Chef's Knife
| Chef's Knife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Melee Weapon |
| Weapon | Knife |
| Headshot | +150% |
The Chef's Knife is a razor-sharp kitchen knife that also works as a throwing weapon. It can be swung in close for quick slashes or thrown at an enemy across the room. Its edge has a raised chance to make targets bleed, so each hit keeps hurting after it lands. It is cheap and easy to find at Night City's food stalls. It is a good first throwing knife for a Cool build. With the right perks, it becomes a fast, silent killer that comes back to V's hand. The Chef's Knife is an early weapon. Food vendors around Night City sell it, and enemies drop it from the first hours of the game.
Combat
The Chef's Knife is a throwable knife. In melee, it attacks quickly, which is good for short bursts of hits before an enemy can react. When thrown, it hits from range. It then needs a short recovery time before it can be thrown again.
Its blade has a raised chance to cause Bleeding. Bleeding deals damage over time, so a thrown knife keeps hurting a target while V moves on to the next one. A thrown headshot is the strongest way for a knife build to start a fight.
Knives also work well for stealth. Killer Instinct adds bonus damage with knives outside of combat. It also shows the damage the next hit will deal. A Chef's Knife thrown at an unaware guard is a quiet way to start, or end, a fight.
The knife is at its best with perks that speed up its recovery and add crits to every throw. With those perks, V can throw, recover and throw again at a steady pace.
How to Get Chef's Knife Guide
- Buy the Chef's Knife from a food vendor in Night City.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
Chef's Knife Map Location
The map shows Kashuu Hanten in Little China, one of the food vendors that sell it.
Chef's Knife map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
8 weapon mods are compatible with Chef's Knife.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Airstrike | 
|
Raises crit chance and crit damage for midair attacks |
| Boomerang | 
|
A headshot kill with a thrown weapon can return it at once |
| Cyclone | 
|
A sprint attack opens unlimited combos with stacking attack speed |
| Javelin | 
|
More armor penetration with melee, doubled on throws |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Severance | 
|
Hits to the head or limbs of a weakened enemy can dismember and kill |
| Silencio | 
|
More crit chance and crit damage when crouched and undetected |
| Zero-G | 
|
More effective range, thrown weapons fly straight |
Character Builds
Throwable weapons use the Cool tree. Scorpion Sting cuts throwable recovery time. Its crits, headshots and weak spot hits also apply Poison. Juggler cuts recovery time further and adds headshot damage. It also resets throwable cooldowns after a headshot, crit or Poison kill. Parasite restores Health on crits and headshots with thrown weapons. Pay It Forward boosts the first melee hit after pulling a thrown knife back out of an enemy. Style Over Substance guarantees crits on throws made while crouch-sprinting, sliding, dodging or dashing. Finisher: Act Of Mercy adds a throwable finisher that heals V.
For cyberware, Handle Wrap raises crit chance with throwables for a few seconds after equipping or throwing one. Stabber adds crit chance with blades and throwables.
The knife's mod slots take blade, throwable and melee mods. Boomerang gives a chance for the knife to return at once after a headshot kill with a throw. Bleedout raises the crit chance of Bleeding damage, which works well with the knife's edge. Silencio adds crit chance and crit damage while crouched and undetected. Slice 'Em Up makes enemies easier to finish after each kill.
Select a Build
The build opens from stealth and removes a few targets before the fight starts. Headshots and crits with thrown knives bring the knife back to hand through Juggler. When the character is detected, the Sandevistan or Kerenzikov slows time to finish the enemies who spotted it.
