General knife talk

Peloquin said:
I've been looking at getting a set of these...

Elite Ice X50 Knife Set

I might just get a set of 5 or 6 instead of the 8, not really due yet.
Has anyone got experience of this set?
Are they any good/ worth the money?
Do they hold their edge well... I'm presuming so with them being ice hardened.
Click to expand...
Personally I would never buy a knife set, so just throwing my personal bias out there for you to see. The santoku and chef knives have 2 different lengths so that's 4 knives that do basically the same job, the 2 utility knifes again, do the same job, with a slight difference in length. The bread and carving knives are great if you don't have any.

Saying that they seem like decent quality but it's hard to say until you get them in your hand and try them out, which is impossible in this case but nevertheless it appears some care has been taken assembling these knives.

The tang of the knives are full tang which in this style of knife is what you want to see. Composite wood that is triple riveted shows care was taken.

The X50CrMoV15 is a German stainless steel, high in chromium and really resistant to corrosion. Zwilling J.A. Henckels and Wusthof are good examples of companies that use this type of steel. They are considered a softer steel. Personally I prefer VG10 that has a higher carbon number and vanadium and pretty much all Japanese knives are made from VG10. It is a harder steel and will retain an edge better but the drawback is that the harder the steel the more brittle it is. For example in the Rockwell hardness scale which is used to judge hardness these knives are on the scale at 56 which is where most German knives are including the ones I've mentioned. Basically they're very tough knives, work horses but dull very easily compared to the Japanese steel that generally starts at 60 and goes up and like I said hold an edge well, but are more brittle and care is needed in maintaining.
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
"Ice Hardened" sounds like marketing BS... but I could be wrong.
Regardless, its an attractive set and as long as you take care of them, they should last quite a long time.
Click to expand...
No, it's real. The quenching or hardening process is done in sub zero temperatures to further harden the knives which only done with stainless steel. It's a little better and helps a softer metal which most stainless steel for knives are.
 
garlichead said:
Personally I would never buy a knife set,
Click to expand...
I've been looking for a new knife set for a few years now - and I do particularly want a matching set. My knives are stored on a magnetic rack so I want them to look good/contribute to the decor as well as being good for prep. I don't really find traditional handle shapes very comfortable and I don't like black handles.

Knives can be expensive though, and whilst I love the thought of getting really really good quality ones, I actually don't need them. Whatever I get, they're almost certainly going to be better quality than my current knives - which were a £20ish set from Argos about 15 years ago. My most used knives are a 20cm chefs knife, a 20cm bread knife and a 7cm utility knife. Hubby likes the 12cm utility knife best, and we sometimes use the 20cm carving knife when we have a roast. I'd also like a santoku knife - having used one occasionally I think it'd be useful for veg prep.

My current favourites are Henckels Modernist - this particular set doesn't have the carving knife, but that's probably the least-used of our current knives so I can accept that. I won't use the knife block, but the steak knives and scissors can go in the drawer so its pretty good value. I'm waiting to see if Costco UK get them in over the next few months though (Costco US sell them, so I'm hoping).
 
garlichead said:
No, it's real. The quenching or hardening process is done in sub zero temperatures to further harden the knives which only done with stainless steel. It's a little better and helps a softer metal which most stainless steel for knives are.
Click to expand...
and it makes them harder, but not brittle right? I have a Shun santoku with a few nicks in it where it chipped (brittle) rather than deformed/bent like my European style knives would have (which is preferable because I can use honing steel on a slight deformation).
 
MrsDangermouse said:
I've been looking for a new knife set for a few years now - and I do particularly want a matching set. My knives are stored on a magnetic rack so I want them to look good/contribute to the decor as well as being good for prep.
Click to expand...
By "set," I think people are referring to those knives that come already grouped, usually with block or holder of some sort. You can always by individual knives that are from the same maker and line, and they'll match, and you won't have that pesky wood block to put up with.

In my experience, those pre-fab sets always include knives you'd never otherwise buy, and I've read before (and the cynic in me believes it), that makers use those sets to offload overstock they can't get rid of otherwise.
 
