If you’re wondering whether you need a boning knife, I have one question for you: Do you eat meat, poultry, and fish? If the answer is yes, chances are having one of these will make your life a whole lot easier—and might even save you some money while affording you more flexibility with your cooking, because you’ll be able to buy large proteins and break them down yourself.
The best boning knives
Unlike a chef’s knife, paring knife, or bread knife, a boning knife won’t come in most kitchen knife sets, nor is it something you’ll necessarily use every day. But for tasks like cutting fish into filets, trimming fat off a brisket, breaking down a chicken, or removing that pesky layer of silverskin from a cut of meat, there’s no better tool for the job. That’s because the best boning knives have sharp tips and thin, flexible blades that make them uniquely nimble and wieldy.
Now that we’ve (hopefully) sold you on why a boning knife is a worthy addition to your knife collection, read on to learn about the very best ones.
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The best boning knife overall: Wusthof Classic Boning Knife
For an excellent boning knife that can serve both professional chefs and amateur home cooks well, our top pick is the Wüsthof Classic.
The Wüsthof Classic’s straight blade makes it more user-friendly because unlike a curved boning knife (more on the differences down here), it gives users a clear line of sight between their hand and the tip of the knife as they work. This makes it easier to make precise cuts, no matter your skill level.
Besides blade shape there was a lot more to love about the Wüsthof Classic. The contoured polypropylene handle and generous bolster make it comfortable to hold in a variety of grips. The balance between the weight of the blade and that of the handle felt just right, and the knife was lightweight while still offering enough heft to tackle the butchering tasks at hand. The blade itself is thin without feeling flimsy. It strikes the right balance when it comes to flexibility, able to navigate around muscle and tissue with impressive agility without sacrificing the rigidity needed to cut through the denser parts of a cut of meat.
While it’s important to keep all of your knives in razor sharp condition, this is especially true for boning knives—which is why we were pleased with how well the Wüsthof retained its sharp edge in testing, and how easy it was to maintain at home with a knife sharpener when the time came thanks to its blade’s heavy, straight-sided steel.
The Wüsthof Classic was the best all-arounder we tested, but a more experienced cook might consider opting for a knife with a curved blade (great for navigating around large bones) or a thinner, more flexible blade (better for fileting fish). But if you’re looking for a boning knife that can accommodate all skill levels, this is a great place to start.
Blade style: Straight
Blade length: 5”
Blade material: Stainless steel
Handle material: Polypropylene
The best budget boning knife: Victorinox Fibrox Boning Knife
If you’re new to boning knives and are not keen on spending upwards of $100 on one, opt for the Victorinox Fibrox. Victorinox’s line of budget-friendly knives tend to fare well across our product tests, and this $30 knife is no exception.
In testing, we found the Victorinox boning knife easy to control and comfortable to hold thanks to its textured ergonomic handle. Like the Wüsthof, the blade strikes a Goldilocks ideal in terms of flexibility versus rigidity, equally adept at skinning fish as it is cutting cleanly through a thick slab of meat. And while the model we tested features a curved blade, the slope was gentle enough that we were still able to execute precise cuts with ease.
If the Victorinox’s price point appeals to you but you’re looking for a slightly different type of blade, fear not! The brand offers several variations of this model, including one with a more flexible blade, and a straight-sided option. All ring in at around the same price.
While the curve of this model’s blade is slight, it still may take beginners some time to learn how to properly work with it. That curve also means this knife isn’t quite as easy to sharpen as a straight-sided knife like the Wüsthof.
Blade style: Curved
Blade length: 6”
Blade material: Stainless steel
Handle material: Thermoplastic rubber
A boning knife upgrade: Shun Premier Boning Knife
If you’re a more experienced cook who’s no stranger to butchering meat, we’d point you to the Shun Premier.
