Splurge or Save: Should You Buy Misen’s $94 Chef’s Knife or Imarku’s Budget-Friendly Alternative?

One of the most important kitchen upgrades you can make is to invest in a quality cutlery set. It’s difficult to improve your cooking skills — or merely prepare a quick and efficient meal — when your knives aren’t up to par. The wrong kind of knife can make simple tasks take twice as long, while a dull blade can prove downright dangerous. That said, quality knives can cost a lot, so sometimes, you’re better off starting by just replacing one of them. Our advice? Make it your chef’s knife. 

There’s no blade that’s more versatile when it comes to completing a wide variety of kitchen tasks. Our editors have tested many chef’s knives across a spectrum of price points, ranging from $20 to a couple hundred bucks. All of them may perform well in the beginning, but is a more expensive knife guaranteed to hold up better in the long run? It’s a great question for our Splurge or Save series, which compares two editor-tested and loved products that serve the same purpose but retail for different prices.

For this installment, we’ll be looking at Misen’s 8” chef’s knife, which retails for $94 full price. We’re longtime fans of pretty much everything the brand has to offer, including its nonstick pans, enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens, and other meal prep essentials. Up against Misen’s knife is the Imarku 8” chef’s knife from Amazon. It retails for $70 full price, but we frequently see it on sale for as low as $30. Both knives are editor-tested, so we have some thoughts. Stick around to learn whether you should splurge or save.

Imarku has a wide breadth of cutlery and cookware offerings on Amazon, but besides the chef’s knife, we haven’t tested any of them and therefore aren’t too familiar with how the brand’s products perform. Misen, on the other hand, is a mainstay in our staffers’ kitchens. The brand was founded with the goal of offering professional-grade cookware and kitchen tools for reasonable prices. Although Misen’s $94 chef’s knife is by no means the most expensive option on the market, it’s still a lot for a single piece of kitchen equipment. Let’s see how it compares to Imarku’s less expensive knife.

One good reason to splurge on a chef’s knife is because you’re going to use it every day. As a result, you want something sharp, durable, and fit for a lot of different tasks, so shelling out the cash for something that checks all of these boxes is worthwhile. When our own editors are looking for chef-grade cookware and knives, we often turn to Misen. And make no mistake — there are far more expensive blades out there than this $94 workhorse. But it’s still pricey enough to be a purchase you want to think about first, which begs the question of whether its nearly hundred-dollar price tag is worth the splurge.

As former contributor Erin noted in her review of Misen’s chef’s knife, it most certainly is. Before she tried it out for herself, she’d noted that it made The Kitchn’s list of best chef’s knives. “This hybrid-style knife is supersharp and incredibly versatile, easily tackling sweet potatoes and slicing through juicy ripe tomatoes,” our Best List reads. “The Misen faltered a little bit in the tender herb test, creating a few strings of uncut chives and basil … [but] overall it made agile, clean cuts. It was also comfortable to hold and was among the few brands that had a colorful handle.”

Erin detailed being able to seamlessly slice through tomatoes with this knife, and she said her mom used it to chop pecans without making a mess. Per her review, the blade also split an acorn squash in half with little effort and minced garlic like butter. “Not only is the blade made from high-carbon stainless steel that is known for staying both durable and sharp, but Misen also offers free sharpening for life — simply send them your blade when it starts to dull and they’ll restore its sharpness free of charge!” Erin added.

Much of what makes the Misen knife’s blade so sharp and long-lasting is the fact that it’s made from Japanese AUS-10 Steel. This steel has a much higher carbon content than other kinds, ranging from 0.95% to 1.1%, while other stainless steel blades typically have a carbon content percentage of 0.5% to 0.7%. The knife also has an ergonomic handle made of a thermoplastic called POM that resists cracking. It also has a sloped bolster, which not only makes the knife safer to use but also gives you more control as you slice and dice.

If $94 still seems like a lot to spend on a single knife, we feel you. Fortunately, there are plenty of budget-friendly picks out there. The trouble is that you don’t know whether a specific knife will last a long time despite its low price or if it’ll become dull in a matter of months. You can always read customer reviews, or better yet, check out some of our numerous cutlery reviews. In digging through them, we found one for Imarku’s 8” chef’s knife, which is sold on Amazon, sometimes for as low as $30. It might be $70 at full retail price, but we suggest holding out for a good discount (which never takes too long).

If you ask contributor Ian, who owns the Imarku knife, you don’t have to splurge on a chef’s knife to buy a high-quality one. “A good chef’s knife doesn’t have to be expensive,” he wrote in his review. “In fact, not only do they not have to be expensive, but they can actually be über-affordable. Plus, if you’re just starting to get into knives or cooking in general, you don’t want to blow entire paychecks on knives that need a little more care or experience to get the most out of.” That’s where this blade comes in.

Whereas the Misen knife utilizes a mix of Western and Japanese features in its design, this one is trademark Japanese engineering, evidenced by its thin, sharp blade and slightly lighter construction. The blade has a carbon content of 0.6% to 0.75%. Although it’s not as high as that of Misen’s knife, you’ll still find the Imarku to be a hard worker in the kitchen. “I use it for everything from breaking down whole chickens to dicing shallots and gutting peppers, but all vegetables and cuts of meat will tremble before you when they see you wielding this bad boy — and not just because of the supersharp edge, but because the not-too-heavy weight and ergonomic design lets you eviscerate endives and slice strip steak for hours on end,” Ian added.

Perhaps most important of all, however, is that the Imarku knife is a solid choice for both amateur and veteran cooks. Its balanced bolster and thick handle allow for control and precision, making it unlikely that you’d slip up and harm yourself in the process of using it. Even after a couple of years of use, it has held up in Ian’s kitchen splendidly.

The great thing about owning an expensive chef’s knife is you never have to worry about it becoming dull or eventually losing the qualities that made you reach for it all the time. That is, so long as you take proper care of it. The Misen knife has to be handwashed and dried immediately afterward, which is more important to consider than you might think. If you tend to be forgetful of such things, you might be better off choosing the cheaper version and not being as upset if it does eventually become damaged or worn out.

The decision to splurge or save also depends on your skill level. As we mentioned previously, cooks of all skill levels can use the Imarku knife, but Misen is better reserved for those with more experience in the kitchen. Not to worry, though — you can always upgrade to a more expensive knife when you do build up that expertise. So, if you mince, chop, and dice on the daily without faltering, treat yourself to a top-of-the-line chef’s knife that’s going to make meal prep faster and more efficient. If you feel at all hesitant or intimidated, the Imarku is for you. And who knows? You might find yourself never wanting to replace it.

Buy: Misen 8″ Chef’s Knife, $94
Buy: Imarku 8″ Chef’s Knife, $39.99 (normally $69.99)