Good Cutlery - Wusthof, Henckels ?

S

skoro

Joined
Dec 28, 2013
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I realize that top of the line cutlery from either maker is out of my ballpark. Do any of you know much about their "middle of the road" offerings? Wusthof makes the Gourmet knives in Germany and Henckels makes their International Classics in Spain, both from stamped steel rather than forged. That much I do know. They're also affordable for a working stiff like me. Are they truly better than less expensive knives like Chicago Cutlery? Thanks.
 
I had a set of Chicago Cutlery knives, did not care for them much at all. Replaced them with a set of Henkle 5 Stars which I have had now about a decade. For me, there was a noticeable improvement. I would buy the Henkles again without a doubt. Do watch for some of their lower end offerings, not sure of the quality there.

Tramontina is supposed to also make some good stuff at a reasonable price range. Worth a look also I would think.
 
Thanks for the reply. I do currently have a single Henckels 5 Star 6" knife that a relative gave me a few years ago and it really holds an edge. But buying a set of the 5 stars is way beyond my budget.
 
The inexpensive Henckels are not terrible for the money. I also like some of the Victorinox offerings.
 
Mitchell Knives said:
The inexpensive Henckels are not terrible for the money. I also like some of the Victorinox offerings.
Click to expand...

+1 With Mitchell

I also have a full set of the Henckel 5 Star plus many other assorted Henckels. The mid-range work well on a budget and cut very good. I just purchased
5 of the new Victorinox Forschner Fibrox 8" Chef's Knives for my restaurant. Very Very impressed with excellent rating !!! Especially for $30
http://www.chefsresource.com/chefs-...cutlery.html?gclid=CKuj5-mekLwCFckWMgodMl4AJQ
 
butcher_block said:
are you willing to try out carbon steel blades or must they be stainless
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The stainless are lower maintenance, more than likely. But for a quality set of knives, I'll be hand washing them after each use, so the carbon steel would definitely be on my radar.
 
Fujiwara FKH with japanesechefsknife.com
K-Sabatier carbons with sabatier-k.com
 
Benuser said:
Fujiwara FKH with japanesechefsknife.com
K-Sabatier carbons with sabatier-k.com
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Ditto on the Fujiwara FKH! In my opinion, they have a far superior profile compared to the German style of knife and you get Japanese carbon steel at a good price. My first foray into the world of Japanese cutlery was a Fujiwara FKH 210mm gyuto and I still love using it today.
 
If you want stainless, Fujiwara also has the FKM line which is also good. Tojiro DP is also a good affordable stainless gyuto. You don't need a matching set, a good chef knife and paring can probably do the majority of work.
 
Would you insist on stainless, another option besides those mentioned by Olpappy would be the Hiromoto G3.
 
Here's what I ended up doing, and my kitchen's much better as a result...

I got a small set of Henckels International Classics, the forged versions from Spain. Very nice knives and sharp as all get out. The handles match my hands pretty well and they're nicely balanced. Picked up a set of Wusthof Gourmet steak knives and never had it so good when it comes to dining. Finally, I got a Global G46 Santoku. This gem makes cutting vegetables so easy that I now kind of enjoy it.

Makes me wonder why I waited so long to get some good steel into the kitchen.

Thanks for all the input, guys.
 
All the knives currently in use in my kitchen are vintage Old Hickory carbon steel. Some of them are very old. I love them dearly. Except for one stainless blade. A big Henckel's Santoku. That thing scares my wife to death because it's so thin and so sharp. Fortunately she does almost none of our cooking. But on a ripe tomato - it's a beautiful thing. Most tomatoes just go into shock and faint dead away when they see it.
 
All my regular knives are Nenox black handles. I only use two - petty and 10" chef. All others are superfluous. I do have a set of Henkels but those are for wife and relatives to use. Put it this way: the Henkels get a sharpening several times a year, Nenox only a couple and never more than the 8000 water stone and strop.

I also have a collection of Massamoto knives but I only use them when I am filleting grouper I spear in the gulf (deba) or making tricky slices (honetsuka) of things like prime rib. I only recommend these if you are close to a knife master - for me I bring them to korin in NYC for maintenance.
 
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