Cutlery Reviews

I thought that this was the only option for under cabinet storage of knives. FYI there is another under-cabinet knife storage alternative out there. I used an internet search engine with the criteria: +"under counter" +knife, and found nice storage tray in the form of a drop down unit. Found one where I could choose one of 5 unstained woods for the face piece, which could then be stained to match the color of my cabinets (birch, hickory, maple, oak, or cherry) I also found another company that has a clear acrylic tray version. The hardware is basically the same for these. One company offers theirs with a slotted wooden block that attaches to the tray by magnetic adhesion allowing it to be removed and cleaned. It opens easily with the aid of two pull-down hinges and adjustable latches provide secured closure.

For those of you who have huge kitchens, stop reading now. For those like me, for whom counter space is at a premium, this is a great product. Fits nicely under the cabinet, although you need to think before you blindly follow the template. If your cabinets are 12" deep cut about 1" off the front of the template orthe block will bind against the wall as it turns. Slots fit my knives and steel perfectly. Really glad I got this product.

We had two knife blocks on the counter, with lots of dull knives in them. We bought two good Global knives, and sent the rest packing to the drawer or the summer cottage. Now we have more counter space and sharp knives. The reason I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 is that it doesn't fit under our cabinets in their recommended installation. Our cabinets are 12 inches (30 cm) deep, and when I installed the block as recommended, it would bump against the wall when I tried to rotate it. So I had to move it forward about 1 inch (2-3 cm). If your cabinets are 13 inches (33 cm) or deeper, you should be okay. Also, the template was slightly off on one of the holes, so check the template against the pilot holes on the block, and modify the template before you mark the cabinet for drilling.

Having never purchased a knife case like this before, I have no concrete basis for my rating. However, in the few months I've owned the case, I can say that there just HAS to be a better way to carry your knives around. This one doesn't seem to hold them securely enough, as they occasionally "rattle" during transport (and, if you're not careful, they could fall out of the case). It's serviceable, but I expected more.

Bought this roll for my son who is attending his first year of culinary school and working in a restaurant. He absolutely loves it for carrying his knifes and it has enough room to carry the other miscellaneous tools he needs. The locking feature is most appreciated given how much the knives cost.

I've had my knife case for almost 12 years now, and it still keeps up with the abuse that comes with my profession as a chef. It was given to me by the knife sharpening guy as a thank you gift for the business, i had given him. Day in night out, it has been reliable, and worn well (even though it looks as good now as it did then)This case keeps my babies, (yes i said babies) save and sound, everyone has become accustomed to seeing me with my knife bag, where i go, they go, and even though i've had my henckel 4 stars for much longer, the case still gives them the ohhhs and awwes, from being protected. This is a must for the serious.

This is a small bladed knife. It also has a really useful handle. It is constructed of the same high quality materials of all knives in this series, and is a worthwhile addition to any kitchen. It's one of those tools that find more and more use with experience. It's a good buy.

This knife has been a revelation to me. I use my 8" and 10" chef's knives for almost everything because small knives are uncomfortable and awkward. Now I know it isn't the small knives I dislike -- it's the small handles!

In the two weeks since I first picked up this one, it has (almost -- let's not get TOO carried away) become my favourite knife. The heft and balance are gorgeous, a completely natural fit in my hand. Of the Henckels handles, I would recommend the five-star style for this knife because the blade is automatically positioned at the best cutting angle.

With a knife like this, I could even see me turning out carrot swans and radish roses: "What's that, dear? When's dinner? Oh, I forgot..."

beware of getting rusty after only few times of use, bought a month ago, got rusty, had to return it.
Update:
I tried 3 different sets of this product, all 3 sets got rusty quickly. The set looks nice and it is very handy and resonably sharp. That is the reason I tried it, but it gets rusty very quickly. So I never buy Kitchenaid cutlery set.

