I bought the 9 piece Pro S set as a Christmas present for my father. I looked at all the different grades Henckle's makes and decided to go all out and buy the... Pro S set made in Solingen, Germany. I believe you get what you pay for, or at least that's the way it's supposed to work. After the excitement wore off of opening this... gift, for my father anyway, I took a close look at these knives and was somewhat disappointed by what I found. This set is comprised of 6 knives, a scissors, sharpening steel, and wood block. The problem I immediately noticed is that on the six knives, none of them had the back edge of the blade, "the top of the blade," deburred. The top edges of these knives was very sharp, sharp enough to cut your finger if you rubbed or pressed your finger on them. This is alarming because some people like to rest their forefinger on the top of the knife when cutting, or like to rest the knife in the web of their hand, between thumb and forefinger, when chopping. Not only is this pathetic quality control, but it is also a safety hazard. This set of knives should never have left the factory in this condition. Five seconds on a buffing wheel would have cured this dangerous condition, but hey, if you can make a few more dollars by rushing a shoddy product out the door, at least the stockholders will be happy. They're the only ones who will be happy.
Another thing I noticed is that the sharpness of these knives is uneven. They, the non serrated knives, are fairly sharp from the bolster until about half way down the blade. However, as you get closer to the point, the duller they become. The 3 inch paring knife was the worst. The last 3/4 inch of the blade was so dull that you could press your thumb against it hard and not have to worry about cutting yourself. The grind lines on these non serrated knives, "the honed edge," were also uneven. Not to impressive...
Speaking of the serrated knives, the 5 inch serrated utility and the 8 inch bread knife; they were both slightly bent. Not severly, but they both had a slight arc to the blade. I was afraid the 8 inch carver would also be bent, because it has a thin blade like the serrrated knives, but thank "whomever," it was straight. Maybe this slightly bent condition is unique to Henckle's serrated knives. A final negative observation: the handles and stainless steel rivets on a few of these knives had scratches on them. A minor complaint, after all after a few months of use these knives might get a little "worn," but isn't nice to buy something expensive, open the box and get a perfect product? These Henckle's were far from perfect. It's inexcusable that these knives left the factory in this condition. I feel like I paid... for a... set of semi finished, dinged up knives. On a positive note, the steel appears to be of an excellent quality though extremely hard. I have resharpened a few of these knives and they do take on a very sharp edgeyou can shave the hair off of your forearm but because of the hardness of the steel, this takes about 20 minutes per knife. Tip, start with a semi rough stone to profile the blade, and finish with a fine Arkansas stone. All in all I would not buy this set, or probably any Henckles knife, for the price they charge. The shoddy workmanship, uneven sharpness, and scratches don't justify the high cost. I guess I could, or should have, looked at each individual knife before buying this brand, or any future Henckles, but should I really have to? No!
If you're thinking about buying the Henckels brand I would urge you to go to a cutlery store and physically examine each knife before purchasing it, otherwise you may be in for a disappointing shock. Thank you.
Now, I'm a little disappointed. Overall the knives are ok, but not as sturdy as I expected. After only two months of use the plastic handles have scratches. The handle on the Chef's knife is loose and I just sent it back for replacement. I just received a letter from the store where I bought the knives and they are sending me back the knife so I can send it to Germany for replacement because it's supposed to be a manufacturing error. I have a feeling it's going to be harder then I thought just to get one knife replaced. As if that's not bad enough, I just noticed the handle on the kitchen shears are also not as tight as they were when I first got the set.And this is just from everyday cooking and use.
The blades are sharp and durable, so the knives aren't that bad. For the high price of these knives, I expected a little more durability, stronger and slightly bigger handles that were somewhat scratch resistant and a better replacement policy.
I've done some research into these knives and I know they are rated highly by consumers, maybe I just got a bad batch, but nevertheless, I'm not 100% satisfied with these knives and rightfully so if the handles are loose and scratched.
Buy Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S 9-Piece Knife Set with Block Now
I purchased both the Hencle Pro S and the Sabatier Grand Chefs on Amazon. After about two weeks of using and testing both sets of knives, I decided to return the Sabatiers and keep the Pro S. Both sets are of good quality, even thought I did notice scratches on the handles on both sets. But I purchase the knives to use and abuse, rather than hanging them as decorations so the minor scratches don't bother me too much. What does matter to me is performance and more importantly feel. And I gotta say the Henckels just felt more solid to me and seemed sharper, cutting thru pretty much anything like butter. The Sabatiers on the other hand seemed a little dull straight out of the box. Another factor I considered was accessibility as far as warranties and servicing was concerned. I have yet to see any stores in my area that carry Sabatiers and with the lifetime warranty of Henckel I can pretty much go to my local retailer and swap out any individual knives if needed. Basically, I think it just comes down to individual preference, and mine happens to be with the Henckle Pro S!!!Read Best Reviews of Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S 9-Piece Knife Set with Block Here
I bought this knife and block set as a Christmas gift for my wife. She loves it. Our only disappointment was that the block was a different style than that shown on Amazon or, for that matter, on the box it arrived in. The picture showed a block with six slots for steak knives. The block we got is the one now shown in the Amazon add. Apparently Henckel made a change in their set about the same time I ordered it. We can live with the substitution though as the knive set is now selling for $50 more than what I paid for it in December 03. I would have bought the set regardless of the block design but the steak knive slots was a nice feature that appealed to me. The knives are well crafted, have a great feel, extremely sharp and we love them. There were two extra slots in the block that accomodated another Henckel knife we already owned and one other. We also love the selection of knives, especially the paring knife and small serrated knife. Some other reviewers have mentioned scratches or uneven sharpening but we've not noticed either of these conditions.Want Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S 9-Piece Knife Set with Block Discount?
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