Ginsu Koden Series 14-Piece Cutlery Set with Black Block

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program FIRST IMPRESSIONS I've used many different kitchen knives and cutlery sets before, and one of the main problems with some of them is that they give you too many knives and they're low quality. Most home cooks should be able to get by with a chef's knife, paring knife, kitchen shears, and steak knives. I also have a tomato knife, a boning knife, and a bread knife in my personal collection. However I am a bit of a knife snob, so right away, I was looking for faults in the Ginsu knives. I replaced my regular knives with the Ginsus and used them for one month to evaluate their effectiveness.

SHARPNESS Ginsu advertises these knives as "never needs sharpening." This is a bit misleading. One would think that they never need sharpening because they are made of some type of fancy space-age steel that never dulls. Many knives make this claim, and you will notice that all of them are serrated. These knives are made of high carbon stainless steel. ALL knives will get dull eventually, and Ginsu serrated knives are no different. They claim they never need sharpening because when you use a serrated blade, you are actually sawing through the food rather than cutting with it. Once some of the serrated teeth start to dull, the knife will still cut fairly well, giving the appearance of being sharp. But what is actually happening is that the knife is now tearing and shredding the food, and while some of the serrated teeth are sharp, others are bent, misaligned, and dull. You can sharpen serrated knives, but you have to sharpen the teeth individually and it's easier just to replace the knife. I tested the sharpness of the knives by using the chef's knife to make several hundred cuts through PVC pipe, which is softer than bone, and I think a good approximation for normal wear and tear that you can expect to put these knives through over time. I then examined the teeth through a magnifying glass, and did notice evident wear on some of them and some slight misalignment of the teeth, although it was less than I expected (I will try to post a close up picture of this). Finally, I tested the cutting ability using a tomato, and it seemed to handle it just fine. So you may wonder why this matters at all, if the knife can still cut well? For most people, it probably won't. I don't like using them because dull serrated knives will leave a rougher edge on your food, and for a lot of things I make, I want a clean cut. Additionally, I use my chef's knife a lot to cut raw meat, and this knife does not handle raw meat well at all. The serrated blade pressed the meat in on the upstroke, requiring me to use downward pressure and saw through it. You shouldn't have to use much pressure at all with a good sharp knife, letting the weight and sharpness of the blade do most of the work.

QUALITY For the price, the knife set is actually fairly decent. The blades are full tang, meaning that the metal runs all the way through the handle, so it's unlikely that they will break easily. They are made of high carbon stainless steel, which is an alloy of carbon, iron, and chromium and slightly stronger than stainless steel. The blades appear fairly strong and do not look cheap. The knives are a bit lighter than brands like Wusthof and J.A. Henckels. The handles are unfortunately made of plastic, but you're not going to find anything different at this price, and the handles are pretty nice. They are also ergonomic so they conform to my hands well. They look much better than I would expect from a knife set at this price.

USE Right away, one of the best things I liked about these knives is that I didn't need a separate bread and tomato knife. For most applications, the santoku knife handled both with ease. It did take some getting used to the knives, but I don't think most cooks will have a problem with this. The scalloped edge of the santoku is great for preventing onion and celery from sticking to the knife blade, so you don't have to slide your hand down it to get all of the pieces stuck to a traditional knife. I used the boning knife on a few whole chickens and to de-bone some thighs and was a bit disappointed with it, as I think it is too light. Almost all of the knives are very well balanced, with the exception of the paring knife, which I think needs a little more weight in the blade. The kitchen shears are some of the best I've used, and are great for removing fat from chicken breasts or cutting through sinew.

CARE Do not put these knives in the dishwasher (you should not put any knives in the dishwasher, regardless of what the manufacturer says). Do not store any of these knives in a drawer, which will bang up the edges. Keep them in the block when not in use, and wash the blades with hot soapy water and dry immediately. Even though they are stainless steel, they can rust and will rust if you don't take care of them. The knives do come with a limited lifetime warranty.

OVERALL If you don't make a lot of very fine cuts and don't need to cut raw meat, I can't really say anything bad about the Ginsu Koden series. They handle the majority of food with no problem. Just be aware how serrated knives work, that they will dull eventually, and that they don't handle raw meat very well. But if you're okay with that, I think it's a fairly decent mid-quality knife set.

I have worked retail sense the age of 13im 54now and I have sold so many knifes and products from this company this is a ok set for kids just starting out but foir those that have been cooking along time like myself I would not sopend a penny onthese knifes they don't do what they say yes you can cut a penny but you will never cut a tomatoes again like I said its a good set for kids just starting off they don't need really anything more it gives hem all they need till they getadvanvce cooking and than thas when you start looking at lil better knifes you really only need a good paring a hef knife,santoku,and a breadknife,and a chef knife that's al you really needalso go get youself the 12pk og henkels steak knifes youre set for yrs unless you are going to be a true chef you can gety some shun knifes very sharp watch out for that one, a couple of ceramic knifes and I could go on and on but as for this set its a great starter set for the new yong newleweds donot buy this as a gift if they are true chefs you may lose some friends there was a reason they went by bby foir a long timekind of like the ron popeil items the same category,sorry if I don't spell right or I miss words I have had 5 strokes im terminally ill and I only use one finger to type so I apologized if you cannot read my review I hope I didn't mess up to much oplease forgive me I try the best I can but its hard with only one finger

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Douglas Quikut has made a very impressive set of Ginsu knives for the money. All but one of the knives are serrated on both sides for not just the sharpest cutting, but both right handed and left handed people can use these with equal skill. There are 14 pieces in this setan attractive black wood knife block, kitchen shears and 12 stainless steel with stainless steel handled knives6 steak, paring, utility, boning, slicer, chef and santoku. All the knives never need sharpening, except for the large santoku knife, which is not serrated on both sides like the others.

These knives are made better than average, but they will not compare to a top of the line set, which for a set of 6 steak knives could cost over $100.00 alone. I have a set of very good steak knives where the blade is the entire length of the knife, being covered with a handle which is kept in place with silver dowel rods inserted into the blade. These knives are not like that, as the blades are inserted in plastic and the stainless steel handles. They are very light weight and the blades are extremely sharp and thin. If you are used to using a heavier knife and cutting hard, you will have to learn very quickly to use less pressure. The razor sharp blades are warranted with a limited lifetime warranty. Should the blade be defective, you return the knife with postage money and they will send you a new knife. This is a warranty similar to one that you always get with an expensive knife set.

You can't beat the price on this set, as the knives are so sharp, I actually cut through the edge of a thin piece of paper like it was butter. You'll have a knife for cutting everything with the 12 different ones they give you, but just remember to use way less pressure, as these are razor sharp and super light weight.

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Great knives, just do not put them in the dishwasher. They WILL rust. Also, each time I place a knife in the block, it slowly chips away at the block leaving behind a black residue underneath the block.

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The vendor did a great job of shipping, receiving, and overall customer service. Unfortunately, my knives began to rust after the first (hand) wash. Also, I am definitely not a pro in the kitchen, but I am left-handed and the weighting felt unbalanced. Disappointed because otherwise it was a great-looking set.