Value/quality kitchen knife set to buy?

[Walt34]

A bit over thirty years ago when I bought a new-to-me house not long after my divorce I spotted a great deal on a set of kitchen knives in a wood block at the now-defunct Lord & Taylor store not far from me. I'm sure it was a "loss leader" for them at $25. I don't think they had anything else in the store for $25. Anyway, I walked in, bought that set, and walked out, by then being flat broke since everything else had gone to buying the house.

That set is due for replacement and and looking around, I'm torn between an "Amazon Basics" set for $53 (the inflationary equivalent of $25 according to bls.gov's inflation calculator) or what seems to be a much nicer set (includes steak knives! Whoohoo!) at either Amazon or, of all places, Home Depot for $200. Or somewhere in between.

I know some folks are really picky about kitchen knives and will spend thousands on a top end set. I am not one of those people. Not even close. $200 is about my top end. After all, in another month I'll be 70 and while I hope to be cutting up steaks and veggies for another thirty years I have to be realistic about these things. So I really can't see paying for a set that will last fifty years. My heirs will have to buy their own.

I am fussy about the knives being sharp and able to hold an edge though, and I use a Tormek wet-wheel grinder to sharpen knives, scissors, and when I get lots of time and go OCD about sharpening, occasionally a lawn mower blade.

While I normally wash them by hand, DW puts them in the dishwasher. Yes, I cringe at that, but not enough to make me pull them out and wash by hand myself. So they have to be able to withstand that abuse, which favors composite handles instead of wood.

Recommendations and experiences?

 

[W2R]

I don't have a set of knives, but 20 years ago after my divorce I had no kitchen knives. So, I bought one very nice Henckel's knife of a size, weight, and shape that seemed to balance nicely in my hand. It's this one. I use it for everything when I cook and no matter what I am cutting, it seems just right for the job.

It seems to stay sharp and hold an edge very well for me.

 

[Aerides]

Based on your criteria, I'd probably go with something like this:

https://www.zwilling.com/us/henckel...s-international_cutlery_eversharp-pro#start=1

I have a mix. I got a mid-range block set (no steaks, just cutting) from All-clad which they no longer make, but I have always kept my 30 yo Eversharp chef's knife as well.

 

[GreenEggs]

We've bought a few nice sets of knives at Home Goods (owned by TJ Max / Marshalls). They are Emeril brand. Have a nice heft to them & cost about $40-$50 for a nice set of kitchen knves with 6 steak knives and a wooden block.

Home Goods sells other nice brands but that's the brand we liked, so we just went with the same brand when we bought more. They make a nice gift.

 

[footenote]

My Warther set is as good as the
day I acquired them, some 30+
years ago
https://warthercutlery.com/

 

[Souschef]

I would go with the Henkels

 

[davebarnes]

Do not buy a set.
Buy a 6 or 8-inch chef's knife. German, not Japanese, style. See what length feels better to you. I have big hands, but I prefer the 6-inch length.
Buy Wüsthof or Henkels.
You should be looking at $60 and up.
There are classic handles and more modern ones. I prefer classic.

After 6 months with your new knife.
Buy another. Your needs will dictate.
Boning, sandwich, bread, slicer, paring.

If you want steak knives, then go to eBay and search for "Gerber Vintage Miming Legendary Blades Steak Knife Set (6)". They are great.

 

[Qs Laptop]

https://thewirecutter.com/lists/build-your-own-knife-set/

 

[Jerry1]

I agree with buying individual knives with a focus on your main (chef’s) knife. Given that you sound quite capable of sharpening you own knives, I wouldn’t even worry too much about what brand. What’s wrong with your current knives that you need to replace them?

These knives always get good reviews on America’s Test Kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-F...er+Fibrox+Chef's+Knives&qid=1580704899&sr=8-1

BTW, that Henckels set for $200 - that’s their garbage set made in China, not their classic German made set.

 

[FlaGator]

Do not buy a set.
Buy a 6 or 8-inch chef's knife. German, not Japanese, style. See what length feels better to you. I have big hands, but I prefer the 6-inch length.
Buy Wüsthof or Henkels.
You should be looking at $60 and up.
There are classic handles and more modern ones. I prefer classic.

