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Overview:

Germany, along with Japan has long been considered the premier manufacturing center for fine cutlery. This article will help give you some information on German kitchen knives and our opinion on the relative strengths and weaknesses of various brands. We rank these knives in order of quality not cost.

#1 Wusthof Ikon Knives:  WNew to the Wusthof line in 2007. Wusthof has hit a home run with these knives. They have combined a comfortable handle with a tapered bolster. These knives are consequently well balanced and have superior sharpness. The handle design echoes the Classic line with 3 rivets and the same material that many will be accustomed to from Wusthof's Classic line. This line gets a grade of A.

#2 Henckels Twin Cermax:

This line was developed 2 years ago to compete with the explosion of popularity in high end Japanese kitchen knives. In fact, Henckels manufactures these knives in Japan. The blade is as sharp as a scalpel. We found the Micarta handle to offer excellent ergonomics. The fit and finish overall get our highest mark. Unfortunately, these knives are also the most expensive they offer and there are a limited number of styles available. If you want a great knife from Henckels this is the line to choose. Overall we give this knife line an A-.

#3 Messermeister Meridian:

The Messermeister meridian line has several features we like in a top quality knife. First, they polish the edge which gives the knife a great aesthetic quality. Second, they use a tapered bolster which is comfortable to use against your index finger while allowing for easy re-sharpening over years of use. These are great knives and would be a fine addition to any kitchen. This line gets a B+

#4 Henckels Twin Select:

The Henckels Twin Select line has an all stainless steel look which we find very attractive. We found these knives to have comfortable, ergonomic, stainless steel handles. Some of our testers thought that they may be hard to grip if you have wet or greasy hands. The blade edge was very sharp but not as sharp out of the box as the Henckels Twin Cermax. We suspect that the edges were sharpened to differing angles. Also the knives have a large bolster which is common among many German knives which make the knives difficult to sharpen at the base of the blade over time. We much prefer tapered bolsters or bolsterless designs. Overall we give this knife line a B+.

#5 F Dick:

F Dick has a long and storied tradition but an unfortunate name. Their premium plus line of knives is comparable in steel quality to other more popular brands but tend to cost less money than the others. For this reason we give the nod to this brand for best buy. Also, the handles were updated 2 years ago and are slightly superior to Wusthof's Classic and Henckels Pro S lines. This line gets a B+ and our Best Buy Rating for German Knives.

#6 Wusthof Classic:

Wusthof's best selling line of knives. We like these knives very much but we think a few small changes are needed to put them near the top. We like F Dick's ergonomic handle better and Messermeister's tapered bolster. If you like Wusthof we recommend the Le Cordon Bleu line listed above. We give this line a B.

#7 Henckels Pro S:

This is Henckels best selling line. It features their famous 3 rivet handle design along with their premium forged blades and full tang. Some have criticized Henckels for welding the blade to the handle instead of the more traditional method of forging the entire knife at once. This is a cost saving method but we have never heard of anyone breaking a knife at the weld which is invisible to the user. Again we would prefer this knife to have a tapered bolster and the edge is not very steep out of the box which makes them a little less sharp than we prefer but on the flip side the edge they provide lasts a long time before you need to re-sharpen. Overall we give this line a B.