HENCKELS Forged Premio 18-Piece Knife Block Set

After reading several reviews, I decided to hand down to my daughter our 15 year old set of Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives and replace them with these knives. The knife assortment in this 18 piece set is excellent for almost any kitchen task, except maybe cleaving. There are seven primary kitchen knives. There are four complaints that seem to run through most of the negative reviews. First, the packaging for the knives was exceptionally hard to open, being some kind of very hard plastic. Henckels must have changed this, because my knives were wrapped in cardboard sheaths and placed in a separate cardboard box inside the retail box. It was very easy to open with no tools required whatsoever. Simply slide the knives out and discard/recycle the packaging material. Second, many people mentioned the knives arrived rather dull. The 5 non-serrated primary kitchen knives were razor sharp (a fact confirmed by shaving a small amount of hair from my forearm, a practice my wife frowns on when witnessing me do this.) The two serrated knives(not including the steak knives) were extremely sharp but do not lend themselves to shaving my arm without lopping off a sizeable hunk of meat. Third, some reviewers have complained that the knives rust. I can't speak to this. Surprisingly, more expensive kitchen knives usually do not do well in the dishwasher or when washed and allowed to air dry. The composition of the steel, even when stainless, is formulated to hone easily to a razor edge, quickly, and hold that edge for a reasonable period of time until honed again. These qualities require a different steel formulation than that of stainless steel cookware or even serrated knives. This formulation is more prone to staining. The instructions with these knives highly recommend washing by hand and immediately drying. This is something I have always done with my kitchen knives anyway and because of this, rust or any other staining has not been a problem in the past and will not be for these knives either. Finally, a few reviewers complained that the knives are made in China. My response to this is "so what"? The manufacture of knives is 99% mechanized so I'm not sure it matters if that process is monitored by a German or a Chinese. The last 1% is the final hone of the blade, and as stated earlier, apparently the Chinese can do that pretty well given the hairless spot on my forearm. All in all, I would highly recommend these knives to someone looking to have an extraordinary set of knives at a reasonable price point. As it relates to the 7 primary kitchen knives in the set, it would not surprise me if it is the last set of knives I have to buy. The steak knives and the scissors are OK, well suited to the intended purpose. The steak knives in particular are made of a highly polished stainless steel that will likely hold up better in the dishwasher without hand washing and drying.

I cook on the daily, and I usually bought those knife sets that you get for around 30-50 bucks at a retail outlet, thinking it was a good deal. They would work fine for about 6 months...I would regularly use the honing steel as well, but after a while, I couldn't even cut lettuce with them! So, since I am approaching the age of 30, I decided it was time to be an adult, and make an investment in some decent cutlery that will last. But, also I'm not made of money, and will not be on the show Chopped anytime soon, so I found these beauties!Great Deal. They really are all you'll ever need for knives.All of the knives have a great weight to them, and the handles feel solid and comfortable in your hands. Mine arrived sharp and ready to go, nicely packaged. I always hone them before use, and I ONLY hand wash them, because I heard dishwashers were the devil to decent knives.How I know they're good: Husband was using them to cut through raw chicken and bone, and he did so successfully, and also cut all the way through his thumb and nail to the bone without even realizing it.(then came the screaming) that was a fun afternoon! Be safe with these babies, they're no joke!Only complaint: The steak knives aren't impressive. they feel flimsy compared to the rest of the set. Oh well, they're just kind of an add-on, this set has every knife you'd ever need and more.

I ordered this set after reading a great review in Consumer Reports for the main 8" chef's knife, praising its balance and heft. I agree. The balance is fantastic, and I gave away my decades-old Sabatier knife within a week of getting this set.The knives arrived as sharp as scalpels. Some reviewers complained about the storage block tipping over, but ours was fine. I wish they stayed that sharp, but we used all the knives so much after receiving them that they couldn't have kept that fine an edge! The honing steel is good for a touch-up but you'll need to sharpen them properly every so often to get back that fine edge. Frankly I don't know if the German steel keeps that surgical edge longer than these, but it's not a problem to whip them through my power sharpener every few months to get back the razor edge. And it's a lot cheaper!A couple of the steak knives had bent tips from the manufacturing process, but customer service was excellent about replacing them. Frankly, a pair of pliers would have been all that was needed to straighten them out, but I'm not going to downgrade them for that after the excellent customer service.Highly recommended.