About HENCKELS
HENCKELS traces back to 1731, when knifemaker Peter Henckels registered a twin-figure trademark with the Cutlers' Guild in Solingen, Germany, one of the oldest trademarks still in continuous use. The brand operates today as part of Zwilling J.A. Henckels AG, based in Solingen and owned by the Werhahn Group since 1970. Within that portfolio, HENCKELS (also sold as J.A. Henckels International) is the company's accessible line, positioned alongside its parent brand, and its product range spans knife sets, individual chef's and santoku knives, kitchen shears, cookware, and flatware.
The knives we've tested from HENCKELS span both stamped and forged construction depending on the collection: the Statement line's self-sharpening block hones each blade automatically as it's drawn out, while the Forged Premio santoku pairs forged high-carbon stainless with hollow-edge granton dimples more commonly found on pricier Japanese-style blades. Across the sets and individual knives we've reviewed, review counts run from the low thousands into the tens of thousands, with star ratings consistently between 4.5 and 4.7.
Brand website: henckels.com
What HENCKELS makes
HENCKELS's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Chef's & kitchen knives
stamped and forged individual blades, including the Classic and Forged Premio santoku lines — featured on DIYRated — featured on DIYRated
Knife block sets
self-sharpening and traditional block sets, including the Statement line — featured on DIYRated — featured on DIYRated
Kitchen shears
stainless steel kitchen shears sold individually and bundled into knife sets
Cookware
ceramic hybrid and aluminum nonstick cookware sets
Flatware
stainless steel flatware sets
Knife sharpeners & tools
manual and electric sharpeners rated for both Western and Asian edge angles
Why we recognized HENCKELS
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. HENCKELS earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
HENCKELS products we rated highly
HENCKELS Statement 15-Piece Self-Sharpening Knife Block Set
A top pick in our kitchen knife set testing: a self-sharpening block hones every blade as you draw it out, so the set stays table-ready without a separate sharpening tool. The 15-piece set covers a honing steel, kitchen shears, and six steak knives in one purchase, and more than 24,000 verified Amazon reviews back a 4.5-star average, a deep, well-established review history for a self-sharpening block set.
Read the 8 Best Kitchen Knife Sets of 2026 guide →
HENCKELS Classic 8" Chef's Knife
A top pick in our chef's knife testing: a precision-stamped one-piece blade holds a reliably sharp factory edge, and satin-finished high-carbon stainless steel resists staining and corrosion through daily use. It's manufacturer-rated dishwasher safe, a convenience most forged knives in that roundup don't offer, and more than 5,400 verified reviews back a 4.7-star average.
Read the 7 Best Kitchen Knives of 2026 guide →
HENCKELS Forged Premio 7" Hollow Edge Santoku
Featured in our chef's knife testing as a forged santoku option: hollow-edge granton dimples keep food from sticking to the blade during rapid slicing, and forged high-carbon stainless construction is dishwasher safe for easy daily care, a combination most forged santokus in that roundup don't offer at this price tier.
Read the 7 Best Kitchen Knives of 2026 guide →What earned HENCKELS the recognition
- Traces to Peter Henckels' 1731 workshop in Solingen, Germany, where the twin-figure trademark was registered with the Solingen Cutlers' Guild, one of the oldest trademarks still in active use.
- Operates today under Zwilling J.A. Henckels AG (Werhahn Group) as the company's accessible cutlery line, spanning knife sets, cookware, flatware, and kitchen tools alongside its individual knife collections.
- Products across our knife-set and chef's-knife testing carry review counts from the low thousands into the tens of thousands, with ratings consistently between 4.5 and 4.7 stars.
- Self-sharpening block engineering on the Statement line and forged hollow-edge construction on the Forged Premio line show up as distinct approaches across different product tiers, not a single flagship item.
- The Statement knife block set we tested carries a lifetime warranty.