Cutlery Reviews

This is the perfect size for a versatile paring knife and the 4 Star line is the most underrated line on this sight. When a rookie comes to work in my kitchen and asks me what line of knives to invest in I send 'em here for 4 Starz. These are the knives I started with in 1979 and I still use an 8 inch chef's.
A bargain in price,indestructable, sharp, easy to keep sharp, attractive and built since 1976...timeless.

Buy this one, an 8 inch chef's, an 8 inch bread, a 5.5 inch boning knife, a 10 inch steel and the Santoku. Add more as needed. Buy 'em now!

We be givin' the max...5 mojo*z

While the shorter paring knives are more commoly seen, this 4" paring knife is actually a better choice for many jobs. In our kitchen it gets many times the use of either the 3" paring knife or 6" utility knife. If I could only have two knives to do everything, I would choose this 4" paring knife and my Kershaw Shun granton edge Santoku. I use both of these more than any of the rest of our knives.

The Henckels Four Star is a well regarded premium German knife line whose pros and cons have been covered endlessly over the years, so I'll not revisit them. While I love the razor edge of my Kershaw knives, I prefer the more rugged durability of the Heckels Four Star for my paring and utility knives.

Excellent weight and shape, strong blade, very versatile. I've had this knife for twelve years--and for several of those years, in my poor-student days, it was the only knife I owned, apart from a couple of cheap hand-me-down steak knives. Now I have a block full of Wusthof-Trident (a gift) but this Henckels is still the knife I use the most.

Our old knives were hand-me-down stainless no-name junk. These are real knives, nice weight and very sharp. I like the classic style handles that are absolutely smooth and comfortable. I'm keeping the old knives for my wife who is afraid of sharp knives and tends to use them for prying, scraping, etc...

This time of year (late summer/fall) in the northeast is tomato time. The 6" utility knife and the parer are tremendous with tomatoes and they just slide through slippery onion and pepper skins. Makes me feel like I know what I'm doing.

Can't wait to cut up a pineapple, or to cut the skin and fat off of a chicken breast with these knives when doing the same with my old knives was a harrowing experience.

Different kitchenware sites recommend using a magnetic strip to hold knives and we've used one for years, but I bought a Henckels block for these knives so that they wouldn't scratch.

I have found that they do show scratches easilly, like when using the scouring side of a two sided sponge (some light scratches on the parer). This in no way effects thier utility, but I'll be careful in the future. You really should use a soft cloth to wash them (as recommended).

For the holidays (it's my job to carve the turkey), I plan on buying the carver.

Although some people reported poor quality control for the handles and tops of these knives, I do not agree. The set I recently received is flawless. The blades are sharp and the handle finish is smooth and even. When in use, these knives have perfect balance and work better than any I have used.

If you want the BEST in a quality knife set, you can't go wrong with these. I look forward to adding additional pieces to my collection and won't hesitate to buy the Pro S.

These Knifes come sharp as Razors a little Honeing and you can shave Your Beard with them Perfect Balance for My wife I would of Rather had the 12 inch instead of the 10 inch but these are HER Knife's Not going to fight with her about her beloved Knifes! OUCHThese are used every day Just wash clean by Hand Cloth and Soap, Put them back in the block and they are ready again! Great Knifes High Priced but worth it because of the knifes being so well balanced..........Great Items as a Starter set!!!!!!!!!

OK, a few more:

This knife is one of the easiest to use, cheapest, decent bread knives I have ever used. It is about as good as my MUCH more expensive WMF set. I am quite impressed.

This knife is the perfect blend of ergonomics and functionality. For hearth baked bread with a frim crust it is the only product available to cut with any success. I only have one complaint and it is the length of the blade. For large boule type loaves if is difficult to cut all the way through. A 10 inch blade would be helpful in this case.

Cuts right through my whole grain breads no problem. You can't beat the price.

With marriage pending, I've had a lot of decisions to make regarding kitchen items. I recently purchased this knife, and could not be happier with its performance. My mother has always had cutco knives, which I considered to be of excellent quality, until this knife arrived. It is razor sharp, and cuts through vegetables as a hot knife through butter. I was surprised by the weight of the knife itself. It is heavier than most, largely due to the stainless steel handle, though comfortably so.

The stainless steel appeals to me as an aesthetic property. One small caution to those of you who are neat freaks... If you plan on displaying your knives in a block on the counter, it will take a small amount of work to keep the handles fingerprint free, as with most stainless steel, they show every smudge.

