Suddenly, I feel like cooking again. Chopping onions, dicing carrots, making perfect juliennes with red peppers and mincing the garlic fine for my famous (!) vegetable medley is...effortless. All because of these knives. Ooh they are sharp! So be careful or you may end cutting yourself!
I love the fact that the knives are sharp right out the box. Many people swear by their forged knife blades but that makes the knives heavier. I have another set from Pinzon (Amazon's brand) and yet another from Cuisinart that I barely use as they are heavier and not as sharp as these knives. I think stamped blades are great as they are lighter and thinner like these Ginsu knives. If you cut vegetables more than meat then you need knives like these. For meat you need heavier blades with more balance and "brute force". For slicing a tomato so fine that you can see through it you need a Ginsu. With a Ginsu in your hand you'll end up sculpting roses from your radishes!
Update 11/5/08: I have been using these knives for 1.5 years now. They're still doing fine and are still very sharp. I regularly throw them in the dishwasher and they have not shown any signs of rusting. I love these knives and miss them if I am cooking somewhere else. I use the steak knives as everyday knives for slicing veggies and they work very well. If I ever purchase another set I will go with Ginsu again.
We needed some new knives, but I couldn't see spending hundreds of $$$.
Yes, these are at the lower end and there are undoubtedly much better (and more expensive) sets out there.
But these feel OK, are very sharp (as other reviewers reported), seem to be sufficiently sturdy, and have ably carried out the various mundane tasks we've put them to.
For $24.99, what a value!!!
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Update 11/21/08: We've had these 2 years now. The very sharp edges have gone, but the steak knives still are OK cutting, not great. But, I never sharpen them. I don't like the long thin knife (it's not serrated, so not a bread knife): the blade isn't stiff enough. (Hey, we're talking less than $30 for the set!) I really don't use the others.
I liked the steak knives so well that I ordered a second set of just them. It's a little weird at first doing paring with a serrated blade, but then you get used to it.
I'm still very pleased with the purchase overall and regard it, even as the price has increased a few dollars, as a true bargain.
Buy Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural Now
We bought this set 2 months back after reviewing them on Amazon. Since this is our first knife set I can not really compare with other name brand products in the market. But these were cheapest among the lot, and we are very pleased with their initial quality. As mentioned by other reviewers they are very very sharp, and easily cut through straight. The blades are thick and the handles look solid. We always wash/dry them by hand right after the use and never put them in dishwasher. We have not seen a single rust spot or any discoloration of handles. I will definitely buy more of these to gift friends and family.
Update on Sept 30, 2007:
After 6 months of use, I still stand by my review. The sharpness is intact and there are no rust spots at all. Very pleased with the quality and super low price. I regret not picking more of these from Sears Clearance, where I bought them for less than $20.
Update on Nov 26, 2010:
Just wanted to give a quick update that these knives are still performing great.
Sept 28, 2011:
Still going strong. No issues. No rust. the two knives that we use every single day, have lost some of their sharpness, but they still have few more years left in them.
Read Best Reviews of Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural Here
If you are on a budget but need good sharp knives to last you for a little while...these are great! They are sharp and they do their job well. But be warned, these do rust after about 8 months if you aren't careful. I suggest washing after every time you use them and don't put them in the dishwasher to make them last longer. Other than that, they are sharp enough for general kitchen cutting,
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Okay, so we'll be honest here... These aren't the BEST knives ever. They aren't nearly as heavy and solid feeling as some might like.. but for this price you absolutely cannot get a better knife. I bought this set as a gift for someone who has a bit of a love-affair with "sharp knives"... and he was absolutely 100% pleased with this set. They are incredibly sharp and easy to manage. Best knives ever? Of course not-but do they get the job done (meaning, do they CUT well?) absolutely yes!
As a side note-in response to those who are complaining about rust spots-that is what happens when you put knives in a dish washer. All knives should always be washed BY HAND and dried immidiately (regardless of what the packaging says!) Complaining about rust spots after having put them into a DISHWASHER is like complaining about ruining your silk shirt after putting it into the washing machine. With proper care, these knives will not disapoint someone looking for a good, sharp everyday kitchen knife.
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These little drawers seem to be of decent quality, they are flexible and seem durable. The three star rating is because the size of this product listed in the product description is off. On the bag the product came in, it says W68xD260xH42mm, doing a simple conversion gets you 2.67 in. for the width, the width listed is 2.25 in. This creates a problem for me when I want to put three of them side by side in a 6.75 in. space. Being off by a half inch for each of the three gets me something that is nearly 1.5 inches too large for the space I wanted to put it in. I can make it fit, but now it involves cutting the product, which I was trying to avoid by getting a product that met my requirements.
