Best knife sets 2025, tried, tested and reviewed by experts

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A bread knife that can seamlessly slice through crusty loaves without tearing is essential. Even this crisp-crusted roast potato focaccia is no match for a top-quality bread knife.

As the name suggests, a utility knife is an all rounder that can be handy for slicing cheese or trimming fat. They’re smaller than a chef’s knife so best reached for when a chef’s knife is just too large for the job at hand.

A paring knife may be small, but this nimble tool makes light work of intricate tasks like peeling and trimming fruit and veg. Choose a paring knife when prepping a classic apple crumble.

Knives can be made from a couple of different materials. Stainless steel is a popular choice owing to its durability and resistance to corrosion. It is more difficult to achieve a super fine edge on stainless steel, however. Carbon steel, while requiring a bit more maintenance, is known for its sharpness and excellent cutting abilities. Although there are none on this list, ceramic knives are lightweight and hold their edge for a very long time.

We put a variety of knife sets to the test to find which ones are worth buying. Read on to discover our top picks.

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Best knife sets at a glance
Best knife sets to buy 2025
What to look for in a good quality knife set
What are three good knives?
How we tested knife sets

Best knife sets at a glance

Best knife set for serious cooks: WÜSTHOF Classic 3-Piece Chef’s Knife Set, £299
Best mid-range knife set: Jamie Oliver by Tefal 5 Kitchen Knives and Wooden Block, £130
Best knife set for stylish kitchens: ProCook Professional X50 Contour Knife Set, £69
Best blowout knife set: ProCook Damascus Elite 8-piece knife set, £849
Best knife set: Katto knife set, from £324
Best knife set with integrated sharpener: Zwilling Professional S Sharpblock, £279
Best budget knife set: Victorinox Swiss Classic 7-piece set, £169
Best knife set for comfortable cutting: Circulon chef, utility and paring knife set, £60
Best pared down knife set: Stellar Poise 5-Piece Knife Block Set, £125
Best Damascus knife set: ProCook Damascus knife set, £449

Best knife sets to buy 2025

WÜSTHOF Classic 3-Piece Chef’s Knife Set

Available from Amazon (£250.26), WÜSTHOF (£299)

Best knife set for serious cooks

Star rating: 5/5

Knives in set: Cook’s knife, sandwich knife, paring knife

Investing in your kitchen kit? These are the real deal – used and loved by professionals, Wusthof blades are made from a single sheet of steel and are beyond sharp. It’s a good idea to brush up on your knife skills before using them.

The difference in working with knives of this quality is startling as they feel like an extension of the hand, slicing and dicing with a minimum of effort on your part. Keep them sharpened and hand wash with care, and they’ll last a lifetime.

This set comes with a perfectly weighted 20cm cook’s knife that we guarantee will become your go-to blade in the kitchen. It makes everything from portioning raw poultry to chopping veg effortlessly. There’s also a dinky paring and a long-bladed sandwich knife for complete versatility – there’s nothing this three-piece selection can’t tackle with ease.

Jamie Oliver by Tefal 5 Kitchen Knives and Wooden Block

Available from Tefal (£130)

Best mid-range knife set

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives in set: Chef’s knife, bread knife, utility knife, paring knife, Santoku knife

The storage block is a hefty weight, and we like the look of the multi-striped acacia wood and rounded edges. It’s more compact than a lot of the other sets we tried out, so won’t take up much of your valuable worktop space.

As well as a 20cm chef knife, the set includes utility, paring and bread knives as well as a robust 16.5cm Santoku which is particularly useful for chopping and dicing large amounts of veg on batch cooking day – the small Granton edge indentations prevented food from sticking to the blade as we worked.

The tips on the paring and chef’s knives are particularly sharp, which means absolute precision when prepping smaller ingredients like shallots or cutting oranges into pith-free segments.

Nicely weighted with riveted handles and German stainless-steel blades, this impressive set is a pleasure to work with and is built to last. We thought it was great value for money, considering the knives’ performance.

ProCook Professional X50 Contour Knife Set

Available from ProCook (£69)

Best for stylish kitchens

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives included: Chef’s knife, utility knife, paring knife

We liked the simplicity and style of this quality knife set and the dark, pronounced grain on the triple-riveted handles.

Performance wise, it scored highly, with all three knives making light work of chopping and dicing soffrito, slicing through tough celeriac and tackling more delicate cuts for a fresh fruit salad.

The chef’s knife in particular was a pleasure to use, as it wasn’t as long as some others we tried, at a chunky six inches. As the X50 German steel blades include carbon, this will withstand frequent sharpening to keep it at this grade of performance.

This set would look fantastic in a more industrial-style kitchen. But looks aren’t everything, and thankfully the performance of these knives also hit the mark.

