Cutlery Reviews

This board is constructed of VERY soft material. All of the reasons that I ordered this were lost the first time that I used it.
All of the knife marks are places where germs can accumulate. (Yes, I wash it, but sometimes my husband does.) My main reason for buying this board was because it was listed as "nonporous", if that is the reason you are looking at this board, forget it. ...

Every slice of the knife leaves a cut on the surface of this board. If that bothers you, you should get something else that's made of harder stuff. If you need to get something so you can stop using the dinner plates and counter top as a cutting surface, or if you like soft cutting boards (I think they feel better against the edge of the knife) then this might be right for you. Basically, it's under ten dollars and it's probably better than the one they have hanging up above the shelves at your local super market.

This is definately a good cutting board. I owned a nasty old wood one for years, this plastic one is so much more durable and easy to clean.

I bought a set of Sabatier Precision knives from Amazon and I have been less than impressed. First of all, like many, I didn't read the fine print. I thought I was getting French knives -- but these knives are made in China...:(

I only bought the tomato knife as it was listed as made in France -- and I hoped it would address some of my complaints below. Nope -- it is the equivalent of the steak knives. :(

The bread knife is OK, the chef knife is adequate, and the paring knife not bad. However the serrated steak knives are not particularly sharp and are too thick to slice things cleanly. I had a set of cheap Tramontina knives, which this set replaced, fortunately I kept a few of the Tramontina steak knives which are FAR better than the Sabatier steak knives. The bigger knives are better in the Sabatier set -- heavier -- but they don't maintain their edge particularly well and they get discoloration spots -- which is really annoying in "stainless steel".

Give me my Henckel chef's knife any day.

Nice handy size with a blade shape that works really well on vegetables allowing a fine slice. Good sturdy handle that is comfortable and fits the hand well. The Precision line is actually made in China, so the quality was less than expected, but ok considering the price.

This knife was included with the 14 piece set with block. I was quite happy with it. It cut a tomato with ease. I gave it four stars because I'm not sure how you sharpen it once it becomes dull. For now it's perfectly sharp. I guess I'll figure it out when necessary. Remember, it shouldn't go in the dishwasher. It doesn't need to be washed IMMEDIATELY but if you want a knife that you can throw in the dishwasher don't buy this knife.

The set was very appealing at first but when I washed the knives the first couple of times, they started to rust. I've only had this set for 2 mos. now and they look to be one hundred years old.I agree, the price is very reasonable, but not reasonable enough just for the few times I've used it. Might as well have bought disposables. Had to throw them out..dont think its safe to be cutting food i'm actually going to put in my mouth with a knife thats loaded with rust.

The Amazon staff writeup is absolutely accurate. These are low-end, stamped, serrated knives. They never need sharpening. Well, actually, they CAN'T be sharpened, so when they stop cutting well, you throw them out. Also, due to the serrations, you actually tear the food, rather than slicing it cleanly. That's why all of the high-end brands have keen, "razor" edges for almost all of their knives. You only really need serrated edges for things like bread and tomatoes; anything with a hard outer layer and a soft interior.

My roommate owns a set of the Farberware knives. I have a low-end Henckels knife that I use instead. I've also just ordered a set of the Wusthof Grand Prix knives. They are forged, not stamped, and have keen edges.

So, if you cook even once/week, get a decent set of knives. You don't have to get the Wusthof Grand Prix. Take a look at the Henckels Gourmet line. That's probably one of the best set of stamped knives that you can get. One step down from that is the Henckels International line.

Keep in mind that it's better to have just two good knives rather than a complete set of bad ones. Spend more money on the chef's knife since you'll use that the most. Then get a decent utility knife for everything else. A set like that might cost about [$$$] for low-end Henckels. Then you'll have a pair of knives that you won't regret keeping for years. And they can be re-sharpened!

I would recommend this product to anyone who likes to cook but isnt exactly looking to spend lots of money. Trust me it will do the job you need for the chef of the house. Sturdy and stays sharp you will never have to sharpen again...

I purchased this electric knife it described some nice features. Unfortunately it needs a lot of improvement.
First of all the spacer that is included is medium/soft plastic. It does not lock into place so you have to be careful with slicing as it looks like it would shift. I could not get a uniform slice, as the spacer bends outwards while cutting as well.
I carved the following and found it difficult to slice through. I tried to slice turkey breast, honey baked ham, and hard salami with the spacer on and off. The knifes are not sharp enough, or needs more power. The storage for the knives is a good feature, but I personally do not recommend this product.

