Cutlery Reviews

I bought a similar Pro set which included 6 steak knifes. I had to take the wooden block & 2 knifes back to the store since they were made defective. As for comparing them with Wusthof, there is a very big difference. The handles on the Farberware are fatter,
not as well balanced, the steel is not as good and alot of cosmetic flaws also. They do hold an edge and are cheaper to buy but in my opinion; they do not even come close to the quality of a Wusthof! The old expression of: You get what you pay for; is very true in this case. I do not feel a Chinese made knife can compare with a well name brand German or Japanese knife. But if you can't afford Wusthof, these are a good alternative with shortcomings. I did have to re-edge and re-sharpen my set of Farberware, right out of the box!

Of course Farberware doesn't have the reputation for cutlery of Wusthof or Henckels, but I just got this set for my daughter who is heading off for college. It's really quite nice as a good priced starter set. The pine block has a nice clean look and the knives arrived sharp and looking good. This might not be the set of a lifetime, but it's a fine bargain.

I bought these on 5/21/04 for $15.29 so for that price, it's a steal! I comment more when I receive them.

This is a really great set of knives. The wooden handles are beautiful, but I'm a sucker for wood. They're made in Spain instead of Germany, but the quality is excellent. I just wish I could find the cleaver somewhere, they're out and this line looks like it's been discontinued.

This knife set has been a huge hit in our household! I first have to say that my hubby did NOT want me to order knives on-line. He felt he needed to "feel" the knives first. BUT, after shopping in a local store and finding the sames knives were MUCH more expensive, I decided to order them with the knowledge that I could always return them if we didn't like them. Though he was not excited to learn I'd gone ahead and ordered them, once he saw them (and "felt" them...) he LOVED them! They are great quality! We had fairly decent knives, but they could not compare to the quality and ease of cutting we get with these knives. Dicing, slicing, whatever is no longer a dreaded chore. While I used to always let my hubby do the cutting, which I hated, I now prefer to do it myself because these knives cut so smoothly and with such ease. It's almost fun, if cutting up meat and veggies can be considered "fun". I feel like such a Julia Child... ha!

The knives are also very attractive. The block is a very nice heavy weight block of wood -- much heavier and nicer than I even expected. And, apparently, the knives have the right "feel" to my husband. He raves about them whenever he uses them!

So, if you want a great knife set and don't want to pay double the price at a local department store, give these a try! We are VERY pleased with ours!

Knifes cut wonderfully ... I would reccommend it to anyone that needs a nice set of knives but doesnt want to pay over $$$$!

It's obvious that the people who have written these reviews are not professional chefs or even people who have used these knives heavily for any length of time. If they had, they would have noticed that the thick metal whatever-the-heck-it-is at the bottom of the blade does not sharpen. In other words, as the years go by (just a few years mind you) and you have to have your knives sharpened occasionally, the blade will wear down, but the thick metal part at the handle WILL NOT. What does that mean? It means that your knife will become somewhat bowed, and that you will no longer be able to cut all the way through whatever it is you are cutting. In essence, it does not make sense to make ANY PART of the blade thicker than another. It just won't wear evenly. Trust me on this, I've been a professional chef for 14 years. Even back in culinary school, we did not use these types of knives. They are for the occasional user and for show only!!!

I am not disputing the quality of Henckel knives! I love them. In fact, I encourage anyone to buy them... Just buy the GOURMET series, which is what any real professional uses. They'll last until the day you die, they are far less expensive, and they wear EVENLY. Unless you are just buying these for show and you want to look cool...then by all means, buy the pretty knives. Just try not to sharpen them more then a couple of times for the rest of your life.

I have used my new knives for about a week now and am extremely impressed with how easily they but through whatever I'm trying to cut through, and how perfectly they feel in my hand. Their weight, and extreme sharpness, allow you to exert very little effort in slicing through food. I compared them side-by-side to my other store-bought set of knives, and even after using the sharpening steel on the old set, I just couldn't achieve anywhere near the same degree of razor-sharpness as have the Henckels. Not that it matters to me, but the 8 steak knives are stamped, rather than forged, but they are still extremely sharp none the less. Unfortunately, however, the knives do not comes with any care instructions, nor instructions as to how to use the sharpening steel. It took some Internet research and some practice on my old knives to begin to feel comfortable sharpening these. In any case, you can't go wrong, albeit the price is pretty high for this set of knives.

I take exception to Mr. Michael George's (Scottsdale, AZ.) reveiw of this knife set, Henckels Pro "S" series and forged, bolstered knives in general.

