Henckels Knives

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.

Rhino,I don't know what "blood grooves" are.

Is this a Granton edge,which is used on many cooked meat slicers?

Those that I am familiar with, are usually quite sharp and are narrowed down to about a 10� angle.

Granton Edge Slicers

Hook,

The FINE diamond hone is used by a number of folks around me.

It will remove some metal,and if you use it judiciously, could take a lifetime for the casual user to wear away the knife.

A smooth steel,or a smooth /fine ceramic,might be something to consider.

I'm no expert,but these have been my observations from hanging around with meatcutters and knife guys for a bunch of years.

hook,
for sharpening my f dick knives which are extremely hard steel i like to use japanese water stones. my set of 8 stones runs from 600 grit down to an 8,000 grit. after i am done sharpening i use a stropping leather going from a "cat's tongue" leather which i sprinkle aluminum oxide powder on (believe the grit on this is about 25,000) and then a final stropping on hard chrome leather. this polishes the edge and makes steeling unneccesary. after doing this the knives will hold an edge for about 2 months of hard work.
if you are just buying stones i would recommend just a medium,fine and extra fine set of stones as the coarser ones are only used to bring back a chipped or really bad edge or to change the manufacturer's original bevel.
you can find the water stones at most woodworking suppliers that sell fine chisels.
as far as diamond steels go i don't use them as it is my feeling that the water stones remove less metal but that is just my opinion (plus i like the "zen" of sharpening. hearing the metal sing as you go to finer stones is very soothing to me but peggy says i am nuts)
hope this helps some
jack

Tom,
Yep I looked at the link, that is similar to what I have. The salesman told me it was blood groves, now I know what it really is.
Now I wonder if somehow my knife got through the final sharpening process at the factory. I can put an edge on it, but it will take quite a while with a stone.
Thanks again
Dave / Rhino

Send it to Edgepro

They will put one of their edges on it for free.

You have to pay the shipping each way,but your granton edge will be correct.

Edgepro sharpening

Thanks guys for the info. 19 replies gave me alot of info.

I bought an 18 piece set off ebay of the Pro S with the 2 little guys on them. It was about the same price as the 10 piece, but we get 8 steak knives and a video to boot.

I was bragging my Prime Rib from the FEC to the wrestling parents the other night so it looks like the steak knives will be needed soon.

Thanks again! Roger

Like Roger said--- Thanks for the help.

Jack, I'll leave it to Peg to decide whether you're nuts or not. After all, the poor woman has to live with you. If I get really brave I'l try your sharpening techniques. Until then, The ceramic "steel" Tom mentioned sounds like a good idea.

Hook

An interesting link to one of my favorite sites and some information on the aforementioned "Blood Groove"

http://www.agrussell.com/knife_information/knife_encycl...es/blood_groove.html

What ever you do stay ayay from the wusthof stamped knives. Especially if they have Emerils name on them!!!! If not you will be sadly dissapointed. I cannot believe that a chef of that caliber would put his name on such a piece of crap!!

Bubba -- Even Henckels has a variety in the quality of their knives. I believe they have at least one line that is stamped, and yes, they are inferior compared to the drop forged knives. It's all about $$$.

I have had the forged steel Henkels for 12 years now. I love them. I regularly use a steele to keep the edge. However, I lost one of my knives this summer and replaced it with Wuestof forged steele and it is possibly the finest knife I have ever used. The Henkles are still great and I have no reason to replace them but if I do it will be with the wuestof.
Lee

Any of you folks have experience or opinion about the kyocera ceramic knives ?
I need some serious knife help in our kitchen.

When I was dating my wife in 1992, her grandmother complained my knives were the worst she had ever seen. So for Christmas I spent $54 for four J.A. Henckels Professional knives. This was a complete waste of money. Two broke in half after being dropped and the other ones need sharpening every other day. I would look at another good German knife company before I dump $200 - $300 in them. You could not give me a set.

waldo,

I don't have any of the ceramic knives, so I'm just speaking from the sales pitch and demonstration. Kyocera ceramic knives are very sharp, but they are brittle. The salesperson told me, if they were to be dropped on the floor from any height, they would shatter. They are guaranteed to remain sharp for three years or you can send them in to be resharpened free. It's my understanding they cannot be resharpened at home. Kyocera does make a paring knife they sell for $29.95. They also make a neat little mandalin for around that price. The larger knives go up in price fairly rapidly.

Happy Trails