Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural
Customer Review: looks nice on the counter, good starter knife set
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased these for a single, college-aged individual who cooks frequently enough for himself to need a knife set. For his age, these knives are a good starter set. I anticipate in a few years, he will have to get another set manufactured by a company like Victorinox or J.A. Henckels. For his present cooking purposes, they will work.
Overall, the set looks quite attractive. The wooden block was fairly sturdy and well-made. I don't see it tipping over easily. The knives themselves were not as industrial or heavy as the picture suggests. As you can see in the photo, one knife appears serrated and the rest of the knives follow suit. While serrated knives can be sharpened, the task is a little more complicated and time consuming than it is with a typical straight blade knife. The fact that these are serrated may be a deal breaker for some seeking to buy this set.
I tested some of the knives in the preparation of a holiday dinner and they cut beautifully. The gift recipient typically washes his knives and other cooking tools by hand but we did place one in the dish washer. The knife didn't appear as glossy as it had been prior to being placed in the dishwasher. Most professionals would likely tell you that you should not use a dishwasher to clean your knives and for this set I think that is good advice.
For those that don't use knives on a daily basis to prepare meals and/or are seeking an economical knife set, this is a good pick. For those that depend on a dish washer to wash knives and other cooking tools or have more detailed cooking regimes, I might look for another set.
Customer Review: I'm not a knife guy...
Summary: 3 Stars
...so I'll give you my honest feedback:
I was really surprised that all of the knives have a weird hybrid edge. I didn't know Ginsu was known for this odd shape. But who cares how it looks - how do they work? Short Version:
These work really well when cutting everything BUT meat, cheese and bread. A small sampling of what I've cut easily and quickly with these knives: Olives, Tomatoes, Grapes, Potatoes, Carrots, Celery and Onions. The smaller knives work really well for this.
These do NOT work well when cutting meats, cheese and bread. Examples:
BREAD: The "Bread" knife included doesn't have the sharp points to really rip into the bread while slicing. Leads to a knife that's gummy with bread, and a smushed loaf of bread.
MEAT: The larger and smaller knives in this set all get gummed up with meat - especially raw meat in the pork loin, steak and chicken categories. I had to go back to my old rusted set to trim fat off of chicken breasts. It almost becomes dangerous to be pushing so hard, readjusting, cleaning the knife off, etc...
CHEESE: Good luck and godspeed to you when cutting cheese. I never had much success. The odd hybrid shape seems to pack in the cheese, rendering the slicing action into nothing more than a brute force, dull guillotine.
3 stars. Just OK. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have gotten these. I'll give them a year then move on to a better set.
Customer Review: Cutting and slicing is a pleasure with these sharp knives!
Summary: 5 Stars
Suddenly, I feel like cooking again. Chopping onions, dicing carrots, making perfect juliennes with red peppers and mincing the garlic fine for my famous (!) vegetable medley is...effortless. All because of these knives. Ooh they are sharp! So be careful or you may end cutting yourself!
I love the fact that the knives are sharp right out the box. Many people swear by their forged knife blades but that makes the knives heavier. I have another set from Pinzon (Amazon's brand) and yet another from Cuisinart that I barely use as they are heavier and not as sharp as these knives. I think stamped blades are great as they are lighter and thinner like these Ginsu knives. If you cut vegetables more than meat then you need knives like these. For meat you need heavier blades with more balance and "brute force". For slicing a tomato so fine that you can see through it you need a Ginsu. With a Ginsu in your hand you'll end up sculpting roses from your radishes!
Update 11/5/08: I have been using these knives for 1.5 years now. They're still doing fine and are still very sharp. I regularly throw them in the dishwasher and they have not shown any signs of rusting. I love these knives and miss them if I am cooking somewhere else. I use the steak knives as everyday knives for slicing veggies and they work very well. If I ever purchase another set I will go with Ginsu again.
Customer Review: Not cutco...but not bad either
Summary: 4 Stars
I received two Cutco knives years back when I did not realize how good (and EXPENSIVE) they were. Still, I needed a good overall set, and not having the budget to buy more of the aforementioned expensive knives, I set about reading reviews and bought the Ginsu set. (It helped that Amazon was running a promotion and I received a 9 " slicer knife free with purchase of the block set.) I had bought the Chicago cutlery "Metropolitan" set, but could not believe how dull they were out of the box and then the instructions plainly said I needed to sharpen them after every few uses! Who wants high maintenance knives? I bought these based on all the reviews, hoping I would receive "razor sharp" knives like my cutco's used to be. The larger knives are nice and sharp, but the smaller knives/steak knives are adequate, but not "razor". Still the wood block is attactive and the set is very functional, and sharper than the Chicago set at twice the price (and that was on "sale"). I definitely will get my money's worth out of this set, and will hand wash just to make sure they stay nice and sharp "enough". The bonus 9" slicer is VERY sharp, though, and really happy that was included in the promotion. The santoku knife is also nicely sharp. I am going to send my Cutco's off to get resharpened, and when they return, I will be very happy with all my cutlery options.
Customer Review: Just great for me
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start off by saying that I am hardly an expert cook, and I wasn't looking for a fancy set of knives. I got these because I have had two more expensive sets of knives over the years (the most recent Sabatier), and I thought they were just okay but not great.
I decided to order these when I read all the positive reviews, but have to admit I was very suspicious because of the price. I know that good knives aren't cheap.
Saying that, I am very pleased with these knives. They are very sharp, and they seem to cut meats and poultry just great. Plus, the scissors that comes with the set is wonderful, and has now become our "good scissors".
My only criticism is that the knives are *very* lightweight. This isn't a problem for me, but be aware in case it's something you care about. Their lack of heftiness doesn't bother me that much, hence the praise and recommendation.
One further note - I have only owned and used these knives for about a month. If they start to go south on me I will come back and amend this review. I intend to keep these knives out of my dishwasher. I have gotten lazy over the years and have now come to realize that this is the best way to ruin a good set of knives.