Should I purchase this Wusthof knife set?

Shawnodell83

Thinking about pulling the trigger on these thoughts?! $329 on Amazon 

Set includes: 2.25” peeling knife, 2.75” paring knife, 3” flat paring knife, 3” paring knife, 4.25” utility knife, 4.5” serrated utility knife, six 4.5” steak knives, 8” bread knife, 8” carving knife, 8” cook’s knife, 9" sharpening steel, kitchen shears and a 17-slot knife block.

Acn

No.  Purchase individual knives, ideally ones you can hold and simulate using, so you know they’re comfortable to use.  Odds are 99% of what you’ll be doing can be accomplished by a paring knife, 8-10” chef knife, and a serrated knife.  Focus your $ on the chef knife - I’ve gotten really good service out of victorinox paring knives that the restaurant store has at checkout for $5.

The_Stache

I agree with @Acn ...  Individual knives will get you further along!  I have white handled Wustoffs that I've been using for over 40 years and I LOVE them!!!

Slippy

@ACN gives good advice. Same advice I got from a chef. Another thing too, if your looking for quality, is to make sure the knife is forged, not stamped. Looking at that pic, it would guess those are stamped, since its not a full tang. 

Shawnodell83

To be honest, I’m not thar knowledganem on knives. I was wanting to replace the less than adequate set I’m using in my kitchen now. This seemed like a nice set. Is there better for the money? 

Shawnodell83

Shawnodell83 said:

To be honest, I’m not thar knowledganem on knives. I was wanting to replace the less than adequate set I’m using in my kitchen now. This seemed like a nice set. Is there better for the money? 

Sorry for misspells - 

fishlessman

get a mag strip, buy a good chefs knife, then a boning knife or stiff fillet knife(used for boning).  those two and a cheap bread/tomato knife cover 99 percent of my needs if i dont count filleting fish. i have alot more knives but those are the three i grab. add some specialty knives later on, one for proscuitto, one for brisket, maybe a cleaver, clam knife, oyster knife, but those knives are not used often

Legume

My advice would be to get a nice set of steak knives that look different from your kitchen knives.  Whichever way you go with your kitchen knives.  Fwiw, I use 10” chefs knives, I’ve had some 8” in the past and I don’t favor them.  Also don’t like paring knives, I have some 5-6” knives that I use instead.  Took a while for me to recognize which knives I consistently reached for over others.  I’ve given the kids a fair number of set knives that I don’t use any longer.

Wanasmoke

I have the exact set that we have been using heavily since our wedding in 2000.  About a year ago the plastic on some of the handles was chipping off of the metal.  We packaged the broken ones up and sent in to Wusthof...a few weeks later we were sent brand new knives as replacement, no questions asked.  

The steak knives are adequate and we do use most of the knives in the block - although I do agree that focusing on a really good chef knife that is comfortable in your hands is a necessity.  

vb4677

Take a good look at the 'why' you're wanting to pull the trigger on these...

Like the others have said - get what you'll use. I've made my own "BGE Only" set of knives for myself - we've got the block with a mix/match of stuff, including a Cutco Spatula Spreader (I've never ever used...).  I just wanted some good stuff for when I'm Egging!

In my BBQ-centric set, I've got the 10" chef's, a 3.5" paring, a 12" granton slicer (for briskets), a 10" butcher and a 6" boning... and honestly, I use the chef's 75% of the time, followed by the slicer then the boning...

GeezerSteve

Don't buy them! I'm a gadget freak, my wife is a kitchen gadget freak and we've both found that you can get perfectly good knives from some of the least likely places - Ikea has several very nice kitchen knives for under $20 each. Any restaurant supply place will have plenty of perfectly usable knives for around the same price. I recently bought a 10 inch cimeter (that's how it's spelled). It's a very substantial blade, comes razor sharp, and cost $9! I used it on some left over thawed out brisket (my daughter didn't eat what I sent home with her!) and it cut right through the stuff.

Don't bother with steak knives unless you've tried some and liked them. We have a bunch of inexpensive stainless flatware. The steak knives are pointed, but useless. The regular table knife does the job the best. Go figure.

For $329 you should be able to get plenty of nice knives and a very good pair of kitchen scissors AND some meat to smoke!

fishlessman

also have a paring knife, seems to be the go to knife for guests,  i use the stiff fillet knife instead

volminimax

I wouldn't buy a set. I bought 3 Wustof Classics and a block and it was over $300. but I bought off Cutlery and More and got a $25 gift card back, which I used to buy another knife. no tax, free shipping. I bought a Cleaver, Bread knife and boning knife. I already had a nakiri, a chef's knife and a utility knife. I've always heard its better to buy the pieces you need and put a set together. Next up for me is a Super Slicer/ Brisket knife and a couple of pairing knifes.

pgprescott

This is not for me, but it would have been 20+ years ago. It's a matter of how serious a cook you are and intend to become. These would be a wonderful set for a couple starting out with little BBQ or cooking experience. If that's where you are at then go for it. If you intend to be a good cook and enjoy cooking as a hobby then I would follow the advice of the others and resist the "set" mentality. Buy the most common knives you would use first and then fill in the gaps as you see fit. You will likely only use a few knives 90% of the time.

