types of materials like stainless steel, high carbon stainless steel, ceramics etc. They also have variations in their handles and weight. So, try to look for a quality product which will fit you and serve your purposes the best.

Best Chef Knife Under $100 Comparison

Best Chef Knife Under 100 Dollars Reviews

1. Okami Knives Chef Knife Review

The Okami Chef knife is one of the best and affordable Japanese style kitchen knives. This 8inch knife is made with top quality and long lasting Japanese stainless steel and perfect for most of your chopping needs in your kitchen.

This knife comes with razor sharp blade which is designed to perform chopping, mincing, slicing and dicing smoothly and effortlessly. Besides, the blade of this knife is slightly curved that makes it perfect for French and Chinese cutting. It is also appropriate for cutting sashimi and sushi.

The premium quality handle material is used to ensure your comfort and safer grip. The handle is made from Spanish Pakkawood.

This chef’s knife comes with excellent packaging which is perfect as a gift. Packaging also includes extra cleaning cloth, plastic cover and edge guard with the knife.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

 

2. DALSTRONG Chef Knife Review

The second knife in our best chef knife under 100 dollars list is DALSTRONG chef knife. This Chef Knife from Phantom Series comes with exceptional performance within your budget limit. You will find this stylish knife completely balanced and mercilessly sharp to give you the peak performance.

This Phantom Series knife is made with AUS-8 Japanese high carbon steel. Edge of this knife is painstakingly sharpened to 13-15° by experts craftsman and is hand finished to give it mirror polish and made it mercilessly sharp. Moreover, this knife is nitrogen cooled to increase its hardness, flexibility and to make it corrosion resistant.

This DALSTRONG Chef Knife further features tapered bolster for perfect balance and to give you finger protection. Its agile blade ensures the fast and precise cut every time. High level of chromium (Cr) is used to make it stain resistant.

You will get a non- slip heaven like grip with the beautifully designed velvety rich black Spanish pakkawood handle of this knife. It is long lasting and resistant to heat, cold and moisture too. Japanese D-shaped handle of this knife will tuck into your palm nicely to give you optimum control and comfort.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

 

3. Shun VB0706 Sora Chef’s Knife Review

Shun VB0706 Sora Chef’s Knife is another best chef knife under 100 dollars. This knife comes with high grade VG10 cutting edge with stainless steel layer on each side using san mai technique. The san mai technique sandwiches a hard steel core between two layers of softer steel to make it stronger. The stainless steel not only strengthens the knife but also makes it stain resistant.

The upper side of this knife is covered with mirror-polished Japanese 420J stainless steel. Besides, each side of the blade comes with a razor-sharp 16-degree cutting angle which makes the blade extremely sharp at the same time keeps it thin and lightweight.

The two sections of the blade are laser cut and braze welded to fix them permanently. It has a gentle roll of tip which needs less lift and gives you more efficient cutting.

This knife is beautifully designed and comes with handle which is made with a textured TPE polymer to provide balance and comfortable grip.

The texture of the handle makes it easy to maintain even when it is wet like when you are going to use this knife for fruits, vegetables, and meat.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

 

4. Sharp Pebble Chefs Knife Review

The Sharp Pebble Chefs Knife is another best budget friendly chef knife which will give you restaurant quality result in your own kitchen. Its sharpness, comfort and balance will give you optimum control and ensure the peak performance on cutting, chopping, slicing etc.

This knife is made with premium quality Japanese VG-10 STEEL. Its Rockwell hardness is 62+; which gives amazing performance and best of all, it keeps the knife edge incredibly  sharp so that you don’t have to worry about sharpening it even after regular use. High carbon stainless steel layers of this knife make it long lasting than other knives and keep it rust free.

Its special ergonomic design with Ultra Premium G10 Military Grade Full Tang handle makes this knife well balanced & provides superior control. Knife bolster is designed to support natural pinch grip & to provide improved knuckle clearance. Beside this, G10 handle of the knife is temperature resistant that means, it won’t crack, split or shrink and most amazingly it is bacteria and mold resistant too.

This knife comes in a handcrafted bamboo gift box with a knife care guide, knife sheet, and a soap to remove odor from steel so that you can take proper care of it. All of these bundled in a set, you can give it to someone as a nice gift.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

 

5. ZWILLING J.A. Henckels International CLASSIC 8″ Chef’s Knife Review

If you are looking for a knife with long lasting sharpness under $100 then, this knife is for you. Source of the blade of this knife is Germany and then assembled in Spain. With this J.A Henckels International CLASSIC 8″ Chef’s knife you will experience confidence on your every cut.

