A high-performance knife turns a good cook into a kitchen samurai, so it pays to know what you're paying for. But you don't need to cut chunks out of your budget to buy a good quality knife. Some affordable options deliver a must better cost to quality ratio compared to the more expensive knives, even if they don't perform quite as well.

We lab test and review the latest kitchen knives to help you find the best knife for your cooking needs. We review non-serrated, 20cm cook's and chef's knives. Our expert testers put each knife through its paces to find out which ones:

• have the best cutting performance
• have the best initial sharpness
• have the best sharpness following a blunting test.

We note the blade type (forged or stamped) handle shape and material, weight and general feel of using each knife. Our experts also provide some real-world feedback on how it feels to use each knife.

We've partnered with Shop Ethical on this update to show the ratings the Ethical Consumer Group gives to each company.

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CHOICE is an independent, nonprofit organisation dedicated to helping consumers. Clicking a link will take you to a retailer's website to shop. While we make money if you buy through some retailer links, this doesn't influence any of our rankings. 100% of the money we make goes straight back into our nonprofit mission. We're currently testing this service and will consider providing more shopping links in the future. Tell us what you think.