Cutlery Reviews

I purchased this knife a year and a half ago on impulse, taken in by it's minimalist design, it is a beautiful concept but I paid RETAIL. It IS beautiful but... after 18 months of everyday use in a commercial kitchen I am selling it (at half price) to a younger sous chef that was taken in by the design. I hope that he can cope with it.
This knife is very high maintenance. Once I sliced some cured meat, Genoa Salami I think, plunged the knife into scalding hot, soapy water, rinsed and wiped her down with a clean cotton towel just as I do all of my knives after use. I guess that I didn't wipe hard enough along the cutting edge because after only 10 hours the "cure" had eaten three tiny pin point notches in the blade's edge. It's been a downhill relationship ever since. I can't cut this or that, the knife has a balance point too far back for a pro's liking, the edge is sooo delicate that it requires twice the "steeling" that my forged knives do ... it's a pain...good ridance.

We own the excellent Emerilware nonstick cookware set so we thought we couldn't go wrong with this cutlery set especially considering they are made by Wusthof. We were wrong. This set is the cheapest Wusthof makes, and it's noticeable from the first cut. The stamped blades are very thin, light, not at all strong and bend when cutting. There is no bolster/finger guard as in other Wusthof lines. The box says the blades are full tang, but you cannot see this in the handle. Only the top of the handle shows the steel, the bottom does not. The handle itself looks and feels a lot like cheap solid plastic. Finally the steak knifes are thin and weak, just like the cooking knives. Only reason I give this 2 stars is that for $200 you do get a lot of knives and I like the block that holds both the cook and steak knives. We returned this set and bought the excellent Calphalon set, which for $180 you get the same knives as in this set but fully forged and much more robust. Emeril could do a lot better with this "signature" knife set.

I bought my wife a set of these last year for Christmas.... They won't cut carrots, potatoes, or anything fibrous. I have spent almost a year and at least [money] to try to sharpen them, and after buying the ... chef's choice 3 stage sharpener (excellent machine, by the way)they are now marginal. The problem is the thickness of the blade at the cutting edge. It does not taper to a fine point, but has a huge bevel which will not allow the knives to cut through firm foods. After I buy a good set of somehthing else, I am going to take these to my bench grinder and do some serious reshaping. I think I have become obsessed with these stupid knives!

It seems as though crafting a good knife at a fair price is a lost art. While these knives are forged as advertised (with the exception of the steak knives), I doubt that they are truly made of stainless steel. On the box it indicates that the knives are dishwasher safe, but after the first wash they have rusted. I am sorely disappointed, as I had expected more from Farberware.

There are better certainly knives available but, for the price, this set is more than adequate. The knives were not very sharp out of the box but that was cured by a few minutes with a stone. The blades seem to hold their edges well and that is an important consideration for me.

The sharpening steel is more coarse than I prefer but my old steel fits the knife block so it's not a problem.

These knives will rust if they are not dried after washing.

If you can afford to spend more, you'll probably be happier with a better set than this.

These knifes are pure junk. I have the chef's knife from this set, and the thing is absolute trash. I hand-wash all of my knives, and this one is rusting. The blade is thin and flimsy and it won't hold an edge. I accidentally dropped the knife onto my linoleum floor and the tip actually bent to a 90 degree angle!

I wouldn't even use this thing to trim shrubs in the garden.

Nice looking set, but they have a tendency to rust. Also I have to sharpen them quite a bit before using them for most vegetables (onions, tomatos). I can't really complain given the price, and in buying Farberware, I shouldn't expect Henckels or Wusthof quality, but I must say that the dullness and rust are very annoying.

I received this set as a gift from my husband 2 years ago. He bought it for me because it had the stainless and black handles, and thought Farberware was a good name. We didn't own a dishwasher, so it is hard for me to understand why ... but all the knives got little bits of rust on them within a year of having them, and washing them by hand. Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on this item...

Don't be fooled by the price. I thought I was getting a great deal. This service hasn't been through the dishwasher 5 times and already blades and tongs are falling out of the handles. I've had to throw 4 pieces away already. The handles are awful. Go with something that's all in one piece. I should have.

We live in bush Alaska so we need things that are sturdy and dependable. Now we know why this product is discounted so heavily. Within two weeks, three of the table knives have "broken"--the blade has pulled out of the handle. The rest is OK and actually pretty good for the price. Unfortunately, the neat wooden tray that comes with it won't fit into any of our kitchen drawers.

