The Best Bench Scrapers Are the Under-the-Radar Workhorses in the Kitchen

I adopted that practice in my home kitchen and, like him, I use bench scrapers for everything—not just the tasks listed above, but for scooping up chopped veggies or herbs to throw in a pot or wok, scraping up stuck-on bits from my butcher block and cleaning up after a full day of cooking. They’re great for getting into all the corners and edges on countertops, so my bench scraper is never far out of reach. 

In my quest to find the best bench scrapers on the market, I sought out trusted brands, ones that had good consumer reviews, bestsellers, and some recommendations from fellow pros, before settling on the six brands that stood out as the best bench scrapers.

While I was immediately intrigued by the design of this nested 3-piece set, the real joy came from actually using it. Each of the three pieces is designed for specific uses: The bevel on the metal scraper is deep and comes to a very fine edge that could even be used to chop veggies; that fine edge also made it very easy to cut through tough dough and scrape sticky pie dough from the counter. The metal scraper also has measurements marked near the edge so you don’t need to get an extra tool out when trying to cut things at exact lengths. The plastic scraper was nice and flexible without being flimsy, with a similarly thin, beveled edge. It also did a pretty fine job of cutting through dough and lifting pie dough from the counter. And, finally, the bowl scraper is great all around. I wish it were just a touch more flexible, but it generally did a great job of removing sticky dough from the sides of most of my mixing bowls. All three pieces are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

If you want to save a few bucks, and really just need a metal bench scraper, this Norpro model is the way to go. Like the metal scraper in the Chef’n set, this stainless steel model has measurement markings on the edge for added convenience. The bevel wasn’t quite as deep on this scraper as our Best Overall pick, but it was sharp and thin enough to make short work of bread dough and was able to lift pie dough from the counter with ease. I was also impressed by the weight of the blade itself—it felt heavy-duty without being cumbersome to use. The handle was fairly comfortable, too. At just about $7 at the time of publication, this is a great value.

I was extremely impressed by this bench scraper. The dough didn’t seem to want to stick to it at all, which made it especially ideal for lifting pie dough from the counter. Of the three winning scrapers, this model had the shallowest bevel, but the entire blade was so thin (but not flimsy!) that the fineness of the edge was comparable to the other two. It sliced through bread dough with ease. This model comes in two sizes: 6-inch, which seems to be the standard for most bench scrapers, and 8-inch, which I really loved for its ability to scoop up larger amounts of ingredients. It is a touch on the pricey side, but I think these scrapers are worth it.

This model was fairly comparable to the Norpro, but with an even shallower bevel. It also costs a bit more than our Best Overall pick. It does have measurement markings, and a comfortable handle (very on-brand, of course) and is dishwasher safe, so if you’re already a fan of the brand, you could do a lot worse than this scraper. 

I wanted to love this scraper because the walnut handles are so gorgeous, but the edge has no bevel at all, so it was a little clumsy “cutting” through the dough. I’m using quotes there because it more so mashed through the bread dough rather than cutting it, pinching an unintended seal where I pressed it through. And because it has no bevel, it pushed the pie dough quite a bit, ruining my flat surface, before finally sliding underneath. Because the handles are made of walnut, these are not dishwasher safe, which I would have forgiven if the edges were beveled.

This bench scraper was just fine. The bevel was very, very shallow and not terribly sharp, but still generally got the job done. The metal is very thin and fairly flexible, to the point of feeling almost flimsy. It’s also a bit more expensive than our Best Value pick, so we recommend sticking with the Norpro. I also tested plastic-  and wood-handled versions; neither of these models had a beveled edge, so I can’t recommend either.

For testing, I used each scraper to make a batch of rolls, and to make a single pie crust. For the first test, I used the scrapers to cut the roll dough into individual portions and, when needed, to scrape the rolls up from my work surface. For the second test, I mixed, chilled, and rolled out the pie dough, then used each bench scraper to lift the rolled dough from my work surface and into a pie plate. I wanted to see which brands produced bench scrapers with the deepest bevels and sharpest edges for both cutting and scraping dough. I also paid attention to how each scraper’s handle felt in my hand, whether the blade had measurement markings on them, and whether the scraper was dishwasher safe.

Size: Most of the bench scrapers I tested were about 6 inches wide, which seems to be the standard. Some brands offer oversized scrapers if you prefer working with something a bit larger.

Handle: The handle should be comfortable to hold no matter what angle you’re holding it at, and no matter how tough the dough is. It should have a good shape and texture so that it doesn’t slip out of your hands.

Material: Stainless steel is the standard for most bench scrapers, though there are some plastic ones out there that work very well, too. Stainless steel and plastic (or a combination of the two, e.g., a steel blade with plastic handle) are usually dishwasher-safe, which helps with cleanup.

Blade: The blade should have a somewhat sharp, beveled edge so that it can cut through dough as well as slide under dough that’s stuck to your work surface. 

The winner—the Chef’n Pastrio 3-in-1—was actually the same set I’ve used for the past four or five years. I tested a new set to keep the trials fair, but I was still very pleased with the results. I originally chose my set because I liked the idea of versatility of having three scrapers that are easily stored together. Though I was very willing to crown a new favorite, it was reassuring to find that I’d chosen well all those years ago.