My daughter is engaged and the grandparents want to give her a practical gift. The bought her siblings knives (Cutco) but I am wondering if maybe a diffeent brand would be better. Suggestions on a good brand of kitchen knives?
Thanks in advance!
Wusthof Classic knives.
Do you live near Sur La Table? If so…go,there. They have great knives.
I would suggest NOT getting a set. Get the knives you will use the most. Paring knife, chefs knife, maybe a carver.
It’s nice to try out different knives and brands to figure out what feels best for the cook’s hand. We are all VERY different in our hands and preferences. Try to go to William Sonoma, Executive Chef, Sur de last able or similar so you can try various ones.
Agree that individual ones are more useful than a set.
I’m with NoVADad99, try Wusthof Classic. Best knives we’ve ever owned.
Agree about not buying a set. I have four knives I use…oh, and a bread knife, but we don’t eat bread often so that does not see much use. They are all Wusthof Classic. I recall paying approximately $10+/inch nearly 20 years ago. Haven’t bought a new knife in a long time so don’t know where prices have gone.
As HImom says, personal preference is important. I had to buy a ten inch chef class for a cooking class and never used it after the class as it was just too large for me. I love my eight inch chef and use it daily for everything from meat to vegetables.
A knife set usually comes w a chef’s knife, a mid-sized utility knife, a bread knife, a honing steel, and a paring knife. The utility knife hardly ever gets used in our kitchen–it’s awkward for chopping and too big for fine tasks. We supplemented w an extra chef’s knife so 2 of us can simultaneously prep, a boning knife, a carving knife, and a cleaver.
Our original set of Henkels knives we’ve used for 20+ years, but lately we’ve been supplementing w Shun knives (japanese). Sur la Table and Williams Sonoma carry them.
We have a mix of various knives and our preferences depend on who is doing the cutting. D has smaller hands and prefers smaller knives.
Our current favorite knife is a very cheap knife we bought at Sam’s Club. I think it was $15 for 2 knives so I kept one and the other went to my friend. It has “dimples” so you can cut thin slices.
We also like our 6" and 8" knives and use them more than the 10". We do use the paring, filet and bread knife. We also have a carving set we use for carving turkey on holidays. We have had most of these knives since the 80s, when I first moved into my apartment. We hate those wooden knife blocks and prefer plastic knife guards and having the knives loose in the drawer.
Agree with @HImom about knife guards. Love the different colors offered in this set.
I have several Shun knives that I love, my favorite is actually from the least expensive line, maybe a 7 inch blade sort of santuko like, it is light with the most comfortable handle immaginable. I use it many times per day.
I have Henckels set and I have been a little disappointed. Rarely use them actually. I have had them for about 15 years and have had them sharpened twice. I don’t own any Wusthof , but I do have Cuisinart ( I realize that isn’t a name one would gravitate to for knives ) I love them…use the Santoku and chef knife the most.
No matter what brand you choose, please let her know to NEVER put them in the dishwasher
Someone gave us a set of Henckels knives when we got married. We always had to sharpen them from time to time. Few years ago I bought a set of ceramic knives. http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-Advanced-Ceramic-Revolution-Serrated/dp/B00DW4QD0C/ref=sr_1_14?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1455460735&sr=1-14&keywords=ceramic+knife
They are light and extremely sharp. I love them. They may not be wedding gift worthy, but so practical.
Our knife guards are the utilitarian black ones we got from Sur la table decades ago. They all still function perfectly and protect the blades. The colorful ones are fun.
I have a drawer full of Henkels and other knives, but ever since I bought a set of Kyocera ceramic knives, that’s all I really use. I still like my Due Buoi long bread knife and a Henkels boning knife, but the ceramic blades are so much sharper and stay sharp - slicing veggies, especially, is just effortless. I bought the Kyocera sharpener a couple of years ago, and I use it occasionally. The stainless knives just don’t hold an edge long enough after sharpening - and it’s a pain to take them out to be sharpened.
Remember to give a penny with them. Google “knife gift traditions”
I sharpen our chef knives weekly. They’re always kept razor sharp.
I have four Henkels that I got when we got married more than 30 years ago. I sharpen them regularly with an electric sharpener. (The one recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, though mine is about 25 years old.) I wasn’t given the penny, my sister-in-law who gave them to me made me give her a penny. I’ve got a paring knife, a big knife I use for most vegetables, a bigger one that is good for meat, and a bread knife. Sometimes I’d like to have a Chinese type chef’s knife - one knife for everything, but I’d have to learn how to use it properly. I keep mine on a magnet bar.
My MAC santuko knife is the most used knife in our drawer. It made me appreciate the quality of Japanese knives.
I’d forgotten about the penny. Thanks for the reminder.
She knows not to put good knives in the dishwasher as I never put mine in the dishwasher. They are one of the few items that I handwash.
I checked, but we do not have a Sur La Table nearby.
I had never heard of ceramic knives. The certainly have a favorable rating on Amazon.
On another thread, I thought I saw some positive comments about Henkels, but the reviews on these knives in this discussion are quite mixed.
The problem with Henkel is that there are many grades of knives at varying price levels. The cheapest ones are pretty much low quality crap similar to the stuff you’ll find at Walmart. Stick to the top level knives.