Besides a luxe look (with a luxe price tag to match), The Shun Premier has a curved blade that’s less beginner friendly, but affords you better visibility when doing horizontal cuts like fileting fish or butterflying a chicken breast into thin cutlets. The blade’s rigidity is also something to note—it provides stability for those who know how to properly wield it.
In testing, this knife truly felt like an extension of the hand. The pakkawood handle is designed to be comfortable to hold in both a trigger and pinch grip depending on your preference. We also love the look of the shiny hammered finish of the stainless steel, inside of which lies a high-carbon VG-MAX “super-steel” core.
This is undeniably an expensive knife, and it’s not the best option for everyone. Many of the attributes that make it so great for experienced home cooks also make it difficult to get the hang of for beginners—namely, the curve and rigidity of the blade.
Blade style: Curved
Blade length: 6”
Blade material: Damascus steel
Handle material: Pakkawood
How we tested boning knives
To test boning knives we used them each to break down a whole chicken—a task that requires a variety of types of movements and cuts and is thus particularly telling of a knife’s merit. We removed the white and dark meat sections from the carcass, then used the tip of the knife to separate the wings. We made chicken “lollipops” by cutting the meat of the drumsticks away from the bone, and then set out to debone the thighs.
We evaluated each knife based on the following criteria:
The best boning knives strike a balance when it comes to weight. They should be light enough that they are easy to maneuver, but hefty enough to tackle tougher tasks like cutting through joints and cartilage.
Is the handle comfortable to hold?
An ideal boning knife should accommodate both underhand and overhand grips, and make switching between the two while working as easy as possible.
Boning knives come either straight-edged or with curved blades, and both have their benefits. Many professional chefs prefer curved blades, which are particularly adept at breaking down large cuts of meat. These require some getting used to, though, as the experience of using one is quite different from that of the straight-edged knives most home cooks are familiar with. The benefit of a straight blade is that it’s more user-friendly and acts as an extension of the hand, allowing its user to make precise cuts with relative ease.
How thick and long is the blade? Does it retain its edge well?
Boning knives need a blade that’s thin but not flimsy, capable of cleanly slicing the connective tissue between meat and bone. The blade’s length is also important. All of the knives we tested had blades between five and six inches in length, which we found to be an optimal middle ground. We also paid attention to each blade’s edge retention over time. Obviously we expected sharp blades out of the box, but looked for ones that held their edge and sharpened well when they eventually dulled.
Other boning knives we tested
Mercer Culinary Millenia 6″ Boning Knife
This is a great boning knife for the price. We found the textured, ergonomic handle comfortable to grip, and it fared well in our testing. It ultimately lost out to the Victorinox because its more aggressive curve makes it less beginner-friendly—something we were looking for in our pick for an affordable knife. That said, if you’re confident in your boning knife skills and looking for a budget-friendly option, the Mercer will serve you well.
Zwilling Pro 5.5″ Flexible Boning Knife
We liked the blade of this knife, but the sharp, angular design of its bolster kept it from earning our recommendation. It was uncomfortable to grip when we needed to choke up on the handle, and made it painful to switch between overhand and underhand holds.
Dexter Russell 6″ Boning Knife
We found the handle of this knife too bulky to comfortably hold and maneuver, which disqualified it from a top spot.
Steelport 6″ Boning Knife
Steelport knives are beautiful and this one is no exception. With its carbon steel blade and pretty wood handle, we really wanted to like this one—but unfortunately, it didn’t prove to be as functional as we’d hoped. The blade was too long for our liking, the handle was too big to afford us the control we were looking for, and the knife was overall too heavy to be comfortable to use for the tasks we presented it with.
More product test-winning knives to complete your collection
There’s no one perfect knife, but we’ll help you find the best one for you.
Bring on the crust.
A delicate tool for delicate tasks
Please, please don’t get more knives than you need.
Once you’ve read up on all of the best knives, head this way to learn about honing rods and knife sharpeners
Additional testing and reporting by Allison Robicelli
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