"This is seriously, one of the best German knives in my kitchen, and my wife also loves this knife. It's stays nice and sharp, has a thin cutting profile, and the olive wood handle is one of the best real wood handles I have used. It's curvy and and shapely, and very comfortable to hold."

-Burrfection

"This is seriously, one of the best German knives in my kitchen, and my wife also loves this knife. It's stays nice and sharp, has a thin cutting profile, and the olive wood handle is one of the best real wood handles I have used. It's curvy and and shapely, and very comfortable to hold."

-Burrfection

Perfect for road trips or camping, this portable set makes preparing food a breeze. The set includes a folding chef's knife, a cutting board and case. In celebration of July Fourth, this set will be discounted 40% from July 2 to July 4. Messermeister is a women-owned, California-based company that creates unusual knives the old fashioned way for durability.

By Mary Forgione

When I camp and backpack, I’m a heat-up-noodles kind of person. For gourmet campers, the correct tools can make a difference. Messermeister, a woman-owned business based in Ojai, sells a line of Adventure Chef knives for those who want to “cook outside like a pro.” One item of note: a folding 6-inch chef’s knife...

Useful and multipurpose, the Messermeister Kawashima utility knife perfectly lives up to its name. By Amanda Shapiro

“Useful, especially through being able to perform several functions” is how the dictionary defines “utility.” Ever since my first grown-up kitchen, I’ve been wedded to the same standard 8-inch chef’s knife, plus a rotating case of paring knives. But since the Messermeister Kawashima 6-inch utility knife entered my life a few months ago, it’s been pretty much glued to my hand.

By Michael Sullivan and Christine Cyr Clisset

If you’re looking for a high-end, truly superior set, we recommend the Messermeister Royale Elité 10-Piece Knife Block Set. The forged German blades are extremely well-balanced and sharp. Though they will require more frequent honing than some of the Japanese knives we tested, they were far more durable than all the other sets we tried in this price range. This Messermeister set...

by Perri O. Blumberg

You may not be an Iron Chef (yet), but it’s safe to say your knife skills have come a long way in the past year. And while many opt to use European chef’s knives, there’s good reason to invest in Japanese knives. For one, their construction gives you precision when making very specific knife cuts, whether hasu-giri (diagonal cuts), sen-giri (matchsticks), or wagiri (thin rounds). For another, they’re durable. And last but certainly not least...

Our West Coast editor shares her favorite purchases, from hiking boots to a surfboard. By Rebecca Misner

Originally a left coaster, I spent as much of my childhood as I could barefoot and outside. Up until three years ago, I lived in NYC and longed for easier access to nature. Now, as the West Coast editor at Condé Nast Traveler, I’m based in San Francisco, and I love that I’m able to get to the city’s Ocean Beach or to great hiking...

by Sasha Marx

Like having a collection of houseplants, or a large reusable tote bag stuffed to the brim with more reusable tote bags, owning a set of steak knives is a tangible, material proclamation of adulthood achieved. Steak knives appear on seemingly every wedding registry for a reason: They fall into that category of aspirational but non-essential household items you always wanted to have, but maybe never felt the need to drop a serious chunk of change on for yourself...

by Daniel Gritzer

One of the biggest misconceptions about the particular type of kitchen tool you see above is the belief that it's a knife sharpener. It doesn't help that many manufacturers sell their honing steels as such. But a honing steel is not a sharpener. Ridged, rod-like honing steels, or "stropping irons," as they're sometimes called, do not sharpen blades; they realign them...

by Daniel Gritzer

Kitchen shears are one of those afterthought culinary tools. Many people simply don't have them, and I'd be willing to wager that among those who do, it's more often than not the cheap pair that comes as part of a knife-block set. After all, as far as cooking equipment goes, scissors are somewhere on the "optional" end of the necessary-cooking-equipment spectrum, right?

by Daniel Gritzer

Ihave a bit of a kitchen knife–buying obsession. It helps that I can justify many of my purchases for work (how else am I going to write comprehensive reviews of chef's knives, bread knives, and paring knives?), but I'm still stuck trying to deal with the consequences of all those purchases: How do I store so many knives? Even if you don't purchase knives for work, there's a decent chance that you...

When it comes to carving pumpkins, it’s pretty hard to find a high-quality knife for this job. Those who don’t know what kind of knife to look for might end up with a pumpkin carving knife that’s dull and will break within a few uses, and that’s the last thing that you want. Locating the best knife for carving pumpkin requires some knowledge. Once you have them, you’ll be able to find many amazing options out there! They don’t have to be huge. In fact, the best knife for carving pumpkin isn’t necessarily that complicated! To make things clear, we’ll show you some of the best knives...

If you’ve spent some time in the kitchen, then you know how important it is to have high-quality knives. Trying to chop vegetables or carve meat with a dull, low-quality knife just doesn’t compare! Here we’ve gathered plenty of information on the top German knife brands to simplify your search for the perfect knife.

As you read on, you’ll find that each knife brand comes with various benefits and drawbacks. You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons against your expectations to find the ideal knives for your kitchen!

By Kristin Hanes

Adam Glick is no stranger to the nomadic lifestyle. As a professional chef aboard yachts ranging from 90 to 225 feet, he always had a campervan at the ready in the marina parking lot.

In the beginning, back in 2008, Adam lived in a beat-up old van with no windows. He calls himself one of the original “van lifers”, long before it was something cool to show off on Instagram...