Cutlery Reviews

To be honest, I didn't love it at first, it didn't feel right in my hand. But I've been using it for a while now, and to be honest, the more I use it the more I like it. Its very sharp, keeps its edge and seems relatively easy to sharpen. BTW I'm a professional chef and use my tools hard. I think I like this knife better than my Grand Prix's and am thinking of buying a full size chefs knife next to see how I like it.

This knife is one of my favorites now, even replacing my Whustoff off set serated as one that always finds its way into my hand.

I was looking for an "offset serrated knife" as mentioned by Bourdain, and this fits the bill. Outstanding veggie slicer and all-around food prep instrument. Even over-ripe tomatoes, the kind with a still tough skin and insides soft as pudding, are no match for it. Besides the small and handy size, the handle design means that the blade meets the cutting board before your knuckles. When it finally begins to dull, several swipes on a good steel will bring the edge back to rights.

Well, you will never buy another Ginsu set again.

Don't even waste your money on cheap knives, ever. Get one set of good ones, and have them for years, like chefs do.

What knives do you really need? An 8 inch chef's (This is a 12, frankly a bit of overkill except for certain applications), a paring knife of the same quality, a block to store them (OUT OF THE DRAWER please) and a steel. A diamond block to sharpen is also a must unless you have a true professional sharpener in your area (the factory guy comes to our hardware store yearly and makes them practically lethally sharp; you may not have such an advantage.) Get a good chopping board; a huge plastic one is a great choice, as you can wash it and sterilize it easily.

12 inches is a bit large; I prefer the 8 for most applications. However, for vegetables and Chinese foods, this is a super size. The handle (very important) is well designed and comfortable. BE WARNED: you must NOT chop chicken bones or you will damage the fine edge. If you want to chop and debone meats, get a cleaver or boning knife. I like a Chinese cleaver for this type of work.

Be careful shopping for name brand knives; some lines have "cheap" starter brands that aren't worth the illustrious name stamped on them. This Henckels knife is a real pro, and worth the money.

This knife is definately overkill for many jobs, but for attacking watermelon & other large fruit for fruit trays it's great. I also like it for jobs like chopping parsely where the knife never seems long enough. If your not used to using a tool this big it will take some time before it feels comfortable in your hand. I like to bring my hand's first knuckle up onto the blade for the best control w/a chef's knife & the 5-star handles are great for this. It really shows it's usefullness at jobs where you push down at both the blade & handle end like cutting butts of meat in half in preperation for slicing or pushing through club sandwiches where even a reasonably sharp serated knife can catch on a tuff peice of bacon & tear apart the sandwich. If I was a prep cook this would be my main weapon.This may not be a great choice for around the house for many, but in a hotel setting it can quickly prove to be indespesable. As with all high end Henckels the blade holds an edge very well. When the job calls for a knife of this size, this mutha rocks!

My Henckels knife set hasn't even been shipped to me yet andthey will be the first good knives I have ever had. However I decided, after doing what research I could do, to go with the Henckels Pro S 9 piece set, and it is a tremendous relief because I think I've made the best choice possible. I am moved to say, however, that Consumer Reports does NOT call Henckels Pro S, Four Star and Five Star knife sets "Forged" but "Forged Style". Elsewhere on the internet (using AOL, at least)at site where they sell cutlery to both professional and home chefs, they say, there is what appears to be a statement by Henckels about its Pro S, Five Star and Four Star knives. It says that only the smaller knives (6" and shorter) in thes lines are traditionally forged. This is because in these lines, the larger knives are not made from one piece of steel which Henckels feels makes a superior product. The Amazon.com reveiwer for the 9 piece Pro S (and other Pro S line knives) knows this and doesn't try to say they're forged. I think this is good because I want to know what I'm getting and I appreciate it. Also, Consumer Reports gave both the Pro S knives and the Four Star a higher rating than the Five Star (in that order) because it said that the Five Star lost points on its overall score because it is "more likely to corrode than most". It rated the Five Star 10th. The Four Star apparently doesn't have a full tang (which Consumer Reports does not say or address) and it was rated 4th. Hencekels Pro S ( which like the Five Star has a full tang) was rated 3rd, only after Wustof Trident Grand Prix and Wusthof Trident Classic which ARE forged. Consumer Reprots doesn't define "Forged Style" but it does distinguish between it and "Stamped" which everyone calls Henckels Gourmet which Consumer Reports rated 14th. There is some confusion on the internet about whether or not Henckels more expensive knives and knife sets are forged in the traditional and usual sense of the word. At cooking.com, Henckels 9 piece Pro S set is selected by Cooking.com and reveiwed by Cooks Choice (and it's a rated as a top seller too) and they call that set forged which it is not. Given the quality of these knives and these sets, it may not matter that the larger knives are not forged, but it should nevertheless be clear that they're not. Also, I was a little upset to discover, higher rating by Consumer Reports or not, that the 9 piece Four Star set, despite the fact that it costs ... less than the Pro S and the Five Star piece sets , doesn't have s full tang. When I learned what that was ( I didn't know) at this website (thank you) and looked into these things, I decided to go with the Pro S set. If you want the real lowdown on the fact that these knives(the ones larger than 6") are not forged and what is better about the way they ARE made, according to Henckels, check out the Amazon.com review for the 9 piece Pro S set, and for that matter, the 8" Pro S bread knife--it's not that the reviewer says that what he says applies to the Five star and Four Star Henckels knives--he doesn't--it is that after careful research, I have concluded that it does. And I had a very hard time figuring this out--because there seems to be confusion about it. And I think people should know about it. It may not matter but there are people who think that it does. I can't wait to receive my set because i know I am going to love them and that they will be well worth the money.

