The first time you use a knife on a griddle, you’ll probably say something along the lines of, “Why haven’t I thought of this before?”
Whether you’re cutting a piece of steak to check if it’s cooked or quickly dicing up an onion, having a knife for your griddle quickly becomes a necessity.
And before you panic, yes, you can use a knife on a griddle. Read more on that here.
In this article, we’ll be helping you decide on the best knife to use on a griddle. We’ll outline their pros, cons, and ultimately why they deserve a spot in your countertop knife block.
Let’s get started!
The 4 Best Knives to Use on Griddle
Here are four of the best knives we tested on the griddle:
Our first pick is BRODARK’s 8-inch chef knife with its beautiful stonewash finish. Right off the box, the first thing we noticed was how premium this knife felt in our hands.
If you look at the spec sheet, nothing really stands out. BRODARK doesn’t specify the type of steel on this blade, but upon closer examination it turned out to be VG10 steel.
The steel is composed of 0.93% carbon and 14% chromium, which gives the blade excellent durability and acceptable resistance to corrosion.
Edge retention and toughness were acceptable, but we were especially delighted with how sharp this blade is.
From chopping veggies on the griddle to slicing meat to check if it’s cooked, the experience was nothing but exceptional.
Overall, a great all-rounder knife that’s sharp, light, and fairly balanced in our hand. Add the elegant design and G10 handle and we’re sold!
Pros
- Premium look and feel
- Extremely sharp
- Fairly balanced
Cons
- Slightly expensive
The GrandMesser chef knife set features an 8-inch satin-finished blade and an incredibly light 5-inch blade.
We can’t deny that the knife set is sharp and seemingly durable. However, we did notice some inconsistencies in the spec sheet, and GrandMesser hasn’t addressed our question as of writing this guide.
For example, this set is marketed to have 3Cr13 stainless steel, which is a low-end Chinese type of steel. It offers high corrosion resistance but subpar edge retention.
While checking the product page, we noticed that the knife set is also marketed to have 1.4116 stainless steel, a low-end German type of steel that offers slightly better edge retention and slightly worse wear resistance.
Don’t get us wrong, the knife is sharp straight out of the box. It also feels durable (albeit a little heavier towards the blade side) and easy to grip and operate.
If you want the best bang for your buck, you won’t be disappointed with the GrandMesser knife set. However, if you’re looking for something a little more dependable in the long term, you might want to look elsewhere.
Pros
- Best bang for the buck
- Durable blades
- Impressive, grippy handle
Cons
- Subpar edge retention
KBK offers this beautiful Japanese-style blade that comes with a hammer-finished wooden handle.
It’s made from 440C stainless steel, which is a formidable mid-range type of steel. It’s sharp, durable, and offers excellent corrosion and wear resistance.
For the price point, we have zero complaints when it comes to this blade. If we’re to be a little critical, we were a little disappointed because the tip of the knife felt a little dull out of the box.
The weight of the blade was also leaning towards the blade side, which made operating with this knife a little bit tricky.
Again, this is one of the best-valued blades you can buy on the market right now. It’s also worth mentioning that the 8-inch blade sells at exactly the same price. So, if you prefer cutting with 8-inch knives, you’d be getting even more value out of your purchase.
Pros
- Elegant design
- 7-inch and 8-inch options are available
- Excellent edge retention
Cons
- Needed sharpening out of the box
Ytuomzi completely caught us off-guard with this ultra-sharp, 8-inch chef blade. It’s made of 5Cr15 steel, which is leaning towards the low-end spectrum.
However, it just felt effortless to cut anything on the griddle. The blade is also very well-balanced, so it made the process much more enjoyable.
The handle looks wooden but probably isn’t. We think it’s a type of polycarbonate, but we couldn’t verify the material.
What matters is the handle was comfortable and non-slip, and for the price tag we really weren’t expecting anything more.
Overall, an inexpensive and extremely sharp knife that left us with a smile on our faces. Oh, and did we mention it comes with an elegant blade guard, too?
Pros
- Surprisingly razor-sharp
- Well-balanced
- Feels durable
Cons
- The handle is practical but feels cheap
What to Look for in a Griddle Knife
If you want the ideal knife to use on a griddle, here are some things to look out for:
Type of Steel
This is, by far, the most important element to look out for in a griddle knife.
There are hundreds of steel types to choose from. Some are more common, like the Japanese 440C stainless steel, and some are virtually unheard of.
If you’re looking for an affordable knife, you should take whatever is on the product page with a grain of salt.
You don’t need to familiarize yourself with over 3500 grades of steel to make a decision. Here’s what you need to look for in the blade:
- High chromium content for corrosion resistance
- Roughly 1% carbon content for edge retention
- 58+ HRC
- Addition of molybdenum for machinability
Balance
The knife’s balance is one of the most crucial factors in determining the quality of the knife. Knives that have more weight towards the blade will be significantly harder to operate.
To test if your knife is well balanced, lay the knife flat on three fingers from the very beginning of the handle. If it tips off towards either side, it’s not the ideal knife for you.
Sure, you can eventually get used to the added weight on one side, but for prolonged cooking sessions on the griddle, it’ll simply get tiresome.
Size
There’s an ongoing debate about which knife size is “perfect” for the griddle. There’s ultimately no definitive answer on the best knife size. A small knife with a 6-inch blade will give you a sense of agility, especially if you have a small griddle.
A longer knife, like a 10-inch blade, will definitely cut more in terms of volume, but it’ll also feel more intimidating. If you own a small griddle, it becomes a nuisance more than a perk.
The sweet spot of griddle knives would be a 7-inch blade, but if you want to go for something a little bigger, 8-inch blades will be a more popular option.
In Conclusion
We can’t help but recommend the KBK Santoku 7-inch knife as the best knife to use on a griddle. It’s affordable, extremely sharp, and looks and feels premium from all angles.
In any case, you can’t go wrong with any of our top picks.