By PFAS Authority · Updated September 16, 2026
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Model-based grades, not lab tests. We flunk more than we pass. How grading works
PFAS in Non-Stick Knife Sets, and Why Cuisinart Sits at Both Ends
Fifteen knife sets, three grade levels, from 75 down to 15. This is one of the few categories on this site with a real spread instead of a pile-up at the bottom, and the spread tells you exactly what to look for. A coating whose chemistry is not named drags a set to the bottom. Two ceramic-coated sets sit in the middle. The top is plain, uncoated stainless steel.
Cuisinart appears at all three levels, selling a plain stainless set at 75, ceramic-coated sets at 65 and colored non-stick sets at 15.
Summary comparison table
| Product | PFAS grade | Blade as recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Caraway 5-Piece Knife Set | Excellent, 75/100 | German stainless steel blades |
| Caraway 14-Piece Knife and Utensil Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades |
| Victorinox Swiss Classic 7-Piece Block Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades, hardwood handles |
| Victorinox Fibrox 8-Piece Block Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades, Fibrox composite handles |
| Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Knife Block Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades, mixed handle materials |
| ZWILLING Now S 7 Piece Knife Block Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades, non-coated handle |
| ZWILLING Signature 7-pc Knife Block Set | Excellent, 75/100 | German stainless steel blades |
| ZWILLING Signature 3-pc Starter Knife Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades, no nonstick coating |
| Cuisinart Advantage Knife Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades |
| Caraway 14-Piece Navy Knife and Utensil Prep Set | Excellent, 75/100 | Stainless steel blades and handles |
| Cuisinart 10 Piece Ceramic Coated Knife Set | Good, 65/100 | Ceramic-coated stainless steel blades |
| Cuisinart Advantage 10pc Ceramic Coated Knife Set | Good, 65/100 | Ceramic-coated stainless steel blades |
| Cuisinart 6 Piece Nonstick Color Chef Knife Set | Bad, 15/100 | Nonstick coating, type unspecified |
| Cuisinart 7-Piece Nonstick Cutlery Set | Bad, 15/100 | Nonstick coating, type unspecified |
| Cuisinart 4 Piece Nonstick Color Knife Set | Bad, 15/100 | Nonstick-coated handles, coating type unspecified |
How we graded these
Every grade here is a model-based estimate built from publicly available materials disclosures and brand documentation, not a lab test performed by our team. A high score means lower concern based on reviewed sources, never PFAS-free and never safe. No knife set in this category carried third-party PFAS-free verification. The recorded concerns were coating wear with particles coming off into food, and corrosion where the handle meets the blade. Look up any specific set in our PFAS product finder.
What each level actually means
Every set here starts from the same category baseline, so the grade levels come down to a small number of factors, and it is worth naming them rather than leaving the numbers to speak.
No set grades 80 any longer. An earlier version of this guide put two Caraway sets at 80 on a Caraway PFAS-free statement. We found no such statement for Caraway's knives, so on 17 September 2026 we removed that credit, and those sets now grade with the rest of the plain steel.
75, plain steel with no coating. Ten sets from ZWILLING, Victorinox, Cuisinart and Caraway are plain stainless steel. Each carries 15 points because its maker says nothing about PFAS and a 20 point credit for a bare, uncoated material.
65, a ceramic material credit. The two ceramic-coated Cuisinart sets carry the same 15 points for no PFAS statement and a smaller 10 point credit for a ceramic material, which our model treats as having no inherent PFAS use.
15, an unnamed non-stick coating. The three colored Cuisinart sets carry a non-stick coating whose chemistry is not stated, the heaviest single penalty in this category.
Why bare steel now grades above ceramic-coated
Until 17 September 2026 this was the one ordering in the table that looked backwards. A ceramic-coated blade at 65 outgraded a bare stainless blade at 55, because the ceramic records carried a material credit and the plain steel records carried none. Our grading rules say bare, uncoated stainless steel should earn an uncoated material credit of its own, and an earlier version of this guide pointed out that these records had not been given it.
