How much do you need to spend to get good kitchen knives? I asked 2 professional chefs and they unanimously agreed

Anyone who has been subjected to a blunt knife when cooking will know full well the importance of investing well in this particular cookware element. The difference a good knife can make is stark – but how much does getting hold of one actually cost?

I asked several professional chefs to find out how much you should be spending on one of the best knife sets and the best chef's knives. After all, if anyone should know, it's them. Here's their verdict on how much you should spend and the features you should be looking for.

How much should you spend on kitchen knives?

The first chef I spoke to on the subject was Tim Anderson, MasterChef 2011 champion and author of Hokkaido: Recipes from Seas, Fields and Farmlands of Northern Japan (£19.88 on Amazon).

For him, the answer to this question lies in the technical details.

'A decent Swiss or German chef’s knife will be about £80-100,' starts Tim. 'Japanese knives start at about twice this much, but to be honest you won’t start to see any better value until you spend around £300 or more.'

If your heart stops at the thought of spending hundreds of pounds on this part of your cooking arsenal, then there's an important caveat.

'At this price point you can really start to feel the weight of the knife and quality of the steel, but this level of craftsmanship is really not that necessary for most home cooks,' Tim continues. 'Ask yourself: are your kitchen tasks mostly things like slicing sashimi, butterflying eel, or sheeting vegetables using the katsuramuki technique?'

'Or are they more like slicing tomatoes, jointing chicken, and chopping veg? If it’s more like the latter, get a cheaper knife and a whetstone and just learn how to keep it sharp.'

Owner and executive chef of 40 Dean Street, 64 Old Compton Street and 27 Old Compton Street, Nima Safaei agrees with those sentiments, saying 'If you're wondering how much to spend on a kitchen knife that will stand the test of time, it’s always worth investing in quality over quantity, especially if you cook regularly.'

'But what if you're not ready to drop several hundred pounds on a single knife? In this case, the most important thing isn’t the price tag; it’s keeping the blade sharp. A blunt knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one, if it can’t slice through a tomato with ease, it’s not sharp enough to use safely.'

Tim has some recommendations for that particular kind of lower-maintenance knife.

'I have a little supermarket own-brand paring knife at home. I don’t even know where it came from,' says Tim. 'It is categorically a poor-quality knife, the blade is warped, and it must have cost no more than a tenner. But I keep it sharp, and it is absolutely fine for topping strawberries, slicing garlic, and even deboning chicken thighs.'

My go-to knife for everyday use (even though I spent a lot of money on a knife last year during my travels to Japan) is similarly inexpensive and kept in good condition by sharpening it.

The bottom line? How much you need to spend is all about what you'll use it for. If you keep it in good condition, then as a home cook, you should be able to get away with one of the knives below.

Which knife brands are recommended by professional chefs?

Seeing as there's little more important in the day-to-day working life of a chef than a good-quality knife, it's unsurprising that they have plenty of opinions about which brand is best.

'It’s hard to go wrong with Victorinox,' says Tim Anderson. 'They’re cheap, easy to sharpen and maintain, and reasonably durable – they won’t fall apart if you chuck them in the sink or chop through the odd chicken bone.'

Nima Safaei has a different number one. 'My personal favourite that I always swear by is Blenheim Forge, which is widely known as the best in the game due to its handcrafted kitchen blades – every chef I know loves them.'

'Their Santoku knife is a particularly versatile Japanese-style blade, which I believe is one of their top sellers; it’s definitely a staple in my kitchen. Yes - they are expensive, but they also come with a lifetime warranty, making them the ideal investment for chefs and cooking lovers alike.'

Regardless of opinions on brands or specific knives, both chefs are agreed on one thing: no investment is as important your system for how you look after your cookware.

'What brand you buy doesn’t matter as much as how you maintain your knives. Don’t abuse them, learn how to use a whetstone, and take them to be professionally sharpened every now and again,' says Tim Anderson. 'I think too many people see knives as fetish objects or investments, but really, they’re tools. They need to be strong, and of a certain standard in terms of quality, but they also need to be something you can use every day without worrying too much about them.'

Do you have a routine for maintaining your knives that you swear by or a favourite brand?