The set of knives I have are done. Some of the handles are broken, and they are not as sharp as they were. I need to replace them.

What I need is one of those basic block set including a chef knife, paring knives, bread knife, utility knife and steak knives. Does not have to be super expensive, but I would like to get something with a little better than average quality.

I do not know much about knives, so I have no idea how much to spend. I was looking at Crate and Barrel since I have a gift card from there. There choices are Wusthof, Shun or Calphalon. I definately do not see my self spending the money for the Shun sets. I know that Wusthof are really good. How good are the Calphalon?

Thanks.

 

Calphalon Katana, get the 8 knife set with a 20% off coupon at bed bath and beyond and add the bread knife(or wait for another 20% off coupon and buy it at a later date). I've added a few other as they are available from smartbargains.com and now have about 11 or so. I was tossed up between the Shun's and the Calphalon set but they didn't have the Shun set and I wasn't going to order it with out playing with them first. I have zero regrets with the Katana's, they look good, they are user friendly and match my calphalon contemporary stainless cookware(well as close as one can match those things).

 

Love my Shuns.

A good set of knives can last nearly forever, assuming decent maintenance.

I've never bought a block set of knives - I'd rather pick and choose what I most use (chef's, sankotu, utility, paring, serrated, etc).

There are plenty of good brands out there. You won't go wrong with any of the better quality products.

 

Love my wusthofs (have roughly 14 not including steak knives)


I love my sole global better, but they are $$$$

 

i have Calphalons and am very happy with them....i'd check amazon they have lots of choices and good prices.

 

Wusthof FTW Amazing knives. Make sure you get something forged, not stamped (most lower-end knives are stamped).

When we were shopping, we compared Wusthof vs. Henckel. The Henckle were more balanced overall (as far as the center of the knife goes). The Wusthof's were very well balanced as well and felt more natural in your hand with slightly more weight in the blade. It's much easier to use in the kitchen on a daily basis.

When you're talking cooking, it's all about personal preference. Make sure you are looking at some quality products, then take the time to hold the knives in the store. Pay attention to how it would feel in your hand if you were doing specific tasks in the kitchen which you often do.

We spent a little more than we were hoping, but in the end we're very hapy with them and would probably be looking for a new set sooner had we not bought what was right for us to start with.

BTW - our old set was the shittiest set of Faberware you've ever seen!!! Going from that to a Wusthof was a dream.

 

Cutco absolutely owns all those retail name brands

 

I'm more than happy with the cutco knives that I have.

 

I thought you were a global fan?

 

I have about 4 cutco's, haven't used them in years


what's that tell ya? They are decent knives don't get me wrong

 

I thought CLpower said that, I must be losing what's left of my mind for me. In other words, disregard my previous statement/quote.

 

nothing really. I have a whole set of kitchen and table knives, and I love them. What's that tell ya?


Perfect balance, I love the handle, they cut like a dream (better than any other knife I've ever used) to this day and I've had them and used them for 6+ years. The blade goes all the way through to the end of the handle, the rivets are flush, no space or pourous material for food or other particles to hide. And a lifetime replacement plan.

 

Wustof Classic
From the 14" slicer to the 3.5" paring, I love mine. Get a diamond hone steel and keep em up and you will love em.

They are the most comfortable knives for me, but you need to take the advice given, and go test them in your hand doing the types of tasks you will be performing with them (chop, slice, any other type of cuts)

clpower hit it on the head, they aren't the absolute best knife in the world, but for a reasonable price, they are fantastic

 

I too have the Calphalon Katanas. I like them. Can't really say I love them.

Pros:
- They keep their blade really well. I hone them with the diamond steel before each use, and they're still as sharp as the day I got them.
- The Damascus-style blade looks damn cool.
- The durable poly-resin handles are integrated into the blade WITHOUT a discernable bolster, this is way cool... especially for those who know how to hold a knife properly. Granted, it's theoretically not as "safe" if you don't.
- 33 layers of steel, more than any other Damascus style blade.

