Does anyone know about this knife set?

[altokers]

I inherited this knife set awhile ago and i'm wondering if anyone has any details about it? I tried searching online but could only find a few old ebay listings.

Is it a decent set? Is it worth using?

 

[daveb]

They look like they're patterned after "Forgecraft" knives of that era. And while Forgies are somewhat collectable a "set" of Forgies like that would command only about $100 on a good day.

The cleaver may be useful for BBQ - chopped beef or pork. Not much to the rest of it though you'll only know if you try them.

 

[coffeelover191919]

i would not buy these knives for $10

 

[Chopper88]

That's a nice way to describe someone's heritage...

 

[McMan]

Here's some info about Forgecraft/Old Hickory/etc because your knives look similar.
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/forgecraft-vs-the-older-old-hickory.12239/
Note, though, that the stamping on older (60s-70s) forgecraft/old hickory is tidier. Example below.
I would wonder whether your knives are actually newer?...
I googled and it looks like "Armstrong Forge" was Trademarked in 1988.
https://trademark.trademarkia.com/armstrong-forge-73727779.htmlIs there a "Made in the USA" on the box?

 

[altokers]

Is there a "Made in the USA" on the box?

All i see is:

Lifetime Cutlery Corporation
New York 11232
1979 Lifetime Cutlery

on the side of the box.

 

[DavidPF]

They are not considered special, they were sold for a cheap price, but if you consider yourself new to knives they can have a really useful role to play. They are made of a kind of steel that's easy to sharpen, and they're fairly simple shapes. I suggest if you're not yet very good at sharpening knives, you take this set as your "surprise sharpening gift", get a couple of stones, and end up with the sharpest set of inexpensive knives in town. All of the skill carries over to fancy knives, if you want fancy knives.

 

[cotedupy]

I think they look pretty cool! I'd far prefer my family to have something like this than the endless bloody globals that they do.

 

[altokers]

They are not considered special, they were sold for a cheap price, but if you consider yourself new to knives they can have a really useful role to play. They are made of a kind of steel that's easy to sharpen, and they're fairly simple shapes. I suggest if you're not yet very good at sharpening knives, you take this set as your "surprise sharpening gift", get a couple of stones, and end up with the sharpest set of inexpensive knives in town. All of the skill carries over to fancy knives, if you want fancy knives.

I've always just used cheap knife sets before. What would you suggest i use to sharpen these?

 

[DavidPF]

I've always just used cheap knife sets before. What would you suggest i use to sharpen these?

Have you got a sharpening stone now? Or a gadget? Or nothing? (Many people have nothing to sharpen knives with.)

The people who are good at sharpening will be able to give you useful advice, and when you get that advice, you'll be ahead of me in the sharpening department.

Being good at sharpening means whatever knife you have, from plain to fancy, from cheap to expensive, you'll get the best out of it. You might expect that expensive/fancy knives should be immune from this, but just watch, the people with the best knives are very picky about keeping them sharp.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I've always just used cheap knife sets before. What would you suggest i use to sharpen these?

For that steel, a Norton India combination oil stone would work well.

 

[Jovidah]

If nothing else you the steak knives / table knives look pretty okay and functional?

 

[MoabDave]

We got a set of those for a wedding present in the 90's. They are fun to sharpen. The handles say Old Hickory, the blades are stamped with made in USA 'Tru-edge, Ontario knife company'

 

[juice]

That's a nice way to describe someone's heritage...

He's clearly still pissed off because he wasn't allowed to skip the line for the Dalman honyakis...

 

[DavidPF]

We got a set of those for a wedding present in the 90's. They are fun to sharpen. The handles say Old Hickory, the blades are stamped with made in USA 'Tru-edge, Ontario knife company'

The OP's set look similar, but not Old Hickory and not made in USA.

 

[MoabDave]

"The OP's set look similar, but not Old Hickory and not made in USA"
Wait, so...not the same?! I'm shocked!

Seriously though, it gets me wondering about the whole manufacturing process. Are there two sets of tooling out there? How did the 'knock offs' get a hold of said tooling? Is it the same tooling/same factory?

Asking for a friend.

 

[DavidPF]

Wait, so...not the same?! I'm shocked!

You wrote "We got a set of those...", which to me seemed to imply you believed the OP's knives and your knives were all the same. Sorry about that.

 

[stringer]

"The OP's set look similar, but not Old Hickory and not made in USA"
Wait, so...not the same?! I'm shocked!

Seriously though, it gets me wondering about the whole manufacturing process. Are there two sets of tooling out there? How did the 'knock offs' get a hold of said tooling? Is it the same tooling/same factory?

Asking for a friend.

The tooling is marks that were probably applied at the steel mill when the steel was cold rolled. Lots of knife makers used this kind of steel.
Forgecraft (aka Washington Forge, Olde Forge)
Ontario (Old Hickory)
Case, Ka-bar, and Shapleigh to name a few.
The best source of information about this topic is a thread on this forum from a few years ago


https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...ft-knives-please-educate-me.11041/post-186603