Step one is choosing between plain carbon steel and stainless steel. If you’re planning on a new kitchen knife, then stainless is the way to go. Actually, plain carbon makes no sense in the kitchen. If you’re looking for a fancy show piece then you want carbon. Oddly enough if you’re looking for a durable, outdoor, hack-n-slash knife then you will probably need a plain carbon steel as well.

Carbon Steel – 26C3

Carbon is great for special finishes like a hamon or a hand-rubbed finish. They look great but have to be cared for meticulously.

I use 26C3 for my carbon steel knives. It’s a very clean steel and takes a great finish.

For stainless steels I’ve settled on two types: AEB-L and MagnaCut. You can’t go wrong with either of them, but they are very different.

Stainless 1 – AEB-L

AEB-L knives are great cutters and can support insanely sharp edges. Also, they are easy to re-sharpen at home. You can select a machine finish or a hand-rubbed finish.

Stainless 2 -MagnaCut

MagnaCut is the latest miracle knife steel. I’ve read the hype, ran the tests, and am impressed with the results. I made a shop knife for myself as a real-world experiment. Oh Man, does that thing keep cutting! I used MagnaCut in a Gyuto for a professional caterer. He loves it! He’s been using it for months with only honing and it still doesn’t need sharpening. Sliced tri-tip for a party of 50? No problem.

The downside is that MagnaCut is expensive to buy raw (5 times more than AEB-L) and it strips the abrasives off my sanding belts. Because it is so abrasion resistant, I do not provide a hand finish as an option. Expect to pay 50 to 100% more for a MagnaCut blade.