If he has been a professional for 14 years then he should have learned the term "bolster" by now...and he should have been able to sharpen his knives properly without wearing the edge out...he's probably using an electric sharpener or sending them out. The culinary school reference is questionable also...Le Cordon Bleu uses Mundail knives...etc.

This a top of the line set and shouldn't be maligned out of ignorance. If you learn how to use the steel that is provided and a good fine stone then these will last you a lifetime.

We defend the honor of these mighty fine blades with 6 mojo*z

Imagine my disappointment when these knives arrived and were light weight and poorly balanced.

Imagine my outrage when I was charged a $16.00 restocking fee in addition to a $7.11 postage fee!!

I have reread all of the return policy information, which is, A LOT, and no where is there any mention of a restocking fee.

Amazon seems to be losing it if they are going to screw people over when they send over priced and inferior merchandise!

I was looking to get a quality set of steak knives at a reasonable price. These knives are sharp, balanced and easy to use, obviously well made. My family is delighted with them.

The wood presentation box is a nice touch.

All in all, a very good value.

Call me lazy but I have discovered that this steak knife set makes a wonderful wedding gift and have bought 4 of them in the past six months. You can't beat the combination of quality and beauty when giving this set as a gift ! The price is right and I get rave reviews for my choice on every thank you card.

When I was washing the knife I noticed that the fine edge on the serrations had bent over to the non-scalloped side of the blade. I guess i found this a little irritating since i spent a fortune on this knife. It cuts bread fine, but i would not purchase again if i had the choice.

A fine knife for most bread but when cutting large, tough loaves it has trouble "finishing" off the bottom of the crust. A better design is a knife with a slight curve, and sure enough Henckels has one of those as well. If you like hearty, thick crusted bread, then spend a few more dollars and buy the 9" instead.

What can you really say about Henckels knives? Only that they are the best on the market. As such you'd expect to see a 5star rating, however the reason it only attained 4 from me is because of one minor incident.

The first time I used the knife it was on a very hard crusted loaf from Panera that decided to not have them slice because i wanted to play with the new addition to my collection. The Henckles made quick work of the loaf as expected. When I was washing the knife I noticed that the fine edge on the serrations had bent over to the non-scalloped side of the blade. Nothing visiable, but you could feel them when running your fingers over them. A swipe or two with the honing steel from the back and a few twisting pulls in each scallop from the other side trued the folds straight again.

Honestly its a little my fault too for taking it straight to this "rock" before breaking it in a little first. Not that Henckels need to be broken in, but you know what I mean.

Well, these knives start discoloring pretty much right away, as they are supposed to.

Who cares??? Unless you're a TV chef, pick up a couple of these babies. They hold an excellent edge and feel pretty good in the hand (but not great).

My Henckels are more comfortable, but I have been using the carbons almost exclusively since they landed on the step six weeks ago. (I also bought a medium chef's knife.) They feel like serious knives, more professional than most of the upscale blades I've tried. They're certainly easier to control, more finesse. Sharp is better.

I love this knife. Extremely sharp, light, flexible. I've never had a better blade for doing intricate cuts like cutting the membrane out of a bell pepper, splitting a carrot, and it still makes me smile every time I slice a tomato! I used to goto my cleaver for all chopping and slicing, but nowadays this is my #1 goto blade.

...must have made a mistake and ordered the wrong knife. He seems to have wanted a stainless knife, and this is not.

It's a wonderful stainable carbon steel knife that will take a razor sharp edge, and be in your family for generations...but it's going to get a nice "patina"

I have had this knife for 6 months and it is starting to oxidize(If this is made of German steel I wonder what grade of steel it is?). I wonder how long before it starts to rust? and another problems it is so poorly formed compared to knives by Henckels, Wusthof and other German makers of fine cutlery. It definitely pays to spend the money on much better cutlery by Henckels than this poorly made product.

crafted(forged) in China using German steel(reputed to be furnished by F. Dick, a companycompeting with Henckels and Wusthoff, this knife is, as one reviewer noted very heavy, perhaps heavierthan it needs to be.Onereason may be the fact that the handle's top was left unshaped: quite square. this might repell cooks with tender hands - not a problem for me. the weight to me is an advantageand any professional chef or butcher will tell you that a heavy knife does more work than a light one will. so much forthat!

