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We put in hours of chopping to find the best knife sets for tackling dicing, slicing, mincing and peeling with ease.
Popular knife block sets from Ninja, Joseph Joseph, Sabatier and more were tested for sharpness, comfort and durability.
Our tests revealed big differences in cutting prowess and comfort. However, two Best Buys impressed us across the (chopping) board.
We also found that paying more doesn't always mean you get the best knife set – our Great Value knife set does a commendable job for less than £100.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the knife set test results below.
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Knife set | Cheapest price | Sharpness | Comfort | Dishwasher safe | Where to buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent | Excellent | ||||
Good | Excellent | ||||
Good | Good | ||||
Good | Good | ||||
Good | Average | ||||
Good | Average | ||||
Average | Average |
Date tested: April 2023. Pricing and availability last checked: 2 May 2023
All the knife sets we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best knife sets from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendation below.
Cheapest price: £499.95 for 6 knives at Global and Ecookshop
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Set includes 22cm bread knife, 20cm chef's knife, 15cm utility knife, 14cm vegetable knife, 11cm utility knife, 8cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 32 x 25 x 25cm (H x W x D)
Cheapest price: £40 for 5 knives at Amazon, also available at Argos, Robert Dyas
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Set includes 20cm carving knife, 20cm bread knife, 15cm chef's knife, 13cm santoku knife, 9cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 35.7 x 13.5 x 8.4cm (H x W x D)
Only available at Kuhn Rikon: £69.95 for 6 knives
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Set includes 20cm bread knife, 17cm chef's knife, 15cm large santoku knife, 12.5cm utility knife, 9.5cm paring knife, 9.5cm serrated paring knife
Dishwasher safe Yes
Size of the knife block 23.3 x 21.8 x 8.5cm (H x W x D)
Only available at Lakeland: £109.99 for 5 knives
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Set includes 22cm bread knife, 22cm carving knife, 20cm chef's knife, 10.5cm utility knife, 9cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe Yes
Size of the knife block 25 x 18.5 x 8.5cm (H x W x D)
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Cheapest price: £169.99 for 5 knives at Ninja, also available at Amazon
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Set includes 20cm chef's knife, 20cm bread knife, 20cm slicing knife, 13cm utility knife, 8cm paring knife, integrated sharpener
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 29.3 x 25.5 x 14.5cm (H x W x D)
Only available at ProCook: £429 for 5 knives
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Set includes 25cm carving knife, 23cm bread knife, 20cm chef's knife, 13cm utility knife, 9cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 25 x 18.5 x 8.5cm (H x W x D)
Need to know Also available in 3-piece and 8-piece sets
Cheapest price: £349.99 for 6 knives at Lakeland, also available at Robert Welch
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Set includes 23cm carving knife, 22cm bread knife, 14cm chef's knife, 14cm utility knife, 12cm serrated utility knife, 8cm paring knife, integrated sharpener
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 32 x 23 x 20cm (H x W x D)
Cheapest price: £69.95 for 5 knives at Harts of Stur, also available at Amazon
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Set includes 20cm carving knife, 20cm bread knife, 15cm chef's knife, 10cm utility knife, 9cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe Yes
Size of the knife block 17.5 x 19cm (H x W)
Cheapest price: £19.99 for 5 knives at Robert Dyas and Amazon, also available at Argos
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Set includes 20cm carving knife, 20cm bread knife, 20cm chef's knife, 13cm utility knife, 9cm paring knife
Dishwasher safe No
Size of the knife block 34.5 x 33 x 9.2cm (H x W x D)
We tested the most popular kitchen knife block sets and bought all the products we tested, rather than accepting samples from manufacturers.
Each of the following knives in the set were rated on how easily they completed specific tasks:
The chef's, utility and paring knives were used out of the box to slice through a piece of paper. The same test was carried out after the cutting tasks to see if blades had dulled.
A panel of testers used each of the following knives for specific tasks and rated them for how comfortable the handles felt:
If you have a set of kitchen knives that can no longer be used, you'll need to check with your local council if they can be disposed of with general household waste.
In some cases, you may have to take them to a dedicated recycling centre and dispose of them in the bin for scrap metals.
Whether they go into your general waste or are recycled, it's important to wrap the knives with paper, bubble wrap or cardboard to avoid injury to anyone who handles them.
Extra safety measures you can take include putting a cork on the tip of the blade and placing the wrapped knives in a puncture-proof container labelled with 'Caution: Sharp'.
Keep your knife blades sharp with our pick of the best knife sharpeners.