After 6 months with your new knife.
Buy another. Your needs will dictate.
Boning, sandwich, bread, slicer, paring.

If you want steak knives, then go to eBay and search for "Gerber Vintage Miming Legendary Blades Steak Knife Set (6)". They are great.

+1

I'm a knife geek - over 100 in the house. Custom folders, handmades, classic pocket knives-runs the gamut.

Just counted over a dozen kitchen knives, excluding steak knives. The one that get the most use is 6" Henkels chef's knife. Second is a Henkels boning knife, used exclusively for separating cauliflower florets from the stalk.

Skip the sets and spend <$100 on a good German 5-6" Chefs knife and a quality sharpener. A pull-thru like this would do a good job maintaining kitchen knives. https://chefschoice.com/collections...oice®-diamond-hone®-knife-sharpener-model-450

 

[natetheb]

Do not buy a set.
Buy a 6 or 8-inch chef's knife. German, not Japanese, style. See what length feels better to you. I have big hands, but I prefer the 6-inch length.
Buy Wüsthof or Henkels.
You should be looking at $60 and up.
There are classic handles and more modern ones. I prefer classic.

After 6 months with your new knife.
Buy another. Your needs will dictate.
Boning, sandwich, bread, slicer, paring.

If you want steak knives, then go to eBay and search for "Gerber Vintage Miming Legendary Blades Steak Knife Set (6)". They are great.

I agree with the Chef's knife assessment, but I disagree with the manufacturer recommendation (perhaps that is because of hand size?).

My wife and I have a 8-inch Wusthof (classic) and recently got an 8-inch MAC (MTH-80). We absolutely love the MAC. We like the Wusthof and will use it for some heavier chopping, but our go-to is the MAC.

One big negative I have against the Wusthof is the bolster. The bolster goes to the blade edge and makes knife sharpening much more challenging. I sharpen with stones and use a strop to maintain the blade edges.

 

[DrRoy]

Take a look at Cutco. We have several.

 

[davebarnes]

Re: Cutco
You may want to read this — https://cheftalk.com/threads/cutco-knives.11067/post-98326
“ There are at least eight disadvantages to Cutco knives”

 

[RonBoyd]

Our kitchen knife collection was assembled over many years by visiting thrift stores. The most I ever spent on a single knife was IIRC around $10.00 (well, certainly less than $20).


(Strange that I don't know how to re-orient the image.)

As far as sharpening is concerned, I rarely "sharpen." I mainly use the steel to aline the grain of the metal prior to use. (never do this before putting the knife away.) After about a year of use, a knife will lose its shape and need to have the "edge" recreated. I use an "Accusharp Knife Sharpener" to do that. - https://accusharp.com/product/001/ (available from Amazon for ~$10.00)

FWIW, the reason to never put a quality knife into a dish washer is because of the Sanitizing cycle -- the heat will cause loss of "temper" and the knife will never again hold an edge. (You can, of course, use a dish washer after turning off that mode with no ill effects.)

 

[Tailgate]

Dalstrong are worth a look.

 

[folivier]

I've used, and still using, Chicago Cutlery for well over 40 years. I like the simple wood handle design. Although the recent versions don't appear to be as good quality as my vintage ones.

 

[Gumby]

We have a mix of Wusthof Classic and Henckels Classic picked up individually over the years. They have been durable and hold a good edge. Invest in a good electric sharpener; we have a Chef's Choice 312. I enjoy hand sharpening as much as the next guy; I do it with my straight razors. But with the electric sharpener, you are more likely to take minute or two to resharpen more often. And a sharp knife is a safe knife. Don't ever put them in the dishwasher.

The young wife prefers the santoku to the chef's knife as her primary knife, although we have both.

 

[Nemo2]

These, (along with a variety of other unrelated 'bargoons'), my late wife bought in Riyadh almost 32 years ago - she kept telling me how 'cheap' things were there, (plus no added taxes), until I said that we couldn't afford to 'save' any more money:

 

[OldShooter]

Agree. Do not buy a set. Also, agree, if you don't know how to sharpen, learn to do it well. There are no miracle steels that don't need sharpening. The best knife in the world, left unsharpened, is junk.

