I want to update my kitchen knifes and am looking for recommendations on knife sets.
The last test was conducted in 2018 and it compared 1 knife type and not a set.
Thanks
We’ve had a set of Furi knives for a couple of years now, and have been very happy with them. They’re good quality, easy to keep sharp, and not too expensive. I got ours from
They come as sets, with or without a knife block, or you can buy knives, blocks, sharpeners etc separately.
I bought five individual knives and a knife sharpener, no block, then got this large wooden knife block from elsewhere for them.
Hope that helps!
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A comment about buying knives as sets: the sets will often have items you aren’t likely to use, and be missing ones that you really want. They’ll also often come with a knife block that might not be quite what you want. The block can add a surprising amount to the total price, too.
When we got ours, none of the sets was quite what we wanted, and we didn’t like any of the knife blocks. We wanted a Santoku knife rather than a chef’s knife, and an angled knife block, not an upright one. That’s why I bought individual knives and shopped elsewhere for a reasonably priced block that was the right style.
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Thanks I’ll look at buying individual pieces
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There are several threads here about knives. If you search for that key word you will find them. Quite a few issues are covered; materials, styles and brands and the compromises that you make, especially if you are on a budget.
Perhaps have a look there and come back with specific questions. Some idea what kind of dishes you cook and your previous experience would help with recommendations.
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We got our best kitchen bits & bobs through a supplier to the industry. They also sold to the public (if you can find them in the Industrial Estate). You can get a knife set designed for chefs in a roll, a block or individually. They are generally designed for long life, constant sharpening etc.
The sis-in-law bought a knife set on a card from a chain store and brought them to us to sharpen. They were soft metal and not good candidates for sharpening. Good if you use them occasionally and don’t mind a developing soft edge.
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Thanks
We have a few catering suppliers near by I’ll check them out
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As a lover of decent knives I too recommend avoiding a set. Better to decide what knives you need and buy them separately. They don’t all need to be from the same brand.
Eg.Do you want a large chef’s knife (someone with smaller hands may find it hard to manage) or would a medium size chef’s or an Asian-style santoku knife get used more often? (It does in my kitchen; the big knife only comes out occasionally for cutting hard pumpkins or large watermelons and I could get by without it.) A good bread knife is useful if you like crusty loaves, a carving knife if you regularly carve roasts, and a couple of smaller knives for small jobs, one wider blade, one narrow. A good steel is a must to keep them sharp, and I agree with Isopedia re the angled knife block - much easier to draw knives out of than from a vertical one (or use a magnetic strip on the wall to store them). A cheap Chinese cleaver is useful if you need to chop through bones and don’t want to destroy your ‘good’ knives.
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Thanks
I think I’ll go for individual pieces as suggested
My partner & I share knifes and their hand is much bigger than mine.
Thanks again for confirming individual pieces
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Then both should hold the candidates to assess them. No matter what the price and reputation is if it doesn’t feel right in your hand it won’t be a big success. For the workhorse general chef’s knife you could end up with one each, my partner and I do.
For some specialist types and smaller knives, such as a boning knife, paring knife or bread knife you may be happy to share one. This depends of what you both do to some extent. If there is little desire to bone joints of meat, like a lamb leg, there is no need for a boning knife.
Consider also getting a suitable stone and learning how to sharpen them if you don’t already know. Keeping them sharp will determine their effectiveness as much as choosing well.
You may want to keep some of those you have already - mix and match old and new is fine.
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Thanks so much
For some reason, we’ve never really thought about our own knives, just ones we prefer.
Puts a different perspective on the buying of knives.
Thank you
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I absolutely agree with all the comments above. It is way way waaaaaaay better to buy individual knives. Even if you can only afford to buy one per year.
With sets, I realised I hardly use all the knives. And typically they only include one chef’s knife, and sometimes that knife is relatively small. Now I have a pair of chefs knives - one large and one mid-sized. Until I got the large one, I never knew how much of a difference that made to choppping vegetables.
I’ve had Victorinox (ones used by commercial kitchens), Global and Furi. Furi have been the best, hands down. Super sharp, remain sharp for long periods, very solid, feel great in the hand - to me.
Which brings me to the next point: knives feel differently to different people. You may not realise how significant that is. As it’s a long term investment, I recommend trying to handle the knives instore before buying.
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Thanks for your advice
On reflection we currently have about 3 medium sized chefs knives on the go and we both have our favourites.
I’ll look for Furi and buy some individual pieces - i keep hearing that brand name
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One can buy this sort of blank block now, a day’s seem quite good to store knives plenty around in shops
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I have used Mundial knives for some years . They make a 9 piece set “The Bonza set” for around $275 . The only down side with the set is no Santoku is included . I purchased one separately as I prefer them over chef’s knives . Another plus is a lifetime warranty for both commercial and domestic use .
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Likewise - More than 40 years having purchased a 4 knife set circa 1980 under their old Marks Exaktor branding. The utility knife developed very minor pits after about 30 years, the others remain pristine, and as for taking and keeping an edge, just excellent.
I’ll second that. I was not familiar with what one was for the longest time but when I figured it out. Voila!
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