Wusthof Classic 8" Review

The Wusthof Classic 8" is an 8-inch forged steel blade made in Germany. It comes with a full bolster and a polymer handle, and the bolstered version we tested weighs 9.1 ounces.

Performance Comparison

Cutting Performance

The forged steel of the Wusthof Classic really shines here. Unlike stamped knives, which can sometimes lack the impeccably precise edge a home chef needs, this German-made blade features X50CrMoV15 steel that proved its prowess in our multitude of cutting tests.

With a reported Rockwell Hardness (HRC) value of 58, the Wusthof is well-designed to hold an edge through many meal prep sessions. We measured an HRC value of 54 in our laboratory tests, which is still one of the hardest blades in our lineup, despite being difficult to get an accurate measurement due to the thin nature of this forged blade.

We put this knife through the wringer, breaking down a full chicken carcass, slicing through tough squash, dicing Costco-sized bags of onions, and chiffonading basil for toppings. It retained impressive chopping ability from start to finish over our many-month testing period, slicing through tomato skins with as much ease on Day 100 as Day 1.

Wusthof reports their Classic 8" chef knife is sharpened to a 14-degree angle. Our lab goniometer measured 15.75 degrees, with a 0.5-degree margin of error.

This puts the Wusthof well within the margins of an average chef knife — and more than up to the task of making fine slices.

Practicality

Worth noting is that the fully-bolstered Wusthof Classic is a heavy knife that we measured weighing 9.1 ounces. Although not necessarily a detriment to its usage, sometimes, when performing unique off-kilter tasks or spending long hours in the kitchen toiling over excessive meal prep, this added weight can feel cumbersome. This didn't bother all of our testers, but those with smaller hands and those who are shorter (i.e., closer to the cutting surface) felt it was overly heavy at times.

On the other hand, the weight of this chef knife was actually quite useful in several circumstances. When cutting though root vegetables, oversized pineapples, or a particularly tough cut of meat, the extra weight gave our testers more confidence in their cutting.

The handle of the knife is well designed so that it never feels slippy even when breaking apart chickens or cutting through wet fruit and veg. The thick, full bolster provides an excellent grip even as we failed to dry our hands between cutting different items. This burly knife always felt confidently secured in the hands of all our testers in every situation we encountered.

Ergonomics

The Wusthof is one of the most consistently comfortable and ergonomic knives we tested. Across all of our testers, we found it to have a universally loved hand feel. The polymer handle doesn't look like anything special, but as we directly compared it to all the other knives in our full lineup, it feels better than all the other similarly-designed handles.

Although the Wusthof was one of the heaviest knives we tested, at 9.1 ounces, its weight was so perfectly balanced that it never felt clumsy. Indeed, most of our testers appreciated the heft in their hand and agreed that they could feel the quality with which this knife was made.

The version we tested includes a full bolster that is thin enough to be unobtrusive while still giving a good grip when needed. It is well-designed and slim enough that testers who preferred knives without them didn't mind having it there.

Wusthof makes another line of cutlery that is similar in quality to this one called the Ikon, which does not include a bolster if that's more your style.

Build Quality

The Wusthof is made in Germany by a company with a reputation for making fine-quality knives for hundreds of years — and it shows. Every detail of this knife, straight out of the box, was perfect, and we were unable to find any manufacturing flaws whatsoever.

We performed a paper slice test with every chef's knife we tested, straight out of the box. The Wusthof sailed easily and cleanly through the paper without any catching that might indicate a flaw in the blade's manufacturing or irregularities in its sharpened edge.

Though understated and unassuming, we feel the Classic 8" chef's knife gives an air of authority to anyone who owns one. It's both a workhorse in the kitchen and offers a clean, functional, elevated look to your knife collection.

Should You Buy the Wusthof Classic 8"?

In a word, absolutely. The Wusthof is a knife that nearly everyone will be extremely pleased with. From a highly experienced chef to a novice cook, the Wusthof will perform what you need aptly and enjoyably. Though it's on the pricy end of the spectrum, this knife is built to last for years of heavy use.

What Other Chef Knives Should You Consider?