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Thought I was buying German forged steel knives (stated on box) but, when closley examined knives made in China and won't cut, carve. Not sharp at all. Very disappointed.
Review J.A. Henckels silver tips. Thought I was buying
- Thread starter James Hill
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If you want German, buy Wusthof Classic!
jc57
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Zwilling/Henckel's has several sub-brands. Those you bought are sold under the "J.A. Henckel's International" brand, which was created specifically for the "value" knife segment (meaning, inexpensive). Henckel's has for quite a while sold knives made outside of Germany. Usually in Spain and China, and some products just listed as made in Asia, which is a pretty big place.
Per their web site (http://www.zwillingonline.com/jhein1.html)
The bold italics is mine, and are the code words in advertising copy meaning "this is the cheap stuff that we sell at Wal-Mart."
The specific product line you mentioned, the Silvercap, is described thus on their web page (http://www.zwillingonline.com/j-a-henckels-international-silvercap.html):
When you see "dishwasher safe" and "never needs to be sharpened" it's not a top quality kitchen knife.
If you look at their main US web site, https://www.zwilling.com/us/en/categories/cutlery.html, you will not see any of the "value brand" knives listed, just their made-in-Germany products (with a few exceptions in the accessory or specialty products line).
The lowest cost Zwilling-Henckel's line that is made in Germany is their Twin Signature line. Theydon't* apparently do get the same "Friodur" ice-hardening process that the other Zwilling knives get, and are believed to be the same X50CrMoV15 used in most of their German-made knives.
We have a Henckels International 6" chefs knife that my wife bought a few years ago, which is very similar in design to the current Twin Signature, but was made in China. It is not a bad knife, and has a regular edge that can be sharpened easily enough. I am guessing the hardness is about 55 HRC, which same as the current Twin Signature.
I also have one of their mid-tier "Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro" line, the 5 1/4" Prep Knife, which is a convenient size with a good profile. It's a decent knife that seems well made. 58 HRC hardness on that one, according to reputable sources.
*Edited to correct an error in my understanding.
Per their web site (http://www.zwillingonline.com/jhein1.html)
The bold italics is mine, and are the code words in advertising copy meaning "this is the cheap stuff that we sell at Wal-Mart."
The specific product line you mentioned, the Silvercap, is described thus on their web page (http://www.zwillingonline.com/j-a-henckels-international-silvercap.html):
When you see "dishwasher safe" and "never needs to be sharpened" it's not a top quality kitchen knife.
If you look at their main US web site, https://www.zwilling.com/us/en/categories/cutlery.html, you will not see any of the "value brand" knives listed, just their made-in-Germany products (with a few exceptions in the accessory or specialty products line).
The lowest cost Zwilling-Henckel's line that is made in Germany is their Twin Signature line. They
We have a Henckels International 6" chefs knife that my wife bought a few years ago, which is very similar in design to the current Twin Signature, but was made in China. It is not a bad knife, and has a regular edge that can be sharpened easily enough. I am guessing the hardness is about 55 HRC, which same as the current Twin Signature.
I also have one of their mid-tier "Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro" line, the 5 1/4" Prep Knife, which is a convenient size with a good profile. It's a decent knife that seems well made. 58 HRC hardness on that one, according to reputable sources.
*Edited to correct an error in my understanding.
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I actually just went in and did my homework this weekend on JA Henckels/Zwilling, Wusthof and Victorinox. My biggest issue was finding a knife set plus everything I wanted to use in the kitchen, i.e. Chef's knife, Santoku, bread knife, paring knife, and Utility/Prep knife. I also wanted steak knives with no serrations, and this all under $200. I ended up with a Zwilling/J.A. Henckels Twin Gourmet (Spain) set from Macy's and picked up the 5.25" Prep knife that jc57 talked about as well from their Pro line for a total of $170. I even checked the box to make sure I was getting the right set, as the first store I went to had the Silver Tip line inside a Pro box! Imagine the surprise of paying for the German set and getting the chinese version instead, lol...
For the value in the set, and what I am looking for, I think it turned out ok, with the one small exception that the steak knives have very small serrations near the tip. I will eventually get rid of them and buy the plain edge so I can resharpen as I see fit, but I am liking the set so far.
For the value in the set, and what I am looking for, I think it turned out ok, with the one small exception that the steak knives have very small serrations near the tip. I will eventually get rid of them and buy the plain edge so I can resharpen as I see fit, but I am liking the set so far.