All in all--a dud.

I purchased this set back in January 2004, it's now March 2004. Initally, I was disappointed in the wooden tray - due to it's total lack of function. After using the cutlery set for about 1 month, the knifes all started to pull out of the handles. I would not recommend this item.

Please , spare yourself some misery and DO NOT buy this product.
It is not worth your penny. I am not a chef , just a regular guy and my standard when it comes to kitchen products is really relatively low. But this one is way below substandard.

This product is good because you can make your kitchen look complete for just fifteen smackers. It's also nice because it includes a block, so you have a place to put decent knives as you grudgingly purchase them one at a time.

The blades are not ground in a way that makes them cut well. I give the set 2 stars because you might want to buy it to have when you hide your good knives from the company. Other than that, you will be happier buying a half-decent single knife for the same price. There isn't much point in having 7 knives if none of them are usable.

I have not tried this paring knife as yet. However, I am extremely frustrated b/c the description states the knife was made in France and it was made in China. I never would have ordered it had I known it was made in China.

The copy here has a misprint. The precision line including this parer is made in China not France. This is part of Sabatier's "affordable" line. The Sabatier knives made in France are much higher quality and more expensive. These knives are pressed not forged.

I have this knife which I received as part of a 14pc knife set. I still use some of the knives but not this parer. The precision line is fine as far as pressed knives go. They have a full tang but no bolster. The synthetic handle is easy to maintain. The weight is good for pressed knives. ...

If you don't have any experience with good knives consider doing some research and buying a discounted piece or two (or five) of the various lines once you feel comfortable.

Also, consider ergonomic factors like the relation of the handle design to your hand size or the weight of the knives to your strength. If you buy knives with an uncomfortable handle you might miss your old 3/4 tang oxo parer instead of realizing what junk it was and how could you have used it for so long!

Finally, consider how you will care for the knife before buying anything as low maintainence knives are often cheap while quality knives require loving care to maintain their awesome performance.

...

Amazon has great customer service so if you buy this by mistake just send them an email or call for return authorization. ...

Bought these shears, and was quite dissappointed.The spring rusted and after a few use, the lock (red knob) on the side came out.

The blades are durable but the overall handling is too cumbersome.

The price is also not too good.Many better choices are avilable at lower price ranges.

Hope this helps.

The first use wasn't too bad. It cut things well but the lock locks too easily, without something even touching it, so it had to be unlocked multiple times during use. Safety is nice,but that is just annoying.

The biggest problem is the coil/spring is NOT stainless-steel so the inside of it rusts, even if you take it apart for each washing. Once it gets rusty it becomes very very difficult toclose the shears, making cutting a real pain, literally. I soak the spring regularly in rust remover but I can not use it no more than a single piece now without horrible aches in my hand.

My prior shears lasted for 10 years, but these I need to replace after a couple of months...

Anyone with any rust issues should contact Henckels from their website and get a replacement. The blades are guaranteed to be rust free. Don't mention the rusty spring issue or they'll only send a replacement spring.

I purchased this set and thought I had found a bargain because I trusted the brand name. The knives don't cut! They are the least favorite choices of everyone in the house. I usually dig for the old knives, which work much better. My sons will actually wash a knife rather than use a clean one from this set. Many rusted after the first washing!

These were supposedly dishwasher safe. My set is rusted after just a couple months of use. They seem pretty dull too.

I have ... laser cut knives from the supermarket that have held up for 10 years with no rust and no loss of sharpness.

I assume it is the ... Chinese steel being used for these that makes them so worthless.

Save your money. I wish I had.

I'm on my second pair of these shears. The first pair was inherited when I got married, the second was a gift to replace the first (due to the plastic catch falling out and the blades rusting).

In less than one year, the second pair is almost unusable. The coil that is supposed to spring them back into the open position has lost its bounce due to rust inside the coil. The safety catch works too well - it catches automatically almost every time I close the shears. This is extremely annoying when clipping through a chicken breast. I have to stop on every other cut to re-open the shears. Finally, the shears cannot be separated for full cleaning.

NOTE that this model has a different catch mechanism, but the coil does look the same.

After only six (6) cuts (chicken thighs) ... the steel blade had a 1/8 inch nick(not a chip)in it. Definitely not the best quality steel.