Ginsu 14-Piece Stainless Steel Knife Block Set, with Black Block
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List Price: Our Price: $45.97 You Save: $24.02 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $39.10 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Ginsu 14-Piece Stainless Steel Knife Block Set, with Black Block
Customer Review: Pleased so far
Summary: 4 Stars
I got these to replace a set that was only a year old. That set was about 4 times the cost of these, and held up alright, i was just in need of a different color block after doing some changes in my kitchen. So I gave that set to my mother, and purchased these since the price was so tempting.
Since it is just myself and my 6 year old son, I do all my dishes by hand except for every few months when I run things in the dishwasher just to keep its seal from drying out, so I'm not too concerned about rust as they'll get washed and dried very quickly.
The block is pretty standard, and disappointing only in the fact that, unlike the set I gave away, there's no little plastic or rubber inserts around the edges of the top, to help keep the blade from dulling if it's slid against the slot. I'm careful to not let the blade slide on the edge as it's pulled out or placed back in, though, so it wasn't enough to drop a star just for that.
Blades are sharp, and things were more or less well packaged, only a few cases of the tip protectors and the cardboard covers over the blades during shipping getting bent out of shape. However, it was just the protective things that were having that problem, all the knives arrived unscathed, no scratches or bent tips or anything.
Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was, as another reviewer had mentioned also, the handle is rough. Where the two pieces meet along the seam in the middle on the bottom, it's not smooth - some of them have a decided edge there as well, not enough to cut outright, but enough to make you a little careful when you're holding them. I may take an emory cloth and see if I can buff the few spots like that away without damaging anything, otherwise for the cost, you can't beat the set.
Customer Review: Excellent Quality & Construction, Very Sharp.
Summary: 5 Stars
These knives are hands-down, just awesome. I read one reviewer say they weren't sharp enough. What?? Not sharp enough?? What do you need to do; slice atoms in half?? I used one of these knives for the first time on a tomato today, and it performed excellently. Looking forward to trying them out on steaks, as the last Farberware set I had, even the serrated knife couldn't make it through certain sections when removing the fat before cooking. I've gone through two sets of Farberware, and after years of use they tend to break at front end of the handle because the tang is not wide enough and rots through eventually. Kind of dangerous, really, because if you put a lot of force on one like I did the other day, and it breaks, you can actually cut yourself on the end of the knife still stuck in whatever it was that you were cutting. As for the construction of these Ginsu knives....hold one in your hand and the weight alone tells you that you just got a set of superior-quality knives. Besides that, we all know that the Japanese have always had a great talent making knives and swords throughout history, and now I can see that they still do!! Buy them. Don't bother looking at other brands.
9/22/08 Update - I cut some fresh steaks out with these things, and WOW....it's like cutting through butter. My Farberware's were a chore doing the same task, which makes them junk in my eyes. If you've ever cut fresh steak; you know that intense fat that just won't cut through enough?? Well, these steaks cut the fat right out, no problem. Very satisfied!!
Customer Review: Very good, especially for the price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I noticed some dispute among the comments here before deciding to purchase them, and now that I've owned them for awhile, I want to set the record straight.
These knives ROCK. You won't find better than this for anywhere near the price. These are very sharp and solid and I have no rust problems with them.
Without getting into too much metalurgy, there is more than one kind of "stainless steel", depending on the mix of metals. Basically, the trade-off for resistance to rust is hardness of the metal. For knives to keep their sharp edge, they need to made of a hard metal like carbon. But carbon rusts, so they mix in other softer metals to help prevent that, which results in them dulling easier.
The stainless steel mix for this knife set is a very good balance. I've used them for months, even throwing them in the dishwasher, and have noticed little to no rust. Was does appear I could take off with a greenie or some comet, and they are still wickedly sharp.
There are superior stainless steel mixes available, but they employ much rarer and more expensive metals, which will get you in to the several-hundred-dollar range for far fewer knives.
This product is really a best buy.
The only problem I've run into is that the wooden stand is a little delicate. Perhaps I've been a bit rough, but a chunk of wood broke out of one of the slots quite easily. I also notice sawdust underneath the stand from time to time, presumably from the knives rubbing against the wood. No big deal.
Customer Review: 420 is a terrible steel to use in a knife
Summary: 1 Stars
You don't need to be a metallurist to know that steel in the 420 series is an extremely bad choice for most knives, unless it is a diver's knife or some other knife where resistance to corrosion is particularly important. All you need is some basic research (visit some metalsmithing sites, etc). I recently started work with Cutco Cutlery, and being a skeptic at heart, I did some extensive online homework independently before I was ready to accept Cutco's claim of making the world's finest.
I won't claim to be an expert on metallurgy, but from what I've learned, I do know that 420 steels are appreciably softer than 440 steels, even with a decent heat treatment (we'll give Ginsu the benefit of the doubt). Because of this, these knives will dull and lose their edge more quickly, and unless you know how to properly sharpen a knife and have the time and attention to do so regularly (e.g. a couple times a week), these knives will quickly lose their effectiveness. They'll be sharp out of the box, of course. Most knives are. But for those of you who are happy with this product, use them well for a year and then come back and write another review for us.
Bottom line is this: do not waste your money on this product. It's cheap and shiny, but it's a piece of crap. Not a great investment.
Customer Review: Best knife set in the price range!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking around for a knife block set but I didn't want it to cost a ton. After looking at a lot of user reviews of many different brands, Ginsu customers seemed to be the happiest with their knife set. After I got the knife set, I know why. It looks good online but it looks way better when you see them in person and put it in your hand. These don't look like cheap flimsy knife set at all and they don't cut like a cheap knife set either. They cut great especially for the price range. As for the steel... I didn't buy this set expecting the very best quality steel around. It is foolish to expect that. If some people want the highest quality steel, you gotta expect to pay that "high" quality price. If you want the best VALUE knife set that looks and cuts great for many years, this is the set to get.
PS... Some people said their knife set has rusted. All stainless steel knife sets (even those few hundred dollar sets) will rust if they aren't taken care of or left wet. All steels rust! Even though the set was pretty cheap, I am gonna be taking reasonable care with them, handwashing my knives and drying them so I believe that my set will last a very long time.