8" Chef's Knife

In my first comparison, 3 knives stood out. This was the biggest surprise of all of them. See, Zwilling has something of a reputation for... let's say "budget-quality" knives. I suspected they just backed up a dump truck full of money to Bob Kramer's house so they could stick his name and his trademark Way-Too-Tall™ profile on their same old also-ran knives. Boy howdy, was I wrong. 52100 steel makes all the right compromises for home cooks. It's easy to maintain, easy to care for (for a carbon steel at least), and with this geometry, it fucking flies through anything in its path. The handle feels so lovely, I don't even mind that it's formica and resin with gaudy gold fittings on the end. Just sensational all around. Great work, Zwilling. Sorry for doubting you, Bob.

I was intimidated by this knife at first because of it's bulky profile, but it's actually very pleasant to use. It's weighted toward the front which is great for preventing wrist discomfort, and the blade holds an edge like a champ! It is a carbon steel knife, so you just need to make sure you're drying it quickly after washing or it'll rust.