the only flawI found is that it was not subjected to a final honing: it is sharp but not to high standards. Fortunately,I'm good at sharpening(have done it professionally - for pay.)AND thesteel is great- has notrequired sharpening in a year of use, just normal"steeling" after or before use.Onereviewer complained of tarnishing -might he have put it into the dishwasher?, I wonder.I wash mine with standard liquid detergent and rinse in very hot water, then let the water drip off. oftenI use a strong hard surface cleaner to restore immaculate appearance and No discoloration of anykind.(used and washed several times daily for a full year.)I bought it from Amazon for about half the current price( Calphalon cutlery was still unknown to most . . . .Even at today's price, this knife cost 40 to 50% less than thebetter known German knives by Henckels or Wusthof/ Trident. if weight and a squarish handle do not turn you off - you will notregret your purchase( ideally after a good sharpening by an expert) and it'll last a lifetime or two.Don'teven thinkofthecheaper Sabatier offerings( most are pure garbage.)Now, if money is ofno great consequence, look at Japanese knives(global is one brand orthe Australian Furi) orbetter yet Japanese laminated knives(at thetop are Damascus steel laminations but you may be looking at a 7 inch santoku (all purpose chef knife)costing over $1000 and a decentset inthe $5000 range(why isn't it your butler doingthe shopping?)

When my estranged husband got custody of the Wusthof, I knew I had to find something to replace it. My budget dictated something less expensive than the typical eighty or so dollars I'd spend for one of the German knives I preferred. I bought this Calphalon. I decided to try it because of the known quality of the Calphalon cookware.

Wow.

The price/value is incredible. It was more solid and heavier than I expected with good heft and surprising balance. It doesn't "rock" as well as the Wusthof, but for the price, it's something I can live with! I prefer the "classic" look and was not disappointed in the quality of the handle.

I'm pretty sure that eventually, I will get an entire set of Wusthof or Henckels (sp?), as they are superior. In the meantime (like in months and months) I will continue to use the Calphalon(s)- yes, I will be buying more - because of the value and great quality for the price.

This is an attractive, good quality opening price point cutlery set. They should not be washed in a dishwasher and should be hand dried, just like all cutlery! They are a stamped set with a "fake" bolster, and as a stamped set they are light weight. You would have to be doing something very wrong to have one of these "snap like twigs" as another reviewer has suggested. Yes, they would rust if not hand dried. Overall this is a good cutlery set and a very good value. A solid 4 star set.

I love to cook for friends so when I bought a cabin this year, I got this set. I have used them almost every weekend and I really like them. They are lightweight,easy to grip and very sharp. Like any Stainless Steel knife, they lose their edge and have to be sharpened sometimes with the included steel. Even though I paid almost $350 for the French set I use at home, these are almost as good and are a whole lot less expensive!

I am living in my first apartment and my Dad bought me this set along with some other essentials. I am having a great time using it when I cook for friends and I have not had any problems with rust. The block looks great on my counter and the handles are soft and easy to grip. I am going to buy this set for my sister when she moves to a new house next year.

They are really pretty, but the handles curve the wrong way. I have large hands but I'm having a really hard time holding onto these against the spring so I'm returning them. (Plus I missed the part where they can't go into the dishwasher. Opps! (Not that I've put them there yet, but I read the care tag that came with them.)

If only this all-nickel model had a serrated edge...

My last pair of poultry shears bit the dust. While I could have returned them for their lifetime warranty, I was not too pleased with their performance. So I opted for the Henckels, knowing that they make very good cutlery. These shears are no exception--they are top quality.

These scissors really rip into poultry. They are all metal (so keep them oiled) and have no plastic parts to eventually break, like my last pair. They are so sharp and strong, I feel like Edward Scissorhands when cutting up a chicken.

Contrary to the other reviews of these steak knives, I don't like them. The serrations are too deep, and the handles are so fat they don't fit easily into a drawer with my other knives.

They'll be difficult to sharpen later.

These knives may have "ergonomic" handles, but they look really strange in a place setting. I do not like the handles, and I think they are too big compared with the blade. The blade is serrated. It works like most other serrated steak knives. Another reviewer mentioned that the fat handles do not fit easily into the drawer, and this is true. The blades will get spots if put into the dishwasher. Not bad for the price, but not something that looks good on the dinner table.

I was happily surprised to discover that for once I got much more than I paid for. They cut the through thick and thin with ease and, as a side benefit, they are great at cutting rolls and baguettes. After I got my initial set, I returned and got 6 sets for Christmas presents (plus another for me). The handy wooden tray is an added bonus and is also of good quality.