On 17 September 2026 we gave that credit to uncoated stainless steel, cast iron and carbon steel in every cookware-type category, and the ten plain steel sets moved from 55 to 75. A plain stainless blade with a hardwood handle, such as the Victorinox Swiss Classic at 75, has no coating on it at all, and it now grades ten points above the ceramic-coated sets at 65.
The Cuisinart split
Cuisinart is the clearest same-brand spread in this category. Its Advantage set with plain stainless blades grades 75. Its ceramic-coated sets grade 65. Its Nonstick Color Chef set grades 15, because it has a coating and the type is not stated.
That is a 60 point gap inside one brand, and the bottom of it is driven by a single thing, a non-stick coating nobody will name. If you take one rule from this guide, it is that one.
One detail on the 4 Piece Nonstick Color set. Our record puts the non-stick coating on the handles rather than the blades. Same grade, different location, and if you are thinking specifically about what touches food, that is not the same thing.
Caraway, corrected
Caraway's 5-Piece Knife Set, 14-Piece Knife and Utensil Set and 14-Piece Navy Prep Set all grade 75. An earlier version of this guide put the first two at 80 on a Caraway PFAS-free statement. Caraway's PFAS statement is about its ceramic non-stick cookware coating, which it says is made without PTFE, PFOA and PFAS, and we found no statement for its knives. On 17 September 2026 we removed that credit, and this guide briefly showed all three sets at 55. The same day we gave plain stainless steel the uncoated material credit its records had been missing, so all three now grade 75 like the other plain steel sets.
What to avoid
- A colored non-stick knife where the coating type is not stated. All three of the bottom sets here are that product.
- Putting a coated knife through a dishwasher or a pull-through sharpener. Coating wear is a recorded concern, and both of those speed it up.
- Assuming the German steel premium buys disclosure. ZWILLING and Victorinox grade 75, the same as a plain Cuisinart set, and none of these makers says anything about PFAS.
- Reading a 15 as proof of a fluoropolymer coating. It is an unnamed coating on something that touches food, and the missing name is what we measured.
The same logic runs through the kitchen. Our cookware category shows the pattern on pans, the woks guide covers where bare metal and coated pans part ways, and our explainer on PTFE covers why an unnamed non-stick coating raises the question at all.
Our pick
Based on available materials and data, the highest grades are the ten plain steel sets at 75, which have no coating on the blade at all. We would pick the Victorinox Swiss Classic 7-Piece Block Set at 75, recorded as stainless steel blades with hardwood handles. Caraway's 5-Piece Knife Set and 14-Piece Knife and Utensil Set, our pick at 80 in an earlier version of this guide, grade 75 with the other plain steel sets, because we found no Caraway PFAS statement for its knives. The ceramic-coated Cuisinart sets grade 65, and we would avoid the unnamed non-stick sets at 15. These are estimates built from disclosed materials, not laboratory proof, and no product here is being called PFAS-free or safe by us.
FAQ
Do non-stick knives contain PFAS?
The three lowest-graded sets here carry non-stick coatings whose chemistry the maker does not state, so we cannot confirm it either way. Non-stick coatings have historically often been fluoropolymer based, which is why an unnamed one grades poorly in our model.
Is a ceramic-coated knife better than a plain steel one?
We are not calling anything safe. In our grading plain steel sets score 75 against 65 for the ceramic-coated sets, because bare steel carries a 20 point credit for an uncoated material and the ceramic records carry a 10 point material credit. Until 17 September 2026 the plain steel records were missing their credit and graded 55, below the ceramic sets, and an earlier version of this answer explained that gap. A bare steel blade has no coating at all, so if avoiding coatings is your aim, plain steel is the choice our grades now point to.
Why did Caraway knives move from 80 to 75?
Because the 80 rested on a Caraway PFAS-free statement that we could not find for its knives. Caraway's statement covers its ceramic non-stick cookware coating. Since 17 September 2026 the Caraway sets carry the 15 point penalty for no PFAS statement and the 20 point credit for uncoated steel, like the other plain steel sets at 75.
Why does Cuisinart appear at 75, 65 and 15?
Because Cuisinart sells three different things. A plain stainless set grades 75, ceramic-coated sets grade 65, and sets with a non-stick coating of unstated type grade 15. The brand is not the variable, the coating is.
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