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Best kitchen utility knives
A kitchen utility knife is best for cutting food that's too small or fiddly using a chef’s knife. The narrow blade and small tip should mean the best utility knives handle delicate tasks, such as thinly slicing fruit, and trimming and filleting with ease.
We've tested the most popular kitchen utility knives from Global, Lakeland, ProCook, Robert Welch and more costing from less than £10 up to just under £100.
Our testing revealed that you don't need to spend big to get the best kitchen utility knife for sharpness, dicing, slicing, mincing and ease of use and we've found two Best Buys that'll cost you less than takeaway and impress you just as much.
The best kitchen utility knives
Only logged-in Which? members can view the kitchen utility knife test results below.
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| Knife | Cheapest price | Sharpness | Comfort | Weight | Blade length | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very sharp | Excellent | |||||
| Very sharp | Excellent | |||||
| Very sharp | Average | |||||
| Sharp | Excellent | |||||
| Very sharp | Very good | |||||
| Sharp | Excellent | |||||
| Sharp | Excellent |
Date tested: February 2022. Pricing and availability last checked: 9 April 2023.
Need a full set of knives? Check out our reviews of the best bread knives and best chef's knives
The kitchen utility knives we tested
All the kitchen utility knives we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best kitchen utility knives from our tests.
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Chopaholic Kitchen Utility Knife from Jean Patrique
Cheapest Price: £9.99 available at Jean Patrique, also available at Amazon.
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Blade length: 12.5cm
Handle length: 10.5cm
Weight: 57g
Forest & Forge Utility Knife with Horse Chestnut Wood Handle
Cheapest Price: £89.99 available at Lakeland, also available at Dexam.
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Blade length: 13cm
Handle length: 10cm
Weight: 68g
Global Stainless Steel Utility Knife
Only available at Harts of Stur: £59.95.
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Blade length: 11cm
Handle length: 11.5cm
Weight: 90g
John Lewis & Partners Professional Utility Knife
Only available at John Lewis: £30 (in-store only).
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Blade length: 12.5cm
Handle length: 10.5cm
Weight: 77g
Kitchen Devils Lifestyle Utility Knife
Cheapest Price: £9.20 available at Amazon, also available at Wayfair.
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Blade length: 11.5cm
Handle length: 10.5cm
Weight: 38g
Mercer Culinary Utility Knife
Only available at Amazon: £12.06.
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Blade length: 14.5cm
Handle length: 14.5cm
Weight: 106g
Robert Welch Signature Flexible Utility Knife
Only available at Robert Welch: £56.
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Blade length: 16cm
Handle length: 13cm
Weight: 140g
Want to complete the set? We tested the Robert Welch Signature Cook's knife when we were finding out the best chef's knives.
Sabatier Triple Rivet Utility Knife
Only available at Dunelm: £9.
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Blade length: 13cm
Handle length: 11.5cm
Weight: 80g
Viners Assure Utility Knife
Cheapest Price: £3.50 available at Dunelm, also available at Amazon, Viners
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Blade length: 12cm
Handle length: 10.5cm
Weight: 42g
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How we tested kitchen utility knives
To single out the best kitchen utility knives, we put our the most popular knives through the following series of tests. We bought every kitchen utility knife we tested.
How sharp when new?
We tested each knife to see how sharp they were when brand new.
We did this by:
- Shining a light directly across the cutting edge of the blade.
- Reflections on the cutting edge are proof of dullness.
- The fewer areas of reflection, the higher the knife was rated for sharpness.
How sharp for cutting?
We then used each knife to cut through the following:
- Paper We dragged each knife down through the paper in a slicing motion. Only the sharpest of knives are able to do this.
- Chicken breast Diced.
- Butternut squash Cut longways with our weight on the blade's handle, then cut into chunks.
- Tomato Sliced through the centre horizontally on a chopping board. A knife needs to be razor sharp in order to do this in a single gliding motion.
The best utility knives were able to slice through everything with ease, but the worst got stuck or, in some cases, couldn't even breach the item.
Ease of use and comfort
Each knife was also rated on completing three basic kitchen skills including how comfortable each handle was:
- Dicing onions
- Mincing garlic cloves
- Julienning carrots.
The best knives were the easiest to control when completing these tasks, and also offered us secure and comfortable grips.
The worst knives made these tasks more tricky and in some cases left us with sore hands.
How sharp after use?
After all the other tests had been completed, we examined the knives' cutting edges again and compared the results with those we got at the start.
- The best knives maintained their cutting edge.
- The worst dulled quickly.
Build quality
We checked each knife for any manufacturing flaws or faults while considering the design and shape of the blade and the handle, what the knives were made from, as well as how much care and attention had been put into the finishing touches.
What's the best way to sharpen kitchen knives?
Even the sharpest blades will dull over time. Therefore, having a sharpener on hand can help you get the best out of your knife time and again.
When we tested the best knife sharpeners, we found a whetstone combined with a honing steel gives the best results, but also requires a bit of a knack to do it properly.
If you don't know what you're doing with a whetstone, you could risk damaging the cutting edge of your knife.
For most people, the easiest and safest way to sharpen your kitchen knives is with a handheld sharpener.
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Where should your fingers be when using a kitchen utility knife?
To maintain optimum control and keep your fingers safe, you should hold the knife in your dominant hand with your index finger and your thumb near the front of the handle and press tightly against the flat sides of the blade.
There will be an indentation or curved space designed for your finger and thumb to sit comfortably and safely on good knives.
If you need a bit of extra power in your slicing, you can place your fingers on the spine of the blade to help push down.
Your other hand should be kept in a claw grip while you're steadying the food on the chopping board (ie fingertips tucked under).