Barring that, consumer reports rated these knives excellent, as they did with the grand prix and classic lines from Wusthof (all of these lines have the exact same blade, merely a different handle). Henckels also did well, and Twin Select, their stainless line, scored higher than Wusthof, though I feel it is merely a matter of preference. Make sure that you try it out before you buy it. It should feel comfortable. Wusthof.com lists stores at which you can "test-drive" their knives before purchase. I would highly recommend doing so.

this knife is awesome. it has a good weight and feel to it when you are chopping or slicing. it is so sharp-goes through tomatoes like you are cutting butter. with a knife like this you really don't need too many others except a good serrated knife. it is worth every penny.

Item arrived on time, was packaged properly and was in excellent condition. I would purchase from this seller again.

Wonderful set, no doubt. Great weighted feel, both rustic and elegant. While Black Lily has discontinued the serving utensils, they may be obtained under the name: Treble Clef Hostess Set from a number of online retailers. 5 pieces: 2 large spoons(one slotted), forkula, butter serving knife, and sugar spoon. Amazon does not carry them.

I love this style -- we bought three sets. I like the flattened shapes and weightiness of each piece. Unfortunately, there are no utensils available to match this set -- if Marshall Fields DID make these pieces available, I would buy every one of them.

I just got my first set in the mail today and they are absolutly beautiful! The only setback is that it's only a set of 4 and there are no other utensils for the set that match, either way I'm on my way to order another set now, they go great with my coral glazed stoneware. Elegant and functional yet eclectic and not your mother's flatware!

I'll start by admitting that I'm a Wusthof fan. As far as my knives go; even though I'll freely admit that the Calphalon Traditional series are an excellent value, my Wusthof Classic set is enough better to justify the price difference in my eyes. That loyalty stops fast when it comes to things like meat forks. Yes, the Wusthof is a little beefier, but the Calphalon is more than good enough for any conceivable home use at one-fifth the price. This fork is a pleasure to use for both carving and turning roasts and such. In fact, my only complaint is that at this time, they don't offer a curved fork as well (anyone listening out there?). If you are in the market for a fork like this, there is simply nothing else I've seen that even remotely approaches it for quality and value.

While manufactured in China, you'd never know it were it not forthe small "made in China sticker. forged from Solingen steel( rumors say it is provided by the High end A.B. Dick cutlers.)perfectly balanced andas as rigid as any carving fork sold by the German big names ( Wusthoff /Trident, Henckels, etc.)but at a fraction ofthe price. In appearance this fork will actually match the big names'top knives.My advise: grab one or two before Calphalon realizes that they can easily doublethe price andstill be competitive

Fully forged, with a full tang and bolster and finely finished this tool is akin to a 600 pound gorilla: Stronger than isreally needed, great looking, points as sharp as a samurai sword and the only missing element is the Calphalon name etched somewhere on it; otherwise, the Chinese maker hasn't missed a trick:it matches the Calphalon chef Knife to a "T", rightdown to the rather squarish handle which on the chef knives mayoffend some very tender palms but on thefork helps in preventing twisting. While I haven't lifted a 20 lbs turkey with it, Im quite certain that it would not succumb to even a 30 pounder if called to the task. At one third the price of a Henckels or Wusthoff, it is this decade's best bargain in cutlery ; grab one before Calphalon comes to itssenses and brings the price more in linewith the hallowed competition andwhile you're at it, look into the 6, 8 and 10 inch chef knives which, while not quiteas lofty as the bignames' ones,pollish wise, onlyneed a good sharpening to equal their performance: you just cannotmiss!I understand thatthe steel is provided by F Dick - aGerman maker in the Henckels/Wusthoff class.(theKnives are quite heavy, which helps when chopping, particularly when chopping through cooked poultry bones, whichI do routinely without problems or damage

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I've been way over hyped on this line of knives but you know how it is...marketing is everything.
If you are stuck on buying the name "Wusthof" then buy this in the "Grand Prix" line 'cause the grip on this "Classic" line of blades is the least comfortable of all the riveted scale handles available...too deep and narrow for a 12 hour day in a commercial kitchen or a big hand (grip test it against other brands before you choose, I might be wrong ;-). This Santoku weighs almost 3 oz. less than other brands... a trend that I've found throughout this line. I've tested this one at work and I need something heavier.
No complaints on the blade, edge, and finish though, it's top notch.

If you are just browsing then check out the Kai Santoku...for just $10.00 more you get the best Santoku available. If you want an equal but heavier blade for a GREAT price buy a Henckels 4 Star.

We concede 4 mojo*z for the blade only! Buy the "Grand Prix".

I purchased this on one of the Amazon Friday only sales & couldn't be happier. When my husband first started me on the Wusthof line my first request was for a Santoku knife. Well, the set we purchased here locally was $99 which included the Santoku with oval indentations ("kullens") knife and a smaller paring knife. When I saw this one on the Friday sale I didn't hesitate because I love the one I already have and wasn't about to pass up such a great deal for another one!

