Should I purchase this Wusthof knife set?

nolaegghead

all you need is one good Chinese cleaver

lwrehm

I would say no, buy cheap and buy often.

RockyTopDW

My wife got me this set for Christmas.  I absolutely love it. If you can part ways with the $, do it.  If the price makes you hesitant, don’t. 

HeavyG

nolaegghead said:

all you need is one good Chinese cleaver

Tru dat. It's the only knife hundreds of millions of Asians ever need.

Tspud1

stlcharcoal said:

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

Where to buy Shun? Remember, I live in BFE

saigodog

I agree with @Acn , I highly recommend you go into a store and see how it feels in your hand before you buy!  Knives should be an extension of your hand and should feel balanced and natural.  The sets that are sold are made up to sell slower selling products that you will not use.  The 3 knives I use daily are my chefs, pairing and maybe a bread knife.  Good quality knives should last you a long time, save your money after finding out what you need.  

stlcharcoal

Tspud1 said:

stlcharcoal said:

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

Where to buy Shun? Remember, I live in BFE

Come down to my place.  I have about 10 different ones in stock you can play with, or I can order any of the others and ship them to you.

Jpierce01

I do a shun/cutco mix at my house. You only need certain knifes

Tspud1

stlcharcoal said:

Tspud1 said:

stlcharcoal said:

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

Where to buy Shun? Remember, I live in BFE

Come down to my place.  I have about 10 different ones in stock you can play with, or I can order any of the others and ship them to you.

Which one knife do you use the most or suggest. I have a good Wustof chef knife

NPHuskerFL

Block kits are okay if that's what you want.  I prefer individual knife purchases.  I do have a "set" of steak knives.  Most of my knife work is accomplished with 3 knives. Chef knife, pursuit or utility and a paring knife.  It should feel ergonomically comfortable like an extension of your own hand.

GrateEggspectations

The other advantage to keeping only three knives is that you have don’t have to sharpen a whole set. Plus, if you opt for high quality, they will retain their edges for ridiculous lengths of time. 

stlcharcoal

Tspud1 said:

stlcharcoal said:

Tspud1 said:

stlcharcoal said:

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

Where to buy Shun? Remember, I live in BFE

Come down to my place.  I have about 10 different ones in stock you can play with, or I can order any of the others and ship them to you.

Which one knife do you use the most or suggest. I have a good Wustof chef knife

I really like the Kiritsuki (6 & 8 inch) over a Chef's or Santuko.  I also have the Asian Cook's Knife which is similar to the Chef's, but not as much of a curve and the point angles down more like a Santuko.  I was never good with a Chef's knife since so little of it touches the board or cuts unless you have a really good rocking motion.  With a flatter blade you can use more of a linear slicing motion than a rocking.  I've always been jealous of how Jacques Pepin can chop parsley with a chef's knife--it's memorizing to watch.

Also, there's a little 4.5" Asian "multi prep" knife I really enjoy over a pairing knife.

Then I have the brisket slicing knife, the boning/filet knife, and the flexible filet knife.

Next time I order, I'll probably get some Nikiri's too......I've seen enough people mention them here, I should probably have them in stock.

BTW, all these are in the CLASSIC line.  I can get the Premier's if you want to pay the extra $$.

Just come down and you can take them all in the kitchen.  I've always got a bunch of apples, carrots, etc in there.  Play around and see which ones you like the best.  @Shawnodell83 that goes for you too!!

odie91

Jpierce01 said:

I do a shun/cutco mix at my house. You only need certain knifes 



Just curious, Do your shuns hold an edge much better than the cutco?

stlcharcoal

odie91 said:

Jpierce01 said:

I do a shun/cutco mix at my house. You only need certain knifes 



Just curious, Do your shuns hold an edge much better than the cutco?

MUCH BETTER.  Cutco's are stamped or laser cut blades.  Shun is 68 layers of Damascus steel that's hand forged. 

If you're just using the Shuns on meats, fruits, and vegetables on a good cutting board, they'll rarely ever need to be sharpened.  And when you do, it's free--you just pay the return shipping which is $5 for the first knife, then $2 for each additional.  

Not saying Cutco is junk or anything, but Shun is definitely a step above.  You just have to be more careful with the Shun--don't chop nuts, hack through bones, or use them on really fibrous veggies.  I kept a few Victorinox knives for that stuff.

EDIT:  Here's Shun info:  https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/technology

U_tarded

odie91 said:

Jpierce01 said:

I do a shun/cutco mix at my house. You only need certain knifes 



Just curious, Do your shuns hold an edge much better than the cutco?

I have both, (got the cutco through trade).  Shun is sharper out of the box, I like the handle better (cutco handle is nice and does grip well).  Shun is lighter, and gets chose like 95% of the time.  Neither have had the need to be sharpened (yet).  But cutco makes awesome kitchen shears I would reccomend to anyone. 

JethroVA

There is absolutely no reason to spend a lot of money on knives. (and I'm not planning any Kill Bill type uses).  I have picked up several great chef knives at thrift shops and spent 5 minutes sharpening them. For some, it's designer name obsession.  Mine cut just as well for pennies on the dollar.  As several said above its more about sharpening skills and handling skills.  

stlcharcoal

JethroVA said:

There is absolutely no reason to spend a lot of money on knives. (and I'm not planning any Kill Bill type uses).  I have picked up several great chef knives at thrift shops and spent 5 minutes sharpening them. For some, it's designer name obsession.  Mine cut just as well for pennies on the dollar.  As several said above its more about sharpening skills and handling skills.  

