Chicago Cutlery

Ben Dover

Ben Dover

Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
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I am looking for a set of medium price/quality kitchen knives. With only two of us left at home, I really can't justify the cost of Henckels or Victorinox. (Actually, if money were not a consideration, I'd ask Bob Dozier to make them to my specs!:D )

UInfortnately, that isn't in the cards. A local chef told me that Chicago Cutlery is "in between" good knives and supermarklet specials.

I have no experience with Chicago Cutlery, but if what he says is true, then I might buy them.

Could anyone here share their personl excerience with Chicago Cutlery knives?

Thanks in advance,

Ben
 
Chicago Cutlery is o.k. but you pretty much have to steel them with every use to keep them sharp. If you don't mind taking care of your knives immediately after use, Old Hickory, which are carbon steel, would hold both a keener and longer lasting edge for even less that Chicago Cutlery would cost you.
 
They have different grades so i dont know which ones are better. I would say look at the steel specification. If it lists a specific steel its probably better than if it just says "stainless"

We have a few chicago cutlery knives at my house. They aren't really my favorite. Real simply handles, the blades have worn down a little bit from a lot of sharpening. They will probably do ok, but i plan in investing in something a little bit mroe expensive.
I would recomend Mac knives, great quality but not quite as expensive as other higher end kitchen knives. Look into them.
 
Do Chicago cutlery cost less than Victorinox? I like my Chicago Cutlery but they are older ones made in USA I think they are made from different steel now. I'd take another look at Victorinox.
also Mac is a really good sugestion. Instead of getting a set think about getting just the knives you need. Slicer, chefs, boner, paring?
 
Check out Warther Knives. They are U.S. made of D2 steel and cost is reasonable. Performance in the kitchen is also good.
 
i've got a couple of old hickory kitchen knives i've had for years and they have always done well. just a couple of points, don't put them in the dishwasher, frequent use of a steel keeps the edge sharp, make sure and dry the blades to prevent rust. overall a pretty good/cheap knife. later,ahgar
 
I have the newer Chicago Cutlery Santouku from Target. On clearance for $9.99 regularly $19.99 as it looked to be a return and the packaging was messed up. Great kitchen user, sharpens up real easy on a chinese made dual side water stone. Worth the money paid and it handles all the kitchen duties for the day without having to resharpen. The older Chicago Cutlery knives in the kitchen with hickory handles are well over 30 years old and despite my grandmother battoning them through frozen chickens and the like are still going strong today. Carbon steel blade needs to be wiped down immediately after washing or it will rust, other than that they have served us well.

Matador-
 
We asked for and received a set of Chicago Cutlery kitchen for our wedding about 15 years ago. We were never really happy with it. We did quite a bit of research on kitchen cutlery but still couldn't quite afford something really good so we went with some of Henckel's "International" line that are made in Spain. They have been a huge improvement over the Chicago Cutlery but I doubt they are close to being serious kitchen knives. While looking into it, I found Forschner's forged knives had a good reputation while being relatively inexpensive. You might want to check those out.
 
Ben, if you're not in a hurry and you're in/near an urban area, haunt the house and estate sales. I have never paid more than $5.00 (usually $1-2.00), and our kitchen is armed with a collection (KnifKnut here! :D ) of highend cutlery that someone paid a fortune for once upon a time: Henckels; Sabatier; Wustof; Grohman; Forschner; Victoria Inox (later Victorinox); Abercrombe & Fitch (from when it was a store for the rich rather than a softcore prorn outlet). There were even some class kitchen knives made in the U.S. once, like the old Chicago Cutlery and the original Gerber. Others have the etched names gone, but the quality lives on, inlcuding a Kosher butcher's knife of D2 that takes an edge that scares the wife.
 
Thomas Linton beat me to it. Kitchen knives go super cheap in the second hand market- it's not uncommon to see one really good kitchen knife in a whole box full of junkers, and the whole thing only brings a couple bucks at estate auctions.
 
Check out Forschner's fibrox handle line of knives. They're not too expensive (and I read over and over what a great knife they are for the money).

The key is to not buy more knives than you need. Too many people think they need a SET of kitchen knives. I recommend thinking carefully about the type of knives you really use on a day-to-day basis and buying just those. Then, as time goes on, you can fill in the gaps with other knives.
 
Had a knife block set of Chicagos. Crap cutlery. Rust spots started appearing shortly after a few washes. Not supposed to happen. Found a deal on Heinkle (sp?) steak knives (eversharp), and found an almost complete set of Heinkles at a garage sale.
 
My wife's parents gave her a set of Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives one year before we were married. They are Chicago's top of the line with integral bolsters. I don't know if the steel is different than their cheaper offerings. I have used a set of Henckels quite a bit as well. The fit and finish of the Chicago knives pretty much stinks. The handle material (black bakelite, I think) isn't flush with the bolster on several of the set. The factory profile was somewhat wavy along the edge of the chef's knife and the carving knife.They are very stain resistant, though. They hold an edge about like a Henckel's brand, certainly no worse, but that's not really saying much. I think they are an OK buy, for the money.

My wife won't use them, because of the maintenance issue, but I find myself using either an old Case XX carbon steel carving knife or a paring knife I made from 1095. Both sharpen eaisier than the Chicago or Henckel's knives and stay sharp longer. If maintenance isn't an issue and price is, try to find some Old Hickory brand carbon steel knives.

I wouldn't ever consider buying a new Henckel's product at their prices, but you can probably find them (and other reputable brands) dirt cheap at estate sales/auctions. Wustoff and Forschner seem to be worth the price, in my opinion, but I've never handled any of the other top brands.

Todd
 
Got a butcher block set on clearance at Walmart about a month after Christmas last year----cheap----really cheap----its the heavier set --not the cheaper thin flimsy ones.

For the price paid---they work great---not that I'm any kind of chef or great in the kitchen or anything.

The shears seem to get the most use---mostly opening plastic blister packs.
 
Hi, have used the Victorinox/Forschner knives with the black fibrox handles for some time now. From the small paring knives to whatever size you want they are absolutely the best knives for the money. Thats why they are used in all kind of industrial/restaurant/fish processing/butcher/slaughtershops, etc.. Never rust, scary sharp, very good ergonomics, not expensive. When mine gets dull a few swipes from a sharpening steel and they are back to razors.In fact when mine get dirty I just throw them in the dishwasher, no problems.I think C8nsumer R8ports rated them very highly. The only ones I use more are my Japanese carbon steel knives, but they are in a different price range altogether. Buy Victorinox/Forschner and one of their steel sharpeners and you'll never regret it!
 
The action of a dishwasher will tend to ding up the edges of knives as they are thrown around. as a consequence, I hand wash even nylon-handled knives.
 
I would look into the Cold Steel line. If you buy the ones you need instead of a block, then they are around the same price only alot better quality. Check out www.eknifeworks.com for really good prices for Cold Steel knives. As for Chicago Cutlery, they are alright if you can't find any better or don't want to order anything off of the internet. I have a Chicaco Cutlery butchers steel that I use for kitchen knives (because it is alot faster than a stone and gets them very sharp) and I like it ok.
 
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