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See why.Slicing/Carving Knives
Want perfect slices at your holiday table? Lose the chef’s knife.
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What You Need To Know
There you are at the head of the table, with family and friends arrayed expectantly on either side. You’ve got a carving fork in one hand and a chef’s knife in the other. It doesn’t end well: Before long, the rosy roast is reduced to a pitiful pile of slabs and shaggy slivers.
If you’re spending time and money on a special meal, it’s worth getting the right tool to serve it. Unlike shorter chef’s knives and pointed, flexible carving knives, slicing knives are long and straight for smooth, even slicing. They have rounded tips so as to be less threatening for tableside serving.
For years, when we wanted perfect slices, we turned to a nearly $55 12-inch slicing knife from Victorinox. To see if it’s still the best, we retested it against seven new knives, priced from roughly $28 to $118, by slicing more than 150 pounds of turkey breast and roast beef and rating each knife on its handle, blade, sharpness, and agility.
Comfortable, grippy handles were imperative, as was the right degree of flexibility: Bendy blades bailed out midcut, leaving behind ragged slices. Stiff blades went where they wanted, not where we asked. Subtle but present flexibility allowed for control and strength.
Length mattered, too. We had to insert shorter blades to the hilt to get a full slice, causing our knuckles to brush against the meat; longer blades gave us more room to work. We also liked taller blades because they put more distance between our fingers and the sharpened edge. Called a bevel, this edge tapers to a point like a V and ranged from 14 to 20 degrees wide on either side, depending on the knife. As in our chef’s knife evaluations, we preferred narrower blades because they’re sharper.
Lastly, when it came to those scalloped divots called Grantons that dot the side of many knives, we preferred blades with them. And we spoke to N. Brian Huegel, knife expert and owner of Country Knives Inc., in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, to understand why. According to Huegel, Grantons break up the resistance on the blade, and the reduced friction makes it easier to cut even slices, thick or thin.
In the end, our old favorite wowed us all over again. “I feel like I can do anything with this knife,” said one tester. It was long, tall, sharp, and just flexible enough to give us utter control and perfect slices.
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Blade: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 3 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 3 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 3 stars out of 3.
Our previous winner turned in another gold medal performance: “Every slice is perfect,” said one tester. It was comfortable and sharp, with a long, tall blade that was “just flexible enough so you feel like it’s doing what you tell it to.”
Recommended
- Blade: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 3 stars out of 3.
This blade felt “sharp” and “flexible, but not too much.” Though a few testers disliked the pronounced tab on its underside, its rounded handle felt “intuitive” to most, and its classic black riveted design was particularly elegant—nice for tableside slicing.
- Blade: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 2 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 3 stars out of 3.
This agile blade was long and sharp and moved through meat with a controlled, even stroke. The handle felt grippy but had a deep divot underneath, which put some testers’ index fingers in an “awkward” position.
Recommended with reservations
- Blade: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 2 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 2 stars out of 3.
This knife’s wide, thick blade felt dull and seemed like “more work” to cut with. A few testers also found its handle too fat for comfort.
- Blade: 2 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 2 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 2 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 2 stars out of 3.
This knife felt “well constructed” and “sharp” but slightly too short. Its handle was small, too, so testers banged their knuckles on the cutting board.
Not Recommended
- Blade: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 3 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 1 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 3 stars out of 3.
This knife was sharp and had an ergonomic handle, but it was too short. “My fingers are running into the meat,” said one tester. The company makes a longer version, but it doesn’t sell it in the States. We hope it does soon.
- Blade: 1 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 2 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 2 stars out of 3.
This knife lacked Grantons, so testers had to “work harder” to get a decent slice. Since it was too short in both directions, testers had to take extra care not to touch the meat, and they banged their knuckles on the cutting board.
- Blade: 1 stars out of 3.
- Handle: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Agility: 1 stars out of 3.
- Sharpness: 2 stars out of 3.
This “heavy and dull” knife had a thick spine, a wide blade angle, and a potbelly underneath its handle that “splayed open” our hands, stressing our fingers and weakening our grip.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
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