Kramer by Zwilling

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matlocc

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Jan 29, 2016
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I am considering a (to me) very expensive purchase. I was looking at the Zwilling Euroline by Bob Kramer. Is it worth the cost? Just a home cook. Leaning toward the carbon but could go SS. Not a fan of Damascus.
I have zwilling, a.j Henkel and wusthof.
Curious to people's thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
 
matlocc said:
I am considering a (to me) very expensive purchase. I was looking at the Zwilling Euroline by Bob Kramer. Is it worth the cost? Just a home cook. Leaning toward the carbon but could go SS. Not a fan of Damascus.
I have zwilling, a.j Henkel and wusthof.
Curious to people's thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

300 dollars? Is that the one?
61HRC 52100?

It's worth it to you, if it's worth it to You.
We all like different features. I like different features
 
You might want to take a look at Americas Test Kitchen videos where they tested the best chef's knives under $75. The Victorinox 8-inch Chef's knife, with Fibrox handle, did very well and just checking on line are available for around $50 plus shipping. The Victorinox is reportedly recommended for starting out professional chef's, so should serve you well as a home cook.
 
I got a chance to handle the Kramer 8-inch butcher knife that ATK ranked the highest. It's full tang, and the tang in the handle is proud of the sides, making it very uncomfortable for me to hold. I don't know if it was a one-off, but I'm not spending $300 for an uncomfortable knife.
 
I have the 10" damascus one and it's one of my favorite knives. That one is kind of odd since it's essentially a 6" chef knife with a lot of belly in the front and 4" of cleaver in the back, but it's a useful profile IMO. The non-slim 8" and 10" chef knives are unusually tall, which I love. The extra weight from the height combined with the thin grind glides through material easily and it's easy to scoop up chopped food and throw it in a pan. Fitment of the parts of the handle is decent but not great, comfortable and secure grip though. Also, I forget if it was a damascus only issue in the series, but a lot of these (including mine) have a slight bend towards the tip. Is it a little overpriced? Probably. But I'm happy with it despite that.

You could also look at getting a custom knife made from someone here, the price difference often isn't as high as you'd think. At a much lower price, I'd highly recommend the Twosun TS601. That particular knife in their series has the closest profile I've seen to the Zwilling Kramers, really tall and a lot of belly. From a functional standpoint, it's almost as good as the ZK's for something like 1/10th the price.
 
I've had the same Kramer 10" Damascus knife for a few years. It's my favorite workhorse of of all my kitchen knives. I like it so much, I look forward to opportunities to use it. It's simply better than all my Japanese blades. It works like a big German steel and feels as significant without the worries of a Japanese blade. I really like my Henkels 10" chef knife, but the geometry of the Kramer is simply more efficient, cuts better and is more fun to use. Would I use it to break down a carcus? Probably not, based on its cost. But I'm sure it could easily do it. There is the nagging and unwarranted complaint that food sticks to the blade. Straight out of the box, I'd agree. I took a diamond paste and hand polished the blade to a shine. It looks prettier and it cuts like a beast! The SG2 sharpens nicely and stays sharp. There is something about this knife, it's perfect, IMO. You can't go wrong with a Kramer designed blade.
 
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