Spec me a knife set - £100 budget

I have some fairly nice knives in my kitchen. For what you're describing, unless you really want to start a knife collection I'd just buy one of the world sharpest knives.

They're not good by any means, but they're bloody tough and will do almost everything you need them to do, as well as several things they're not supposed to do.

However, if you want to start a proper kitchen knife collection then go with something above.
 
$loth said:
I've used the victorinox knives for a few months in my first kitchen job and they are OK but for the price range I preferred the stellar sabatier chefs knife as the handle felt better. I wouldn't purchase a Véritable Sabatier again though, I had a bread knife and after dropping it once the riveted handle fell apart. If you can a Henkels 4 star is a fantastic knife, nice and heavy (good for large food stuffs like potatoes) and stays sharp.

As far as sharpening goes the ceramic sharpeners are OK but I find a diamond (which can be purchased for the same price) is gives better results.

I would purchase these:

Cooks Knife: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Cooks-Knives/CF832/ProductDetail.raction
Paring Knife: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox-Parer/C652/ProductDetail.raction
Diamond Steel: http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox-Diamond-Steel/GD047/ProductDetail.raction
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I'm really liking the look of the Henckels Four Star knives. They have a good weight to them, attractive design and from what I can tell from the pictures, a good handle design where the blade starts close to the index finger but is guarded. I could be wrong though as Which? only gave it 3 stars for comfort but that could be due to it's above average weight (208g).

There is currently a 3-piece starter set going on Amazon for £85 which includes a 20cm chefs knife, a 13cm utility Knife and a 10cm paring knife as well as a 2-piece promo set with a 20cm chefs knife and 20cm bread knife for £70. I wonder if the range is going to be discontinued soon.


I've taken a look at a number of knife ranges now including all the ones mentioned here and have taken the following out of the running as they are too expensive across their entire range meaning a low possibility of me ever expanding my collection:
  • Global
  • Wüsthof Classic
  • Kai Shun
In addition, there are reports that the Global knives may snap where the blade meets the handle after a period of time; possibly due to metal fatigue and the Wüsthof Classic are potentially too heavy (225g for 20cm cook's knife).
 
I've got a Wüsthof Classic 20cm chef's knife and I love the weight.

Definitely not too heavy.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the cost stopping you from expanding your range; just expand it more slowly.

Quality>Quantity.

It's already been said, but go and try them out, don't order online (until you've held them). I had my heart set on a Global until I actually tried it in the shop and went for a Wüsthof instead.
 
Panzerbjorn said:
I've got a Wüsthof Classic 20cm chef's knife and I love the weight.

Definitely not too heavy.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the cost stopping you from expanding your range; just expand it more slowly.

Quality>Quantity.

It's already been said, but go and try them out, don't order online (until you've held them). I had my heart set on a Global until I actually tried it in the shop and went for a Wüsthof instead.
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I do agree with Quality > Quantity but I have to draw a line somewhere. I have to pick and choose carefully where and by how much I apply that philosophy amongst my interests as I am by no means a rich person. With those 3 knife ranges I mentioned the total cost of a reasonable collection of knives is more than I want to spend regardless of over how long a period I purchase the knives over given my level of interest in cooking (at the moment anyway).

Buying online vs trying out in shop is just a time/practicality/expense issue. I'm at work for most of the day and if I'm waiting on something to finish or am on a break I'll browse a little online.

Edit: I was tempted by the Wüsthof Classic though and it did come 2nd in Which?'s knife tests. If I see a decent price I will re-consider it.
 
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I bought a couple of santokus from Nippon Kitchen. This one:

http://nipponkitchen.com/acatalog/SD_Range.html

I've had about it 5 years. It's single bevel.

And this one:

http://nipponkitchen.com/acatalog/SD_Range.html

is double bevel. Had it about three years.

The first looks rather plain, but it's sharper than the second one (presumably because it's single bevel) and holds an edge better.

The second one is prettier :-)

I found both to be excellent quality, lovely to handle, and easy to sharpen. The ceramic wheel sharpeners from the same site do a fine job.

I've also tried:

a Richardson's (?) super sharp type thing - ha ha ha

a Global - two or three times the price, just as sharp, but didn't handle as well, IMHO

a Wusthof - not as sharp, obviously very well made, but a bit heavy and clunky in the hand

a Kai Shun - just as sharp, lovely build quality, lovely to handle, but waaay expensive

a cheapo ($10!) ceramic knife - noticeably sharper, but really not good to handle


For the price, I think the Nippon Kitchen stuff is excellent. Top quality and reliability without spending daft amounts of cash.

Hope this helps.
 
Worked in a kitchen shop for 3 years, by far and away my favourite knifes were the RW ones. Just a fab package all round with them.
 
thrudge said:
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Yes your comparison was very helpful and reinforces what I've read about those ranges in this thread and in other reviews.

Both your links were the same but I presume they were to the nicer looking set. However it's the first time I've heard of that brand so they are a bit of an unknown quantity to me and I've been procrastinating for long enough now!

[TW]Sponge;21855807 said:
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Loved it :)

Hxc said:
Worked in a kitchen shop for 3 years, by far and away my favourite knifes were the RW ones. Just a fab package all round with them.
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Thanks for your input. I think I've learnt as much as I'm going to without shopping around in person and trying out the various knife ranges for myself. Quite frankly I can't be bothered with that so it's decision time and based on yours and others' recommendations I've decided to go with the Robert Welch Signature knife range.

The RW range is what I'd called moderately priced but has a premium and stlyish look to it which became a more important criteria when I ordered a magnetic knife rack as it meant any knives I bought would be prominently displayed in my kitchen.

It was for the looks that I decided to go with the RW over the Victorinox range which seemed to be the "smarter" buy on my budget as they offered the best cut for buck and I could've bought a full set in one go.

I was also very tempted by the special offers available on the Henckels Four Star knife range at the moment but the knives not on offer were too expensive for me so thinking more long term I decided against them although they did look really good.
 
Make sure you get a good wooden chopping board to go with it...don't want to be getting the knives blunt anytime soon by using glass or plastic.
 
Already got one although it's slightly too big for my sink so a pain washing it!

Once I'd sorted the knives out I was gonna look at getting a couple smaller chopping boards, maybe with a stand.

I know that glass can be harsh on blades but thought plastic was ok although not as hygenic.
 
Plastic is fine for a cooking board dude, both in terms of blade damage and hygiene. I think the convention is to use a plastic one for meat/fish and a wooden one for everything else.

Don't get one that is too small though, as they can be a pain to use with bigger knives (the ends of your knives can end up hitting your kitchen work surface as you chop). Get the biggest that can fit in your sink/dishwasher.
 
My knives finally arrived!

65dbf2eb-1.jpg


Left to right: 20cm cooks knife, 17cm santoku, 14cm tomato knife (serrated) and 8cm vegetable knife

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I think I would've preferred the 18cm cooks knife but otherwise very happy with them. I also got the RW handheld sharpner.
 
Agree about tk maxx can get some great bargains now and again I got 2 Kai Seki Magoroku knives last year for £30 most websites had the pair for over £100
 
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