Looking for a kitchen knife set.

[UsulofDoom]

I know we have some cooks here. Looking for set with block 11-17 pieces.

Sets that includes like Paring Knife, Serrated Utility, Chef's Knife, Boning Knife, Bread Knife , - Steak Knife, Sharpening Steel, Kitchen Shears and Hardwood Block

I keep reading reviews on amazon and even some of the $300 to $400 sets are rusting! Handles are breaking. Do not keep sharpness.

Share with me what you make and model you have ? Also what care they require. (hand wash only, dishwasher safe, need oiling , Have to sharpen often)

What review sites do you trust for kitchen items?

Thanks for any feed back!

[milo]

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/product ... bfb5edff7e

I got this set a year and a half ago, and I love it. Still look brand new and cut like a dream. Incredibly sharp out of the box. I haven't sharpened them yet; I just hone them with the steel every couple of weeks or so. Hand wash (very carefully) only. Planning on asking Santa for a Santoku knife for Christmas this year.

I also got some Chinese made Messermeister Avanta brand fine-edge (non-serrated) steak knives at the same time. Similar look to the Wusthof Ikons, but much cheaper. Those are holding up very well, also.

[Daehawk]

German Wustof
Japanese Shun

[Anonymous Bosch]

If you want a high quality set that's built to last, I'd go with The Wirecutter's recommendation:

Wüsthof Classic Ikon 7-Piece Walnut Block Knife Set
The best all-purpose knife set
This classic-looking set includes the most useful knives for home-kitchen use, plus pull-apart kitchen shears, a honing steel, and a storage block. We’re confident that these durable, sharp knives will provide years of use.

These forged high-carbon stainless steel knives are very sharp, and they’re heavy enough to tackle tough, fibrous vegetables such as butternut squash better than the competition. Among all the knives we tested, the Wüsthof set’s grippy, ergonomically shaped handles were the most comfortable to hold. For the price, performance, and durability, we think the Wüsthof Classic Ikon is the best set to meet your home-kitchen needs. Alternatively, if you prefer to assemble your own custom-made knife set, we recommend buying knives piecemeal.

Keep in mind though, it pays to use high-carbon steel knives with proper diligence. But if you treat them properly, they ought to last a lifetime.

If you're after something cheaper, go with their budget pick instead:

Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles
A lightweight knife set for beginners and pros
This cheap but sharp knife set is a nice option if you’re a beginning cook and don’t want to spend a lot of money. This set is also great for pros who need knives that can stand up to the rigors of a high-traffic kitchen.

If you’re looking for a cheap but decent set, we recommend the Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles. The stamped, high-carbon stainless steel blades remained sharper and held their edge better than any other set we tested under $200. The Victorinox knives are lightweight and well-balanced, while the Fibrox handles are comfortable to hold and provide a good grip even when wet. Though this set lacks shears, a honing steel, and a storage block, it offers the most basic knives you’ll need in the kitchen for a bargain price.

[Z-Corn]

Gotta revisit this tomorrow, time to eat now and slice a tri tip with my 30-year old knives. I have questions and opinions!

[Kraken]

That's a lot of pieces. I use my chef's knife for almost everything, a bread knife for bread, and my paring knife occasionally.

I could use a decent knife to skin fish, and I'd really like some decent steak knives -- I am still using the Ginsu knives that I bought 35 years ago (Wife's a vegetarian so we don't have a lot of demand for those). My cheap little pocket knife sharpener keeps them all going.

Ginsu knives are the only "As seen on TV!" things I've ever bought, and they were well worth their price. Go ahead and laugh. I am used to ridicule; I am married.

[hepcat]

A little plug for the area in Ohio where I was born and raised. Mooney Warther is one of our hometown legends. Considered one of the world’s greatest carvers, his family still produces high end kitchen knives that will never dull on you. They’re pretty goddamn amazing. My parents bought me a set when I went off to college...and I’m still using those same knives 3 decades later. Check ‘em out now that they have an Amazon storefront.

[dbt1949]

Kitchen knives are a common prize on The Price is Right and they usually go for $1000-$2000,
Of course that's full retail.
Seems outrageously high to me but I admit to being ignorant of the subject.

[Malificent]

I have a set of these:

Misen Kickstarter

I really like them. I have the chef's, the paring, the mid-size, and a bread knife. They are kickstarting this new set but you can also order directly from misen.co.