I have two different electric knives. One is with a straight shaft and the trigger under the front. The Hamilton Beach has a handle over the main shaft with a trigger on top of that handle. I find this considerably more difficult and awkward to use. I love carving with electric knives and recommend its use for turkeys, hams, homemade bread, and other meats.

I have used many Hamilton Beach products and I find them very reputable. Before this we had a toastmaster knife for two months but it was terrible. This hamilton beach is very sharp and powerful, i told all my relatives to get one too and they love theirs. I highly recommend it. It is great on roasts, chickens, turkeys everything.

I bought a whole block of these "silverpoint" wustoff knives thinking I would be getting a fairly decent knife considering their reputation even though it was their lower end. My husband and I are very disappointed. The knives are thin, flimsy and bendy...not good when you need to cut a very crusty slice of bread or anything else a little tougher. They aren't as sharp as I was expecting either. I would have been better buying a cheaper brand with a thicker, more solid metal part. I guess if you're going to go for Wustoff...go for their expensive knives, because in their case, you get what you pay for...and less.

If you are looking for a bread knife that will suit all of your needs, this is not it.

If you only need a knife for cutting bagels, muffins or soft, freshly baked breads, then this knife will work great for you.

The problem with this knife is that it is not nearly of the same quality as most of the Wusthof cutlery. It is a lot cheaper and it very flimsy. The product description says that it is a new construction that allows it to be thinner while retaining its strength, but it will bend easily if you are not very careful. Anything with a semi-firm crust will give this blade a hard time. It seems to me that it also dulled very quickly in comparison with other knives considering a never used it on anything tougher than a sesame seed bagel.

The smaller knife actually works great for cutting vegetables and I use it more often than the bigger knife.

My recommendation is that if you slice a lot of different kinds of bread, then you should get a higher quality Wusthof bread knife on plan to cut your bread at weird angles.

I agree with the 2nd. buyer, these are descent knives. I love mine & although they are a bit flexible it's not like I'm going to be cutting through tin cans or steel with them, lol. They slice through bread like butter and after trying basic cheap bread knives from cutlery sets I've owned in the past these are the best ones that work for my Breadmaker loaves of bread. I recommend these knives but would suggest waiting to purchase them if possible on another Amazon Friday sale like I did. I give them 4 stars!

My husband and I bought this cutlery block in the month of Jan-2004 and to our shock the knives which were available in the grocery store are much better than this, I feel a brand like farberware should have done much better job than this, also I am using just the bread knife for cutting everything also the scissors is good.You can trash all of the knives and may me hang on to the wodden block to decorate other knives with the block.
I spent so much on the Cutlery Block Set that I am using only bread knife . please don't buy this.

I collect kitchen knives. I give away extras as presents and keep my favorites. I bought this set because it was the cheapest list price forged set available and I was curious about the quality.

The balance is very good for the price. Better than Calphylon knives, but not close to the feel of a top of the line French/German/Japanese knives. This is particularly noticeable in the paring knife and utility knife. These knives are NOT heavy for forged knives. They are heavy compared to the stamped knives common in most kitchens, but are of average weight for forged knives.

The knives all have a number of detailing errors where the handles mold to the knife and bolster and a few minor errors in the stainless. And, they don't hold an edge quite as long as top of the line European/Japanese knives (or Calpylon)

The bread knife is just great and is the best knife in the set. It's as good a bread knife as you'd get in a top of the line German set. It's worth the price of the set. The 8" slicer is very good too. The 8" Chef is good but the width is more typical of an 8" stamped Cook's knife.

The scissors are very good. Better than the scissors you'd get with MUCH more expensive sets. I replaced a pair of Henkels scissors in one of my blocks with these scissors. And you can take them apart to sharpen.

The block is cheap (and that makes sense since this whole set is cheaper than a single good knife typically costs) and the steel is substandard but better than the steel you'd get with a cheap stamped set. The steel handle looks exactly like the Henkels "traditional/non diamond" steel with the same attractive chrome detailing but the steel portion is far lower quality than a German steel. IOW, it looks better than it sharpens but is still a pretty good steel.

