Wusthof vs Zwilling J.A. Henckels
The Traditional German Kitchen Knife Showdown
By Bobby B. | November 12, 2019 | Kitchen Knife Comparisons
To be honest, I’ve been dreading comparing these two brands. Not because they aren’t great, wonderful companies that make awesome knives. Quite the opposite actually. They are both steeped in so much tradition and started as family-owned businesses hundreds of years ago. Both actually hail from the same city, Solingen, Germany. All that’s true, but people are asking…they want to know what makes them different and who’s knives are better. I must answer the people!
Wusthof vs Zwilling: Brand Comparison
Wusthof has been around for over 200 years and makes great knives, focusing mainly on performance. They have both classic and modern designs, but all are very elegant and the perfect match for any kitchen. They still adhere to very traditional techniques when producing knives, but have cross them with more modern facilities to provide precision-made blades that start sharper and stay sharper than others.
Like any great brand, Wusthof makes a wide variety of knives from beginner sets up to large premium sets. We have an entire page dedicated to a review of Wusthof’s knife collections. They make inexpensive, stamped sets as well as high-quality, robust forged knives with big bolsters on them. Most of their knives use German Steel, X50CrMOV15 to be exact. This allows for sharp blades that stay sharp for a long time relative to others.
ZWilling J.A. Henckels has a very similar history and story as Wusthof. They also produce many different knife collections, ranging from cheaper stamped knives up to really nice, high-end knives. Since they’re also German-made, you can imaging there will be similarities. They also produce classical, well-built knives with strong Germany steel blades. In fact, some of their knives could almost be mistaken for Wusthof’s they are so alike.
It’s very hard to compare and contrast these two knife brands generally, or in principle. They are too much alike, and there are ares that both of them outshine the other. It really depends on which knife series’ you might be comparing. For that reason, we’re going to compare the real classics. These are our favorite, classical model from each of the knife makers.
Here’s a detailed head-to-head comparison of the Wusthof Classic vs the Zwilling Professional “S” Series knives.
Zwilling Pro S vs Wusthof Classic
As you probably heard in the video review above, or if not, will see below in the stats, these two knives are nearly identical. They look alike, have nearly identical performance specifications, and uses very similar (if not the same) materials. If it weren’t for the logos on the blades and the Wusthof handle, it’d be very hard to discern between these two awesome knife collections!
Pictured: Zwilling Pro S 8″ Chef Knife
Zwilling Pro S Series
Blade Steel: X50CrMoV15
Style: Forged
Bolster: Full
Pictured: Wusthof Classic 8″ Chef Knife
Wusthof Classic Series
Blade Steel: X50CrMoV15
Style: Forged
Bolster: Full
Zwilling vs Wusthof Review:
These brands and knives are both awesome! There’s no wonder why they’ve both been around for hundreds of years. It’s because of the quality of knife they produce. Let’s dive deeper…
Similarities:
As mentioned above, these two series’ of knives are nearly identical. The look, performance, steels, warranties and even prices are very similar if not the exact same.
Differences:
In this case, it’s almost silly to even have a “differences” category. These knives are basically the same product with the only difference being the markings (logos/stamps on the knife), the packaging, and perhaps a slightly different appearance.
Conclusion:
How do you pick a favorite here between the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Professional S and Wusthof’s Classic? This is a true case of “you pick ’em”. As far as we’re concerned, the only way to chose between these two knives is if you like one brand or look more than the other or if you’re trying to match other knives in your kitchen. We like the the Wusthof Classic Series and the Zwilling Pro S Series equally!