My son requested a 10 piece set of J.A. Henckels Professional knives for Christmas.

A gal he works with at Blackwoods in Duluth [ www.blackwoodsrestaurants.com ] has a set and he loves the feel of them.

Has anybody used them? Are they as good as they say?

Thanks, Roger

Hi Roger-

Yes, the Henckels are good. Others may disagree with me, but I think the high end Forschners(sp?) are just as good and they are less expensive. Of course since we're talking about a gift, maybe the Henckles are the way to go.

Happy Holidays!
Matt

roger,
i agree with everything bq matt says.
all my boning and slicing knives are forschners and they take and hold a great edge.
for chef's knives i prefer f. dick which are very similar to the henckels but have a slightly different balance point that cancels out the essential tremors that my hands have.
now my dream knives would be mashimoto's out of seki japan. course those would have to be custom made left handed knives lol.
jack

Matt & PC,

That makes sense to go with his request. That would be the best to avoid disappointment [ but son, I heard they are just as good].

He is using the knives they bought from Sysco now.

It doesn't sound like the Sysco hold their edge as well as Henckels.

Roger

I've had Henkels for about 40 yrs.

Given away a few,bought more,bought some as gifts.

They are virtually indestructible,but harder to sharpen than my Forschners.

Harder to touch up,as well.

Like Jack,I like my Forschner boning and butcher knives.

I like Forschner granton edge slicers.

That 11 inch F Dick chefs is great.


The trade off is,they hold that edge awhile.
Some are better balanced for me than others.

I've made it a practice to buy my boys a mix of Henkels,Wuestoff,F Dick,Messermeister,Forscheners,Grantons.

They are cattlemen and cooks.

If he wants a set,the only complaint I've ever heard is they are such hard metal,they are harder to sharpen.

Roger, if you don't want to dissapoint your son find out which series of Henckels knives he has been using. They make at least 6 different series and they all feel different in your hand. Some are forged some are stamped steel. And as mentioned above I've had a hard time keeping them sharp too.

The Pro S series is all forged,I believe.

I agree with ninetyproof and Tom. He may have his heart set on a certain series. The "Pro S" is the top-of-the-line for Henkels. I have a few of them and they are tough as nails.

I bought my Henckels years ago just because I heard they were the best, though I didn't appreciate them at the time. Over the years I've learned to hate every other knife I've used (though I'm no chef and haven't used the other quality knives mentioned by the pros above). I now take my knives with me when I'm cooking for others (family, friends, etc).

I touch mine up on the steel before each use and they stay sharp.

I've used Henckels for over 30 years and can easily recommend them. In fact, I have a couple of the 10 piece "Pro S" sets. Though there are other manufacturers out there with equal, if not better knives, Henckels just works well for me for day to day use.

As mentioned by others, Henckels has several different lines of varying quality and weight. Some are made in Japan and China ahd have a much lighter feel and don't hold an edge as well. Go with the "Pro S" series which is still made in Germany and will last a lifetime.

Also, shop around and you'll see a wide variety in prices. Amazon appears to be having a pretty good sale.

Edited to add: Just noticed that 1 of my Henckels sets is their "Five Star" series. "Pro S" blades with an ergonomically designed handle that, IMO, is far superior to the traditional handle design.

One more plug for Henckel. I love them.

I've been using the same set for more than ten years. I steel before each use and have them professionally sharpened once or twice a year.

I'm not a pro either, but I do have a couple questions for you guys on the forum that are. I've never used a diamond "steel" but have been told they are very good since they actually remove a bit of material instead of just re-aligning the edge.

Questions are:

1. Is that so?
2. Can I damage my knives by using them?
3. Do you use/recommend them?

Thanks,

Hook

have any of you heard of the henckels icon being either one "man" or two? i was told the icon with one stick figure is made in asia and the one with two are true german made blades. any truth to this?

I have some henckels, and a set of cutco I bought to help out a friend trying to get through college. Cutco has an afinity for the serated edges which I hate for anything other than cutting bread. Go with the henckels you won't be dissapointed. I do have a Henckels knife that has the blood grooves in it. I have seen chefs using it for prime rib, roast beef, etc. It came dull. Now that we are on the topic of knives is this style knife supposed to be not sharp?
it does not make much sense to me.
Thanks
Dave / Rhino

quote:

Originally posted by fishguy_40:
[qb] have any of you heard of the henckels icon being either one "man" or two? i was told the icon with one stick figure is made in asia and the one with two are true german made blades. any truth to this? [/qb]

The knives with 1 icon is the JA Henckels International line. They call it their "Value-For-Money" line. It's my understanding that they are made in Asia as well as Spain and certain Eastern European countries.

The knives with 2 icons are the Zwilling JA Henckels line (Their "Premium" line) and are made in Germany.

thank you much for the quick answer.