Cons:
- Heavy, these are heavier than nearly any other leading brand of knife.
- Balance, they're not as well balanced as the other Damascus or VG steel manufacturers (Shun, etc)
- The VG steel is very soft, great for keeping a blade with proper care, bad for making "mistakes"... you can bend one of these fuckers with willpower alone. lol
- High maintenance, this is a property of all Damascus-style blades... they stain incredibly easily and require almost immediate cleaning & drying after use. This though can be said about any steel blade, it is just ever more important with the Damascus blades. If you want low maintenance, get some Ceramics...

Also, if you do choose the Katanas (and many other manufacturers for that matter), you may want to avoid the set. I got the set, and it's nearly useless. The only thing it's good for is the cool bamboo knife block. Otherwise, all the "good" well-balanced knives are sold seperately. All the knives in the set are intentionally too small (5" Santoku) or too large (10" Chefs) for regular use... they pretty much force you to buy all the knives seperately afterwards anyway.


Anyway, all that said... I like my knives... it'd be hard to say I love them... especially considering the competition (Shun/Global/etc).


All this, and the other knife threads before this, go to show is that beauty is definately in the hand of the beholder.

Go to the store and try the knives out. Don't go somewhere where they're not properly equipped to let you handle the blades.

You really can't go wrong with ANY of the leading brands... Wusthof, Global, Shun/KAI, Kyocera, Henckels, Calphalon, etc. You simply have to try them all out and go with what feels best.

The only thing to look out for is the BIG manufacturers (Wusthof/Henckels) who've been known to use 2-piece or stamped blades in their lower end models. Make sure you're buying a quality version of their knives... which you'll already be doing if you followed my earlier advice to go to a GOOD cutlery store... they wont carry the lower end models anyway.

 

They're probably the best you can get in the way of stamped blades. Nevertheless, stamping is considered an inferior process to forging in the world of cutlery.

If you're interested in saying how Cutco's are manufacturered, the show "How It's Made" (discovery i think) has been re-running their Cutco episode all week.

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1951244&RN=395

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...2985185&RN=395

How about something like those? I think that Henckel set seems to be a decent deal.

And if I decide to just buy knives separately, which type do you think are more essential? I'm guessing I will definately need an 8 inch Chef knife, a bread knife, a paring knife, kitchen shears and a utility knife for now. I can handle using my current steak knives for now.

 

I like the look of those, but after reading Soopa's post about how "soft" they can be, I'm a little less likely to get them. Not that I'm planning on tossing them around, but sometimes when my mom is visiting and she takes over the kitchen, things gets dropped and I would be pissed if they get bent.

 

Interesting. But I thought that the main difference between stamped and forged blades was the weight/balance of the blade. The stamped being lighter at the front and normally requiring more forward pressure and grip to compensate.

Personally, I still don't find the balance of the cutco knives to be inferior to any forged blade. But any slight difference, I believe, is already compensated for with a superior cutting edge that takes away the need for increased pressure, if there is a need to begin with (especially with the improvement they make to the traditional serrated edge).


eventually it comes down to which feels better in your hand.

 

Essential -- just the chef's knife -- but I otherwise agree with your list. My wife likes the sankotu (Japanese chef's knife) better the then traditional french chef's knife. I like both.

A boning and filleting (fish) knife are useful, but only for specific situations.

 

I have to agree with forged > stamped

The Ginzu knife also cuts well and has a sharp edge. It is, however, a cheap stamped serrated knife. In the end it all comes down to personal preferences.

 

Henckel all the way. I have 3 Henckel knives used for literally everything, and they have yet to even not look new, and they are over 2 years old. My mom swears by Cutco

 

The main difference between forged/stamped is how its made! Forging is a far superior process, it makes a much stronger and lighter(given the same size). Balance is in the hand of the user, what's balanced to one, may not be to another, regardless of its a forged or stamped blade. Its just typical due to the added cost of a forged knife, more engineering is put into over all design.