THIS IS A NICE SET OF CUTLERY FOR UNDER $100. EVEN THE STEAK KNIVES ARE QUITE NICE, UNLIKE SOME OF THE CHEAP STEAK KNIVES INCLUDED IN SOME SETS. LIKE MOST KNIVES IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THEY BE WASHED, RINSED AND DRIED BY HAND AFTER EACH USE. AUTO DISHWASHER USE IS NOT RECOMMENDED. KNIVES TREATED WELL WILL NOT RUST GENERALLY. CUTLERY MADE OF MORE EXPENSIVE ALLOYS IS MORE RUST RESISTANT....A SINGLE KNIFE MAY COST MORE THAN THIS ENTIRE SET. IF I USED KNIVES HOURS EACH DAY I WOULD PURCHASE A FINE SET MADE OF GERMAN STEEL ALLOYS. BEST WISHES!

Solid set of good looking cutlery. As other reviewer mentioned, knives must be hand washed and dried after use. All higher quality knives are not all that rust resistant, the more resistant it is, the less it retains its fine edge. If you see your knives rust, it might be a sign of better quality (edge holding ability, ease of proper sharpening).

4 Piece Chef Ergonomic Kitchen Knife set
Get the cutting edge in your kitchen with these Golden Grips knives. Lightweight yet sturdy, this set helps to give you more control with less effort. The plastic handles are designed with a thumb grip to provide more support and increased comfort. The permanently bonded blades never need sharpening, and naturally cut away from you. Heat-resistant handles. Dishwasher safe.
8-1/4"L chef's knife
8-3/4"L bread knife
5-3/4"L fillet knife
5-1/2"L steak knife
Golden Grips Chef knife with Patented handle - more control, more grip strength. See more info at www GoldenGrips com

We bought this knife as a replacement to some Henckel paring knives that have mysteriously disappeared from our house. Tried it out the same day it arrived & it appears to be great so far. Nice weight, handles well & is super sharp - so sharp my husband & I both cut ourselves by barely touching the blade! (Cut was so fine that it healed by the next day.) So far so good - we'll report back after the first sharpening!

After using this knife daily for several weeks, I have nothing but good things to say about its performance. The handle is the most comfortable of any brand I've tried and it seems to hold an edge better than my 3.5" Wusthof parer. But, without a doubt, the best feature is the 4.5" blade. The extra inch seems to make a huge difference in versatility and feel, especially when cutting fruit such as grapefruit, trimming meats and county ham, or slicing and dicing garlic. The blade also slopes downward slightly which really increases its value when making delicate cuts. It truly is a pleasure to use and the one I reach for most often. Now the bad news...it's made in China and the lack of quality control sometimes shows in this line of knives (and others such as Farberware's ProForged). I had to return a boning knife because the blade was significantly bent and I've rejected several others in stores due to the same problem. You can check for this problem by holding it out at arm's length with the blade pointing away from you and sighting down top of the handle and blade. Needless to say, any serious attempt to straighten a high carbon blade will cause it to break, so just return it or reject it. All that being said, this truly is a great knife and one that I highly recommend.

The very first cut I made on this cutting board left a huge gouge in the surface. Subsequent cuts also left deep marks. For something that's advertised as being harder than maple, I found this to be very surprising. Maybe it's the way it's put together? All I know is that this cutting board is on pace to be the shortest lived ever in my kitchen. Pretty much the only thing that I like about it is that bamboo is a renewable resource. Good thing because at the current rate, I anticipate needing a new one very soon.

Bamboo cutting boards seem to be a bit of a craze and a lot of places are really pushing it as the perfect material and perfect cutting board. Although I would agree that Bamboo is a very good material, I would hardly say that it is the "perfect" one. All materials have it's pros and cons. If I were to rank them, I'd say - Maple Wood (not all woods are created equal!), Plastic/Poly, Bamboo, Glass/Granite. Why?

