These forged well-balanced knives aren’t as heavy as the Wusthof’s, which will make them more comfortable for some cooks. The only time the light weight is a bit of a disadvantage is when it comes to hacking through an acorn squash or a chicken leg. Favorite knife sharpeners here as well as one sharpener a Food Network staffer swears by. Through October 12th, you can get awesome deals on select Cuisinart Knife Sets. As an example this Cuisinart Ceramic Coated 10-Piece Knife Set is going for $14.99, down from the regular $40. They’re part of Macy’s two day Holiday Early Access Sale.
Building on the successful DNA of the Cuisinart Classic series, their Graphix line forgoes a molded plastic handle for a bumpy metal one. As a result, this line offers substantially better grip, even while your hands are wet. That’s combined with the same high carbon stainless steel blades, and offered at the same price as the Classic series. Some knife sets come with blocks that have slots to store the knives in, while others come with individual covers.
Paring knives, steak knives, and kitchen shears round out the set, allowing you to choose the right tool for the task. Each knife handle is ergonomically designed for firm gripping and accuracy. Priced around $150, the Chicago Cutlery Fusion knife set is considerably more expensive than the Cuisinart set. The added cost gets you a few extra pieces, though, including eight steak knives and a 5-inch partoku knife. Like the Cuisinart, it also includes a chef’s knife, santoku knife, slicing knife, serrated knife, a sharpening steel, and a storage block. Many knife block sets will come will many other pieces that increase the price.
To be frank, I find it impressive that Cuisinart is able to offer a fully forged knife at a price usually reserved only for stamped blades. Though not for the professional chef, Cuisinart’s knives are easily the best you can get for under $20 a piece. It’s impressive how well they work given their price, making them a good choice for first-time knife buyers.
On all of the pieces, the bolster is sloped, so you can comfortably use the pinch grip that the pros use to give them good control. We think these classic knives are just about perfect and worth the splurge. Forged and full tang, they feel good in your hand, are easy to control cuisinart knife and are neither too heavy nor too light. Right out of the box, it’s sharp enough to slice ripe tomatoes without squishing. Yet, it also has the heft to cut a whole chicken into quarters. Virtually all high-quality knives today are made from high-carbon stainless steel.
The most well balanced, comfortable to hold, expensive knife in the world is pretty much useless if it doesn’t have a sharp blade. In addition to just doing the job for which it was intended faster and more precisely, a sharp knife is safer. With a well-honed blade, you are less likely to cut yourself than with a dull one. A dull blade can slip off of a tomato instead of slicing down. To test your knife for sharpness, try to cut a single sheet of paper vertically. A sharp blade will cut right through the paper leaving a clean edge on either side.
We used the santoku knife to chop onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms for a stir-fry. The serrated knife came in handy for slicing through the skin on cherry tomatoes from our backyard garden for a salad. It’s also great for slicing chewy loaves of bread, rolls, and bagels. We don’t often reach for the curved paring knife but we found its shape was ideal for deseeding small bell peppers and jalapeno peppers.
Henckels sharpens its edges to a 15-degree angle on both sides for an ultra-sharp 30-degree total edge angle. The hardness of a steel blade is measured on the Rockwell Scale, and the ideal rating is between 56 and 61. Forging requires heating steel rods and then bending and forming them into the shape of the blade. During this process, the manufacturer also tempers the blade, which makes it harder. The process is complex, labor-intensive, and expensive.
However, forged knives are also pricier, heavier and less flexible. Some people prefer lighter weight stamped blades which are easier to maneuver, especially gotham steel cookware sets around bones or a small item like a mushroom cap. Each knife has a non-stick coating to make cutting, slicing, and chopping easier and mess-free.