Overly expensive knives - are they worth it?

[HornedDemoN]

I kept seeing these advertised all over the place in the past and it made me wonder - is there really a point in buying expensive knives? Are they really that good, compared to an average knife you can find at your local store?

On a side note, Henkellbach knives were advertised constantly on a TV channel in my country a couple of years ago. I always thought it was kind of funny how they made it seem like you could cut through anything with these things. I wonder if it was worth the outrageous price...

 

[Morning Glory]

I think if you get a reasonably medium priced knife (not the uber expensive ones - you are paying for brand) and keep it super sharp, you can't go far wrong. The key is in keeping them sharp.

 

[welsh dragon]

I would love expensive knives. Mine are rubbish with wooden handles, and after a certain length of time the handles rot from hot water and come apart. I would love some Japanese ceramic knives. Very expensive, but they would last a lifetime, but it's not to be I think.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yes... I had a set of Global knives and they were worth every penny. I purchased only the ones I wanted though and they were fantastic. Sadly I don't have them now. I hadn't realised I would miss them as much as I do. The weighting on them was perfect and that made the handling so much easier. The cheap ones we have now are OK, nothing more. They lose their sharp edge really quickly and are no where near as well balanced as the Global knives we had. Still I can't afford them anymore and I should not have given them away to my brother when I went out to cycle around the world. My brother was training to be a chef. He as now quit and gone to uni as a mature student instead.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

and after a certain length of time the handles rot from hot water and come apart

The wooden handled knives I have had not come apart, or rotted. But I am always careful that they are not left in water which I guess could be part of the end result. I have known these knives all my life and the only other ones that match what I have now, are in my grandfather's home. I think these ones must have come from that set tbh, so I have no idea how old they are but you only have to look at how much of the knife is missing from sharpening to know they are old.

 

[welsh dragon]

The wooden handled knives I have had not come apart, or rotted. But I am always careful that they are not left in water which I guess could be part of the end result. I have known these knives all my life and the only other ones that match what I have now, are in my grandfather's home. I think these ones must have come from that set tbh, so I have no idea how old they are but you only have to look at how much of the knife is missing from sharpening to know they are old.

I know they shouldn't have been put into water, but, its too late now...

 

[Berties]

I think the nail was hit on the head with buy what you need,
henkels are a good knife,globals are good I use global filleting knife,I still like a big victorinox rose wood handle knife for chopping,Gustavs are a good knife,
Are they worth the money? A good selection will last years,I get mine re edged every month and some. Are over ten years old
Buy what you need and buy well

 

[Corzhens]

I also saw on tv the advertisement of German knives that were very expensive. But the demo on tv seemed to make it look good that I was wanting to buy. However, my husband cautioned me that what you see on tv may be different than the real thing. We had tried a liquid car wax before that didn't work well and in fact didn't shine the car. But maybe someday when those knives go on sale, I will try to buy just to know if the tv advertisement is true or not.

 

[sorrowscall]

I also saw on tv the advertisement of German knives

I recently got a job working at a resteruant that caters specifically to German food and we use the really good stuff, but ironically I don't think any of it was from Germany and they were bought on sale from a good cooking supply top in the next few towns over when my boss also got his baking and frying supplies. I would suggest waiting for the knives to show up somewhere like a specialized or regular grocery/department store and buy them at a much cheaper price; though sometimes you can always catch a live demonstration of how the knives work at certain events. I once went to a cooking event, and they gave all the participants a pairing knife just for being interested in the product. Unfortunately, from using the pairing knife, I knew I didn't want the rest of the set.

 

[Corzhens]

I recently got a job working at a resteruant that caters specifically to German food and we use the really good stuff, but ironically I don't think any of it was from Germany and they were bought on sale from a good cooking supply top in the next few towns over when my boss also got his baking and frying supplies. I would suggest waiting for the knives to show up somewhere like a specialized or regular grocery/department store and buy them at a much cheaper price; though sometimes you can always catch a live demonstration of how the knives work at certain events. I once went to a cooking event, and they gave all the participants a pairing knife just for being interested in the product. Unfortunately, from using the pairing knife, I knew I didn't want the rest of the set.

What do you mean - from using that free paring knife, you don' want the rest of the set? Is the knife not worth the cost? That ad on tv said those knifes are always shard and no need to sharpen anymore because the steel used in the knife is so hard so its sharpness remains. That's what intrigues me because our knives always need sharpening from time to time. Now, if someone can give me a guarantee that the knife's sharpness will never fade, I would surely buy that.

 

[Berties]

I also saw on tv the advertisement of German knives that were very expensive. But the demo on tv seemed to make it look good that I was wanting to buy. However, my husband cautioned me that what you see on tv may be different than the real thing. We had tried a liquid car wax before that didn't work well and in fact didn't shine the car. But maybe someday when those knives go on sale, I will try to buy just to know if the tv advertisement is true or not.

Buying something like a knife on Line I would try to avoid,how do you know what it feels like how it fits your hand ,is the weight nice for chopping ,how balanced is it ,
How many knives in a set never get used,I used a ceramic knife at a demo yesterday for a cook shop ,to me it's no good ,comes in a holder funky colours ,people were buying them up ,but not for me ,on a daily bases I use very few knives but what I do use i buy carefully and welll,all the big names have been around for a long time for a reason ,buy what you need a bit by bit

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My mother-in-law has those coloured ceramic knives. They feel awful to me, not just holding it but actually cutting things with it feels horrible. I can't describe it. For me a knife should sail or glide through something. This coloured ceramic knife seemed to grate through the onion and potatoes that I tried it on... Yuck. I'll stick to sharpening my old knives once a week which takes me all of 5 minutes to get through the 4 or 5 of them that I have. 2 of mine are really old wooden handled knives which came from my Grannie's home via my mother I think. They are lovely to use and sit in your hand really well. You just can't beat that feeling.

 

[sidevalve]

We are still using some old chefs knifes we found in a charity shop many years ago. Ok they do require sharpening maybe a bit more often than the 'modern' ones but the steel holds a razor edge. They are not stainless or anything else but if you use them often that isn't a problem. New isn't always better and there are some superb cutting tools out there in forgotten heaps that just require a little patience to seek out.

 

[cookwaresets]

In my time as a chef I worked mainly with Victor Inox knives. The knives are made in Switzerland and come from the same factory were the Swiss Army knives come from. I done my apprenticeship in Switzerland from 1978 to 1981. All chefs working with us used Victor Inox knives.
Now, I prefer Victor Inox knives because the quality is very good, the prices are not over the top. The weight, the handles and the steel used in the blades are easy to work with. When you sharpen a Inox knife correctly, the result is outstanding.
Now, I worked with Henkel knives, Dreizack knives, Wilson knifes, and more, but I always came back to Victor Inox.
Now, I once managed to break a blade of a bread knife and boning knife from Victor Inox. I dropped them on the ground and the blades snapped off. So I post them back to the Victor Inox factory in Switzerland all the way from Australia. A couple of weeks later they send me a brand new bread knife and a boning knife. They also recommended that I hand wash the knives, with a mild detergent. Also there was a air bubbles in the blade, resulting the steel to have a weak spot were it broke.
Personally, Victor Inox are some of the best knives in the price class and the service is outstanding. I still use some of the knives I had since 35 years and older.

 

[cookwaresets]

If you are looking for a range of Victor Inox knives and other great kitchen knives, you can visit my website. I have a great selection of knives and other kitchen items on my site. I only have kitchen equipment on my website I worked with and believe in. Today one can easily pay to much for kitchen gadgets who don't perform the way they should.