Any opinion on Henckels for a home cook?

[N8N]

Exact same way, more so on purchases I don’t plan on making again, really want to get it right the first time. That Mercer set has same steel as my Messermeister, big difference in price with the Wusthofs?

Agreed! Last time I bought a kitchen knife in a store must have been 20 years ago, I have more disposable income now, want to make the right choice for the next 20 A lot of time has been spent in a relationship where I didn't have to provide kitchen knives so a lot of my stuff has been in storage for 20+ years and I'm realizing now how completely ordinary it is.

Get a great chef and your #2 and 3 blades. For me that is a chef, 6" utility, and a Chinese cleaver

None of the German knives are "bad" but the feel may be a deal breaker. Gimme Henckles Pro S or Messermeister Elite handles over Wusthof Classic, Hate the Wusthof GrandPrix II "ergonomic handle but love the F Dick Premier but they are thicker blades.

If you hold a pinch grip look for blades with a swept back handles like the Victorinox or the Zwilling Pro They feel better for pinching.

I don't even know where I could handle them to feel the difference? Appearance wise from looking at pictures, the Henckels Pro S and Wüsthof Classic appear almost identical, what makes you prefer one to the other? Of all of these the only reference I have is my housemate has a Henckels Pro (not S) paring knife. He prefers the Santoprene handles (he showed up and was cooking so we had a little chat about knives, as I was telling him where I'd got my really bad ones sharpened) whereas I most definitely do not, so we differ there. He claims to really like the Mercer chef's knife though so there's that, and it is available in the handle style that I prefer even though his isn't that exact one.

Edit: of course now you've pointed out that I don't have a cleaver either... And since we're on the subject, I don't have a nakiri, although I guess that's pretty interchangeable with a German chef's knife isn't it?

 

[BDubbs]

Around here (eastern U.S.) high end kitchen stores like sur la table or William Sonoma have enough variety to try at least a few of them out.

 

[Spideyjg]

The differences are in how the scales, handle sides, are shaped on the top and bottom. Wusthof are less rounded than the Henckles and Messermeister is probably the most.

Not something you can tell from a picture. I'd say the Mercer falls in between the Henckles and Messermeister for rounding.

Soft grip knives with santoprene can eventually soften and get gooey. No idea why but had had some come in and are beyond hope.

 

[N8N]

The differences are in how the scales, handle sides, are shaped on the top and bottom. Wusthof are less rounded than the Henckles and Messermeister is probably the most.

Not something you can tell from a picture. I'd say the Mercer falls in between the Henckles and Messermeister for rounding.

Soft grip knives with santoprene can eventually soften and get gooey. No idea why but had had some come in and are beyond hope.

Thanks, appreciate the input. Now I know what to look for although I don't know if I really have a hard preference. I agree on the santoprene, I'd prefer to stay away from it when it comes to a handle material. If I'm going to have a pain in the butt material, it's going to be wood.

 

[garry3]

I would go with a inexpensive Japanese gyuto over a Henkel’s chef knife. My Henkel’s rarely gets used, the only reason I still have it is my dear old mother gifted it to me. I also had a set of Henkel’s that I gave to my daughter when she left home.

 

[N8N]

So I made a purchase... I bought the 10 piece Mercer set off a certain river themed e-commerce site because sadly with free shipping that was the best deal, and I got a discounted magnetic knife board off the 'bay. Reasoning was that that was cheaper than the 8 piece set that included the board, and I could use the extra pieces (steel and meat fork) Unfortunately the magnetic board showed up today without the base

If the seller wants me to return it, after looking at it, I'm thinking I might want a different one anyway. Can someone recommend something similar that's perfectly vertical and mounts to its base so that you can use the entirety of both sides? The back of the Mercer one has a steel bracket so you couldn't put any long knives on the middle of the backside.

There are some real inexpensive magnetic knife boards on Amazon that look like what I'm envisioning, but they're all odd mangled names and certainly of Chinese origin. I know some of that stuff can be quite good but would like a solid recommendation.

I haven't got the knives yet, will update when they arrive.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[N8N]

Seller does want me to return board. So I need a storage solution. Knives should be here later today, but the set comes with a roll so I can keep them stored until I come up with a better way to keep them.

This looks perfect but $300?

360KB MAX - larger capacity for larger knives

For people with MORE, BIGGER, KNIVES! We "maxed out" our magnetic rotating block capacity to hold blades up to 12" long on the outside and slot on the top for knives up to 8.5" long. Same 10 lb. solid steel rotating base. Same visible 360 degree access. Same 8.25" wide foot print. Everything...

360knifeblock.com

 

[N8N]

Sidebar question. Are there any good, budget forged, non-serrated steak knives with a handle as I describe? They seem to be all eye-wateringly expensive. I may just pass on purchasing those as the odds of me entertaining any time soon are about nil, and if I'm just cooking for myself, I can handle eating with a paring knife.

 

[Spideyjg]

I use an old Chicago Cutlery 103s. I toss the steak on a paper plate on top of the ceramic one to act as a buffer for the blade. Martha Stewart would get bent over it but she isn't taking care of my blades.

 

[coxhaus]

The differences are in how the scales, handle sides, are shaped on the top and bottom. Wusthof are less rounded than the Henckles and Messermeister is probably the most.

Not something you can tell from a picture. I'd say the Mercer falls in between the Henckles and Messermeister for rounding.

Soft grip knives with santoprene can eventually soften and get gooey. No idea why but had had some come in and are beyond hope.

I am not sure what you are saying about soft handles but my Henckels 4star knives are around 50 years old which are still in great shape. They were my mom's kitchen knives.

 

[CtotheMax]

I’ve got a set of Henckels about 10 years old now and have served my family well. Only problem is my kids keeps accidentally tossing them in the trash so the set has dwindled down

 

[4th. Down]

Just was cleaning up the kitchen and I noticed housemate has two chef's knives, the other that I never really noticed before has a handle similar to the Victorinox but has a half bolster and is "Mercer" brand. I looked them up and I'm thinking he might actually know what he's doing as it appears to be a similar steel alloy to Wüsthof. They also are apparently available in a traditional full tang, riveted handle for a quite reasonable price. Any opinions on those?

Edit: after looking, the knife he has is the "Mercer Genesis" which has a very similar (the same?) handle to the Victorinox; the line that looks more like what I would want in a handle is the "Mercer Renaissance". They're all marked "NSF" which I assume means they're marketed more at the professional than the home cook but that really bothers me not at all (see Dexter Russell shears, above, I like that I can take them apart and clean them thoroughly.)

I've never come across a better value/performance situation on kitchen knives than the Mercer Genesis Nakiri for $36 is like having a license to steal....it's that good for veg. prep.

 

[coxhaus]

I don't like knives with low tips they are hard for me to use. To me that is why they make chef's knives. I have had a clever which I got rid of and I have 2 santoku one Henckels 4star and one Wusthof Classic. I feel like I am dragging the tip around the cutting board. I bought them thinking I would like them but now I don't use the santokus.