As a Montreal smoked meat cutter, I use it at work for many hours. It maintains its sharpness and for the money it is well worth it. Would prefer if it was just a bit heavier and a wooden handle would have been fantastic. The metal is excellent considering it is not forged. I am nearing retirement and did not want to spend $400+ on a new knife.

Zwilling Kitchen Knives Review: Everything You Need to Know

Zwilling is considered by many to be one of the best kitchen knife brands in the world.

But what makes Zwilling knives so special? Are they the right knives for your kitchen?

In this in-depth review, I break down the pros and cons of Zwilling kitchen knives.

Company Background

Zwilling J. A. Henckels, the company that owns the Zwilling brand, is one of the oldest and most distinguished knife manufacturers in the world.

The company launched in 1731 in Solingen, Germany, a place that’s become known as the “City of Blades” since it’s the home of several prominent knife makers, including Zwilling, Wusthof, and Böker.

True to their German heritage, Zwilling knives are crafted with precision and expertise only acquired by innovating for hundreds of years. Although the design and materials vary by collection, every knife is ultra-sharp, made with high-quality steel, and built to last.

Zwilling J. A. Henckels started as a knife maker but has expanded into cookware, small appliances, flatware, and kitchen accessories. Besides Zwilling, the company owns several other kitchenware brands, including Henckels International, Miyabi, Staub, Demeyere, and Ballarini.

People often confuse Zwilling and Henckels knives , but they are two distinct brands with their own collections and product offerings.

I published an in-depth comparison detailing the differences, but the key takeaway is that Zwilling is Zwilling J. A. Henckels’ premium brand, offering high-end kitchen knives, while Henckels is the more accessible brand, offering entry-level, affordable knives.

Materials and Construction

The most important part of a kitchen knife is its blade, and Zwilling takes pride in how it produces each piece.

Most Zwilling blades are forged rather than stamped. What does this mean, and does it matter?

A forged blade begins as a single bar of steel, which is heated to extremely high temperatures, pressed into shape, and tempered to set the steel’s hardness. That process, while labor-intensive, results in a thicker, stronger blade that will last longer and retain its edge better.

Stamped knives, by contrast, are “cut” from a sheet of steel in a process that somewhat resembles the cutting of cookies from a sheet of dough. It’s much easier and less costly to mass-produce stamped blades, which is why you’ll find them on most discount knives.

Simply put, forged knives are higher quality and more durable than stamped knives.

Although Zwilling offers some stamped collections, such as the popular Gourmet collection, most of its knives are forged.

Regardless of how the blade is made, Zwilling uses high-carbon German steel (X50CrMoV15) to make all of its knives (the same steel that Wusthof uses). It’s an alloy of carbon, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, all of which have roles in increasing the steel’s strength and stain resistance and improving its edge retention.