MAC MTH-80 vs Wüsthof Classic Ikon
The quick answer
Most cooks should buy the MAC. It's thinner, sharper, and more precise, and it holds its edge through a month of daily prep. Buy the Wüsthof instead if you cook with a heavy hand, squash, ribs, bones, or you want one blade that shrugs off rough treatment.
MAC Professional MTH-80, £179
- + You want one knife for the next decade
- + Precision matters: fine dice, fish, herbs
- + You'll spend ten minutes a month keeping it sharp
Wüsthof Classic Ikon 20cm, £127
- + Roasts, butchering, and Sunday cooking that needs muscle
- + You cut with force, not finesse
- + You want a blade that survives squash skins and chicken bones
Build and steel
The MAC is Japanese: a VG-10 core ground 2.5mm thin, hard steel that takes a wickedly sharp edge and holds it for a month of daily prep, but hard steel chips if you twist it through bone. The Wüsthof is German: forged X50CrMoV15 at 58 HRC, thicker at the spine, ground to a more durable edge angle. Softer steel dulls sooner but bends instead of chipping, and sharpens back easily.
In use
Both went through the same six weeks of daily prep for the knife guide, four onions a day, parsley, carrots, and the fortnightly squash-and-chicken test. The MAC cuts cleaner than blades at three times the price; it has been on Isaac's magnet rack for twelve years. The Wüsthof is the bruiser of that same rack, the knife Isaac reaches for when the MAC isn't right: squash, ribs, anything that needs a heavier hand.
Price and value
At current prices the Wüsthof is actually the cheaper knife (£127 against £179). Neither is a budget buy, if £100+ on a knife isn't on the table yet, the Victorinox Fibrox at £43 is the honest starting point, and the guide says exactly that.
The final call
One knife? The MAC, it's Isaac's Choice in the guide for a reason. Both knives? That's exactly what Isaac's rack looks like: MAC for precision, Wüsthof for muscle. They're partners, not rivals.
Prices checked 12 August 2026, confirm at the retailer. Links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.