I just got these knives and I love them. Regarding the rust problem, all quality knives are made of high carbon steel. They will all rust if left in water. This includes henckles, shun, wustof ect.
Regarding the spaces that others have been complaining about, high quality knives are forged out of a single piece of metal. It is impossible to get a uniform shape for every knife this way. Chicago Cutlery uses a poly handle that has uniform in shape (unlike wood handles), hence the spaces.
These knives are very sharp. You can see how sharp a knife is by holding it loosely by the handle and pulling it over a tomato without applying pressure. I have done this with the sontoku from this et and it slices through like butter.
Handles are a matter of taste. these are thick handles, I like them this way. If you like thinner handles go with Shun. Of coarse one chef's knife will cost you twice as much as this whole set.
The only minor complaint is the steak knives. Steak knives should be serrated; the steak knives in this set are basically long paring knives.
These are great knives and %99 of users will be just as happy with these as with a $500 set from henckles. Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set with In-Block Knife Sharpener
I bought these to replace a set of Mundial 5100's that was lost. I wasn't expecting such high quality from this set, but Consumers Digest selected these above many sets costing hundreds of dollars more (including the Mundial set that they reviewd) and I have to say this set is more than I expected for the price. I am not claiming they are better than the Mundial 5100 block set, but so far they're pretty close.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I haven't found anything to complain about. The handles and blades are perfectly matched with no gaps or any other errors that I'm aware of. The blades are sharp, but to get them to the point of slicing produce paper thin they do need a couple of swipes through the built in knife sharpener (which I found works better for these knives than my Henckle dual sharpener). After I sharpened the utility knife I was slicing onions so thin that you could see through them. So I tried cutting tomatoes with the same results with very easy pressure the knife slid through the tomato literally as thin as you could possibly want to slice it.
I know that there are better knife sets out there but you are going to pay for them.
This set is perfect for the average home kitchen and again for the money they can't be beat.
Bought this as my first set of knives. Appreciated the price. A little surprised at the craftsmanship. The knife handles are not made to perfection and there are some rough edges where the handle meets the metal blade of the knife. This does not cause much of a problem other than appearance. The knife block is well made. The slots for the knives go completely through the knife block allowing for ventilation, should you want it.
Pros
+ Price
+ Great starter knives
+ Convenient storage block
Cons
+ Poor visual craftsmanship
The knives are reasonably sharp and do their job. However, the construction is disappointly poor. There are large gaps in between the plastic of the handle and the metal bolster. The finish of the handle and blade is also poor. Understandably, this isn't the most expensive set of knives out there, but I wish they would have spent a few more dollars not making them look like such cheap knives.
I'm not a knife expert but these knives feel good. I was dissatisfied with my last set (J.A. Henckles) which I bought for double the price because they required a lot of tuning. These knives have been holding their edge longer and the in-block sharpener is very convenient and easy to use. The Consumer Reports review convinced me to buy these in the first place and so far they've been holding up to their praise.
I received these knives 4 days ago. I immediately unpackaged and began to use them. They arrived well packaged and in good condition. I have used all but the steak knives on multiple occasions daily. I also read the literature accompanying the knives as well. This way I would not be surprised by doing something ignorant to the knives and ruining them. I have washed them by hand immediately after use and then dried them. I store them in the block for now, which by the way is a superior knife block.
Ok, the knives are great. They are a steal for this price. They cut well and feel wonderful in your hand. They are forged. As such their appearance is as that of a forged piece of high quality cutlery. These knives look wonderful. They were sharp out of the box and I have not had to sharpen them yet. I have used them on vegetables, meat, fruit, and all sorts of items while preparing meals. I look forward to preparing meals with this set. I actually try to make meals that require me to use them because they are truly that wonderful to use. This is definitely a high quality set of cutlery. I inspected and used some German cutlery and can say that these knives definitely hold their own against a set of German cutlery costing 300-500 dollars. If you are searching for a high quality set of cutlery and you are not wanting to spend 300 to 500 dollars to get them, these are a great set to choose.
The block is high quality as well. It is worth 30-60 dollars easy just by itself. I normally keep my knives on a magnetic strip to conserve space. However, this block is so attractive and of high quality I am considering continuing to use it and make a special place for it on my counter. The block and knives just scream quality and I like the way they look.
Please read and do what the directions say when cleaning and using these knives. If you choose not to follow the directions, then DON'T COMPLAIN WHEN YOUR KNIVES BECOME DISCOLORED OR RUST WHEN YOU SOAK THEM OR PUT THEM IN THE DISHWASHER! These are not some cheap 39.99 set of serrated knives. These are a high quality forged set of cutlery. If washing them by hand and drying them immediately is too hard to do then this set is not for you. Get that 39.99 set so you won't get frustrated when the expected happens.
I highly recommend this set to anybody in the market for set of cutlery. No, they are not German made and they do not cost 500 dollars. However, they are high quality and, unless you just want to impress somebody with your high priced cutlery set made in Germany, this is a great choice. Just make sure you understand how to take care of high quality cutlery and can handle doing it. - Knife Block - Knife Set - Cutlery - Chicago Cutlery'
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