Le Creuset Sabatier 25cm Cook's Knife €93 Highs:Top-of-the-range knife makers Sabatier and quality kitchenware specialists Le Creuset have come together to bring us this very good knife.
It has a nice heft to it and while it looks more like a sword than a kitchen implement it can still manage delicate chopping tasks with surgical precision - as long as you have a fairly steady hand, of course. The "high technology" plastic handle has a nice non-slip grip and the blade is incredibly sharp.
Lows: Despite its hi-tech plastic handle it isn't dishwasher friendly, thanks, the packaging says, to the harsh chemicals found in dishwasher tablets. It might be a bit showy and could well prove to be too big and unwieldy for the slight of hand. The price is a bit severe too.
Verdict: Top quality, high price.
Star rating: *****
Kitchen Devil 15cm Cook's Knife
€16.50
Highs: Costing more than €100 less than the dearest knife, this is the budget option, and if you're looking for something simple and cheap to chop your onions then you'll not go far wrong with it. It's lightweight and dishwasher-friendly and very easy to use, and its everyday ordinariness and complete lack of pretension lends it much of its appeal.
Lows: While it is pretty sharp, it is not, however, anywhere as sharp as some of the more upmarket options, and it struggled every so slightly when it came to dicing a hunk of steak. While the other knives look pretty classy, this is a bit cheap-looking, so if you're a show-off and want to impress others with your mastery of the blade, this simply will not do.
Verdict: The budget option.
Star rating: ***
Global 13cm Cook's Knife
€80
Highs: This is a very funky-looking Japanese knife that eschews the traditional wood or plastic handle in favour of a single piece of carefully contoured steel. It is the most lightweight of the knives tried and is so sharp you could probably shave with it, although we'd be too scared to try. Compared to some of the monster blades we chopped with, this is dainty and small enough to fit into the littlest of cupboards.
Lows: Both this knife and the Samurai come from Japan, you know - and just in case you didn't, the packaging works very hard at reminding you, mentioning the ancient warrior tradition four times. "Like the Samurai swords before them each knife is carefully weighed," we are told. Samurai tradition or not, this could do with being a little heavier.
Verdict: The Samurai's choice
Star rating: ***
Zwelling JA Henckels 23cm Cook's knife
€123
Highs: Modestly calling itself the "world's finest culinary blade", this promises to cut three to four times sharper than other brands. It is, indeed, very, very sharp - frighteningly so, in fact. The handle is nicely designed and, surprisingly perhaps given the price, this knife is dishwasher friendly. It is seamlessly assembled and comes in a presentation box, so might make an ideal present for someone who fancies themselves as a chef.
Lows: Make sure you leave the receipt in the box so they'll know how much you've just spent on them, otherwise they'll never believe you've just splashed out €123 on a bloody knife. And speaking of bloody, this was the only knife which drew (vast amounts of) blood after nearly separating PriceWatch from its fingers.
Verdict: High quality and price
Star rating: ****
Richardson Sheffield 25cm Cook's Knife
€41.50
Highs: If you want a large, heavy and impressive-looking cook's knife that isn't savagely expensive, then this is surely the one to go for. While it is at least half the price of some of the models tried, it looks almost as expensive. It has enough weight in it to allow the knife rather than you do the chopping and when handled correctly can fly through a large amount of vegetables in no time at all.
Lows: It wasn't so good at chopping meat, however. While some of the competition cut through meat like it was melted butter, this found the task ever so slightly tougher. While its heavy weight might appeal to some, weaker wrists will struggle to get the best out of this blade.
Verdict: Not so sharp but better value
Star rating: ****
