The price differences are significant.

Is there a difference in quality?

Bought a chefs knife, made in Spain, for $60 but the block set from China with 12 or 14 pieces is around $150. Should I keep the set made in Spain or am I spending more money for no reason?

I have found that with knives that any more, you get what you pay for. I finally spend the money on a Wustof Santoku knife. WOW! The ease of cutting is amazing compared to even moderately priced knives let alone the cheap ones. I've had it for about a year and it shows no signs of losing it's edge. I for one am glad I made the jump up. And you can get a Wustof Santoku for around $75.

I purchased some German brand knives, made in china, in the last couple of years at Tuesday Morning, forget if they were Henckels or Wusthof, the steel was not nearly as good as the traditional German manufacture.

They weren't really sharp to start with and they just would not sharpen up. The professional guy I use occasionally to really sharpen up my knives just shook his head at seeing these.

And to top it all off, the handles broke off. I mean the material just fractured (some kind of composite, not wood).

I'll pass on the chinesium stuff.

Chinese knives are crap

Even if they weren't, we shouldn't be supporting these assholes if we can avoid it, and in this case, you most certainly can avoid it.

quote:

I purchased some German brand knives, made in china, in the last couple of years at Tuesday Morning, forget if they were Henckels or Wusthof, the steel was not nearly as good as the traditional German manufacture.

+1
Made in Solingen Germany will cost more, but it's worth it.

The block of Henckels Solingen No Stain Friodur knives I own is 25 years old. They have seen continued use and are lethal on a hunk of venison or chicken breast. Don't waste your $$ on chinese shit.

I would think the Spanish made knives paid their workers a real wage vs the slave labor wages in china.

Ideally you want the Henkels/Zwilling knives. They are made in Germany.

I have a Spanish made Henkel's chef knife and it is noticeably thinner than our Henkels/Zwilling chefs knife. Still a good knife but not as good.

It's not even close. The German made ones will hold an edge while the Chinese ones will be butter knives after a few uses.

The Chinese are good at copying the look of many quality products but the metallurgy, machining, craftsmanship are not in the same league.
This is another case of buy once, cry once to get the real thing. A quality set should last a lifetime.
Just learn how to properly sharpen them and don't let anyone put them anywhere near a dishwasher.

Not even a choice. If I was buying knives and had a choice, sending my hard earned money to the Chinese military is the last thing I’d ever want to do

Or try Japanese knives, possibly Shun or Korin.

Spend money on a good 8-10" chef's knife - that's your workhorse knife in the kitchen.

And take 220-9er's advice, "don't let anyone put them anywhere near a dishwasher".

Japanese or German, in kitchen knives.

I would only buy German Henckels.

Ones made in spain are just ok. Steel is tough, but not so great at holding an edge for a long time.

Don't the German ones have a different logo from the others?

Without pictures or the name of the collection, hard to say other than, are these knives stamped or, forged?

Stamped knives are cheap to make, however they're perfectly suitable for paring knives.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
The price differences are significant.

Is there a difference in quality?

Bought a chefs knife, made in Spain, for $60 but the block set from China with 12 or 14 pieces is around $150. Should I keep the set made in Spain or am I spending more money for no reason?

GERMAN ones have 2 MEN on the logo, the cheap ones have 1 man on the logo.

Neither, buy the GERMAN set from Bed Bath and Beyond with the 20% off coupon for the same $150 +/-. Look at the block set of Henckels 2 MAN or (personally I'd spend more and get the $299 set of Wusthoff classic block set). I've used the Spain sets and they're heavy, blades are thick, don't get nearly as sharp as the German ones. Bed Bath and Beyond IS the place to buy knives with the 20% off coupon, it says not for Henckel, wusthof etc, but they take the coupon for them.

This for $170 BEFORE 20% off coupon
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...507?categoryId=12704

$180 before 20% coupon
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...507?categoryId=12704

or this depending on which handles you like:
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...507?categoryId=12704

This Wusthoff Classic set would be my first choice for $299.99
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.c...of-classic-block-set

quote:

Originally posted by Dzozer:
I have found that with knives that any more, you get what you pay for. I finally spend the money on a Wustof Santoku knife. WOW! The ease of cutting is amazing compared to even moderately priced knives let alone the cheap ones. I've had it for about a year and it shows no signs of losing it's edge. I for one am glad I made the jump up. And you can get a Wustof Santoku for around $75.

I AGREE. I've had mine since 2011, only used the steel on it after each use. IT IS the knife I use 98% of the time and still just as amazing as the day I bought it. The only thing I use a chef's knife for is cutting open a watermelon or large head of cabbage.

I've got a block full of the Henckels Four Star Solingen knives. They were not cheap but they are worth every penny.