I don't disagree that you can put a hell of an edge on a cheap knife.....I've done it too.  I've had a LOT of different knives in the kitchen, tactical automatics, etc.  But these Shuns are the best I've ever seen for a widely available knife (vs. a custom handmade one.)

I can hold them blade up and drop half a of paper on them.....gravity is enough the slice them.  I've never been able to get anything to do that.  It's mainly the 16 degree dual bevel vs. the 22-24 degree for a western knife (so combined angle 32 vs. 44-48 degree.)  Give one a whirl at a demo sometime before you knock them.  I had the same thoughts as you until I tried them.

GrateEggspectations

Don’t forget that the difference with high quality knives is often the materials used. My pricey knives hold their edges infinitely longer than those from the cheap knife block I have. They also take a much sharper edge. Personally, I feel that the return has been high on the money I’ve spent on my high end knives. I do not regret parting with that cash one bit. 

Botch

The other advantage to keeping only three knives is that you have don’t have to sharpen a whole set. 

BRA-A-A-AP!!  Wrong answer.
The fewer knives you have, the more they're used, and the more often they need sharpening, so your net # of sharpenings, for a given tonnage of produce, should remain the same (I've done statistics through several of my jobs over the years).
I have eleven or so knives, use them all, but just a few I use the most, they have had the most steeling/sharpening.  I do have at least 3 knives that I've yet to sharpen, but that I use occasionally.  
Hope that makes sense.  

Toxarch

Botch said:

The other advantage to keeping only three knives is that you have don’t have to sharpen a whole set. 

BRA-A-A-AP!!  Wrong answer.
The fewer knives you have, the more they're used, and the more often they need sharpening, so your net # of sharpenings, for a given tonnage of produce, should remain the same (I've done statistics through several of my jobs over the years).
I have eleven or so knives, use them all, but just a few I use the most, they have had the most steeling/sharpening.  I do have at least 3 knives that I've yet to sharpen, but that I use occasionally.  
Hope that makes sense.  

Pretty sure he meant you only have to sharpen 3 knives rather than 20 knives. 

Komokaegger

I’m curious what some of you do to sharpen your knives? I have some older Henkles that need dealt with. I was thinking I’d take them to a local sharpening centre but would like to learn to do them myself. I have a large Japanese 4000 grit water stone that I can do a finish edge with but think I should get a 1000 grit stone for reconditioning the edge. The stone I have was for mainting my wood carving tools.
Are the electric sharpeners good to use on good blades?
I just threw out a couple of Henkles that I never liked and found the edge to chip easy....when I looked closer I realized it was made in China.

gdenby

Speaking of edges, and retention. When I got my Edge Pro, I went to work on my thrift shop knives. I only had 2 "good" knives at that time, but really didn't want to mess them up.

What I found was that I could put a 15 degree bevel on any of them. But the steel on one was so soft that 3 cuts thru a pork loin later, the edge rolled. Maybe 1 out of 8 of my old knives would hold a decent edge at 24 degrees.

My first J knife seemed ridiculously expensive. Very pretty, "damascus" blade w. a VG-10 core. 15 degree bevel. Its a 5" petty, and I use it daily. While it does get honed, I don't need to refine the edge much more than once every 9 mo.s.

My main knives at this time are 2 "bunkas," a shape w. a kiritsuke tip, but tall, like a nakiri. The have R2 cores covered by simple brushed stainless. They have 12 degree bevels. HRC about 63. The phrase that goes w. them is "food falls apart in their presence." They cost what I would have once thought of as ridiculous. The only down side is that the cutting edges are rather short, the larger being 7"

Given that I still use my 50 year old Sabatier, and my younger son uses his grandma's, I expect the ones I have now to be useful for at least 100 years.

gdenby

stlcharcoal said:

Next time I order, I'll probably get some Nikiri's too......I've seen enough people mention them here, I should probably have them in stock.

Check out this one.

WeberWho

Komokaegger said:

I’m curious what some of you do to sharpen your knives? I have some older Henkles that need dealt with. I was thinking I’d take them to a local sharpening centre but would like to learn to do them myself. I have a large Japanese 4000 grit water stone that I can do a finish edge with but think I should get a 1000 grit stone for reconditioning the edge. The stone I have was for mainting my wood carving tools.
Are the electric sharpeners good to use on good blades?
I just threw out a couple of Henkles that I never liked and found the edge to chip easy....when I looked closer I realized it was made in China.

@Komokaegger I'd say the overall consensus here on the forum would be the Ken Onion Work Sharp. 

https://youtu.be/h8Yl_Z-oRkU

Komokaegger

@WeberWho, I was looking at those on Amazon. Looks to be easy to use. One concern I have read about is the belt wearing the tip out if your not careful.
I was looking at a stone kit by Zwilling...$400.00 CAN.....wow...

Legume

I think you can F up a knife with any sharpening system, it just happens a lot faster  with something motorized.

WeberWho

Komokaegger said:

@WeberWho, I was looking at those on Amazon. Looks to be easy to use. One concern I have read about is the belt wearing the tip out if your not careful.
I was looking at a stone kit by Zwilling...$400.00 CAN.....wow...

I stopped by the thrift store after picking up my Work Sharp. You can usually buy knives for around a buck to practice on at home. That way you don't have to hack up your good knives starting out on it. 

Komokaegger

^^^ Good Idea, thanks.

Legume

I think you should buy the set.

littlerascal56

Agree with @WeberWho on buying cheap dollar knives at Thrift store, and then use with a new powered sharpener.  That’s how I learned 30 years ago, and I screwed up a lot of blades before I got good at it.  Ended up building a few ”custom” knives after that, which I sold at Gun Shows.