If you buy chinese ones, Sean Connery will spurn Alex Trebec's mother.

We've had our German set of Wusthof knives for over 15 years now. I keep them as sharp as the day I bought them. When our daughter comes over she always uses them along with a comment like..."when you guys croak, I'm getting these knives, right?

Oh yeah, don't even get them close to a dishwasher.

Even though the Henckels I bought were made in Spain, I'm going to return them. The steak knives were never opened, I used the chef's knife once and wasn't that impressed with it.

Told the wife I'm going all in and ordering a Wustoff block set for around $300. I'm going to buy once and cry once.

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.


Exactly!

I have had 5 of the German steel, but made in Spain 1 man logo Henckels for 10 years. I have been pretty happy with them. If I had had more money at the time I would have bought the all German made ones.

My family members like me to cook and have barbecues when I visit. They have cheap Chinese knives. They are so bad, that I have a travel kit of Dexter Russell knives I take with me now.

Keep in mind that even Wusthof has a cheap line of knives too, their "Gourmet" line. While they're still made in Germany, they're made from cheaper stamped steel to cut corners and be able to offer them at a lower price point.

Their higher tier (Classic, etc.) knives are forged, and much higher quality.

So just because it says "Wusthof" and "Made in Germany", doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be the high quality that you expect. Look for forged German knives.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
GERMAN ones have 2 MEN on the logo, the cheap ones have 1 man on the logo.

quote:

Originally posted by daikyu:
Ideally you want the Henkels/Zwilling knives. They are made in Germany.

Not necessarily true.

I have a set of these steak knives. Henkels Zwilling. Two men logo. They're quality forged knives made from German steel. But they are made in Spain.

You just have to know which collection you're buying as that'll determine the quality. In general, forged knives are better than stamped ones.

Henckel forged collections are Pro, Pro S, and Four Star.
Wusthof forged collections are Wusthof Classic, Wusthof Grand Prix II and, Wusthof Classic Ikon

Spain likely handles many of Henckel's specialty forged items like steak-sets, cheese-sets, carving, seafood, shellfish, etc, along with some stamped collections. China is reserved for making the inexpensive assortments, likely all stamped, made for mass market/discount channels.

I've never liked knife sets, they're all geared for wedding gifts or, the unknowing; great money makers for home goods retailers. If you know any professional chefs, ask to see their knife roll...their knifes come from a wide variety of brands, each brand specific for that type of knife.

I’ve bought a number of items from the Zwilling online Outlet. They have some great prices

My German Henckels were $700ish but we used a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon and got 20% off. They only came with 8 knives including 4 steak knives. We have been adding on since. We added 4 more steak knives and they are almost $300.

Cheap knives have their place. Most ppl don't care to get into the intricacies of knife sharpening and care. Most ppl who buy a large knife set only end up using 2-3 of the knives w/ any regularity.

If you get nice knives, accept the care that comes w/ owning them. The tragedy I often see w/ fine cutlery and cookware is ppl will get them, b/c others tell them they [Henckels, Wusthof, Shun, All-Clad] are the best. Often these are couples who put them on their wedding registries. The tragedy is when the owners treat them the same as they did their cheap Chinese counterparts. If you can afford a BMW or Mercedes, you shouldn't be taking it to Jiffy Lube for oil changes.

If handwashing is too tedious for you, then it makes sense to get less expensive Chinese-made knives. Fine cutlery & cookware does not go in the dishwasher!

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Cheap knives have their place.

Yes, especially in the kitchen IMO. I have three German-made Wusthof blades I use all the time (a 6", 8" and a paring knife), but I'd have a hard time knocking around a 400 dollar knife on the kitchen counter.

Having said this- I'll take the opportunity to once again point out that I have come to despise China and their disgustingly cheap shit products. Products from China are so prevalent in the US, it's near impossible to avoid all of them, but, damn, when you have a choice, avoid Chinese shit like it's Chinese shit.

If you're on a tight budget, get yourself a few Old Hickory Knives, which are made these days by Ontario Knife Company right here in the United States. You can use these knives guilt-free and support an American maufacturer in the process. The only caveat is that for best performance, you'll need to put an edge on them right out of the box.

If Old Hickory is too base for you, then you can get superb performance for a little more money, from Victorinox Chef's Knives. They have a very broad selection of reasonably prced knives and they are made in Switzerland, not disgusting China.

I bought several Cutco knives and rarely use them. I use a 6.5 inch Shun nakiri and a Shun cleaver the most.

I also have a couple Henkel paring knives which I use.

Another option for something a little less expensive might be Dexter Russell's Connoisseur line; picked up their 10 inch forged Chef's knife, made in USA, and it has worked well for me.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:Victorinox Chef's Knives. They have a very broad selection of reasonably prced knives and they are made in Switzerland, not disgusting China.

Bingo, probably the best value knives on the market. Stamped but, used widely by the food service industry.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

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

I did exactly this. Bought my santoku, paring, and filet from them. Got the Spanish block set to round things out. Honestly I only use the three 99% of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
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.

I love BINGOs !

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:Victorinox Chef's Knives. They have a very broad selection of reasonably prced knives and they are made in Switzerland, not disgusting China.

Bingo, probably the best value knives on the market. Stamped but, used widely by the food service industry.

Victorinox/Forschner w/ the Fibrox handles are the best performance/dollar value kitchen knives. Mercer is another brand popular in the restaurant industry and made in Taiwan. If you're on a tight budget, these two brands are the way to go, and they're both dishwasher safe.

Old Hickory is a brand that's new to me, but high carbon steel + wood handles means they're terrible to put them in the dishwasher.

Well, to me, the only knives which should go in the dishwasher are butter knives.

Put a little tung oil on the wood handles.

The Old Hickory knives have been around forever. The butcher knives are popular with bushcrafters. They emulate the kind of knives frontiersmen might have carried 150 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
GERMAN ones have 2 MEN on the logo, the cheap ones have 1 man on the logo.

quote:

Originally posted by daikyu:
Ideally you want the Henkels/Zwilling knives. They are made in Germany.

Not necessarily true.

I have a set of these steak knives. Henkels Zwilling. Two men logo. They're quality forged knives made from German steel. But they are made in Spain.

As far as I know, read, and have seen. The ONLY twin man Henckels that are made outside of Germany (or Japan) are steak knives only.