The thing I didn't like about buying knives one-at-a-time was that I was accumulating a collection in a drawer where there were not very well organized. A good solution for anyone in this situation is to build your own knife block using a 3rd party rack or block. I suggest this one (or something like it):
Bodum
11089-01s.jpg
 
It's overdone, I suppose. I have a big Chicago Cutlery knife set and have purchased more special purpose knives recently. But I'm a lone wolf old hermit single guy and to be honest, I have been using my chef's knife mostly and on rare occasion, a steak knife, but often, a butter knife.

I really have no purpose for special knife holders. And the knives I use actively are in a drawer near where I do my cutting board stuff.
 
TastyReuben said:
By "set," I think people are referring to those knives that come already grouped, usually with block or holder of some sort. You can always by individual knives that are from the same maker and line, and they'll match, and you won't have that pesky wood block to put up with.

In my experience, those pre-fab sets always include knives you'd never otherwise buy, and I've read before (and the cynic in me believes it), that makers use those sets to offload overstock they can't get rid of otherwise.
Click to expand...
Yep I've looked at buying individually, but its usually more expensive to do it that way even if you don't need or want all the included knives. For example the WMF Grand Gourmet range that I was looking at before (but have since decided I don't like the handles): buying a set of 5 knives (which includes one that I won't really use) plus a separate Santoku would cost around €375, but to buy just the 5 I want individually would be around €430.

Plus lots of manufacturers do several different sets with different combinations, so it is sometimes possible to find a set of knives that are almost perfect. I'm still researching at the moment though, and unless Costco get something interesting in before May then I'll probably wait and have a look when we're on holiday later this year.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
I've been looking for a new knife set for a few years now - and I do particularly want a matching set. My knives are stored on a magnetic rack so I want them to look good/contribute to the decor as well as being good for prep. I don't really find traditional handle shapes very comfortable and I don't like black handles.

Knives can be expensive though, and whilst I love the thought of getting really really good quality ones, I actually don't need them. Whatever I get, they're almost certainly going to be better quality than my current knives - which were a £20ish set from Argos about 15 years ago. My most used knives are a 20cm chefs knife, a 20cm bread knife and a 7cm utility knife. Hubby likes the 12cm utility knife best, and we sometimes use the 20cm carving knife when we have a roast. I'd also like a santoku knife - having used one occasionally I think it'd be useful for veg prep.

My current favourites are Henckels Modernist - this particular set doesn't have the carving knife, but that's probably the least-used of our current knives so I can accept that. I won't use the knife block, but the steak knives and scissors can go in the drawer so its pretty good value. I'm waiting to see if Costco UK get them in over the next few months though (Costco US sell them, so I'm hoping).
Click to expand...
My Ideal knife set on a wall magnet for example would consist of different brands that don't match at all. Which is what I have. You do whatever makes you happy, that's what's important. Cheers.
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
and it makes them harder, but not brittle right? I have a Shun santoku with a few nicks in it where it chipped (brittle) rather than deformed/bent like my European style knives would have (which is preferable because I can use honing steel on a slight deformation).
Click to expand...
No not brittle. I've gotten not only small but pretty big chips out of knives with a stone, deformations are definitely not desirable at all but your right using a steel on them is no biggy but getting out a deformation is extremely difficult if not impossible and never going to happen with a stone and would actually be almost impossible to get a good edge with a stone. I'd be retiring such a knife or sending to someone that could straighten it out, if that was possible.
 
garlichead said:
No not brittle. I've gotten not only small but pretty big chips out of knives with a stone, deformations are definitely not desirable at all but your right using a steel on them is no biggy but getting out a deformation is extremely difficult if not impossible and never going to happen with a stone and would actually be almost impossible to get a good edge with a stone. I'd be retiring such a knife or sending to someone that could straighten it out, if that was possible.
Click to expand...
When I said deformation of the blade, I meant the edge bending over as you pointed out easily corrected with honing steel. We're on the same page.
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
When I said deformation of the blade, I meant the edge bending over as you pointed out easily corrected with honing steel. We're on the same page.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm still not clear what you mean by a deformation. Is there a permanent bend in the blade? I also didn't say it could be corrected I said you can still use a steel on a knife with a deformation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom