That Cheap Dollar Tree Kitchen Knife May Be Tempting, But Here's Why You Should Avoid It

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Any chef worth their salt knows that their knives are the VIPs of all their cooking equipment. With the right knife, you can chop, slice, cleave, julienne, and even peel. With the wrong knife, however, a simple task like cutting an avocado can turn into a painful and expensive ER trip. That goes for choosing the incorrect type of knife, but it also applies to choosing a low-quality blade, since a sharp knife is a safe knife, and cheaper knives often lack when it comes to the blade.

In cooking, as is the case with any type of widget inside the kitchen or out, price doesn't automatically equal quality. Sure, Ina Garten's favorite knife brand, Wüstof, is gorgeous, tremendously ergonomic, and (very) expensive, but, for the deal-savvy, there are cheaper knives that will do a great job making all your meals. Perhaps don't try to buy your everyday knife at Dollar Tree, however. 

Yes, it's true that the store sells a Santoku knife for $1.25 (as of this writing). If miscellaneous social media reviewers and even comments on the item's own product page are to be believed, however, this ultra-affordable blade is also often dull, flimsy, and perhaps even dangerous as a result. While nicer knives shear effortlessly through potatoes, garlic, and chicken carcasses, the Dollar Tree knives reportedly require a lot of force and sometimes even sawing to manage basic prep tasks.

We've covered the fact that knowing how to use a whetstone (safely!) on your knife collection can prevent accidents and keep you cooking effortlessly. Again, sharper knives are actually safer knives, despite what seems like contrary logic, because you are more likely to incur deep wounds when hacking away at something with a dull knife. Unfortunately, sharpeners can't do much with Dollar Tree knives beyond the short term, because the metal isn't a high-enough quality to stand up to regular whetting. Unless you are literally seeking a disposable knife for a single-time use, such as on a short camping trip or outdoor party, you should probably leave the dollar store knives on the rack.

Again, however, this isn't to say that you need to spend three figures on a high-quality knife. Actually, you need not even spend half that. Over on Amazon, the brand Mercer Culinary touts the highest-rated specimens of both a workhorse eight-inch chef's knife and a 7-inch Santoku knife. The former doesn't even break the $20 mark. Over 10,000 reviews apiece praise the grip, comfort, and cutting ability of these knives. If you keep them sharp, you will have awesome knives at a great price. But don't take our recommendation: if you look around, you will find lots of worthy knives that cost less than your monthly coffee budget. Granted, they may not be $1.25, but sometimes you get what you pay for ... in a bad way.