Cutlery Reviews

Shoppin' for a Santoku are ye? This is the best buy that you can make! Messermeister is equal and more to any and all Euro blades. We pros use 'em and love 'em, culinary schools demand them, the public doesn't know about them and that's a good thing because if you knew how good they were then we couldn't afford them anymore!
Slippin' 5 Mojo*z to this fantastic blade...on the sly, shhh.

my 3 roommates and 2 of our fiancees love these knives! they are wonderful! we have 6 people cooking meals during the week and the knives have not worn down at all in the past 11 months. it is truly effortless cutting. we are all buying our own sets of these knives now. we love them!

I am impressed with the quality of these knives. Not only do they work wonderfully, but they look great, too!!!

My experience with bread knives had generally left me feeling that they are never particularly sharp, but make up for it with a toothy serrated edge that digs into food. When you're talking about bread that counts for a lot. Bread isn't exactly the toughest thing a knife has to deal with.

Based on that previous experience, this breadknife didn't look terribly impressive. The serrations are smooth and rounded rather than aggressive and toothy. It didn't look like something that would bite into bread. But I'd read a rave review of it, and everything else I read about Kai knives was overwhelmingly positive. I've also had very good luck with Japanese cutlery, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

It cuts like a laser. Slides right through breads and salami (which I end up using it for all the time) very smoothly and with very little effort. The blade is razor sharp, which I learned when I got a little careless (didn't used to have respect for breadknives, remember) and it sliced off the end of a fingernail without the slightest resistance. THAT left me very respectful. The gentle serrations let it dig into it's target without tearing or throwing loose a crumb. It also has a nice, meaty asymmetrical D-shaped handle that really fits in the palm. This may not be for everyone, so give it a whirl before you commit to buying, but I think it's great.

If you need a breadknife and want a quality piece (and if you get a good knife and take care of it you should only need to buy one, ever) this is the hands down obvious choice. It's a bit more expensive than the Major German Brand cutlery, but easily worth it.

As a general comment, I think anyone looking for good kitchen cutlery should consider the Japanese brands first. I've used knives from Global, Kai and Kasumi, and up against Henckels and Wusthof there is just no comparison. We have the Kai breadknife, a Kasumi chef's knife, a Henckel's 4-star chef, Henckel's 4-star santoku, Henckel's 4-star slicer, Wusthof Grand Prix utility, Wusthof Grand Prix parer, Wusthof Classic granton slicer, and a Kyocera ceramic chef's. When I look at the knife block I really just see the Kai breadknife, my Kasumi chef and Those Other Knives.

Any knife shopping I do in the future, I will be looking at Kai first. Kasumi is also an incredible brand, and a bit finer and sharper than Kai, but they run about 50% more. I got my Kasumi chef's as a gift, and it's a treasure, but if I were laying down my own money it's such a close call I'd probably go with Kai, especially since I prefer their handles.

I've used many different Chinese cleavers over the years. From the cheap no-name $4 cleavers to the higher end Dexters. While shopping I stumbled across the Shun Chinese cleaver and my jaw dropped at the inherent beauty of it. Once I picked it up and looked at it I knew I must have it. Everything about it screams quality. It's balanced beautifully, is thin, made from V10, has an resin fused pakka wood handle and of course had the gorgeous grain in the steel from the 16 layers they use to forge the blade (these are not stamped knives).

I ended up buying both the Chinese cleaver and the 8" chefs knife to replace my old work horse Dexter chinese cleaver and my 9" Henckels. Out of the box these knives are sharp. You could do eye surgery with them. They hold an incredible edge. These are hands down the best knives I've used or owned.

Do not be intimidated by the price. Yes, they are on the expensive side but these are, as I have stated, simply the best knives out there today. They will last a lifetime. You will not be dissappointed. The kick butt over the Wusthof Culinars (which I think are fantastic knives).

Shun has created a knife that stands heads and shoulders above the rest.

I just bought this knife from a local shop. It is very comfortable in your hand and is INCREDIBLY sharp. It has very good balance and is very cool to look at to. I've only had it for a few hours, and I haven't put it away yet! So far so good. I hope the salesman was right in saying that the edge will hold up over time. Even if the edge doesn't hold up, it'll still have its looks.

A tomato is one of the most difficult food items to cut correctly and this knife does a wonderful job. It is sturdy, has great balance and has a very nice edge. The entire Kitchen Aid line of these knives are excellent and very reasonalby priced.

I've had this chef's knife for 3 years now, and it's still razor sharp. I only occassionally hone it on a sharpening steel, much less frequently than my other knives. Why does this knife stay so sharp, you ask? First of all, it is my opinion that Mac makes some of the best knives on the market. Secondly, I only use this knife for vegetables. I use my other knives for meats, cheese, bread, etc.

I also have several Henkels and Wüsthof knives, but I much prefer the Mac to the German blades.

I would recomend these knives to anyone... my mom gave me her 25 year old set when i moved into my own place, and they still cut better than the $100 Set my roomate brought with her!! now i'm just looking for more pieces to add to my colection.... unless i'm shoping for a Global knife, i would never look at anything else.

Although I have much more expensive knives in my kitchen, including an exquisite handmade chef's knife, the MAC's are the ones I usually grab first. They are by far the sharpest kives I've ever used. Don't let the price tag fool you, they are professional quality in every regard.