Cangshan Review: Are Their Best Knife Set Designs Worth Buying?

Cangshan Cutlery makes some of the most beautiful kitchen knives in our opinion. As you’ll see throughout our review, they focus heavily on design, their materials, and the user’s experience. Though Cangshan is a relatively new company, they’ve already made a big splash in the kitchen knife industry.

Henry Liu, the founder of Cangshan, introduced his company’s knife designs in 2015. His goal was to make beautifully designed, functional kitchen knives from quality materials. And that’s exactly what he did. Today, Cangshan offers both Western and Japanese-style knives all constructed using premium materials and having striking designs. They offer up to 25 different series. Almost all are made in their Yangjiang, China factory; however, in 2020 Cangshan entered into partnerships with factories in Solingen Germany, and Seki, Japan. They are currently working to release a German and Japanese line made from each of those locations.

The first thing you’ll notice about Cangshan knives is how many different collections they offer. There are so many it can be difficult to keep track of what’s what. However, what sets each of the series apart is their unique designs. Specifically, the handle designs. All of their knives have a very modern look and feel to them and they have won dozens of design awards. Here’s a great marketing video that’s a good introduction to their brand.

Cangshan Materials

Blade Materials

Even though Cangshan has so many collections, most are all made from the same process and materials. The majority of their knives have full-tang forged blades with a mix of full bolster and no bolster designs; and, all are sharpened to a 16-degree angle. German X50CrMoV15 steel is the most commonly used steel across their knife lines. This is a high-carbon stainless steel that is used by many well-respected German brands (such as Wushtof and Henckels). It is durable, hard enough to make and retain a sharp edge but not so hard that it is brittle. For their more premiere series, Cangshan uses Swedish Steel. Swedish Sandvik 14C28N is used in their many T series collections and Swedish Damasteel RWL34 Powdered Steel is used in their popular Thomas Keller Signature Collection. The Swedish steel is harder than German steel but because it has a more stable internal structure it is not as brittle as other steel of the same hardness.

Cangshan has a few stamped collections that are more budget-friendly and use lower-end Swedish Steel. They also seem to be expanding upon the materials they use with their new German and Japanese lines. The new German Prazision Series is made from German MA5 Steel, which is similar to X50CrMoV15 steel, though Cangshan claims it offers more corrosion resistance and is heat treated to a slightly higher hardness. The new Japanese Kita Series uses Japanese 67-layer Damascus VG10 steel. This is a common high-end steel used in Japanese cutlery. It is exceptionally hard allowing it to be sharpened to an incredibly sharp edge which is required for preparing most Japanese cuisine.

Handle Materials

Handle material and design are what set Cangshan apart from other knife brands. Their handles are ergonomic and comfortable to hold and with full tang construction, they feel weighted and balanced in your hand. The handles are made from a variety of materials including food-safe polymer, teak, African blackwood, walnut, or steel. These are incorporated throughout the different collections with different designs and rivets to give each series a unique look. The different materials provide not only a range of designs but also an option between lighter, smaller handled vs larger, heavier handled knives.

Different maintenance requirements also come with these different handle materials. We never recommend putting any knife in the dishwasher. On top of handwashing, it’s recommended that mineral oil be applied regularly to knives with wooden handles to keep them from cracking or looking dull.

Cangshan Knife Collections:

With so many Cangshan collections to choose from, it can be hard to compare and contrast them all. To make it easier, we’ve organized them into similar categories based on materials used and provided a picture of their handle design along with other important features to consider when purchasing kitchen knives. If you don’t have time to look through all 25 collections, we’ve also included reviews of our favorite Cangshan Knife Sets below.

Premier Collections

Cangshan’s premier collections include the Thomas Keller line, designed by the Michelin-starred chef himself, and the five T series. These are all fully forged, full tang knives made from Swedish Steel. They chose this steel for its ability to be heat-treated to a hardness that will allow it to be incredibly sharp yet durable. These knives all have good edge retention but will still need to be sharpened every few months if used regularly; with just moderate use, once to twice a year will probably be sufficient. With award-winning designs and quality materials, the knives in these collections not only look great but perform well. These are the most expensive knives Cangshan makes, yet, they are still mid-range when compared to other brands.

Click on each series to see the current price and reviews on Amazon.

Western-Style Collections

As mentioned earlier, most of Cangshan’s knives are forged from German X50CrMoV15 Steel. All of these knives have full tang, fully forged blades that have been heat-treated to a Rockwell Hardness of ~58. While these blades are softer than the Swedish blades found in the premier collection, they are still sharp and there is less concern about them being brittle. They will require more frequent sharpening but are also easier to sharpen at home.  Each of the following series is made from quality materials and offers a great balance between durability, edge retention, and cost. There are currently seventeen different handle designs to chose from so there’s sure to be a series that fits your style.  As you’ll see below the last few series listed seem as though Cangshan is discontinuing them (probably to make room for new designs).  If you’re interested in one of those styles you may need to act fast before they are gone!

Click on each series to see the current price and reviews on Amazon.