In the end I liked these knives but I still gave most of them away (and the block and steel) to relatives who cook and needed decent knives. I kept the bread knife and the scissors.

If you have to pay list, this is a very good choice for value. However, I recommend looking at the Amazon "Friday Sale" and using Internet Shopping engines to find better European forged sets at deep discounts (they are out there if you are patient and have the time look). You'll probably have to spend between 1OO and 15O dollrs but the knives will be much nicer. If you dont' want to spend that cash this is among the best low cost options and far better than pressed knives including the pressed knives sold by Wustof, Sabatier and Henkels but made cheaply in China which sell in the same price range as this set.

If you have unlimited cash, buy the Wustof Classic Mega Set for 1.5K or so and be done with it! Dick, Henkels Global and Sabatier make excellent forged knives too.

These knives were rated by Consumer Reports as being a best buy. I used their recommendation when I made my decision to purchase them. The knives arrived and I am quite pleased with them. They are very study, have a fairly good grip, possibly a little heavy for me, but my husband thinks they are just fine. The blades seem to hold their edge well, and are quite an improvement to our old knives. This is the first time I actually own a matching set of knives and they look quite tidy, safely stored in the block. I would recommend these knives as they are priced reasonably and seem to do their job well.

I bought this as a replacement for a damaged Wusthoff slicer. It was a total waste of money. Even slicing poultry, it simply will not stay sharp. Other knives get honed on a monthly basis, but this one needs to be honed three times in a single turkey slicing job! It is "outa here"!!

As with several other Calphalon knives that I have reviewed, I purchased this knife as part of the 15 piece set. It is a beautifully constructed kitchen tool with the heft that can only be provided by a steel forging. The edge is very fine, and can be easily honed to a true razors edge. Using this knife on a turkey is a revelation. Although the blade is thin, and can slice with very little effort, it has a contour and stiffness that simply cannot be matched by a stamped steel knife. When you plan a particular slice, that is what you get. No self steering, no endless sawing motion, just clean slices every time. This knife looks so good, and works so well, that I ordered the 10" model for slicing the really big birds. I have a few Henckles knives, and this is at least as good by any standard. When you realize that you can buy two of these for the price of one of theirs, you either feel like a thief, or start to wonder why some people throw their money away. If you must have a famous name knife, go for it. Better to spend far too much for a good knife than to buy TV junk. On the other hand, the big German brands have been etching their name on offshore stamped steel "affordable" knives lately. This is in an effort to capitalize on their name yet maintain profit in the face of quality value brands like Calphalon. Don't be fooled. Stamped knives are junk no matter how much they cost. Buy this knife and understand.

I bought this board in July, have barely used it (like < 10 times) and it's already falling apart 3 months later! It's splitting at the seams in 3 different places. Buy a plastic or solid wood board and save your money! Very disappointed.

been looking for a wood cutting board. this one is a good size at a good price.

I love the look of the one piece cutlery, the sharpener, and the good quality wooden block, but I am not psyched with the cutting ability of the steak knives. I've kept the ones from my older, cheaper set b/c they seem to cut things much better. Things like bread, tomatoes and steak just don't cut well with the knives included in this set.

With the exception of the sharpening steel this is a good set of knifes for the price. I was leery of the stainless handles being slippery or uncomfortable but they are just the opposite. The balance is also good. Will work nicely if only used from time to time.

Get what you pay for, I guess. I replaced a ratty old Farberware chefs knife that came with a set I got at my wedding. Boy, I wish I had tested this knife before I tossed out the Farberware... I hate this knife. It is not balanced at all and it's nearly impossible to make a cut where you want it. I thought maybe it was my lack of skill with knives that was the problem, or maybe my wrist was too weak to properly control the knife. But then my husband tested the knife, and had the same problem. The blade feels cheap and flimsy when you are cutting, and moves to where you don't want it. Even my four year old noticed the blade jump as I cut up an orange. My advice is stay away from this knife. Now I'm going to go spend a little more money on a good chef's knife that won't nearly cut my finger off when I use it.

This knife is damn good for the price. I have had it for about two weeks now and have used it almost every night. I have found that is is very useful and durable. Seems to me that it is very well made. I highly suggest that you buy this knife if you want a cheap good chef's knife.