Newest celebrity knives - Kimball formally of Cooks Illustrated

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well let's go into the test kitchen and take a look! :biggrin:

I have to imagine the CI team is vetting them, and will do a 'review' if they feel they are poor performers. Lots of bad blood there...
 
gic said:
https://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-3823820/Christopher+Kimball+3+Piece+Knife+Set+

Not only they are probably very soft steel but a 7"chef as the main knife and a 5.5" serrated "prep" knife? Sheesh
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I asked one very famous chef/cook book author why the largest knife in a set bearing his name was only 7-inches. He told me to stand around the cutlery department of any cooking store and watch what the majority of women actually buy. Most do not want to deal with a 10-inch chef knife.
 
Well an 8" is a good size for most people :) But it's the 5.5 serrated knife that I can't figure out. A small one is great for tomatoes, a big one for bread but an intermediate one?
 
I can't believe it took this long for him to get his name on a kitchen tool.

The 7" chef’s knife is really a santoku. The 5.5" prep knife is a interesting shape which isn't popular yet. No idea why he decided it needs a serrated edge? Maybe for bread connoisseurs that bake their own bread? But I think a 6" tall utility knife is better in place of the prep knife. The 4" paring knife is a hair too long. 3.5" is the ideal size which they mentioned in an ATK equipment review. They also recommended against buying knife sets. :lol2:
 
The chef's looks like a western santoku with a continuous curve to the profile, friendly to those this set is aimed at. I'm sure the types of knives and sizes were thought out carefully by Henckels so as to be marketed and hopefully sell well to a certain demographic. The knife nut crowd here isn't the same as the segment of the general public that is interested in cooking. While only anecdotal, I know the vast majority of my friends who enjoy cooking use smaller knives, a surprising number even use a 4 or 5 inch blade for the majority of their prep in the home kitchen. It wouldn't be a surprise if that holds true in general, at least in the USA.
 
Don't miss the big picture. These are great gifts for today's simple home cooks who eat out 14 times a week.

The main purpose of the serrated knife is so there is at least ONE usefull knife when the rest in the set becomes too dull to be usefull.
 
Noodle Soup said:
I asked one very famous chef/cook book author why the largest knife in a set bearing his name was only 7-inches. He told me to stand around the cutlery department of any cooking store and watch what the majority of women actually buy. Most do not want to deal with a 10-inch chef knife.
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True most home cooks 7-8" is enough. I find that the school kit Mercers are easier to sharpen than most Henckels, it's no wonder they put in a serrated blade. I wonder how they have sold millions of full bolstered knife block sets with crappy steel.
 
Yeah, I'd replace "woman" with "homecook" in that line of thought. Most of my non indusry friends that cook a lot at home use 180-210mm chef knife or santoku. I have a home cook friend that makes dinner for his family every day and he uses a 210mm suji-esqe "utility knife".
 
Ok folks. Maybe we're being a little harsh here? The majority of the market is not going to drop hundreds, let alone one hundred, on a knife.

For someone just starting out (and yep - I was that super young and broke person at one time) this looks like a pretty decent set for the price.

FWIW I still have the Henckels block set that was a wedding present. It did the job for over 20 years. DD has claimed it as her own when she moves out (she is not really comfortable with my knives, but that may still change).

Consider the target audience, then judge.
 
I say judge the product solely on its design , execution and price.
 
Dave Martell said:
That line of Henckels is extra crappy, twice as crappy as their regular crap.
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This!

Really hate the Wusftoff and Henckels budget lines. They are extra craptacular.

Even worse than the regular "International" line is the "Everedge". A friend brought me their Henckels to sharpen. It was this Everedge crap. Hard to even explain how soft it was. not to mention the horrible "micro serrations".
 
Yea especially since Costco will say you a tramontina pro set with all the knives (except a bread knife) a house needs for $16.99! Or, Costco often has the Kai Komachi set for under $20 that isn't bad for the money and even includes a bread knife....
 
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