Any of the high end knives are great, I went with the Calphalon's because they are very modern looking, affordable and were available locally. Had my local bed bath and beyond had the Shun's I very well may have gotten them instead, but with out having a chance to handle them I was not about to take a chance like that.

I am not in love with them, but like I said before, I have no regrets and am sure they will remain in my kitchen for years to come.

 

Ginsu shoe-cutting power FTW!

 

I'm well aware that the difference is in how it's made, I was only talking about the end result or the tangible outcomes of the "engineering put into the over all design".


I'll take the stamped "Double-D" edge over a forged serrated (or straight) knife any day.

 

Well that's not what you said

We are allowed to like different style anything, that's what makes America so great, there are a lot of choices and no single choice is the best for everyone. But your justification is counter to common sense as I see it, not saying you can't like your knives over another kind of knife.

That's like saying you'll take a Koenig wheel any day over a HRE, its just not the common choice.

 

If it can't cut a brick then cut a tomato that is thrown at it, I don't want anything to do with it.

 

just about any quality blade will bend when dropped. the softer the blade, the easier it is to keep an edge... the more responsive it is to honing.

however yes, vg steel is softer then, say, stainless steel... and will bend slightly easier. that said, i wouldn't be to confident in the resilience of any fine blade once dropped.

 

Pretty much same reasons I got them, the 20% BBB coupon

Although, theres lots of places that sell Shun/etc around here too... but yeah... not at 20% off

 

I agree completely. Serrated knives made through forging tend to suck. A cheap stamped blade is IDEAL for a serrated edge bread cutter, etc. Cutco is a good choice there.

As for straight edges, you just can't beat a high-end forged blade.... especially in a fully forged 1-pc knife.

 

heh, odd but good analogy.

 

whats not common sense about it? I simply take into account other factors beyond forged vs. stamped. If you want to generalize or ignore other factors, fine. Forged is better than stamped.

But when you take a stamped knife and give it an edge that slices (double-d) instead of tearing (traditional serrated), whatever advantage you gain in having forged steel is neutralized.

And as far as straight edges are concerned, Forged will hold an edge longer, which is why I originally mentioned the lifetime guarantee.... hell, they'll even give a new one at half price if you destroy the knife on purpose.

 

Theres really nothing to argue about here fellas.

It seems we all agree, as we should, on the fact that stamping is the way to go for a serrated edge, and forging for a straight edge.

Theres various reasons why this is true, and we could argue each point all day long. Nonetheless, this is the commonly accepted reality. Roll with it...

 

Only thing I'll add - if you have a quality straight-edge... you shouldn't need a serrated for much beyond slicing bread.

 

Now your making a better case initially I was under the impression you were saying stamped is better because they are balanced better then a forged knife, which seemed like a hard case to justify.

I think we are all in agreement, just earlier were unable to get our points across for each other to understand.

 

and cutting aluminum

 

oh yih. and masonry.

 

You never know when you might get into it with an over sized Pepsi can when you say "Coke is better!"

 

I think I'm going to head to Bed Bath and Beyond armed with a bunch of those coupons. (You can use up to 5 at a time since they are for single items)

I'm going to take a look at those Henckel if they have them there. I'm not sure if that 7 piece set is only available online. I figure it will be a good set to start with and I'll get steak knives later.

Any other suggestions?

 

go somewhere else first. as far as i know, bed beth beyond wont let you get midevil with a vegetable before buying.

go to a real cutlery shop (if you have to go to a chain, try williams and sonoma) and try out all their blades.

then see if theyll match BBB's discount price. if not, buy them at BBB.,

 

Good call. I have to go to Crate and Barrel before I buy anything. I have a $150 gift card from my wedding that we still have to use. I'll include a trip to a Williams and Sonama.