Most of the brands already mentioned will be fine. There is some beautiful stuff out there; forged blades, through-tangs, etc. Great to display and handle. But none of that beauty makes much difference when using the knife as a tool.

For shopping go to restaurant supply stores like https://www.webstaurantstore.com/2821/kitchen-cutlery.html In our market we can buy at Restaurant Depot https://www.restaurantdepot.com/ without a membership, so that is a nice way to browse serious knives.

We have a number of the fancy knives, but lately I have been buying mostly Dexter. This is professional stuff and the prices are rock bottom.

For starters: A slicer with a Granton edge, a bread knife, a chef's knife, and a boning knife. Plus the small knives you already have, freshly sharpened.

For sharpening I just use stones and steels, but there is an infinite variety of clever gadgets out there and many people swear by one or another of them. The first sharpening tool(s) you buy will probably just teach you what you really wanted, so don't obsess over the decision.

 

[aja8888]

Just get the Ginsu World Class and be done with it!


https://youtu.be/ULYzemztzww

 

[Telly]

Just get the Ginsu World Class and be done with it!

Aww, ya beat me to it!

A Ginsu is also handy if you need to make change quick

 

[HI Bill]

I would get this set (Wushthof - Three Piece Cook’s Set - 3 1/2" Paring Knife, 6" Utility Knife, and 8" Cook’s Knife) for $230:

https://www.amazon.com/Wüsthof-Thre...&s=home-garden&sprefix=WUSTHO,aps,333&sr=1-18

I'd rather have three really great knives, than a bunch of mediocre knives.

 

[Walt34]

Wow, what a fountain of information! I've got at least ten tabs open in the browser at the moment, and added half a dozen or so bookmarked sites and knives on Amazon. This is going to take some thought.

Jerry asked what's wrong with the current set. Nothing, really, except that the boning knife, which is the most-used knife in the kitchen here, that came with that original set has been sharpened so often that the blade is now so thin that I'm concerned the blade will break. There is a learning curve on that Tormek grinder and that knife was the victim of my learning. And after many many years and knife sharpeners I bought the Tormek out of frustration with everything else I'd tried, it works well, and I'm going to stick with that. And it's one of those tools that once purchased, costs nothing to keep, at least for a single user.

I did find another boning knife about ten years ago that I like a lot made by Kershaw that I found in some little hole-in-the-wall shop in Frederick, MD. I haven't been able to find another one like it - it has a rubberized cover on the handle, similar to some other tools I have, that gives a very good grip. Sacrilege to some I suppose, but I like it. And it's become sort of "my" knife in the kitchen - DW doesn't use it although I've never expressed any reason she shouldn't or even any preference. She prefers a paring knife for cutting veggies and the like.

So now I'm thinking that maybe I'll get the boning knife suggested by W2R, keep the wooden block that we have and slowly add to the rest of the set as needed rather than replace all at once. And start haunting garage sales and thrift stores too.

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions on what many would consider a minor decision. But as we all know a bad tool is a source of constant frustration and a kitchen knife is one of the most-used tools in the house. So while choice of kitchen knives may be a first world problem, it is not a minor one.

 

[braumeister]

I have, and use, a bunch of very good knives, but to be honest the single most used knife in my kitchen is a Chinese cleaver. I noticed that in the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant owned by a friend, it was the only kind of knife they had. A very versatile tool.

Mine just lives on the cutting board and gets used multiple times nearly every day. I have a regular knife block with good (Shun, Wüsthof, etc.) knives right next to it, but most of the time I'll just grab the cleaver. You sharpen it just like any other knife.

How to Buy and Care for a Chinese Cleaver

 

[Jerry1]

So now I'm thinking that maybe I'll get the boning knife suggested by W2R, keep the wooden block that we have and slowly add to the rest of the set as needed rather than replace all at once. And start haunting garage sales and thrift stores too.

That’s exactly what I was going to recommend once you said that the boning knife is your most used knife. I use mine a lot too for things others would grab a chef’s knife for, but it fits me well and I can get the job done with it. As was said, I use basically three knives, chef, boning and paring. Oh, I do have some steak knives too. Nothing special, just a straight, non-serrated blade that I can sharpen when needed.