[Blackhawk]

I think i know why my $40 12-piece set sucks so much...

[MonkeyFinger]

I have a set of these:

Misen Kickstarter

I really like them. I have the chef's, the paring, the mid-size, and a bread knife. They are kickstarting this new set but you can also order directly from misen.co.

I Kickstarted their original chef's knife and it is very nice. My main knifes are a set of Shun Classics but they are pricey and were acquired... over time.

[Z-Corn]

OK, your best bet is to buy your knives individually. You will not use all 17 knives you buy in a block.

Even Bed Bath and Beyond has a decent knife display case and you can feel each knife one at a time and make your choices that way. Restaurant supply stores are another place to look.

I still use the knives I got in culinary school in 1988. They are a German brand, F. Dick. Yes really, that is the brand. They aren't super high end at all but they've held up for 30+ years. A few times in the past I've thought about getting new knives and then I cook that evening and decide there is no need.

From my whole roll I use the chef's knife, the boner and the paring knife pretty much daily. The long slicing knife comes out when needed and the bread knife once a week or so. So that's it, 5 knives get me by just fine. I should say, "us" as my wife uses them too. We cook at least 2 meals a day.

[ImLawBoy]

My wife got me this set for Christmas a couple of years ago, and I really like them. I've heard that German made knives tend to be heavier and Japanese made knives tend to be lighter, but I don't know if that's really true. Regardless, I prefer a heavier knife. My primary knife is the chef's knife, and I use the honer thing every once in a while to keep it sharp. This set also includes a santoku knife, which is my wife's preferred blade for prep work. These are hand wash only and I dry them right away. My last (much cheaper) knife set I would put in the dishwasher, and I'm sure that played a large part in their early demise. I agree with others that I don't really need that many knives (there are 19 in the set, but 8 of those are steak knives), but it's nice to have a variety.

[McNutt]

As mentioned, find the chef's knife that fits you best and slowly build around it. A good chef's knife alone will cost you $100. I rarely use more than my chef's and pairing knives, so that's where you should spend your money.

Quality is a lot more important than quantity here.

[msteelers]

No con foisted on the general public is so atrocious, so wrongheaded, or so widely believed as the one that tells you you need a full set of specialized cutlery in various sizes. I wish sometimes I could go through the kitchens of amateur cooks everywhere just throwing knives out from their drawers — all those medium-size 'utility' knives, those useless serrated things you see advertised on TV, all that hard-to-sharpen stainless steel garbage, those ineptly designed slicers — not one of the damn things could cut a tomato.

Please believe me, here's all you will ever need in the knife department: ONE good chefs knife, as large as is comfortable for your hand.

[Kraken]

Like I said, I use my chef's knife for almost everything. I actually accumulated four of them over the decades, but I use one almost exclusively. Plus, Z-Corn has a boner from F. Dick.

[noxiousdog]

You can easily get by with 3 quality knives.

Chef
Bread
Paring <- I'm not even sure this is necessary.

If you do a lot of bone in meats, like a whole chicken, a boning knife would be a fourth to add.

I'm a big fan of Messermeister. The classes I've taken say try the German knifes and the Japanese style to see which grip you like better and then choose from there. There is a really good knife skills class at Sur la Table that I'd recommend if you have one nearby.

[Blackhawk]

I'm honestly terrified of spending that kind of money on a knife, as I'd be afraid of destroying it with my consistently terrible attempts at sharpening.

[msteelers]

I'm honestly terrified of spending that kind of money on a knife, as I'd be afraid of destroying it with my consistently terrible attempts at sharpening.

I recently bought one of these. It’s very easy to use and seems to work well. It’s easy enough that I get a “too good to be true” vibe from it. I’m curious what the professionals say about something like this. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they are terrible and I’m a fool for buying one.

[McNutt]

I have a motorized two-stage knife sharpener that I break out a couple times a year. It quickly puts a nice edge on the knives.

[Z-Corn]

Plus, Z-Corn has a boner from F. Dick.

Yep, and it's been in my hand daily since 1988.

[McNutt]

Damn, this knife thread is getting hot.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I'm honestly terrified of spending that kind of money on a knife, as I'd be afraid of destroying it with my consistently terrible attempts at sharpening.

