Recommend me a set of kitchen knives

[Remington92]

Finally tying the knot in October and putting together registry items and the one thing I want and really get a say in is a set of quality kitchen and steak knives. I would like a “lifetime” set. Originally I had thought cutco as I have past experience with them and the warranty is attractive. But the price of over 2k and quality of steal is not. Anyone have good recommendations of other brands I should consider? I currently have some Victorinox and they’re great tools but not sure they’re something to have in a set for decades.

 

[Cascade_Sherpa]

Hey congrats on the upcoming wedding....I always joke and say "It was the best mistake I've ever made!" Almost 20 years married now with 3 teenagers and wouldn't change a thing except I should have married her sooner....dated & engaged for almost 4 years prior to getting married.....

Anyways back to knives! Since this is going to be a "Lifetime" set and a gift just ask for Benchmade kitchen cutlery....pricey but they definitely make a statement and very nice:

https://www.benchmade.com/collections/cutlery

 

[PNWGATOR]

Congratulations!

Mercer or Victorinox are the easy button.

That said, doing your due diligence and putting together a set of a la carte hand forged Japanese cutlery could be the answer.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I wouldn’t get a lifetime set. Get a set of miracle blades and call it good. We used ours for 15 years before we bought another set.

 

[Fowl Play]

Congrats! I would not ask for a “set” of knives on your registry unless you have a crazy wealthy family member who specifically asks to get you something nice. Break it out into individual pieces. Most blocks have a ton of knives you’ll never use. Get yourself a nice 8” chefs knife, paring knife, bread knife, shears, fillet/boning knife. Everything else you really don’t need. Wustoff is a great high end, buy it for life brand. Although I still use my victorinox all the time and it’s 10+ years old. Specifically for chef knifes, I’d recommend getting one without a “full bolster”. The bolster is supposed to protect your fingers but is unnecessary. Just makes it much harder to sharpen. Speaking of which… also add a nice sharpening system to the list.

 

[BigDuckHunter]

Congrats! I would not ask for a “set” of knives on your registry unless you have a crazy wealthy family member who specifically asks to get you something nice. Break it out into individual pieces. Most blocks have a ton of knives you’ll never use. Get yourself a nice 8” chefs knife, paring knife, bread knife, shears, fillet/boning knife. Everything else you really don’t need. Wustoff is a great high end, buy it for life brand. Although I still use my victorinox all the time and it’s 10+ years old. Specifically for chef knifes, I’d recommend getting one without a “full bolster”. The bolster is supposed to protect your fingers but is unnecessary. Just makes it much harder to sharpen. Speaking of which… also add a nice sharpening system to the list.

I second this. 98% of my knife work in the kitchen is with 3 knives: 8” chefs knife, 5” santoku, 3.5” paring knife. Add in my 9” serrated bread knife that I use sparingly and that’s all I feel that I ever use.

I also use Wusthof. I feel that their steel is easy to get sharp and holds an edge for a good while. Just make sure you get their forged blades rather than stamped if you go with them.

 

[Remington92]

Congrats! I would not ask for a “set” of knives on your registry unless you have a crazy wealthy family member who specifically asks to get you something nice. Break it out into individual pieces. Most blocks have a ton of knives you’ll never use. Get yourself a nice 8” chefs knife, paring knife, bread knife, shears, fillet/boning knife. Everything else you really don’t need. Wustoff is a great high end, buy it for life brand. Although I still use my victorinox all the time and it’s 10+ years old. Specifically for chef knifes, I’d recommend getting one without a “full bolster”. The bolster is supposed to protect your fingers but is unnecessary. Just makes it much harder to sharpen. Speaking of which… also add a nice sharpening system to the list.

I guess that was another reason I looked at cutco originally is you can piece out a set to make it bite sized for individuals

 

[rogerdoger]

Cutco, my wife sold them in high school and we still have the set 25 years later.

Congrats!

 

[flyfisher117]

The complete sets kind of suck. You get stuff you don't need or won't use often. The blocks are also usually cheap.