Stamped Collections

Cangshan makes three series of knives that have stamped blades as opposed to forged ones. These are more budget-friendly as they are less time-consuming to make. As you can see below the W series uses the same German X50CrMov15 Steel as the collections above. The TG and P2 series use a lower-end Swedish Sandvik 12C27 Steel. Both steels undergo the same heat treatment as all Cangshan knives giving them a hardness of ~58-59. The blades in each of these series are full tang; however, keep in mind, that they have no bolster meaning they will feel lighter in your hand than many of the forged knives. While the W and TG series have more modern handle designs, the P2 series was created specifically for fast-paced, commercial kitchens. Therefore its design is based more on function than style.

Click on each series to see the current price and reviews on Amazon.

Japanese Collection

The J series is currently the only available Japanese-style knife Cangshan has on the market; however if you continue reading you’ll see they are in the process of adding another line. While this series is still manufactured at the factory in China, it is crafted from X-7 Damascus Steel that’s layered over VG10. The blades are heat treated to a hardness of ~60 to give them the durability needed to hold a razor-sharp edge. Unfortunately, this also results in them being more brittle, and frequent honing will be required to keep the blades performing well. Overall, this is a good, quality series and that is also reflected in the price as it is higher than many of Cangshan’s other series.

Click on the series to see the current price and reviews on Amazon.

New Collections

As mentioned above, the Prazision and Kita series are the newest additions to the Cangshan line-up. As such, it seems that Cangshan has released one knife in each of these series to test the market and get feedback from consumers. The German Prazision chef knife has received good reviews and we will likely see new knives being added to that collection in the near future. The Japanese Kita series, on the other hand, looks as if it had some manufacturing and design flaws. It is no longer available, presumable because Cangshan has pulled it back to address the issues that surfaced. This is not surprising as Cangshan is a reputable brand that prides itself on producing quality knives. I can’t say for sure, but I would expect Cangshan to relaunch a new, improved version of this series in the future.

Click on each series to see the current price and reviews on Amazon.

Cangshan Steak Knives

Cangshan makes steak knives in many of the series mentioned above.  Unlike many other knife manufacturers, Cangshan makes their steak knives with the same quality as all of their knives.  In almost all cases, they are the same materials and still forged.  This is not as common as you might think, and it makes Cangshan’s steak knives better than many others. In addition, they typically offer some sort of knife holder or gift box for their steak knife sets. This allows them to be placed safely within a drawer and makes them the perfect gift!

We’ve listed a few of the best Cangshan steak knives below.  A link to all others listed at Amazon can be found here.

Cangshan N1 Steak Knife Set

Cangshan Knife Review Summary

Canghan Cutlery makes many knife designs, but in most of them, very little changes other than the look of the handle.  Most of the knives are all of the same German knife steel with the exception of series in their premier collection which are made from Swedish steel.  It takes some time to figure out series falls where, but hopefully our collection breakdown (with pictures) helped you follow Cangshan’s scheme.

So, are they worth the money?  We believe so, yes.  If you like the designs and are happy with the materials which are good quality, then this is an affordable option for decent knives.  There are clearly other good knife makers that produce higher-end knives, but there are also cheaper-made knives too.  The unique part of Cangshan is they have designs you won’t find anywhere else.

Cangshan FAQ’s

Where Are Canshan Knives Made?

Cangshan knives are made in Yangjiang, China.  This is a huge hub for knife makers in that part of the world.  Other knife brands in that city include Dalstrong, Zelite, and several others.  Some say there are over 1500 knife makers in Yangjiang.  Despite being made in China, most of the steel used in Cangshan’s knives comes from either Germany or Sweden.  In 2020 Cangshan entered into partnerships with factories in Germany and Japan as well and is the process of creating lines at each of these locations.

Are Cangshan Knives Dishwasher Safe?

Some of the Cangshan knives say they are dishwasher safe, but like any good kitchen knife that has carbon in the steel, you’re better off hand-washing and drying them immediately after use to extend the life of the blade.  Even knives with more Chromium in them can rust when exposed to water that sits on them for a period of time.  It’s always just best practice to wash and dry right away and by hand.

Can Cangshan Knives Be Sharpened At Home?

The short answer here is yes, you can sharpen your Cangshan knives at home but you must make sure you have the right tools so to not damage the blade.  We recommend you use Cangshan’s adjustable knife sharpener or a whetstone to make sure the knives are sharpened properly.  Remember, all of Cangshan’s knives have a 16 degree angle.  Most pull through sharpeners are designed for a 20 degree edge.  You may ruin your knives if you use the wrong angled sharpener.

Who Makes Cangshan Knives?

Their founder, Henry Liu, went searching for a knife manufacturer and audited over 80 sites throughout the U.S. and Europe.  He never found what he was looking for, but rather just the same old knife designs and nothing unique.  He then landed in Yangjiang, China a cutlery Mecca of sorts.  The artisans there shared his passion of making something different.  After 2 years of research and development, it all started and is now known as the Cangshan Cutlery Company. 

Are Cangshan Knives Any Good?

As mentioned in our summary above, they are good, but not necessarily top-of-the-line.  Cangshan’s prices are affordable for what you’re getting and they look amazing!  If design is as important to you as the materials, Cangshan is a great option.  If you’d rather spend money on functionality and performance over looks, you can probably find something better for your needs by checking out our best knife brands page.