Another buyer who submitted a review said that this particular knife has oval indentations ("kullens") on the side of the high-carbon steel blade. I can tell you that this knife does not. I'm not complaining because when we purchased my first Santoku I couldn't decide between the flat blade or the one with the indentations. I was happy when I received this knife from Amazon and found that there were not any indentations on it, now I have one of each of the Santoku knives in my Wusthof block.

I hand wash all of my knives and about the only downside to any of my Wusthof knives is that because I use them so much and hand wash them so often the tiny red "W" sticker on my first Santoku is starting to peel off. Whoop-de-doo, lol! You can't beat the Wusthof Classic line, I love it! You won't be disappointed whatsoever!

This knife is excellent for small hands. Because of arthritis, my grip is not as good as it was, and I've found this knife to be perfect! I use it with ease for everything (except breads) and I plan to buy another for myself and one for my mother who has similar hand problems. I searched for a knife like this for years. I highly recommend it!

I ordered this set a few weeks ago and used the super saver shipping. Received them pretty quick - within four days. The knives are pretty good quality and are actually thicker and heavier than I would have thought for the price. They are also well balanced and feel good in my hand. The finish (urethane)on the block that came with the set was not applied properly and probably should not have passed QC. Other than that I'm very happy with the knives.

I bought a Farberware forged set from a department store at Christmas and paid twice this much. Frankly I was surprised by the quality of a Farberware set, but for those of you not familiar the fact that this is forged makes quite a positive difference. The knives are heavy and well balanced. Like all cutlery they need to be sharpened with a steel after every few uses, and although these claim to be dishwasher safe you should never wash your cutlery in the dishwasher, and should always hand dry. This is a good purchase and worth 5 stars for the price.

It is a great set and I haven't had any rust problems as some earlier comments. Maybe its b/c I don't put them into the DishWasher. The scissors alone are worth the 30 bucks in my opinion. Definetely a good buy. I bought two sets for future gifts...

The Global 10" is a great knife that comes with a very sharp edge. It is rather light (at least for a 10" knife) and is well balanced. It is well situated for both slicing meats and cutting and dicing vegetables, as it is easy to hold the knife forward towards its blade for a quick and balanced wrist action. The only reason I gave this knife 4 stars and not five is due to the handle. While it is dimpled it can still get slippery when cutting fatty meat. I would prefer a synthetic handle covering, but otherwise this is a well designed tool -- perhaps the best chef's knife available now.

I have the 12 inch version of this knife as well
as the 10 inch bread knife!

Both are incredibly sharp and wonderfully balanced.
Global knives use a very hard steel, so they are not
dish washer proof and need to be cleaned and dried
by hand after use! On the other hand it means they
stay sharp for longer! Another detail is that they
use a non-standard angle for the blade, so a normal
knife sharpener will not work on them as well...

Very expensive, but will last very, very long if

cared for and I really love these knives. I take
them with me whenever I go to a cooking/eating party
at friends places, as using other knives just feels
awkward now...

worth every penny....

I recently got this knife; I had been wanting a Global Chef's knife since I was given a Global utility knife as a gift. I was very impressed with it, to say the least.
This knife is very sharp and Stays sharp. Unlike the famous European colleagues that look very classic, but go dull in a short time and require round the clock steeling and sharpening, the Global can do the same amount of work with much less upkeep.
I would recommend this knife to anyone working in a kitchen, commercial or home use.
It is extremely light, and perfectly balanced. I use it at work, and it has never let me down. I do recommend the handheld sharpener for touch-ups, it returns the blade to a close factory edge.
It should be noted that the handle should be kept dry when you are working, because it will slip because of the nature of the design. That is it's only flaw.

Got this knives set during an Friday Sale. A real good deal for Swilling JA Henckels product line. The blade is similar to the Henckels 4/5 star and Pro-s blades except this is stamped instead of forged. Although this is a stamped knife, the blade is actually thicker than the blade of a comparatively higher line of 4/5 star, so Forged or Stamped blade makes no difference for this steak knife. These steak knives make cutting steak easy and "classy". Your friends would think these knives are very expensive, for which is the contrary. If this set got any cheaper like the previous sale, just get a few sets at once, you won't regret it. Just beware not to sharpen it on a steel or manual sharpener, it has to be prifessionally sharpened. The only puzzling thing is in the weird design of the blade where there is a little offset curve blade near where the blade and its handle meet; what is this offset for, it can actually cuts a finger if someone got a big hand. Just be careful in handling any type of knives.

The best set of steak kinves we have ever owned. Exceptionally well made, good feel, and keeps a sharp edge for years. Highly recommended. I'm about to buy more of them as my wife uses them for everything.

Great knives. Worth the money.