Insanely Cheap Knives with Killer Reviews

[IronStomach]

Not to start an argument but to join the Knife Makers Guild your knife has to bend to a 45 and not break if it does your temper is wrong. A lot of knives are either cast or made of what they call a powder metal, cheaper than quality steel but they break easy.

The difference between what you just described and what the kiwi review described is this:

The kiwi bent and held the bend. It had to be bent back with pliers.
Real forged blades can bend - but they spring back on their own and don't show a bend after the fact.

In the end, tools are tools. If something reliably works for the task, then so be it. Leave the jewelery for the people who never use the tools they buy.

That said, I'm incredibly darn happy with my three wusthofs and cheap-a@@ Wolfgang Puck santoku knife set. :-D $10 on cheap blades is $10 I won't use, but thanks for the tip PatioDaddio!

 

[HoDeDo]

There was a thread on the Ronco set a while back too.... how did that go, anyone like them??

 

[JD McGee]

JD
Are you sayin there are knives made in America? Montana no less??? Well golly gee willikers. I checked out their site I and I liked what I saw. Prices are good too. Nothin against Thailand, I love their food, but we gotta eat too.
Bing
P.S.
My intention here is to say what I think. Not to hurt anyones feelings. As you get to know me you will find this to be true.

Well a quick check on the net finds that Montana Knife Works is actually in Massachusetts and/or Connecticut and they are a manufacturers rep. Their website doesn't claim to be American made. I guess it's possible that their knives are made in the USA but I doubt it.

Not sure where they are made...no "made in" info on the blades...it does say "High Carbon German Stainless Steel" though...

 

[D0ughB0y]

I've got a very nice set of knives that I use in the house and a set that I take for travel. I've yet to really find a decent meat cleaver that I like though.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Harbormaster]

WTH. I bit.
For $23 I get 4 knives. If I don't use them in the kitchen, they'll go out in my Q stuff.

If they are as advertised, some folks can expect them for Christmas next year!

 

[nzrebel]

I have recently stumbled upon some seriously intriguing and below dirt cheap knives that I thought I'd share. Reading the praises in culinary circles and reviews like this one have made me order a couple.

They are from Kiwi and I spent $10.90 (yes, total, including shipping) on the 11" blunt "meat knife" and the paring knife. Of course I'll post a review after I get them and use them for a while.

You can get them online here.

Just spreadin' the love,
John

A couple of points. The ability to retain an edge depends on the hardness of the steel. The hardness is what it is and has nothing to do with design. In the case of the Kiwi knives it is probably (but not for certain) 420J2 steel which is very low end. At best it's a 440A equivalent. Neither of these steels are high quality or high carbon, which makes them soft and no matter what you may think will *not* hold an edge very long at all. However because they are so soft they can take an edge with little effort, even a honing steel will actually cut an edge on them.

The good news is that they are stamped from very thin sheets of this soft steel so they will have very thin blades with fine edges on them that actually slice through soft materials very well indeed. And that thinness makes this blade very easy to sharpen.

There is room in everyone's block for a $10 knife that does those things, at that price, but I wouldn't have one as my workhorse knife.

Dave

 

[landarc]

These remind me of the cheap knives that have been around the Japanese and Chinese communities out here for as long as I can remember. They are cheap, very light and made from a soft steel that sharpens easily. The thin blade and steep edge bevel gives them a pretty durable quality and they are very easy to sharpen. That being said, no way I would trade my good knives for one of these. They make excellent boat knives if you fish bait.

 

[Lake Dogs]

Interesting...I'm always open to a good deal...I'll wait for a few reviews from the Brethren before I jump on the bandwagon. I'm pretty happy with my Montana Knife Works knives from Costco...they're pretty inexpensive and work well for me at comps... Here's a link...fyi... http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BD_115&Ne=5000001&eCat=BD_115|6213|77261&N=4032145+4294912705&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BD_115&Browse=1&lang=en-US&topnav=bdoff

German forged steel; made in America. Can't beat it. I still have my
German forged steel knives from 26 years ago, and they have another
20 in them, I think. And, still hold an edge you could shave with....

 

[Against The Grain]

Placed my order, will let you know how they do.

 

[bingo1912]

Not sure where they are made...no "made in" info on the blades...it does say "High Carbon German Stainless Steel" though...

German stainless steel? I wonder if the steel is made there or the knife? Oh well as I said you can't always get what you want,,, lol I did see a show recently about cutco knives. has anyone used them? they are said to be extemely hard but I have no experience with them.

 

[TN_BBQ]

I've got a very nice set of knives that I use in the house and a set that I take for travel. I've yet to really find a decent meat cleaver that I like though.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I bought a cheap, heavy, forged cleaver (probably $10-$12) at one of the big box stores. I have a knife sharpener close-by that keeps it sharp for me. Works fine for me, but then again I use my cleaver for hacking up chicken.

 

[landarc]

My understanding is that German Stainless Steel has to do with the nature of the alloy and not the actual country of Germany. It does make a great knife, I have my mom's old knives she received as wedding gifts back in 1957.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I did see a show recently about cutco knives. has anyone used them? they are said to be extemely hard but I have no experience with them.

I have a few Cutco knives that I've had for about 15 years, good quality, solid knives. Last year at a food festival they had a booth and I spoke with the sales rep. He offered to come to my place and sharpen my knives for free as a service offered by Cutco. I didn't take him up though figuring it was a sales pitch and I'd probably drop $200 on new knives for that "free" sharpening.

 

[CajunSmoker]

I buy these at Sam's club. For about $20 bucks you can get 2 chef's knives and 2 utility knifes. The little thin utility knife is great for trimming briskets. They hold their edge well and are easy to sharpen. When they get to beat up to use, I don't feel so bad about tossing $20 knives.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=419467

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=336266&itemid=457583

 

[bingo1912]

I bought a cheap, heavy, forged cleaver (probably $10-$12) at one of the big box stores. I have a knife sharpener close-by that keeps it sharp for me. Works fine for me, but then again I use my cleaver for hacking up chicken.

I bought a Cleaver at IKEA a couple of years ago, it lasted about 3 months until I chopped something frozen and a huge chip flew out of the blade, I was very disappointed.

 

[mgwerks]

You can get some high quality American knives from Lamson & Goodnow. While not cheap, they are very reasonable for what you get.

 

[TN_BBQ]

I bought a Cleaver at IKEA a couple of years ago, it lasted about 3 months until I chopped something frozen and a huge chip flew out of the blade, I was very disappointed.

I would be disappointed too.

 

[Professor Salt]

You can get some high quality American knives from Lamson & Goodnow. While not cheap, they are very reasonable for what you get.

Politely recommending against Lamson. I've owned several of their knives, and also taught at a cooking school that sold / used them in class. I've worked with many different models of their knives. They take and edge ok when I sharpen them on a water stone, but lose it soon afterward. Not sure if that's a function of metallurgy or blade geometry, but I got tired of needing to sharpen them so often.

In any case, I've given away my Lamsons except for the serrated bread knife, which doesn't lose its ability to cut.

 

[PatioDaddio]

I got my Kiwi knives yesterday (great service from The Wok Shop, by the way). Man, these things give a whole new meaning to "scary sharp". They are basically razor blades with handles.

I'll put them through a quick trial and post a review this weekend.

John

P.S. I apologize for the craptastic picture.

 

[speedrcer1]

Looking forward to the review!