I recently bought one of these. It’s very easy to use and seems to work well. It’s easy enough that I get a “too good to be true” vibe from it. I’m curious what the professionals say about something like this. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they are terrible and I’m a fool for buying one.

Pull-through knife sharpeners are rarely recommended by anyone knowledgeable about blades. You're better off with something like the Spyderco Sharpmaker for a simple and easy way of sharpening and touching-up blades, as shown here:



Having said that, the sharpener you linked to is at least a step up from the typically cheap and nasty tungsten carbide pull-through knife sharpeners. Tungsten carbide sharpeners tend to be the most destructive, as they remove more metal and can potentially create permanent damage.

[wonderpug]

FYI, Shun knives offer free sharpening service for life with their knives.

[LawBeefaroni]

We have a Shun Ken Onion chef's knife (8 or 10 inches, not sure). The only reason I remember the full name is because it was a gift and when I opened it thinking Shun Ken was the brand name, I said, "Oh, an onion knife? Cool...for onions? Whats an onion knife?" The wife nearly punched me.

We also have one good paring knife, a serrated bread knife and an Ulu knife. That's the cooking stuff and pretty much all I use. And 1 set of quality steak knives.


Everything else gets the cheap utility knives or old filet knives. Like cutting opening packages, cutting kids' food, etc.

[ImLawBoy]

One thing I'll add is that having more knives can be a benefit if you have dietary restrictions in the house. If I've used the chef's knife to cut up some meat, my vegetarian wife can always use the santoku to chop veggies for a salad. Sure, you could wash between uses, but that's not always practical when you're rushing to get dinner on the table with kids complaining about how they're about to die from hunger.

[Jeff V]

You can easily get by with 3 quality knives.

Chef
Bread
Paring <- I'm not even sure this is necessary.

If you do a lot of bone in meats, like a whole chicken, a boning knife would be a fourth to add.

I'm a big fan of Messermeister. The classes I've taken say try the German knifes and the Japanese style to see which grip you like better and then choose from there. There is a really good knife skills class at Sur la Table that I'd recommend if you have one nearby.

I like having a fillet knife with flexible blade for working with fish.

My knives are all-stainless Chicago Cutlery. I've had to replace some that my wife and mother in law managed to destroy, but with normal use should last forever. I do need steak knives, we're down to 4 as my wife is also prone to dumping plate fulls of things into the trash without retrieving utensils first.

[gameoverman]

I agree with the people saying buying individually only the knife/knives you need, then add more later if needed.

With just about anything that comes in a pre-made set or can be bought separately, you'll get better quality hand choosing each piece separately. The benefits of a set are the convenience of getting everything all at once and usually a lower price than if you bought it all separately. You'll notice 'quality' is not one of the benefits.

If you want your knives to last you're better off with one or two good ones than a whole set of average to mediocre knives.

[$iljanus]

My knives are all-stainless Chicago Cutlery. I've had to replace some that my wife and mother in law managed to destroy, but with normal use should last forever. I do need steak knives, we're down to 4 as my wife is also prone to dumping plate fulls of things into the trash without retrieving utensils first.

My mom, also a Filipina, was using one of our good paring knives to cut some roses from our rose bush to take home. I was a bit livid...

When my parents were visiting I practically hid our nice Misen non-stick pans since I was afraid they would use a metal spoon to stir fry something in them.

[gbasden]

We have a Shun Ken Onion chef's knife (8 or 10 inches, not sure). The only reason I remember the full name is because it was a gift and when I opened it thinking Shun Ken was the brand name, I said, "Oh, an onion knife? Cool...for onions? Whats an onion knife?" The wife nearly punched me.

I've got a set of four Shun Ken Onion knives and I love them. I use the chefs knife most often, but the paring knife and the big carver get broken out for certain tasks. Properly sharpened they are like cutting with a lightsaber. Just fantastic knives.

[Jeff V]

My knives are all-stainless Chicago Cutlery. I've had to replace some that my wife and mother in law managed to destroy, but with normal use should last forever. I do need steak knives, we're down to 4 as my wife is also prone to dumping plate fulls of things into the trash without retrieving utensils first.

My mom, also a Filipina, was using one of our good paring knives to cut some roses from our rose bush to take home. I was a bit livid...

When my parents were visiting I practically hid our nice Misen non-stick pans since I was afraid they would use a metal spoon to stir fry something in them.