Happy shopping!

volminimax

If these are the Gourmet line I would definitely pass. Classic/Classic Ikon are the only way to go with Wustof.

ryantt

by all means find a store that you can go into and handle/hold the knives.   I use 4 knive on a regular basis at home.  A good boning knife, a vegetable cleaver (just bc I like how it feels in my hand), a chefs knife and a “utility knife”

blasting

Add me to the buy separate camp.  Another benifit is the knives are all different and easy reconizable.  I used to think matching cutlery was the way to go - i was wrong.

HeavyG

Slippy said:

@ACN gives good advice. Same advice I got from a chef. Another thing too, if your looking for quality, is to make sure the knife is forged, not stamped. Looking at that pic, it would guess those are stamped, since its not a full tang. 

Many top quality knives these days are stamped and not forged. Metallurgy and manufacturing processes have changes a great deal since that was the common wisdom.

Many top quality knives do not have full tangs. Most Japanese knives (which are all the rage with the kids these days) have what most folks would call "rat tail" tangs.

Slippy

HeavyG said:

Slippy said:

@ACN gives good advice. Same advice I got from a chef. Another thing too, if your looking for quality, is to make sure the knife is forged, not stamped. Looking at that pic, it would guess those are stamped, since its not a full tang. 

Many top quality knives these days are stamped and not forged. Metallurgy and manufacturing processes have changes a great deal since that was the common wisdom.

Many top quality knives do not have full tangs. Most Japanese knives (which are all the rage with the kids these days) have what most folks would call "rat tail" tangs.

I'm old.... 

gdenby

If you think you may do a lot of cooking in the future, put most of your money into 3 knives. A chefs, utility/petty, and a paring. Unless you slice lots of bread, or briskets. Then adding a bread knife or a slicer makes sense, as your budget allows. And, I notice, there's no boning knife in the set. I don't need to use one of those often, but it is a gotta have. And they say there is a "cooks" knife, not a "chef's." Cook's knives are typically shorter than chef's, and are not well suited for slicing. Thus, on needs a slicer in addition.

Most commodity knives offer this trade-off. The initial expense is modest, but they will need to be sharpened more or less frequently depending on use. W. heavy use, and sharpening, eventually need replacement.

A small plus for better knives. A good knife should cut a hundred pounds of onions, and you won't shed a tear because the cuts are so clean. When I start to tear, that is when I know to sharpen my better knives.

TimW

One of the best things when I first started to cook was to take a knife skills class.  The one I took was at a local Sur La Table.  At my class, the instructor took one look at my hands and took away the stock 8" knife and replaced it with a 10".

I recommend that you find a local knife skills class.  Not only will you learn the knife skills, but you will get a good education on the knives themselves.  

stlcharcoal

Keep giving me your money......come get some Shun and KAI.  I sold my set of wusthofs after I got the Shuns.

bgebrent

Still have my Wusthofs but much prefer my Shuns.  You only really need 3-4 handles.

GATraveller

I have the Wusthof Gran Prix set we got as a wedding gift 20 years ago and love them but agree with @Acn - don't get a set (other than a good set of steak knives for company). Paring, chef, boning and serrated will cover everything you'll do in a home kitchen. 

Carolina Q

I used my Wusthof paring knife today... to open a bag of cumin seeds. About all it's good for. Honestly, I NEVER use a paring knife! I don't even like pares!

As everyone has said, no sets. Start with a good chef's knife and add more as you discover a need. And try to hold it first to make sure it feels comfortable in your hand.

volminimax

Some people prefer German knives, some prefer the Japanese knives. To each there own. Their is no wrong answer. I like German knives because they have a little more heft to them. I have one Shun, its nice, maybe I'm just scared I am going to break it. I like my knives to all match. I'm on of those people who needs a set to match or it will just bother me. Why my eggs are both green and my knife block has Wustof's only in them.

alaskanassasin

These guys talked me into a Shun. I picked one up at Williams-Sonoma outlet and it is almost the only knife I use. 

dmourati

No.

bubbajack

Restaurant depot....

Botch

I'm not suggesting what you should do, but I'll put in my own experience, FWIW.  
I bought a Henckel's 4-Star set that included an 11-slot block, a parer, 2 chef's knives, and a steel (sans steak knives/slots).  As I got ideas that "hey, I might be able to use that kind of knife", I'd wait until it was on sale (usually right before Mother's Day  ) and I'd buy another 4-Star, to add to my block.  
As you can probably guess, the block was eventually filled (and I bought a set of 4 steak knives that sit in their box in a drawer).  
I use all of them, some much more than others of course, but as a woodworker, I believe in having "the right tool for the job".  And here's the kicker, I spent a LOT more than the $329 you're considering.
 
But, after reading the description of the set under consideration, yeah there's some serious duplication, but you are getting some steak knives too...  alotta help, I know...

AprèsSki

+1 on the knife skills class, if not available close to home buy the CIA book The Professional Chef's Knife Kit and learn how to use a chef's knife. Then learn to use a paring knife, boning knife and slicing/bread knife. Get yourself a big bag of potatoes and make a lot of fries one day and dice a ton for soup another and you'll soon master your new knife.