Attributes: Body 18, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, Cool 20.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Feline Footwork | 
|
Cool 4 | Faster and safer while crouched |
| Killer Instinct | 
|
Cool 4 | More damage with knives, axes and silenced guns before combat |
| Gag Order | 
|
Cool 4 | A quick hit after being spotted delays detection by others |
| Scorpion Sting | 
|
Cool 9 | Thrown crits and headshots apply Poison |
| Neurotoxin | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison also blinds and stops sprinting |
| Parasite | 
|
Cool 9 | Health back from thrown crits and headshots |
| Accelerated Toxin Absorption | 
|
Cool 9 | Strong attacks and throws on poisoned enemies deal a burst of Poison |
| Corrosion | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison works on mechs, robots, drones and turrets |
| Ninjutsu | 
|
Cool 15 | Sprint while crouched |
| Creeping Death | 
|
Cool 15 | Health, Stamina and speed from kills while hidden |
| Vanishing Act | 
|
Cool 15 | Optical Camo turns on while crouch-sprinting |
| Juggler | 
|
Cool 15 | Thrown headshots and crits return the weapon at once |
| Sleight Of Hand | 
|
Cool 15 | Crit Damage stacks each time Juggler triggers |
| Finisher: Act Of Mercy | 
|
Cool 15 | A thrown weapon Finisher that heals |
| Pay It Forward | 
|
Cool 15 | Big melee hit after picking up a thrown blade |
| Pounce | 
|
Cool 15 | Finishers from range after a throw |
| Style Over Substance | 
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits when throwing on the move |
| Slippery | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mamba | 
|
Circulatory System | More damage against poisoned enemies |
| Kerenzikov Boost System | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Stronger Kerenzikov with free shooting Stamina |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Handle Wrap | 
|
Hands | More crit chance with throwables |
| Shock Absorber | 
|
Hands | Less recoil |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Defenzikov | 
|
Integumentary System | Mitigation after Kerenzikov ends |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| Stabber | 
|
Nervous System | More crit chance with Blades and throwables |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Dense Marrow | 
|
Skeleton | More melee damage |
| Spring Joints | 
|
Skeleton | Stronger Mitigation |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-G | 
|
Longer throws on a straight path |
| Slice 'Em Up | 
|
Enemies are easier to finish after a kill |
| Bleedout | 
|
Bleeding damage can crit |
Lore
The Chef's Knife is a professional kitchen blade, made for restaurants rather than street fights. Its in-game line lists everything it can do: it slices, it dices, it minces, it stabs. In Night City, the stabbing part is what matters.
Weapon Categories
All Melee Weapons
Every melee weapon is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agaou | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | Dogtown |
| BFC 9000 | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Baby Boomer | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Baseball Bat x-MOD2 | 
|
Two-Handed Club | Dogtown | ||
| Black Unicorn | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Blue Fang | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands South | |
| Butcher's Cleaver | 
|
Knife | 25% | Coastview | |
| Byakko | 
|
Katana | 25% | Little China | |
| Caretaker's Spade | 
|
Hammer | 25% | Corpo Plaza | |
| Claw x-MOD2 | 
|
Axe | |||
| Cocktail Stick | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Cottonmouth | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | Japantown | |
| Crowbar | 
|
One-Handed Club | |||
| Cut-o-Matic x-MOD2 | 
|
Chainsword | Dogtown | ||
| Errata | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arroyo | |
| Fang | 
|
Knife | +50% | ||
| Gold-Plated Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | North Oak | |
| Gwynbleidd | 
|
Sword | |||
| Headhunter | 
|
Knife | +150% | West Wind Estate | |
| Jinchu-Maru | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Murphy's Law | 
|
One-handed Club | 50% | Dogtown | |
| Nehan | 
|
Knife | +150% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Sasquatch's Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 75% | Coastview | |
| Satori | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Scalpel | 
|
Katana | 25% | Northside | |
| Sir John Phallustiff | 
|
Blunt | 25% | Kabuki | |
| Stinger | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands East | |
| Tinker Bell | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | Badlands East | |
| Tsumetogi | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Volkodav | 
|
Machete | 25% | Dogtown |
Standard Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Chef's Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Claw | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | |
| Cut-O-Matic | 
|
Chainsword | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Alpha | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Electric Baton Beta | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Gamma | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 25% | ||
| Kaiken | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Kanabo | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Katana | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Knife | 
|
Knife | +200% | ||
| Kukri | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Machete | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Neurotoxin Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Punknife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Razor | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Steel Pipe | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tire Iron | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tomahawk | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% |