Housewares Reviews

I have been using the cigar oasis for about 1 year now. It has made my cigar maintenace a simple pleasure. The oasis has kept my humidor at 70% humidity for the entire year. I have replaced the water container 3 times so I am getting about 4 months for each refill. That means including the water my total cost of maintenece has been less than $45 annually. Keep in mind that I have 1 oasis humidifying a 300 cigar humidor that is opened at least once a day. The only issue I have had is that the metal contact ends in the oasis that the power cord plugs into are very delicate. One was damaged when I moved the oasis. Luckily there are two contacts and it still functions perfectly.

The door hinge was broken so door wouldn't stay on, but we decided to try it anyway as we had a 40th surprise coming up in 2 days and "needed" it to keep 30 kids entertained! Borrowed my neighbors little Hawaiian Ice maker as back-up. The little machine ran circles around this big "fancy" one!! This one made 1 snow cone to the 64 snow cones the little machine made in 45 minutes! VERY disappointed! Emailed company and still waiting for reply after 2 emails and 2 weeks! Thank goodness I had the Hawaiian Ice for back-up!!

I bought this for my 4 kids who love the frozen drinks. But, I soon found that it does not work well. After a few uses the gears began to stick. It would no longer crush/shave ice. Stick with the smaller units.

I bought this for one of my boys for Christmas and it was quickly assumed by the whole family (of six!) We use it almost every night for last four months and have had no problems. It quickly & continuously makes enough for 6 people within minutes. Defintely our favorite!!

I believe if you're serious about cooking, you should own great cookware and excellent knives. I finally stepped up and got excellent knives. For those who haven't heard the hype, Shun is one of the most respected knife brands in the world. Check them out on the Web at kershawknives.com.

Great features of the entire line include these cool "D" shaped handles that fit your hand better. Every Shun Classic knife is made in a right- and left-handed version (chefsresource.com for lefties). The handles are made of wood and are specially treated so they are diswasher safe!! The steel used for the blades is harder than what you would find in most other knives. The knives are EXTREMELY sharp. One thing to note about Asian knives is that they must be sharpened at a different angle, 16-18 degrees vs. 20 degrees for German knives. The Shun steel takes the guesswork out of getting the angle correct because of the flat edge on one side of the metal disc below the handle.

Chef's knife -- I have small hands and this knife felt perfect. The weight was just right and it just fit well in my hand. This knife makes quick work of everything because it is so sharp. It is also much lighter than my previous knife, so I feel like I'm using a lot less force to slice and chop. I have the 7" santoku as well, but this is the knife that I will use for the majority of the prep.

Paring knife -- My old knife was 4," but the difference isn't that noticable to me. This knife makes quick work of garlic. It is so sharp that it seems like I just have to lay the knife against the food.

Utility knife -- It's been a while since I've had a utility knife, but I'm learning quickly. If you're building your set and want to take care of the must-haves first. Move this down on your priority list. Get the chef's, paring and bread knives first. With that said, there is a place for this knife in your kitchen. This kife is extremely sharp and it's relatively light.

Kitchen shears -- This is my third pair of kitchen shears. The first was $10 and lasted a week. I thought the second pair was just fine until my Shun shears arrived. These cut well and are also very smooth while cutting. They fit my hand nicely. I can really feel the difference in quality. These can perform different functions -- opening bottles, jar opener, nutcracker -- one blade has a curve in it to accomodate bone. I love that they are dishwasher safe.

This is an expensive, but lifetime investment. I encourage you to visit stores and feel the knives in your hand to make sure you are comfortable with them. For more info on Shun, check out Alton Brown's website. For ratings on various brands and types of knives, check out cooksillustrated.coms' equipment ratings.

This is probably the best kitchen purchase I've made and the one I'm most proud of. (I've managed to cut myself only twice in the first two days of ownership.) My only complaint is that there was no logo on my block; it's plain wood.

These knives are the sharpest I've ever used and also quite comfotable to handle. Well worth every penny!

I bought this set for my significant other at Christmas. I looked around at Wusthof, Global, and a few others but liked the unique look and feel of these better. I also figured these would be more comfortable and easier to wield for a female. The end result is that she really enjoys them. Although she has fairly large hands for a woman, the handles fit her nicely.

The knives come very sharp and hold their edge for a long time. It will be interesting to see how well they take to a professional sharpening. Overall, I am happy that I purchased this set.

There is one caveat. I also do quite a bit of cooking and have large hands. After using the Shuns for a couple of months, I have come to the conclusion that the Wusthof Grand Prixs fit me better and feel sturdier. I cannot really justify having two sets of expensive knives around the house, so we will be keeping the Shuns. My advice: Go to Sur La Table or Williams-Sonoma and handle the knives yourself. Feel the weight, notice the handle shape, and decide what fits you best. There are so many quality manufacturers of cutlery now that it is hard to go wrong with any of the selections.

I bought my Bunn coffee maker in 1991. It's worked great and has lasted through many moves. It brews a pot of coffee in about 3 mins and the taste is great compared to the other coffee machines out there, which leave you with a bitter tasting cup of coffee. So if you love your coffee and are tired of waiting for your old machine to finish brewing, I highly recommend a Bunn. Also, you can get them at other stores for a lot less than $200.

When I was looking to purchase a new machine, I only was looking for a Bunn. Bunn makes the best coffee machines, none can compare. Every diner, coffee house, and Dunkin' Donuts only use Bunn machines. The A10 is one great machine! Brews perfect cups of coffee hot and quickly. Everyone in my office is very happy with the unit. If you're a serious coffee drinker, please don't cheap out on a Mr.Coffee, Braun or Krupps-- frankly they cannot brew coffee at the speed, temperature, or taste of a Bunn unit. I bought the A10 to replace a Bunn unit that I used for 10 years without a glitch.

best coffee maker but the price here is a bit much you can get the same bunn at TARGET for under 100 dollars check it out I got mine at target 1 and a half years ago and no probles and I use it 1 or 2 times a day I paid 79.99