The 12 Best Expert-Approved Knife Sets + How To Find The Perfect One

If you're not the only one who's wielding a knife while making dinner, then this J.A. Henckels knife set is perfect for your bustling kitchen. With both a chef's knife and a Japanese style santoku knife, more than one person can take on the slicing and dicing at the same time. Plus, this set includes six steak knives for when you're entertaining at home.

These knives have a full tang design and are made out of stainless steel, plus, they're dishwasher safe. Nguyen adds, "It's not too expensive for its quality and comes with plenty of steak knives, which we use often. These knives feel extra luxurious to use because of the weighted handle. I love them."

Made of super-sharp Japanese steel, this set has everything you need to cook almost anything in the kitchen—including a chef's knife, paring knife, and a serrated bread knife.The knives are carefully designed with a comfortable grip and fun, customizable handles (perfect for Instagram, right?). It's a set that's as pretty as it is functional.

Jacobs says, "This is my favorite knife set to gift people who are getting more into cooking! The quality is really nice for the price and being able to pick the handle color makes it feel a little more custom."

For the cook who wants to invest in seriously sharp and long-lasting knives, this is the set to get. It's a splurge, but includes stunning, full tang, high carbon stainless steel knives, with laser cut edges that reviewers say slice like butter.

In this set, you'll get the basics—a paring knife, two utility knives, a serrated knife, bread knife, and a chef's knife - plus a honing steel and kitchen shears, all in a 17-slot block. And for the price tag you get a lifetime warranty.

Dédé Wilson, a recipe developer and former Bon Appetit magazine contributing editor, says, "If counter space is minimal, check out the J.A. Henckels International Modernist 6-Piece Studio Knife Block Set. It has a very small footprint—and shears!"

With just four ergonomic knives—a chef's knife, utility knife, paring knife, and serrated utility knife—this is a minimalist's dream. The knife block takes up little counter space, and the knives are dishwasher safe.

With a soft-touch cylindrical knife block and four basic knives (chef's, utility, paring, and Santoku), this set is lightweight and ideal for cooks who travel often—be it to friend's kitchens or just outside to the barbecue—and want to bring their knives with them.

Alexandra Colbus Lawrence, food blogger behind Keys to the Cucina, says, "I'm obsessed with my Kyocera ceramic knives. They would be best for a small kitchen because you don't need to sharpen them, and they come with a minimalist knife block for easy storing."

Describing this sleek, high-style knife block with bamboo and acrylic, Mackenzie Ryan, former Williams-Sonoma culinary expert turned food blogger, says, "These knives function as a statement piece and are less bulky on the countertop."

Global is a favorite brand of home chefs, and this set includes knives made of Cromova 18 high-carbon stainless steel. This set includes a utility knife, chef's knife, vegetable knife, and bread knife. It'll cover all your basic needs in the kitchen and look incredible on your countertop when not in use.

If you're just starting out, you need the basics. Don't distract yourself with multiple similar knives that could achieve the same result. That's why Haskelevich recommends this affordable three-piece Zwilling set for new cooks.

With a chef's knife, paring knife, and utility knife, this will accomplish all the slicing, dicing, mincing, and chopping you need to do in the kitchen, without any extraneous tools taking up room on your countertop.

Kitchen shears fans, take note. Jacobs says, "This knife set is a little pricier but includes a butcher block to hold your knives and one of my favorite, but often underrated kitchen tools, shears."

This six-piece knife set includes a paring knife, utility knife, and chef's knife, in addition to a honing steel for sharpening your knives at home. Made of high-carbon stainless steel, these knives are designed to maintain sharpness, and the spear point paring knife is perfect for cooks who often find themselves finely mincing and slicing veggies and fruits.

This knife block takes up minimal counter space, so Sidorenkov recommends it for cooks who are limited by a small kitchen but still want the classic feel of a bamboo knife block. This Japanese-made set is lightweight and balanced, with a beautifully contoured design. 

It has a chef's knife, santoku knife, and paring knife, as well as a ceramic sharpening rod, perfect for versatile home cooks who use their knives daily and want a regular at-home sharpening option.

With a chef's knife, serrated knife, paring knife, santoku knife, and utility knife, Stanton recommends this set as the perfect middle ground. For the experienced home cooks who want more than the basics but don't need a dozen plus knives laying around, it checks all the right boxes The knives are made from high-carbon stainless Japanese steel and feature a gently sloped bolster that feels balanced and lightweight in your hand. They're designed to feel as good as they look. 

This knife set grabbed our attention for two reasons. First, it comes with a countertop magnetic board, which is both space-efficient and striking. And second, it has a boning knife, which is perfect for home cooks who are looking to expand their knife collection and get into more complicated endeavors and meat preparations.

With comfort grip handles and stainless-steel blades, this is a great set for a cook who's ready to level up their collection, but it's also a great starting block since it covers the basics: a chef's knife, serrated bread knife, and paring knife.

These knives were featured in Oprah's Favorite Things in 2021. Need we say more? But, if you do want the details, this set, which includes a chef's knife, paring knife, and serrated bread knife, is made of incredibly sharp stainless steel and high carbon. It resides on a magnetic wooden stand (again, great for small spaces!), and the design of both the knives and the stand is perfectly modern and sleek. Plus, all of Material's products are made to "keep for life," so you know these are going to last.