Best set of kitchen knives for $500 or less?

B Hess

B Hess

Joined
Feb 20, 2006
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I need to get the wife a new set of kitchen knives. The budget is $500. What is the best I can do for that price?
 
I guess you should move this post to the "kitchen cutlery and tools" section (or ask the Mods to do so).
My personal advice is to avoid pre-arranged sets of knives and choose a few knives (3, eventually 4) of good quality and that fit your wife's needs (ex.: chef's, paring knife, santoku and eventually a chopper).
I can't speak for all brands, but I'm happy with my Global knives, although for 500 usd you could possibly aim for even higher end knives.

:cool:
 
I would suggest 2 knives over a set but it's dependent on your wife's temperament.

If she takes care of the knives, cleans them by hand and puts them away after every use in a block then get a paring knife and a chefs knife/santoku of the fanciest brand you can find. I've never needed anything beyond that and I like to cook. Though I'm really an amateur at it.

If she's anything like my girlfriend who likes to put the knives together in a drawer and send them through the dishwasher then I'd say get a huge set of cheap ass ones. We got a knife in the asian food market that cuts as good as my dad's shuns and it only cost 5 bucks.
 
I bought my wife some Shun Classic knives last Christmas (8" chef, 6" utility, 4" paring, plus sharpening steel and high quality shears and a bamboo block). They look great in a Damascus style VG-10 and hold a great edge. They have held up well to a year's worth of use. We normally wash them by hand, but we're not meticulous about drying them carefully and every once in a while my kids will put one in the dishwasher. No rust or other issues.

From my research, the big name German makers use carbon steel that is more prone to rust and choose more obtuse bevel grinds. The Japanese makers tend to produce better slicers that take a little more work to sharpen. My wife went from being skeptical about my interest in pocket knives to really loving the Shuns when she experienced what they can do. It sounds like an infommercial, but she enjoys cooking more. As a result, a few more Shuns will be under the tree this year (bread knife, serrated.)
 
lava_lamp said:
I bought my wife some Shun Classic knives last Christmas (8" chef, 6" utility, 4" paring, plus sharpening steel and high quality shears and a bamboo block). They look great in a Damascus style VG-10 and hold a great edge. They have held up well to a year's worth of use. We normally wash them by hand, but we're not meticulous about drying them carefully and every once in a while my kids will put one in the dishwasher. No rust or other issues.

From my research, the big name German makers use carbon steel that is more prone to rust and choose more obtuse bevel grinds. The Japanese makers tend to produce better slicers that take a little more work to sharpen. My wife went from being skeptical about my interest in pocket knives to really loving the Shuns when she experienced what they can do. It sounds like an infommercial, but she enjoys cooking more. As a result, a few more Shuns will be under the tree this year (bread knife, serrated.)
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I really like the shuns too. My dad has the Onion shuns because he's a lefty. The standard ones are for right handed users if that's a concern.
 
How many knives do you want in your "set"?

How good is she with knives and how good is she at taking care of them?

What kind of cooking does she do?

You are asking a general question that it is the equivalent of "hey what shoes should I buy my wife?"
 
Forschner with Rosewood handles. I think they still sell a set with a butchers block, or you can be more selective and buy the individual knives she would actually use more often (more practical). Great knives for the $$ that will hold pace with much more expensive blades.
 
You can get Forschner Fibrox for way less than $500 and have a very fine set of knives. Nothing fancy but very good products. Don't buy a set. Cherry pick the specific models you want and piece them together. Sets make nice wedding gifts and whatnot but for yourself...pick them item by item and get the length and stiffness charachteristics that you need. Sets will always have knive you will not like or never use and you pay for them.
 
I have a "set" of shuns - started with the santoku, then added a serrated/utility/bread, large paring, large chef's, boning. Does everything I could every want. In fact, it was what introduced me to the fine world of Kershaw. Kinda backwards, I think.
 
You have a lot of options. If you’re interested in going with a German knife, check out F. Dick. They make a great blade. The Premier Plus line has very ergonomic handles that are slightly rounded making handling and use for extended periods a little easier on the hands. The edge actually goes all the way to the bolster as well. I really like their 1905 series. The blades are big which gives your hands a lot of clearance over the cutting board. They omit a bolster from this series so you have more edge to work with as well. The only real down side to the 1905 is that the handles are really old school, kind of like Sabatier (good carbon steel knives btw) and not rounded off, much more angular which can be cumbersome over time. Of course this all comes down to personal preference, how one holds the knife etc. Let us know what you decide to get!
 
Dave Loukides. Buy a set including a chef, a petty, and maybe a paring knife also. That should do it, but he has other options too (slicers, santokus, etc).

His stuff is top shelf.
 
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