Knife Set

Sierra524

I am in need of some recs for a block knife set.I cant decide which one I like. I am registered at BBB, Target & Macys, so recs for a knife set at those places would be great.

Help!

TIA :]

hoffse

W registeres for the Calphalon Katana set - they get great reviews, and I think FI felt manly holding them because they have a whole samurai thing going on.

kristenlees122

I googled best selling knives on amazon, and Ginsu were the best - so I registered for those at Target. The 14 piece with block. I spent hours looking at BBB and Target and all other websites and they are the ones I felt most comfortable with.

itzMS

Another vote for the Calphalon ones! love them.

We got a "Free" Calphalon knife for registering for whatever $$ amount of Calphalon products at BBB

GoodLuckBear14

If you are serious about cooking, you shouldn't get a set.  You really only need a chef's knife (I have a 6 in. and 8 in.), a paring knife, a serated knife and possibly a boning knife.  Different companies make the best of each of these.  Sur La Table can give you great help on what you would need that would fit within your budget.

sparkles776

We registered for Wusthof gourmet. They have the block at both BBB and Macys.

dtbluv

I cook every single day, three to five meals a day for work, plus meals for myself and my family.  I also cater part time.  My knives are one of my most prized possessions, and I'll say GLB is right, you don't really need an entire knife block.

I use a chef's knife or a santoku every day, pretty much interchangeably (I prefer the santoku for slicing, and doing precise dices, the chef's knife for regular chopping).  Paring knives are also important.  If you bake a lot of cakes (and I do, but I use a cake leveler, not a knife) or make your own bread or buy bread that isn't already sliced a good serrated bread knife is necessary, but I can't think of anything else I use a bread knife for.  I've never used a boning knife, but omg great kitchen shears!!!  Those are important.

I recommend Wusthof for everything, especially kitchen shears.  My mom got the block set (with only the shears, bread, chef's, paring, and santoku knives)as a gift and I use knives from it pretty often.  I have Messermeister chef's, bread, and paring knife, and they are all great as well, I prefer my Messermeister chef's knife over the Wustof because I like the weight of it more, but that is a personal preference thing.  I had Messermeister shears but got rid of them because they came apart during heavy duty cutting, I replaced them with Wusthof.  I've used a Shun bread knife and fell in love, it levelled a cake like slicing through water, and sliced baguettes like room temperature butter.  I don't have one yet, but it will be going on my registry when we get around to making one.  I also have a plain santoku that was $15 from a restaurant supply store that is pretty amazing.  It has held up just as well as my super-expensive knives, stays sharp, and in general does everything I need/want.  The only downside of that knife is the plastic handle and the lack of any sort of brand name on the knife so I don't know who makes it.

I hate Martha Stewart and Kitchenaid knives, just stay away from those.  They are the worst.

Also, I've noticed that if you aren't careful to thoroughly dry your knives before you put them in the block, they tend to rust (unless it is stainless steal).  I prefer the magnetic hanging strip for this reason, but not everyone wants to see a long strip of knives all the time.  

You should check out reviews on America's Test Kitchen.  They are very thorough in their testing and I have yet to disagree with a recommendation they've made.  

Also also also (sorry for the super long post), I recommend the Accusharp sharpener.  It works extremely well.

Fancypantsamy

I'm just a normal "Make dinner when I get home" type of person - I cook a lot but I wouldn't say I'm a serious chef or anything. I love the Caphalon Contemporary knife set we got from our Macy's registry. 

Viczaesar

I'm a huge fan of Wusthof, but only their forged lines, not stamped (stamped are their Gourmet, Emeril, and Silverpoint series).I have a Wusthof Classic 8" chef's knife, paring knife, bread knife, and shears. I gave my parents Wusthof Grand Prix II 8" chef knife and bread knife for Christmas. I've heard good things about their Ikon line too. I agree that if you're a serious chef you don't need a block set but rather individual knives. I also have a set of Calphalon steak knives that I think are fantastic and that have a full tang as well.

beardownbchs

I definitely agree that you really only need the basic knives and not an entire set. My mom got me the set of TV knives - the "three east payments of $13.33!!" knives years ago and they work well enough for the things that I don't need often - like a filet knife or a cleaver. Out of like 25 knives there's probably 10 that I have never used, 8 more are steak knives and the others I only use on occasion. 

But it's definitely really worth it to spend money on your everyday knives. I have two Shun knives and I absolutely ADORE them. They are the easiest knives I have ever worked with and they're beautiful. I can even send them back to Shun to get sharpened for free, but I haven't had to do that yet. I'm sure some of the other big-name brands will do the same. 

erinlin25

we just registered on sunday at BBB, and while i didn't think we would be registering for knives, this was the one item my FI got excited about and was all about, so we put it on the registry.  Anyway, he went with the Wusthof. 

mnmohare

Cutco knives are the best knives ever. I agree that you only need a chefs knife, pairing knife and a serrated knife for slicing. I love their scissors and steak knives as well. All their products are well worth the price. The downside is that you must buy from the manufacturer or salesperson.

SB1512

My siser's boyfriend is a chef at an upscale restaurant and recommends Global", "Henckels" and "Wusthof".  They all have knives that sell at various price points.