Top Chef by Master Cutlery, 5-Piece Santoku Knife Set

If Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Signature Cutlery ($369.99 Amazon) were to write and perform a rockin' 80's ballad to any of the new and proud owners of the Top Chef Master Cutlery ($110.76 Amazon), it would go something like this:Well I heard it on the streetI heard you mighta found somebody new, yeahWell who is he baby, who is heAnd tell me what he means to you, oh yeahI took it all for grantedBut how was I to knowThat you'd be letting goNow it cuts like a knifeBut it feels so rightYeah, it cuts like a knifeOh, but it feels so right....Bryan Adams - Cuts like a Knife --- Utube it!Lyrics - Cut(s like a TC knife.. get it?) and pasted from some random lyric site.Yep! Top Chef is cutting my poultry, beef, and other stuffs... I am glad I saved myself $$$ and went with the Top Chef Cutlery Block set. As long as you don't allow yourself to get lazy and throw it in the dishwasher to do the scrub-a-dub-dub for you. It will stick with you through the thick and thin of the toughest cuts of meats. =D!!! You can't open a Butcher Shop with these but they are sharp enough to make a day in the life of your kitchen o' so more pleasant! These are sharp little tools. They also have a nice bit of weight to them - feel wise. -- Oh, do not "soak" your knives in water, either. That goes for the shaving (razors) blades. Try to remember to towel (clean towel is always the best kind) your sharp stuff dry. Dry them happy and they will return the favor by staying sharp longer and saving you some extra coinage.I should figure out a way to hide the "Top Chef" logo so guests and family will assume I spent a fortune on my set of sharp sticks. You of course can purchase a much more HQ set of cutlery and it is recommended to do so since a knife can be one of your BFFs in the kitchen as it was to Lorena Bobbitt in her bedroom... Too crude? I apologize if I offended. A thousand apologies! A N Y W A Y S!!! If you can afford all those $$$ signs then do it. But if you're like me and are on a budget and want/need a good set of cutlery to stick it out with you for a decent while, these are a great buy! Just do your research on how to care for your cutlery. You will be surprised at what can dull a good blade. I started off researching on how to care for my cutlery and ended up doing a boat load of research on cutting boards. Certain boards can dull a knife and you don't want to end your research there because for safety reasons you will also want to learn how to care for your cutting boards. Some reviewers may knock off a star or two for reasons as simple as a manufacturing issue or because one just appreciates a much finer line of cutlery. But this set of cutlery will surprise most and it could even go up against some of the better "designer" cutlery if you take the time to read up on some of the cutlery usage and care tips posted out there on the interwebz. Those tips may even help you win a Daily-Double on Jeopardy one day! Okay, maybe a trivia game of some sort is more realistic. I wouldn't be surprised if Top Chef or the Food Network folks come out with a cooking trivia game. That's an idea to bank on... Or you can spew out a few of those tips when you want to feel pretentious in some sort of "foodie wanna-be" way. Spew out a tip randomly to fill one of those long silent awkward moments at a corporate dinner party/function. Make sure you spew it out as awkwardly as that long silent moment felt so you'll think you're the funniest person in the room and won't be able to stop yourself from laughing =S I dunno. I just typed those out of thin air.... Okay, I will stop trying so hard to be funny and witty. It doesn't hurt to try!Bottom line: Pretty epicurious cutlery set for the cost! Take the time to learn, love, and care for it and it will return all that love to you.Thank you to anyone that bothered to take the time to humor me and actually read this review. May your pockets always be overflowing with magic cupcakes that actually knock off the pounds instead of packing them on! One day....ONE DAY!!!! They will exist!

I spent forever researching knife sets and I'm glad I did! These knives are truly top quality. For reference, I'm comparing them to a vintage set of Zwilling J.A. Henckels Friodurs. (These are the good Henckels, made in Germany, with the two-person logo.) They feel cheap in comparison to the Top Chef knives. The Henckels blades are thinner, and you can bend them easily from side to side. The Top Chef blades seem about twice as thick and very sturdy. The integrated handles on the TC knives are smoother and look and feel nicer. They just ooze quality! The Henckels are just a thinner blade with handles tacked onto either side. The TC knives feel good in your hand ergonomically and have a nice heavy weight to them. They are made of X30CR13 steel, which is the German equivalent of 420 steel. The legend on the blades say they are Ice Tempered, like all good knives (the manufacturers dip them in liquid nitrogen after forging to completely strengthen the steel). I should also mention that the scissors are amazing quality. My impression is that most knife sets include a cheap pair of scissors that are not meant to last but just to round out the set. The TC scissors blades are heavy and thick, the handles are smooth and solid and feel good in your hand, they are very sturdy and I think they will last a long time.The only downside, and this is minor and should in no way dissuade you from purchasing these knives, is that the block they come in is rather crowded. Everything fits, but just barely and the scissors touch the steak knife in the row below them, and the sharpener's collar bumps up against the knife you have next to it. I'm planning on purchasing magnetic knife strips for my kitchen counter back splash to display these beautiful knives. That being said, the block is functional and looks like a good quality knife block in your kitchen.On the first test run, I put a slice mark in my desk! I had purchased a sandwich for dinner and they had forgotten to slice it. Perfect opportunity to test my new bread knife, right? It's on wax paper, and I wasn't thinking. Well the bread halves came out more cleanly sliced than any sandwich I've ever had outside a good restaurant, just beautiful. However when I went to throw away the paper I noticed there was a slice through it, and thought - Uh Oh! Sure enough, there is now a small slice line in my desk. D'Oh!This knife set very much exceeded my expectations and I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase. I would give this knife set my highest recommendation. (Note: I purchased these for full price and this is my honest review - I am thrilled with these knives)!

I have now had this set of knives for 5 years. Occasionally using hand sharpener maybe twice on the most frequently used ones. They are solid and still very sharp, as I do a lot of cooking and meal prep with them I give it a double thumbs up. Great product, thank you.

After reading a lot of reviews online and wanting to get an F. Dick cleaver but finding that getting one to Canada was going to cost almost $120 versus US $60 I had to find something less expensive but still heavy, well balanced and easy to clean care at a reasonable cost. This Cleaver fits the bill perfectly and at $30 versus $US 18 the doubling effect is not so expensive. Amazon CA even has a a used (cosmetic damage) for $24 at the time of writing. One the main reasons I bought this is that chopping chicken bones with a lightweight, cleaver led to sharp splintered pieces of bone and the risk of the blade deflecting and hitting you. This on the other hand demands respect it will easily take a finger of if a good swing is used which is what is needed to cleave bones and joints which it does extremely well. The handle design allows for smooth surfaces and minimized the chance of separation of the grip and has a modern look and holds well. The type of steel used is highly stainless and thus easy to care and typical for a budget knife that is not going to be used 8-12 hours a day. On the cons side is the aforementioned price differential, that there is no hanging hole which I prefer as it makes for easier cleanup and that the actual cutting part of the blade is 6.5" not 7" as you might be led to believe by the description. The measurement however is correct as AKTI protocol specifies that: Where a statute, regulation or ordinance refers to knife blade length, the measurement shall be the straight line extending from the tip of the blade to the forward-most aspect of the hilt or handle and that Amazon Canada prices is almost double their US site. One of the best if not the best in the budget class.

Good

Best set I've ever owned, any visitors who pick one up always comment on how impressed theyare with its sharpness

Knives are good-looking, and the wooden block seems sturdy enough. I decided to purchase these based on the good reviews, but it seems I didn't have the same luck as other people because the knives I got weren't sharp at all and I ended up returning them.