Where to buy

Stores that specialize in kitchen knives will offer many more knives, and more varieties of them. They offer expertise, service, information, and a chance for you to hold the knives in order to determine if they’re comfortable. These stores include Williams-Sonoma, which has locations across the United States, and many other locally owned and nearby kitchenware stores across the country. At a specialty store, you’ll have the opportunity to try the knives out on a countertop cutting surface. You can practice the cutting, slicing, and chopping techniques that you use in your kitchen.

You’ll be able to feel the different handle types and decide what feels comfortable. And the selection of knives will be much greater than anywhere else. Plus, you’ll find that there’s someone at the store who can spend the time to help you find the knife that’s right for you. An added bonus is that most specialty knife stores offer sharpening services. If you choose not to sharpen your knives yourself, then this is a great, reliable service to have. The downside of a specialty knife store is the perception of higher prices.

At the other end of the buying experience are surplus or salvage stores. You’ll usually find a limited selection of very inexpensive knives. Occasionally, you’ll find a terrific knife that’s vastly underpriced. But these deals are very rare. Surplus and salvage stores often have mystery knives. You don’t always know the brand or the quality of the knife. It’s likely that the knives you’ll find are of a lesser quality than what you’d find in a knife specialty store or a big-box store.

You can also buy knives at big-box stores, which sell a limited selection of knives, often in sets that include basic knives, steak knives, scissors, and a knife storage block. The benefit of big-box stores is often in pricing. Boxed sets of multiple knives are usually featured. From reputable manufacturers, these can be a very good value. But since the knives are packaged to prevent mishaps, you can’t hold the knives in your hand, try them for comfort, or see how they feel on a cutting board. This is one of the reasons they offer competitive pricing on their knives. Also, you may have to purchase multiple knives in a set to get the one or two that you really want.

Many of the knives at big-box stores are from reputable manufacturers, including Lamson, J. A. Henckels, Wüsthof, Messermeister, KitchenAid, Dexter-Russell, Victorinox, Forschner, Sabatier, and others. These are not cheap, poorly made knives. Many are very good and will last a long time. But sometimes a quality difference does exist between knives from a box store and those from a specialty store, even when they’re from the same manufacturer. Does this mean that a Wüsthof knife from Target is inferior to the one from a local cutlery store? Not necessarily. It may be the same knife, or it may be different. This means that you have to ask about them at both stores. And if the knives are different, will this matter to you? This is something that only you can determine, on a knife-by-knife basis.

And finally, there’s shopping online. Buying your knives online allows you to compare pricing and delivery times without having to leave your home or pajamas. For many people this is a huge benefit. But while online shopping may offer very competitive prices, it also takes away the option of holding the knife to see if it’s comfortable. Or to even see, beyond its online picture, what it looks like.