ProCook Damascus Elite 8-piece knife set

Available from ProCook (£849)

Best blowout knife set

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives in set: carving knife, bread knife, 8-inch chefs knife, 6-inch chefs knife, 7-inch santoku knife, 5-inch santoku knife, utility knife, pairing knife

This large set of knives is impressive upon unboxing from its entirely recyclable cardboard packaging. It comes with a knife block which is slim enough to sit on your countertop without being imposing or to fit easily in a drawer.

The blades have a VG10 core with 66 layers of Japanese Damascus stainless steel and come with a 25-year guarantee, which shows the brand's confidence in the quality of its product.

The carving knife is long and elegant and cut through our roast chicken with ease. We really liked the style of the bread knife, which is a little longer and shorter than other models we've tested and cut through our sourdough crust like it was butter. The utility knife wasn't as sharp as we would have expected but it was still a brilliant knife for small tasks like supreming an orange.

Available from:
ProCook (£849)

Katto knife set

Available from Katto (£324)

Best knife set

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, santoku knife, utility knife

Hailing from Chesterfield in the UK, this Katto knife set is undoubtedly the most attractive on our list. The set we tested has beautifully tapered walnut handles, though beech and rosewood handles are also available. The blades are made from Japanese steel and feature a fabulous hammered finish. Not just a joy to look at, these knives thoroughly impressed us in test, too.

The chef’s knife cut through celery and carrot with relative ease, and we also managed to achieve a pleasant rocking motion with this knife. The santoku knife cut through butternut squash easily and took the tough rind off with deft precision. The utility knife is the smallest in the set and has a fine pointed tip that made light work of slicing through tomatoes and supreming an orange.

The handles in this set are on the larger side, so those with small hands may find them a little too big. Testers who use the pinch grip method also noted some rubbing on the forefinger where the handle meets the blade.

Katto is the only brand we’ve tested who offer free knife sharpening for their customers. Londoners can attend a monthly sharpening clinic or, if you’re outside of London, customers can arrange sharpening via post.

Available from:
Katto (£324)

Zwilling Professional S Sharpblock

Available from Zwilling (£279)

Best knife set with integrated sharpener

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, paring knife, serrated paring knife, utility knife, scissors

With innovation in spades, this knife block set was undoubtedly the most user-friendly of all the blocks we tested. Housed within each of the knife compartments is a sharpener so as you pull the knife out of the block, it’s sharpened automatically. And while knife blocks keep your knives stored tidily and safely, one of the big downsides is that it’s not always clear which knife is housed where. This Zwilling set features little icons next to each knife compartment so you know where to reach every time.

Each knife has a classic European handle: riveted and curved slightly at the end. The handles are particularly comfortable to hold and each knife felt well balanced. Although there are just five knives in the set, each is an essential. The chef’s knife tackled meat and hard veggies well. The blades are on the thick side, so cutting through foods with the larger knives was the smoothest of processes. The bread knife is on the shorter side at just 20cm long, however, very little effort was needed to slice through our crusty loaf. The paring knives and utility knife are where this set shines. The serrated paring knife is nimble and cuts through tomatoes really well. We enjoyed total control and a super sharp blade when using the paring knife.

As with all Zwilling knives, you can enjoy a lifetime warranty. The scissors are useful and brilliant quality, too.

Available from:
Zwilling (£279)

Victorinox Swiss Classic 7-piece set

Available from Victorinox (£169)

Best budget knife set

Star rating: 4.5/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, paring knife, serrated paring knife, santoku knife, bread knife, peeler, carving fork

The knives in this set come from the same range as those above. However, this set doesn’t come with a knife block or any storage options.

Presented in a simple plastic display box, this seven-piece set makes a great addition for a new home or if you’re looking to totally replace your old knives.

We loved the comfortable, ergonomic handles, as well as the additional textured surface that provides added grip. These knives are made in Switzerland and come with a lifetime warranty

Available from
Victorinox (£169)

Circulon chef, utility and paring knife set

Available from Circulon (£60)

Best knife set for comfortable cutting

Star rating: 4/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, utility knife, paring knife

The thing we like most about this useful set is the comfort of the handles. Made of a soft-touch plastic, the ridged undersides offer excellent grip, which is useful when you’re dealing with slippery ingredients.

At nearly 9cm long, the dinky paring knife has a sharp angle to its straight-edged blade, allowing for quick and even chopping of ingredients for a fruit salad. Precision slicing of kiwi skin and additional orange segments is easy as you cut down into the barrelled fruit.

The 15cm utility knife is the one we reach for most from this set. Perfect for sandwich making, it carves evenly from a roast chicken without tearing the meat, makes short work of salad content, and is sharp enough to keep crusty bread in perfect shape when sliced.

