Many people buy single knives for their kitchen, but if you spend a lot of time cooking, chances are you’re much more interested in kitchen knives sets and if so you’ve come to the right place.
Welcome to our kitchen knife set buying guide. Here we’ll walk you through several options you have in sets from lower prices all the way up to the high priced ones by the very prestigeous brands. You’ll learn what to look for in a set and what you can expect to pay. So grab a cup of coffee or tea from the kitchen and sit back and enjoy.
First things first, let’s be clear. I’m not talking about steak knives here, but rather the sturdy heavy-duty cutlery knife that you’re going to use day in and day out to prepare your meals and chop your meats and vegetables. Steak knives are useful, but not for chopping, cutting, and preparing meals! No, I’m talking about a knife block set that you sit on your kitchen counter next to your cutting board or oven or wherever you prepare your food.
Kitchen Knife Brands
There are hundreds of different brands out there when it comes to kitchen knife sets but when you come right down to it there are only a handful of really popular brands. They include:
- J.A. Henckels
- Victorinox
- Santoku
- Forschner
- Wusthof
- Ginsu
- Shun
- Chef’s Choice
- Ken
- And Others
For the purpose of this guide I’m going to stick mainly to those few brands because for the most part those are the ones you’re going to run up against and you should know a little bit about them. For more specific information on each of those brands above, browse around our website because we offer individual reviews for most, if not all of those different companies.
Every chef chooses their cutlery based on different criteria. Some people prefer knives that keep a sharp edge without constant sharpening even with heavy cutting board use, others prefer knives with a certain balance to the weight of the handle. Still others select randomly based on some criteria that is undefined even to themselves, you might call it a gut feeling. However you choose, you want to be sure to get the best price possible and this can be done by doing a little bit of research on the Internet like you’re doing right now… good job!
How To Store Your Cutlery Knives
Some people keep their knives in a kitchen drawer, cabinet, or hanging somehow from a cork board on the wall, but many people – if not most people – prefer to use a knife block. Accordingly, most sets are sold as a block set and there are several basic knife block configurations available if you want to choose your knives seperately and make your own set.
Keep your knife sharpener in the drawer but keep your knife block set on the countertop so that you have easy access to them whenever you’re cooking. There’s nothing more annoying than trying to grab a specific knife out of your drawer while your hands are covered in chicken goo or something worse!
Knife Set Prices
So what exactly can you expect to pay for a decent set of knives? That’s a hard question to answer because all sets are priced differently depending on the quality of the knives contained in them.
I’ve seen a 14 piece Ginsu set sell for only $25. On the other hand I’ve seen a J.A. Henckels 7 piece set for $70 while at the other end of the spectrum you can buy a Wüsthof Gourmet 18-Piece Knife Set with Block for around $300.
It all depends on the quality of the knife. Before you buy a set I suggest you purchase an individual piece. Chefs usually have a favorite knife or a favorite brand of knives and once you determine what your own personal favorite is you can move from there to purchase a full set of those knives. Without figuring this out first, you’re really just throwing darts at a board and you don’t want to spend several hundred dollars on a knife set only to discover that you don’t like the feel of the handle!
Kitchen Knives Sets complete kitchens unlike any other utensil or gadget. You really need to spend the time to familiarize yourself with the options that are out there so that you pick the one that is best for your personality and your specific uses and needs. Kitchen knives are sort of like haircuts, they give a unique edge to you and you alone. So whether it’s J.A. Henckels, Victorinox, Santoku, Wusthof, Ginsu, Shun, Forschner, or something else, make sure it works for you.
