We received our first set of Chicago Cutlery knifes (didn't include steak knifes) 30 years ago from my husband's aunt as a wedding gift. They had wooden handles. We still have them! They're still sharp and I still prefer the paring knife over every one I've tried. In fact I even bought a second paring knife - just in case!
On a lark when I saw this set, 18 piece Insignia Steel Knife Set, on the Deal of the Day (almost two years ago) I bought it for my husband for a Christmas gift. He's gotten into cooking and I thought it would look nice setting out on the counter. I think it may have been his favorite gift and one we use constantly. The knifes stay very sharp - still haven't needed sharpening two years later! We never put any of them in the dishwasher (per manufacturer instructions) and they have never needed polishing (other than hand drying) or any other care.
Everytime we use the steak knifes with guests they are amazed at the sharpness of the blade. They don't need to be serated. They sliced through everything.
My nephew is getting married in just a few weeks and I've decided to ignore his wedding registers and buy him a set like ours. I know he and his new wife will use them for years! Somehow seems fitting to pass on the tradition. Chicago Cutlery 18-Piece Insignia Steel Knife Set with Block and In-Block Sharpener
These are our daily use knives, particularly the paring knife, and steak knives. We've owned them about four years.
They are beautiful, clean up well, but occasionally do need to be polished when water or rust spots appear. We don't dishwasher the chefs or carving knife, but we do dishwasher all of the other knives.
Stainless steel doesn't sharpen to as keen of an edge as some other high carbon steel knives, but then the high carbon knives discolor more readily. That is the trade-off.
As a result, for heavy veg prep, we'll grab the Global chefs knife. For raw meat, we prefer the Shun. At the dinner table. for roast or turkey carving, the Henckles outperforms the included knife.
The scissors come apart for easy dish-washing and sanitizing and cut chicken bone with some effort. They stay sharp though, we've assaulted many a double walled cardboard box with them and haven't deemed it necessary to sharpen them yet. The honing steel is about all it takes.
In hind sight, while we've collected particular knives for particular work thus obviating the need for the two largest knives in the set, we'd still buy this just to have a matching counter top set.
We had no idea how bad our knives were until we purchased this Chicago Cutlery set -- my husband promptly cut himself simply by handling a knife the way he was accustomed to. If you are someone who isn't willing to spend $1000 for a high end set but you still want decent knives, these are a great option. Prep is no longer a big chore and the scissors are the sharpest I've ever owned. Worth the money compared to other similarly priced sets and I expect to have them a long time due to the built in sharpener.
I really like these knives. I've been making do with a totally crappy set, biding my time until I could afford a high-end set. I haven't quite arrived at that time, however, and I just couldn't take using my old set anymore (I cook a lot). I saw these in a store (for under $100, so do some comparison pricing before you click the order button), pulled up the reviews on this site, and went with the purchase based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews here. I'm so glad I did. These make a world of difference in my daily life. I can't say how they compare to the really high end knives since I've never used any, but compared to other well known brands with similar pricing to the Chicago Cutlery, these are superior. Plus, the look nice, they feel great, and they wash up well (hand wash and dry only). I haven't had them long, but I intend to take excellent care of them and keep them sharpened, and I have faith they will hold up. Overall, this is a very good purchase if you're considering other brands in the same price bracket.
For years I've been using a cheap knife set. I got sick of taking forever to cut vegetables (and of always having my knife slip rather than cut), so I decided to get a more expensive set of knives. I've been skeptical for years of getting expensive knives because I'm not really a fan of washing dishes/utensils by hand.
Anyway, when they arrived my first test of them was to cut up an onion. The difference was night and day. Usually -- I diced the onion in probably no more than 15-30 seconds, tops (after peeling it). The cuts were so smooth and proper that I didn't even cry while I was cutting it. And as for washing these knives -- if you're prompt about cleaning the knife right after usage, it takes only a little bit longer to do it by hand than it would take to put a cheap knife in the dishwasher. And the built-in sharpener is convenient and easy to use.
The knives are super sharp (literally!) and well made. I am not listening to other peoples reviews any more., These knives are so much better than our last crappy Cuisinart set. I love them and I take care of my knives washing them by hand only and drying them by hand. They rock and the blick has a lovely woodsie smell.
I've been looking for a knife block set that is in a reasonable price category since I cannot afford the best of knives. Well, after much research and hemming and hawing, I found it! This set is exactly what I've been looking for! The feel of the knives is perfect for my hands, and they are SHARP! I have to keep this in mind when doing my cutting/chopping because I've already cut my finger in the process! Goes to show how I had gotten so used to working with less sharp knives, even though I tried to keep my old ones in good shape! You can only sharpen bad knives so much before they are ruined. Also, I love having the sharpener right in the block although I do have a good electric honer/sharpener that I'll use once a year or so. Anyway, I highly recommend these knives, especially the shears. Love how they come apart for cleaning, have a bottle opener added as an an extra perk, and are pretty heavy duty. My husband loves the steak knives. As for any rusting or marks, not sure what other people are doing to these knives, but this is not an issue at all. Like anything stainless steel, you have to wash them by hand and dry them! I would never wash my knives in the dishwasher nor would I leave them soaking in a sink. - Knife - Knife Block Sets - Block Chef Sets - Insignia'
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