W sthof - Two Piece Starter Set - 3 5 Pairing Knife and 8 Cooks Knife 9755

First, I'm a huge fan of Wusthof cutlery. I've tried Henckles, Shun, Cutco, and numerous other brands of kitchen knives and I keep going back to Wusthof. They are well balanced, have a great sharpening angle, and the steel has a nice and high rockwell hardness to keep an edge. Realistically speaking, these two knives can handle just about any kitchen task you're going to have. There are times were a larger 10" knife may be better suited to the task, or times where a 6" knife may work better, but the 8" blade is very versatile and would be my choice if I only had a single chef's knife to utilize. Obviously, there are many uses for a paring knife, and it's appropriate that one is included in this set. I've had these knives for around 7 years now, and while there is some wear from use and sharpening, they function just as well as they did the day I bought them. Get a nice steel, get a nice block to keep them in, and they will treat you well forever. Biggest thing to keep in mind is that these are still knives, and over time will eventually dull. You can't prevent that. You can slow the process by learning to properly use a steel, cutting on proper surfaces (Wood, Bamboo, Plastic...Avoid things like Glass, Stainless Steel, Marble, etc.!). Either send them out to get sharpened once every year or two, or invest in a set of whetstones and learn to sharpen them yourself. I find taking a few hours every once in awhile to touch up the sharpening on my knives is relaxing, and you can use the same stones to sharpen pocket knives, scissors, etc. Read more

Very nice, High quality Knives. It slices and dices with little effort and appears to hold an edge. These are forged, ground, full-tang blades of high quality Chrome-molly-vanadium steel...not stamped stainless sheet-metal with a plastic handle glued to the end like most kitchen knives in big-box stores. Did I mention they were SHARP! Do not put any body parts near the edge, as this knife seems to jump out and cut you anyway. Not for the novice " Weekend-chef-wanna-be"... Well maybe...just buy some bandaids and batadine. The Handles are of a very hard material that can become slippery, but are pined in place so well that there are no gaps between the tang and the handle for liquids to hide. I think they pairing knife if the perfect size, but for me, the Chef blade is a tad long but not a real issue. These should last forever. Oh and get the Steel they offer too, it works really well to keep the blades razor sharp. Read more

I am a professional chef and I agree with most of the reviews here which are self-explantory. You cannot go wrong with Wusthof (No I am NOT a Wusthof rep!) I noticed some comments about edge sharpness and I have a comment about the description of the product which says they are "dishwasher safe." Good quality knives should NEVER be placed in a dishwasher. They will get knocked about and lose their sharpness in an amazingly short time (like a couple of wash cycles). The harsh detergents used in dishwashers will damage the steel eventually pitting and staining your expensive knives. these knives should always be washed immediately after use. Warm water, a sponge or sometimes a nylon scrubber will take care of all the cleaning you need to give them. Rinse and dry immediately. Never leave them to air dry- again, corrosion can be a problem and very sharp knives can slice through your thumb easily when picking up a towel that has a knife laying on it. All this is due to the rather soft steel used in quality knives. "Never sharpen" knives are made of very hard steel that can never be sharpened to as fine and edge as the softer steel. You may never need to sharpen them but you will never have a truly sharp edge. You simply cannot compare Wusthofs to never sharpen knives such as Ginzu, Cutco or the like. Those are OK if you are an occasional cook but if you want good tools spend the extra money. This set is perfect, add a 5" to 6" fileting or boning knife and you will have all the knives you need for 95% of kitchen tasks. But, as some comments point out- be forewarned. Once you use these you will find all sorts of excuses to buy additional pieces. I know I have! Read more

I am a hobbyist cook and received this knife set as a gift from my wife. This made a night and day difference in the efforts of prepping food. We are vegan so of course I have never cut any meat products with it but these knives slice through ALL veggies with zero effort. Cleaning them is easy and there are no rust spots on them after months of usage. I highly recommend these for anyone who wants to move their kitchen equipment to the next level. Read more

I'm not a professional chef, but nice knives are one thing I've never skimped on in the kitchen (and I've had a few). These Wustofs are a solid value... literally, they're hefty af and the construction/steel is on point. I fully expect these to last a long time based on what I'm seeing and what I've had in the past. If you're looking at a block set, don't — get these two instead. They'll cover pretty much anything you could get into in the kitchen and they are much nicer. Read more

Wonderful knife. Has a great feel in the hands, nice balanced weight to it, and extremely sharp right out of the box. Outperforms my other chefs knives that are other brands. Wish I bought this a couple years ago when I first looked at them. The pairing knife is just as good quality as the chef knife and just as sharp. Read more