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What are the best hand forged kitchen knives to start with?

Two knives cover most kitchens: a chef knife for everyday prep and a cleaver for anything with a bone in it. From this page, the Chef's Kiss 7" or the Kermode 7" handles vegetables and boneless meat, and the Warthog 6" or the Megalodon 6.6" takes joints and ribs. Add a trimming or fillet knife later if you smoke meat or catch fish. If you want everything in one box, the Mastercraft 4 Piece Set covers bone, fish and fine slicing. For the cleaver half of that decision, our guide on what a meat cleaver is used for explains which jobs actually need one.

What does the lineup cover?

The heavy end of the page leans toward meat. The Kraken and Kodiak carry their weight forward for joints and game, while the Aurochs adds a spear point you rarely see on a cleaver, handy for getting into tight spots. At the light end, the Hellfang and the Barracuda do the careful work around fat, silverskin and fish bones.

What makes a hand forged knife different?

A stamped knife is cut out of a sheet of steel like a cookie. A hand forged knife starts as a bar that is heated and shaped under the hammer, one blade at a time. Ours are forged in the Serbian style: thick, cleaver shaped blades, hand hammered flats and the raw forge scale left on. Some, like the Megalodon, have a finger hole through the top of the blade for close control when trimming. The hammer texture also does some work, since dense food and wet meat release from it instead of clinging. Because every knife is forged on its own, yours will differ slightly from the photos and from every other one we make.

Why high carbon steel?

It takes a keen edge and sharpens up well on a stone. In return it asks one thing: keep it dry. Wash by hand, dry right away and wipe on a light coat of food safe oil. Leave it wet in the sink overnight and it will rust, which is on the sink, not the steel. Over time the blade darkens into a patina, which is normal. Our high carbon steel knife care guide walks through it. The Aurochs 6" and the 7.5" Hand Forged Butcher Cleaver both carry raw forge scale with a polished edge, so the flats look worn in from day one anyway.

What backs every knife on this page?

The numbers behind the brand are 250,000+ customers, 102,318 reviews and 5+ years of forging. You can read what people say on our reviews page. Every knife carries a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship, and the warranty page has the details. You have 30 days to send back any unused knife. Shipping is free in the USA and Australia, from warehouses in Memphis, Tennessee and Melbourne, Victoria. For more single blades, browse our hand forged meat cleavers and butcher knives.

Read before you buy

If you are new to hand forged knives, whether hand forged knives are worth the money gives a straight answer, including when a factory knife is the better buy. How forged and stamped knives differ explains what the hammer marks on these blades mean. Buying for someone else? Our knife gift ideas sort blades by occasion. If you mostly cook vegetables and boneless meat, our chef knives for everyday prep are the place to start.