This classic 8″ chef’s knife is made up from high-quality German stainless steel. Its satin-finished blade boasts perfection and the fine-edge of blade is honed for long-lasting sharpness. You can use this multipurpose chef’s knife for chopping, dicing, mincing and slicing effortlessly.

The special feature of this knife is it is designed ergonomically which makes it different from the others. It comes with full tang and triple rivet handle which provides maximum control and makes this knife more comfortable and break proof.

Its fully forged construction makes it long lasting and gives it a seamless surface from blade to handle. Besides, this knife is easy to wash as it is dishwasher safe.

What we liked

What we didn’t like

 

How to choose the best chef knife for the money

When you have a budget limit, obviously you will want to get a quality product within your budget. So, you have to consider a lot of things while buying that product. If it is a best chef’s knife, then you should check the following features. Hope, that will help you to choose the right one for you.

Sharpness

Sharpness is one of the most important factors which defines the quality of a knife. A sharp knife not only determines how well it will work but also says about how safe it is to use. It will also give you the exact cut you want.

When I am telling about a super sharp knife, you may think that there is a high chance to cut yourself with this. But, you should also know that with a dull knife you are more likely to cut yourself while you are struggling to cut something. So, look for a knife which is sharp enough to ease your task.

Size

Choosing a knife of right size is also important for easy handling. If you are a home cook, then you should not go for longer than 8 inches. 8 inches knives are more popular among home cooks for their versatility. 10 inches longer knives or more than that are good for those who want to prepare large amount of foods within a short time.

Furthermore, check the length of the knife before buying so that it suits in your hand properly. A knife with thick handle may give you painful experience if you have small hands. Conversely,  large hands will feel uncomfortable with a small handle. So, it’s better to check it by gripping in your hand before buying.

Weight

A right knife for you depends mostly on how comfortable it is to use. In that case, weight is a big part of comfort. Though, weight is all about personal preference but, some people find a lighter chef’s knife comfortable and more agile.

Oppositely, some prefer the heavier knife and they get more control over that. They find a heavy knife is ideal as it falls with more force and cuts foods more easily. So, choose that what feels right to you.

Balance

A quality knife should have a good balance between the blade and the handle. It should not have too much weight on the blade or on the handle. With a well-balanced knife, you can do any of your cutting tasks easily and effortlessly. Check the balance while buying by gripping the handle of the knife at your palm.

Blade material

Most of the kitchen knives are made of stainless steel. Stainless steel is a mixture of iron, carbon, chromium and other elements and all of these make the blade durable, strong and easy to sharpen.

Good knives are also made with high carbon stainless steel. These are more durable and sturdy compared to the stainless steel knives. These are easy to sharpen but need an extra care to prevent rusting.

Beside this, ceramic knives are also claimed as the best as the blade of these knives are super sharp and do not rust. Additionally, these can be sharpened easily to the scalpel quality. However, there are some drawbacks too. These type of knives are very fragile and can be broken easily as these are made of ceramic. Ceramic knives are also expensive than the others.

While buying, if you don’t have budget problem then go for a high carbon stainless steel knife. Though they need sharpening but they won’t rust. Try to avoid those that never need sharpening. Once they lose their sharpness, you can’t use them again.

Handle

Handle is another important factor which makes the huge difference on how comfortable the knife will be. Generally, knife handles are made of wood, plastic, resins or other heavy materials depending on the cost. Low density materials and soft woods are not a good choice. Certain materials are more prone to grow bacteria or mold. Look for a handle that is made with high quality plastic or composite. But, consider how comfortable and stable to touch and grip the handle.

Care and Maintenance

Once you have bought a quality knife that doesn’t mean you are done. To ensure its longevity you have to take proper care of your knife. Some knives are more likely to rust than the others. In that case, you should clean and then dry your knife properly for storing. But, without manufacturer instruction do not wash your chef knife with dishwasher. Rather you should use standard dish soap.

You should not use your knife on steel, ceramic or glass made cutting boards as they can cause damage to your knife or may cause injury to you. It’s better to use wood or hard plastic cutting boards.

Additionally, some knives need to sharpen. In that case, sharpening with stone will improve the cutting edge. Go slowly with the whole length of the knife to sharp it evenly. But, if you want to avoid that, look for one that stays sharp for long time without sharpening.

 Final Words

The best knife is all about a hand feel. You cannot measure it by money. You will find a lot of choices out there while you are looking for the best knife for you. Hopefully, our shortlist of the best chef knife under 100 dollars will help you to find out your desired one easily. However, remember one thing, always try to stay with quality products and what you feels the best. You will never be disappointed.