Wow, what a knife! I bought this because I am a huge Garlic Bread fiend (and it matched my other knives). I can assure you that it will meet all of your bread slicing needs. A clean cleave through crusty garlic bread is in store for you, with almost no crumbs, and no mashing of the bread. I am a huge fan of the Henckles Five Star series, and it was the only knife to be added to my original six piece set. The ergonomic handle is the real selling point of the Five Star series. You will be hard pressed to go back!

A little known tool outside the world of the kitchen obsessed, this little jewel and a fine quality chef's knife are all any aspiring cook neeeds to get the party started. It easily replaces a paring knife and the downward sloping blade enhances the ability to perform small detail oriented tasks. Buy this knife and elevate your kitchen experience to new heights. Call your friends, wake the neighbors!

I don't know how my kitchen has made it all these years without this fabulous peeling knife. It was recommended to me by a friend that is a retired chef. I hated to spend the money on it but it was well worth it!

kwa in Arkansas

This knife's best at slicing tomatoes and other veggies. It's a bit short for cutting big peasant loaves, and the straight blade makes it harder to cut at an angle down through the bread, since the sharp point, while great for starting a cut through an obstinate veggie skin, can get stuck in your cutting board. The serrations work great, however, slicing through both crust and soft inner breadness.

After buying a bread machine, we now no longer buy our bread. Everyone (children and adults) cuts their own bread, at the table, to the slice thickness they prefer. With my old bread knives, the slices quite often came out looking like an ocean surface (waves and all). After upgrading to this Henckel (to match my other Henckel knives), we can now all cut straight slices. It doesn't matter if the bread just came out of the bread machine (yum) or if the bread was baked yesterday. No longer is the French bread (hard crusts) squashed while we try to slice it. This is definitely the "best thing since sliced bread"!

got one for my dad as a gift who owns a japanese restaurant. he said he took it home cause he didn't want anyone else at work using it!...then again, he could of thrown it away and just said that just so my feelings wouldn't get hurt. :)

I am impressed by the construction of the knives. Handle with care. They are extremely sharp. You can use the 7-inch one for almost any cutting jobs. They are well balanced and easy to handle. I will use them for a long, long time

I have only had this set about one week now, but I love these knives. They are sharp out of the box, easy to keep clean, and very versatile. The only problem that I have with these knives are the handles. They are a bit small, even for paring knives. Other than that they are great. I would definitely recommend Henckels to anyone looking for a good knife.

this set of knives is simply incredible - a MUST for any kitchen, especially a small one or if you just do a lot of quick small tasks. these things are SHARP, and, as standard for henckels, supremely made.

My only complaint is that the handle color of these knives is actually a distinctive dark gray, not black, which is fine except that I can't find a cleaver to match! They're wonderful knives for the price, however.

I recently picked up the french blade at [a store] and figured that it was worth a try for the price, and knew that I had always been happy with a Henckels blade. The first time that I used it I loved it. It performs comperably if not better than many of the more expensive and equally reputable brands that I had had the luxury of using while working as a sous chef. I highly recommend these knifes to anyone looking for a good, well-balanced blade that will perform. Take my advice, though, and hand-wash and immediately dry just to be sure.

The "real" Henckels logo is a twin, this set has only one. The steel is German, the manufacture is Chinese. My family has "real" Henckels knives that are 50 years old, I bought this set so we could take them out of circulation while the handles were replaced. These new knives aren't bad, they will certainly do well for "temporary replacement" or other light duty. But let's face the facts: you get what you pay for.
Having said that, the knives are pretty good, and the block makes safe storage very achievable. Just don't expect them to hold up forever. If you want heirloom quality knives that will hold up in daily use for the rest of your life (and your children's), be prepared to spend about 10 times as much. If you just want something to tide you over for a while, get these and start saving for the "real twins."

I know they say you get what you pay for, but I really like these knives. The price was about all I could afford at the time, and they've been great. They cut so smoothly, and if you take care of them they will last a long time.

Sabatier is a grand old name in blades, but the current product line from Sabatier USA uses that fine name on a lot of lesser products. The Grand Chef series at least retains the classic Sabatier shape - a bit thicker in the spine and stiffer than most French blades, yet leaner and lighter than most German blades. Like the better Sabatiers, it's made in Thiers, France; it's forged of high-carbon stainless, with a full tang; the handle has pressed-on resin scales secured by three rivets. It's a nice compromise, which is why I bought it. The balance of this slicer is just forward of the bolster, and it sits well in the hand. The fork's straight, forged tines seem designed more to poke into the meat for stability, rather than holding it in place with downward pressure - I prefer slightly curved times. If you use a slicer only occasionally (say, a dozen times a year or so), and want the control a stiffer blade gives you and the smooth slicing through finer-grained meats that a French shape gives you, then this is a good set at an acceptable price. If you like the shape but use a slicer a lot more, then you might consider a Thiers-Issard. If you use a carving set only a couple times a year, you'll probably be just as happy with a cheaper set from a different maker.

nice carving set a must have good bbq gifts