They like hacking at frozen things. They made the sentoku edge all wavy, and actually put divots into the chef's knife (that one still hasn't been properly replaced...I have an el-cheapo replacement in use right now. Mother in law is out of the picture, but I still don't think my wife cares to treat a knife with proper respect.

[TheMix]

I went the "buy a few initially route". I found some good prices on Wusthof knives at TJ Maxx (or possibly the other discount store - they were side by side). The annoying thing was trying to find a knife block that didn't come with a knife set. I think I finally tracked one down at a used/donation store.

[GuidoTKP]

I recommend skipping the knife block and mounting a magnetic strip somewhere in your kitchen. Much easier to clean, takes up no counter space, looks cool. Since it doesn't sound like you already own knives, I'm assuming you're looking for the sweet spot on price vs performance. I recommend Victorinox Forschner knives. They are routinely rated as top performers by Cooks Illustrated (my go to reference for neutral reviews). Since they are stamped knives, they are much cheaper than their high end forged competition. I own more expensive knives because I just like knives and there is a lot to enjoy about a good German or Japanese knife, but if you're just looking for a good set of tools at a great price, I always steer people towards Forschner.

7pc Fibrox Set

For steak knives it's not hard to find a good set. I like the Wirecutter's reviews. They'll all cut great. Pick the set that has handles you like.

Wirecutter Steak Knife Review

If you really want to love your knives, sharpen them. Nobody makes a knife that will magically stay sharp forever. Once you commit to sharpening your knives on a regular basis (i.e., at least twice a year), you'll love your knives. If you don't, you will eventually decide that your knives "suck." If you reach this conclusion, 99% of the time it's because you refused to take care of your knives. The easiest thing to do is to type knife sharpening into the search bar on Google Maps and/or Yelp and find a local knife sharpener with good reviews. If you want to sharpen your own knives, after screwing around with many systems, I settled in on this:

Work Sharp

If you can't commit to sharpening your knives, look for a set of serrated knives. They'll stay sharp longer, but just know you're committing to middle of the road sharpness (i.e., they'll never be great, but they'll likely be better than the non-serrated knife you never bother sharpening). We rented a house on vacation this summer and I found a dull as a butter knife Bob Kramer chef's knife in the drawer. I almost stole it on principal since those people didn't deserve to own that knife.

And here's a link to the magnetic strip.

Magnetic Knife Strip

Enjoy!

[$iljanus]

Hey Guido!

If we ever remodel the kitchen I'm going have a nice spot for a magnetic strip. Currently I'm very, very carefully putting my knives in a dedicated knife (and other cutting impliments) drawer.

Now I'm prompted by this thread to break out the Japanese sharpening block my sister gave me and get to sharpening my knives!

[Blackhawk]

Pull-through knife sharpeners are rarely recommended by anyone knowledgeable about blades.

The problem I've had is that every other knife sharpener or sharpening technique always requires that you hold the knife at an absurdly precise angle the whole time, and then repeat that angle from the opposite side, then be able to match that angle every time you sharpen that knife.

Short of a protractor HUD, I can't imagine how to actually do that. Every time I've tried has resulted in disaster.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Pull-through knife sharpeners are rarely recommended by anyone knowledgeable about blades.

The problem I've had is that every other knife sharpener or sharpening technique always requires that you hold the knife at an absurdly precise angle the whole time, and then repeat that angle from the opposite side, then be able to match that angle every time you sharpen that knife.

Short of a protractor HUD, I can't imagine how to actually do that. Every time I've tried has resulted in disaster.

...hence my suggestion of the Spyderco Sharpmarker. Try watching the video, and you'll see it's pretty much idiot-proof in terms of effortlessly achieving the perfect angle on both sides.

GuidoTKP's suggestion of the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener is another terrific option, though it is more expensive.

[Gryndyl]

I buy Kiwi brand knives. Just as sharp, one tenth the price.

[UsulofDoom]

First I want to say is WOW! I was thinking I would get a few responses but this is great !

I have a lot to think about now.

I'm going to the Big E in Mass . They usually have lots of knife dealers. I can then try them out.

Also I think I'll try Bed bath and beyond.

Thank you all again!

[McNutt]

This is an old review, but I found it pretty interesting.

Cooking for Engineers rates chef's knives.

[Z-Corn]

I miss Cooking For Engineers, he doesn't update too often anymore.