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Snatch a forged J.A. Henckels chef's knife for $39 right now

Save $20 and upgrade the blade that matters most.

David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. He earned a BA in English from Northeastern, and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or the best way to cook bacon. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits.

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David Watsky

July 16, 2021 9:02 a.m. PT

There are knives specifically engineered for every kitchen cut -- slicers, hackers, fileters -- but the most important one is your chef's knife by a country mile. If you don't have a solid chef's knife, you can grab J.A. Henckels' Premio forged 8-inch chef's knife for just $39 plus free shipping on Amazon. That's $20 off the list price and a solid deal on a quality hunk of sharp German steel.

See it at Amazon

The key here is that this knife is forged, not stamped, which means the blade was crafted from one single bar of steel that was then heated and pounded into shape. There are some decent stamped knives out there but, in general, forged knives are more substantial, stronger and better balanced. They're also usually significantly more expensive, which is why this Premio forged chef's knife from one of the world's best-known producers for $39 is a nice value.

I haven't gotten my hands on this exact knife but I have used plenty of Henckels' blades and they're the real deal. In fact, I just bought a similar Henckels chef's knife for my brother (and paid about double).