The large chef’s knife is not as sharp as some of its rivals, but thanks to the holes in the blade, ingredients like potatoes fall away without that annoying suction that often happens when using a wider knife.

Available from:
Circulon (£60)

Stellar Poise 5-Piece Knife Block Set

Available from Stellar (£125)

Best pared down knife set

Star rating: 4/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, paring knife, carving knife, bread knife, utility knife

Housed in a chunky wooden block, this knife set keeps everything you need to hand for kitchen prep and looks great on any kitchen worktop.

The set includes everything required for a variety of tasks – a paring knife, a carving knife, a serrated bread knife, a versatile utility knife, and a well-balanced eight-inch cook’s knife.

Their performance is impressive, with ultra-sharp stainless steel blades that are a pleasure to cut with when preparing vegetables and meat, or crushing garlic. The bread knife makes cutting crusty bread a breeze, easily sawing through thick crust without pressing the loaf into misshapen slices.

As with all kitchen knives, it’s important to work with dry hands and keep handles free of grease or food debris. The handles could benefit from extra grip, as the smooth casing and lack of rivets make it possible to slip forward toward the blade. Additionally, the blunt ends of the handles are not curved, as seen in some other sets – this small design tweak would help keep the hand in place while chopping.

ProCook Damascus 67 knife set

Available from ProCook (£449)

Best Damascus knife set

Star rating: 4/5

Knives in set: chef’s knife, bread knife, carving knife, paring knife, utility knife

Presented in a series of secure cardboard boxes, this Damascus knife set from ProCook is attractive and nimble-looking. We received the five-slot knife block which is slimline, allowing you to store your knives upwards on the kitchen counter or lay them down in a drawer.

Comprising all the essentials, these knives are generally comfortable to hold. Though our forefinger did rub on the bolster when using the larger knives.

We really liked the carving knife: it’s long and thin, so removed slices of roast chicken breast in a controlled and clean manner. The paring knife supremed an orange relatively well and the utility knife was nimble and very sharp. We struggled somewhat with the bread knife and chef’s knife, however. Some effort was needed to cut through crusty bread and some real force was needed when using the chef’s knife to remove the skin and dice butternut squash. There was also notable resistance when chopping root vegetables, particularly carrots.

These knives are available in myriad variations from ProCook, there’s the option to buy the knives alone, buy the slim block, knife wrap, classic-style block, and more.

Available from:
ProCook (£449)

What to look for in a good quality knife set

A knife set can be a costly upfront investment, so there are a few key factors to consider before buying:

What’s included in the set: the size of a knife set can vary hugely, think about which knives you actually need. If you already have a much-loved santoku knife or bread knife for example, you don’t need a set that includes these
Comfortable handles: the knives in your new set will all have the same handle, so its paramount that the handles are comfortable
Storage options: if you don’t already have knife storage like a magnetic strip or knife roll, look for a set that comes with a storage block. Not only do they keep your knives organised but they also keep them safe

What are three good knives?

Typically, a knife set contains three or more knives. The knives in the set can vary hugely, though every set we’ve tested includes a chef’s knife as standard. Most “typical” knife sets will also include a bread knife, utility knife and paring knife. Some sets may also include a carving knife, santoku knife, as well as useful accessories like a honing steel and kitchen scissors.

One of the main benefits of buying a knife set is affordability. Purchasing a set can often be more cost-effective than buying each knife separately. Additionally, some sets come with a block which provides a convenient and safe way to store your knives, helping to protect the blades from damage and preventing accidents in the kitchen. However, there are instances where individual knives may be preferable, such as when you require a specific type of knife for a particular task, e.g. a fish knife.

How we tested knife sets

We ensured that every knife in each set was put to the test to make sure there were no duds. For the chef’s knives and paring knives we tested them in exactly the same way as we did for their individual tests – slicing, chopping and and prepping a variety of hard and soft fruits and vegetables. Bread knives were - unsurprisingly - tested by cutting precise slices of crusty sourdough and we roasted a whole chicken and carved it up to test the carving knives. Santoku knives were tested the same way as chef’s knives and we used a couple of the same tests to try out the utility knives. Across all of our knife tests we have the same criteria:

Balanced knives: all knives should feel balanced in the hand, not weighted too heavily towards the tip of the blade or the handle
Comfy to hold: a long prepping session can see you holding your knives for a long time, whether large or small, all knives should have a comfortable handle that doesn’t restrict your movement
Versatile set: we asked whether the set provided a variety of different knives that someone would actually get around to using in their day to day
Sustainable: knives that have long or lifetime warranties scored highly. We didn’t want to see lots of plastic packaging either
Storage: if the knife set comes with storage options, we considered its appearance and if any special additions made using the knife block easier, e.g. symbols to show which knife was in which slot