Wood.
You want one at least 1" thick, preferrably at least 1.5" thick. This gives it enough thickness to prevent warping, cracking and breaking. It also will give you good "shock absorption factor" - making cutting and pounding on it a lot less jarring and tiring for you. Wood has natural anti-bacterial properties. It's natural, traditional, beautiful, and the best material for your good knives to be cutting on. The cons is that you need to know how to care for wood, you need to oil it, it's not dishwasher safe, it can be heavy.

Plastic/Poly.
The pros are that they are usually dish-washer safe, they are easy to disinfect when in like-new condition. They come in different colors, so you can color coordinate different foods to different boards to prevent cross-contamination. They are thin, lighter, easy to clean and store. The cons are they must be replaced when badly knife scarred because those knife scars will house millions of bacteria. Scrubbing the board will not get to those bacteria for the same reasons why brushing your teeth does not get the stuff between your teeth. Soaking it in bleach will not get to the bacteria because of the vacuum effect - the same concept illustrated when you stick a straw into blue colored water, plug up the top to create a vacuum, then move the straw into another container filled with red colored water. Just as long as you maintain that vacuum, the liquid in the red water will never mix with the blue in the straw unless if there was some way for you to force that red water into the straw as well.

Bamboo.
First off, bamboo is not wood, it's a grass - so no, it does not share the same properties as wood. Bamboo is 16% harder than Maple. The Amazon Description says "The hard surface means fewer nicks and slices that harbor bacteria." Harder is not better. Oak is harder than Maple, but it's not as good because it has bigger pores. Glass and Granite is harder than Maple, but it's the worst thing for your knife to be cutting against. Harder may sound good at first, but on second thought, it dulls your knives and has no shock absorption. I would treat Bamboo the same as Plastic/Poly when it comes to bacteria - replace it after it's badly knife scarred. Bamboo is more abundant than Maple trees though - all the claims of it being more environmentally friendly are valid. It's also available in attractive packages. Bamboo has less of a tendency to warp because it doesn't expand/contract from heat as much as wood does. But it has more tendency to crack, splinter, and for the glues to fail - this is because of how it's made. It's many, many pieces of a grass product all glued together - not like wood which is several "chunks" glued together. Bamboo is cheaper than wood though, so if you are on a budget and are looking for a lighter weight, wood-like cutting board, you'd want to look at these bamboo boards. Bamboo is not dishwasher safe, unless if it's extremely sealed, it's still a natural product and therefore should be hand-washed and could benefit with oilings to prevent it from drying out.

Glass/Granite.
I would not recommend anyone cutting on boards made of these materials. The have no shock absorption, making them jarring and tiring to cut on and they'll dull your knives. Save these material for serving trays or the like.

Now this particular bamboo cutting board is a little on the small size. Measuring in at 11.5 x 14.5 x 5/8" I would say it's a good "Medium" sized board. It's probably a good average size board for prepping meals for 1-2 people. If you cook a lot though and are looking for a Main board, you might want to get something larger. The rectangular shape is ideal if you like to chop and move the finished product off to the side to chop some more. I do this all the time, and that's a reason I like a larger board because otherwise, I'd have to dirty up a bunch of little prep bowls to hold all my ingredients in while I'm chopping. It's an attractive board and a lot thinner than a quality wood board could ever be due to warping issues, so that's a plus for storage and ease of moving around.

Because I'd like to try using a bamboo cutting board, I am keeping this one...but I'd suggest to others to consider buying from a different manufacturer (not Totally Bamboo). When I got this cutting board, it had many tiny splinters, and I had to sand it with fine sandpaper. It still has a few splinters, though, and I am worried that new ones will surface each time I wash it. The cutting board is nice looking (as you can tell from the pictures), and I think it will be durable, but the splinter issue definitely concerns me, as I don't want the splinters to contaminate the food I cut on the board or get lodged in my skin (thus far this hasn't happened, but I have only had the board for a day).