	Name	Purchased for ($)	Link	Made In
	Wizeka	$96.00	Search on Amazon	China
$96 for a set advertised as food-grade German stainless steel with a 15-degree hand-polished edge. It finished first overall. The 95 g paring knife had the sharpest factory edge in the lineup at 140, the chef's knife was sharpest at 130, and the Santoku second sharpest at 150. Retention is nearly as good: 10 points lost across the Osage orange, a 7% drop and third best, then 20 points on the cutting board for second place. The extra mass drove the blade hard into the plate in the drop test and it still came away with only a small amount of damage.
	Global Osaka	$200.00	Search on Amazon	Japan
$200 for a hand-crafted, ice-tempered six-piece bamboo block set made in Japan, Rockwell 56 to 58, with 10 to 15 degree double-bevel edges. It is the edge-retention champion: the 65 g paring knife entered the hardwood test at 180 and came out at exactly 180, the only set to lose nothing at all, then dropped just 10 points on the cutting board after sharpening. Its Santoku had the sharpest factory edge of any in the group at 125 and its chef's knife was second at 135. Two caveats: the high-carbon steel rusted badly under the corrosion spray and these knives are meant to be hand washed, and the handle was the least comfortable in the lineup.
	Farberware	$20.00	Search on Amazon	China
$20 for 14 knives plus scissors and utensils, advertised as superior high-carbon stainless steel that never needs sharpening. The paring knife is the lightest here at 38 g and arrived the dullest, needing 400 g of force where the sharpest set needed 140. Its chef's knife read 605 and its Santoku 340. It was left out of the sharpening round because it is not designed to be sharpened, and its edge began to rust within an hour of the corrosion spray. One redeeming result: it took the drop test better than anything else, earning the best possible tip-durability rating of one.
	Astercook	$40.00	Search on Amazon	China
A 15-piece set at $40, about $2.67 per knife, advertised as dishwasher safe. The 42 g paring knife came out of the box genuinely sharp at 170, fourth best in the lineup, and the chef's knife at 195 and Santoku at 175 were both respectable. Holding that edge is the problem: 100 weighted passes across Osage orange cost it 70 points, and after being sharpened to 115 it gave up 85 more on the cutting board. The blade tip proved soft in the drop test, with part of it breaking off and the rest badly bent.
	Hunter.Dual	$40.00	Search on Amazon	China
Also $40 for a 15-piece set with a self-sharpening block, advertised as German high-carbon stainless steel, nonstick, rust resistant, and dishwasher safe. The 46 g paring knife measured 235 out of the box and lost 70 points on the hardwood. It recorded the single worst retention result of the group after sharpening: taken to 110, the sharpest reading of any knife at that stage, it finished 100 cutting-board passes at 315 — a loss of 205 points. Its chef's knife read 260 and its Santoku 290.
	Martha Stewart	$49.00	Search on Amazon	China
A 14-piece forged stainless steel set at $49 with full tang construction, hand wash only. The 63 g paring knife started at 175 and lost just 20 points on the hardwood, and the chef's knife at 165 and Santoku at 165 both led the field at the point they were tested. After sharpening it held 45 points better than average on the cutting board. It also shared the best possible corrosion rating of one with the ZWILLING, showing only water spots after the rusting agent. Its weakness is the blade tip, which is thin and took a very bad bend in the drop test.
	McCook	$56.00	Search on Amazon	China
$56 for a 15-piece German forged stainless steel set, hand wash only. The 55 g paring knife has a less aggressive sharpening angle than the Martha Stewart and measured 235 new, trailing the Astercook by 65 points; the chef's knife came in at 245. It shed 80 points across the Osage orange, the largest drop of any set in that test, and 60 more on the cutting board after sharpening. Its blade tip is thicker than the Martha Stewart's but took just as much damage in the drop. The handle was among the more comfortable in the group.
	Cuisinart	$65.00	Search on Amazon	China
$65 for the 15-piece classic forged triple-rivet set with a limited lifetime warranty. The 78 g paring knife measured 200 new and gave up only 25 points on the hardwood, one of the better retention results at this price. Its chef's knife is the second heaviest here at 242 g and read 215, matching its Santoku exactly. After sharpening to 110 it finished the cutting-board run at 160. The heavier paring knife held up considerably better than most in the drop test, though the tip still picked up damage, and a small amount of rust formed during the corrosion spray.
	Henckels	$110.00	Search on Amazon	China
$110 for the German-engineered line made in China, advertised as ultra sharp and as the last knives you will ever buy. At 97 g the paring knife is the heaviest here and it was second sharpest new at 150. It then lost only five points across the Osage orange, a 3% drop and the best retention of any set in that test, and 35 points on the cutting board for third. The chef's knife read 180 and the Santoku 170. The heavy blade tip held up really well in the drop test, and only a couple of rust spots formed during the corrosion spray.
	Imarku	$130.00	Search on Amazon	China
A 16-piece set at $130 advertised as razor sharp with a 13 to 15 degree edge and marketed as Japanese, though it is made in China. The 74 g paring knife arrived 100 points duller than the sharpest knife at 240, and the chef's knife (210) and Santoku (260) followed the same pattern. Retention is better than the factory edge suggests: 20 points lost on the hardwood and 50 on the cutting board after sharpening. Being about 20% lighter than the Henckels, its tip took noticeably more damage in the drop test, but it showed only a couple of areas of shallow rust.
	ZWILLING	$156.00	Search on Amazon	Germany
$156 for six pieces, the only set in the group actually made in Germany, sharpened to 15 degrees and advertised as dishwasher safe and as staying sharp longer than the competition. The paring knife is extremely light at 48 g and read 165 new, third sharpest, losing 15 points on the hardwood. The chef's knife is sharper still at 140, third best in that test. It came through the drop test with only a small amount of tip damage and was one of two sets to earn the best possible corrosion rating of one, showing no visible rust at all. The set does not include a Santoku knife.
	Yatoshi	$250.00	Search on Amazon	Japan
The most expensive set here at $250, made in Japan from high-carbon steel with a claimed Rockwell hardness of 57 to 58 and a soft-grip handle. The 83 g paring knife did not arrive razor sharp at 210, and the chef's knife (200) and Santoku (265) were no better relative to the field. It shed 45 points across the Osage orange. After sharpening it did hold an edge well, losing 40 points on the cutting board, and its tip came through the drop test with only minor damage. The handle was the most comfortable of the twelve. Like the Global Osaka, its high-carbon steel rusted considerably under the corrosion spray.

Best Knife Set: 12 Sets Tested from $20 to $250

Top Picks

Price

Paring Knife Sharpness Out of the Box

Sharpness Lost After 100 Passes on Osage Orange

Sharpness Lost After 100 Passes on a Cutting Board

Chef's Knife Sharpness Out of the Box

Santoku Sharpness Out of the Box

Paring Knife Weight

Chef's Knife Weight

The Verdict

Related Tests

Top Picks

Price

Paring Knife Sharpness Out of the Box

Sharpness Lost After 100 Passes on Osage Orange

Sharpness Lost After 100 Passes on a Cutting Board

Chef's Knife Sharpness Out of the Box

Santoku Sharpness Out of the Box

Paring Knife Weight

Chef's Knife Weight

The Verdict