These are very good knives and an excellent value. Yes, they are stamped, not forged, but they cost much, MUCH less then similar sets of quality forged knives. They arrived razor sharp and have stayed razor sharp with use of the included steel.
And these are indeed QUALITY stamped knives. They have a full length tang which gives them a good, balanced weight that feels nice in your hand. The handles are comfortable and non-slip. In short, they are a pleasure to use.
Top that off with a surprisingly (at this price) high-quality wooden block and I couldn't be more pleased with this set of knives. Like another reviewer, I completed this set (there are 3 empty slots in the block, 2 for additional knives & 1 for poultry shears) with the 6-1/2-Inch Santoku Knife, the 5" Boning Knife and the Poultry Shears. I have been using these knives daily for the last 3 months.
One thing about these knives that I haven't seen any other reviewer mention - they have 15° edge bevels (like most Asian knives) as opposed to 20° bevels (like most German knives). I mention this not as a negative or positive regarding the knives (although some will argue the merits of one vs. the other), but as a "heads up" when using a steel on these knives or buying a sharpener. You need to use a 15° angle against the steel when doing the former & if you buy the latter and want to maintain the 15° bevel (which is a double bevel on these Oxo knives by the way, unlike some high-end Japanese knives which have a single bevel), be sure and order an appropriate sharpener.
Finally, in an attempt to address some criticisms in other reviews and the two questions I saw in one review comment:
1) To maintain a sharp edge, these knives, like all other knives that are not of the "laser ever-sharp" variety, require periodic steeling to realign the edge. I steel a given knife before every 3 or 4 uses (just a few strokes on each side - no biggie) and they are as sharp as new.
2) Oxo recommends hand-washing, which I have done & I have experienced no spotting or discoloration of the knives after 3 months of daily use.
3) The steak knives are smooth-edged, not serrated (and cut a steak very nicely!)
4) These knives cut tomatoes very nicely - I have used both the santoku knife & the 5" serrated utility knife for this task, but I prefer the non-serrated santoku. (The only two serrated knives in this set are the aformentioned 5" utility & the 8" bread knife). OXO Good Grips Professional 14-Piece Knife Block Set
OXO is our favorite brand of kitchen tools and when we found this wonderful collection of practical knives in a gift set we bought one for our house and one for a wedding gift.
There are more expensive knives available but these are well-designed and high quality and an absolute bargain for $100.
All knives are sharp when you buy them, but no knife stays sharp forever. In fact the measure of a good knife is its ability to take and hold an edge after resharpening. OXO PRO Series knives do indeed take and hold an edge after resharpening. The knives are based on OXO's Universal Design concept and feature non-slip, comfort handles. I also like the fact that all OXO products have a no-nonsense satisfaction guarantee.
For the price of this handsome set you could go out and buy one overpriced German or French knife, which will also need resharpening, or you could spend over $1,000 for some fancy knife sets that will not slice tomatoes or bread any better than OXO's knives.
Just think of the $900 saved by going for OXO Pro Knives instead of inflated German cutlery, and use the savings for a ticket for yourself to Europe.
These knives are very nice to look at and the wood block does not appear cheap. The knives are razor sharp and have not dulled in the two months we have had them. They have shown no signs of rusting. We hand wash them and towel dry. We were so impressed with the set that we bought three more differently styled knives from OXO.
I got these knives as a wedding present and I absolutely love them. Before getting this full knife set I had been using a few average priced knives that I thought were ok. Once I got this set I realized that my old knives were definitely sub-par. I had gotten used to having to force my way through harder foods such as carrots with my old not so sharp blades, but the OXO knives were incredibly sharp! They cut through everything I threw at them with such ease that I was in total amazement.
This set is the best set you can get for such a low prices. The knives are very sharp, comfortable to hold, and look really nice on the counter. I highly recommend them.
This set contains the best knives I ever owned. I really didn't need true professional chef quality so these will suit me quite well for many years to come. The grips work great even when they are wet and that's a big plus to me. I also bought a 6.5" santoku knife, a boning knife and poultry scissors so my set needs nothing and they all fit into the block. The total cost for everything including shipping was still under $200.00 (through Amazon) - a great bargain in my opinion.
I bought these as a gift, but when I opened the box and checked out the set, I considered keeping it. Even with the other good reviews here, I didn't expect such quality from a set that cost less than $80. The wood block is substantial and attractive, and knives themselves look and feel like some of the high-priced German models. OXO also lives up to its "good grips" name with handles that are very comfortable and well balanced.
With so many cutlery options on the market, OXO has hit the nail on the head again by offering quality knives at a bargain price. All the knives are well balanced with a comfortable grip, and a surprisingly sharp edge.
This set is a great solution for anyone that needs an inexpensive way to replace an old knife set, or as a starter set for a wedding gift or college student, as the edge on these blades will stay sharp with minimal attention.
I have seen these knives rated as a "Best Buy" in a number of magazines... most recently in Dwell Magazine, who appreciate the sleek look of these, I'm sure.
This block would be a steal without the steak knife set, but OXO has ensured that you get everything you need in this block. - Knife - Oxo Good Grips - Cutlery - Oxo'
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