Cangshan S1 vs Wusthof Classic Ikon

[hankstaley]

So due to covid19 the wife and I have been eating a home a lot more. About ten years ago I got a set of Henckels ever sharp knives. Needless to say due to the serrations they can't be sharpened. About 2 years ago I bought a cheap (<$20) santoku knife I am able to sharpen. There is a huge difference compared to the Henckels. So now I am looking to spend some of the money we have been saving by eating at home. In addition to a cast iron pan I am looking at a set of knives. I am between the Changshan S1 from Costco for 200 bucks vs Wusthof for a bit over triple that. The steels seems the same or very similar. I am not worried about Japanese knives, I love my spydercos.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thank You,

Liquid

FYI, not all Cangshan knives are made in China. In fact their Prazision series is made in Solingen, Germany, the same place Wusthoff and Zwilling knives are made. Solingen and Seki, Japan are considered the two knife capitals of the world.

Cangshan uses many types of steel, most of which are not Chinese made. In addition to their proprietary X-7 steel, they use X50CrMoV15 (German), MA5 (German), VG-10 (Japanese), 14C28N (Swedish) and Damasteel RWL34 (a Swedish powdered steel).

The Cangshan series sold at Costco are at the low end of the Cangshan line. I own a few Cangshan S1s and they are certainly not as good as a Wusthof Classic Icon (which I also own). That said, they are still quite a bargain for the price. Many (if not most) Chinese knife brands lie about their steel and other characteristics of their knives. I actually think the Chinese government encourages such behavior. As a result, many Chinese knives are junk. But not Cangshan. Along with Mercer, Tojiro and Victorinox, Cangshan produces a very high quality knife at a reasonable price. It's too bad they often get a bad rap due to their Chinese connections.