I'm a big fan of the mass produced European knives. Don't fall foe the cheap Chinese ones they also sell under their brand names. If you watch you can get the knives you want individually on sale for very good prices.

You can also piece together a set of Japanese knives. This is my new thing. The issue is they aren't as durable or robust as the European steels so be warned.

I grew up around Cutco and every middle aged white lady in my area swears by them. I'm honestly not that impressed. They aren't necessarily bad but they aren't great either.

 

[Lawnboi]

If I had 2k to spend on knives I would get a couple Japanese knives, a couple MKC or benchmade and the equipment to learn to keep them laser sharp. I’d stay away from any block sets, they are probably cheap junk.

And it written contract with your wife that to insure she dosnt put them in the dishwasher .

 

[Thinkingman]

I just bought a new set of Zwilling/Henckels as a replacement for a 30yr old set that I handed down to my son.
The new set is made in Germany and was not cheap however the quality/feel is not up to par with the older set.
Wustof made in Germany would be the direction I would recommend.
Nothing wrong with Victorinox, they're great actually but don't have that heft that says 'lifetime'.
Agree with the posts above, 8" chef, 3" paring and a thin boning or fillet knife is the basics. A 10" serrated is also pretty useful as are shears. I sometimes wish for a cleaver but have not really needed it.

 

[BigE]

There are some really good options, and some very expensive options. It depends on what you are looking for, but I agree with the info above. Pick a few good knives that do the majority of the work and spend on those. A chef's knife especially can do most of the work. Get something mass market like Henckel, Wustof for german, Shun for japanese, but there are a lot of options out there.

Try not to get caught up in getting the most expensive things at the beginning of a marriage, that path may not be the best precedent to set.

 

[MoeFaux]

Knives can be a rabbit hole like any other - one that my father and I have both been down at various times. If you don't want to get lost in the weeds, +1 to Wustof. They are good quality at a respectable price. If you take care of them and keep them sharp, you'll never want for anything else. And I DEFINITELY wouldn't get anything fancier or more expensive until you've invested in a system to keep them sharp. I don't love cheap knives, but I'd rather use a sharp piece of shit than a dull piece of art.

 

[Axlrod]

I have sets of Henckles and wustof and 4 Cutco knives. I use 1 Cutco French knife 95% of the time. I wash it by hand immediately after using it (it never touches the bottom of the sink) then hang it on a magnetic strip that is for holding knives. I use it a lot, and it has been sent in for sharpening 3 times in 15 years. The other knife I use is a Henckles serrated bread knife. It works perfectly for cutting corn off the cob.
For steak knives it doesn't matter much. Elk loin is not hard to cut, I cube the steaks, and the few times a year I buy beef, it's always rib steak.
I would get 1 Cutco French knife to use, and a block of lesser knives, easy to reach on the counter for anyone that doesn't know how to take care of a sharp knife. You know like cutting open boxes, cutting into bone, and throwing in the sink with other flatware etc.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I always thought it was taboo to give knives as a gift. Our old Chicago Cutlery and a set of Henckels have served us nicely for close to 40 years.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Cutco

 

[TaperPin]

Knives are like reloading dies - we mix and match to meet our preferences. We have Forchner/Victorinox, old henkles of good quality, Wustof , tried new cheap Chinese henkles and gave them to one of the kids, but the best steel is in forged Wustof or stamped Victorinox knives. Vic makes fully forged knives which would be my choice, but prices are very high. Good steel isn’t rocket science so there must be many others with edges easy to sharpen with good retention. Vic is the only knife you need, forged fancy knifes are the ones you want.

 

[Caseknife]

Wusthof Classic is my favorite. Cut better than my JA Henckels

 

[kcm2]

Spyderco has some excellent kitchen knives. No "set" or block, but darn good serrated knives that sharpen well. Likewise, all of my paring knives are from Victorinox but the Spyderco knives get a lot of use.

 

[Johbran]

Cutco is the way to go.