Cuisinart Knives

F

FriarTuck

25+ Posts
I'm in need of some kitchen/cooking knives and I found a 23 piece (Link) set of stainless Cuisinart knives at Dillards that has every kind of knife I could ever want or need.

Anyone had any luck with Cuisinart knives before? Cuisinart seems to have high quality kitchen stuff but I don't know anything about their knives. I know Henckels and Wusthof seem to be preferred, but I'd have to spend more money and get fewer knives...

Thanks!
 
I don't think anyone needs 23 different knives. In reality, you only need a good heavy chef's knife (8-10 inches), paring knife, boning knife, bread knife, and I like the santoku. Those are really the only knives I use. I guess if you are going to be cooking a lot of big pieces of meat, a carving knife would come in handy.
Basically, you could get the 5-6 knives you need from the best producers or you could get 23 knives in which you may or may not use from an adequate producer.
 
Mercer Genesis knives kick ***, you get them at a restaurant supply (where the pro's shop) and they are reasonably priced, you would need a 7" santouku, a 10" chef's knife, a paring knife, a flexible boner, and a stiff boner to start , they are made in Taiwan out of high carbon stainless German steel using German machinery and will last and you will be able to leave them to your grandkids as long as you don't put them in the dishwasher (the heat ruins the temper on a good knife and it won't hold and edge). I use the santouku and the paring knives the most.

The handles are some kind of non slip rubber, those cusinart ones look like they would slip in your hand.

Mercers are reasonably priced and hold their edge, I have been using my set for two years now and have no complaints.

You can get them at Ace MartThe Link Ace Mart is in Texas

If you are in South Florida you can get them at General Resturant and Hotel supply which is where I got mine.The Link they're in Miami Lakes just off of the very end of IH 75. I stumbled on to these knives there and compared them to the other professional knives that they had and they had a huge selection (including Global and Dick knives) and decided upon the 7" santouku and bought it and took it home and tried it out for a couple of weeks and went back and got what I suggested above, later I got a slicer and a fork and a steel (from another brand, they didn't have the Mercer steel in stock). After I took my new knives to my home in Orlando and my kids tried them out (they are hospitality majors have taken culinary classes as part of their degree and so know a good knife when they use one) and both of them begged for a set of their own so I got them some knives of their own and a set for me and the wife in Orlando.

or you can get them onlineThe Link

google 'emThe Link

Here's the manufacturer's website.The Link


Before you get those cusinart ones you should check these Mercer knives out.


and whatever you get DON'T put them in the dishwasher.
 
I bought a set of Mercers off ebay from this place and I can also vouch for them. They are great knives for the money. I don't know anything about the cuisinart knives, but I can't imagine why somebody would need 23 knives, even if it included a set of steak knives.
 
Cuisinart and Kitchenaid knives aren't very good knives and I have used them both. Calphalon and Anolon knives, in the same price range, are a step up but still are not in the same league with many other brands. The advice already given regarding knife sets is good. Most people don't use or need more than a few knives.

Instead of investing in 20 something mediocre knives, most of which won't leave the block, consider your needs and cooking styles and select some high quality knives and a good steel to maintain them. There is no magic list of a few knives that are the best choice for everyone, but there are some basic choices like a Chef's or a Santoku knife, a serrated bread knife, and a paring knife that most people recommend because those 3 cover a lot of ground in most kitchens. Personally I use a boning knife, a butchers knife, and a large slicer much more than I use a bread knife or paring knife and I wouldn't want to choose between my Santoku and my Chef's knife, so to each his own I suppose.

There are many quality knife brands out there, but many people will tell you that their favorite is vastly superior to all others, so keep that in mind when selecting. Some brands like Henckels, Wusthof and Sabatier make some high quality knives and some crappy lines as well, so don't focus solely on brand names. High carbon, full tang, forged knives of German or Japanese steel tend to be better knives than those that do not possess the same characteristics. Go feel some different knives in your hands and don't feel like you have to have them all of the same brand. My favorite and most used knives represent about 5 different brands.
 
I just have Wusthof chef and pairing knives - those two were enough for me for almost everything - and they are a joy to use. Keep a great edge, plenty sharp, and beautifully balanced.
 
I was looking to spend about $200. I ended up going with the Wusthof Gourmet set, which has a chef, bread, utility, two paring knives and 6 steak knives. I seriously tried to convice my wife that we should get the Henckels Cuisine chef and the Santoku and then pick up some cheaper steak knives later but she was all about the knife set. The Henckels cuisine series knives felt beautiful.

I am impressed with the Wusthof Gourmet knives that we got. I used the chef knife to chop up some shrooms, onions, peppers, olives and garlic to go on some homemade pizza tonight and it felt so good to be able to just slice thru an onion like hot butter. I'm glad I didn't get the Cuisinarts.

Thanks for the replies!
 
Stiff boner for boning beef and pork, flexible boner for fish and chicken, I use my stiff boner as an all around utility knife too.

as far as my bread knife, I've got a GENUINE Ginsu knife, bought it one OU (sucks) weekend at the state fair we kicked *** and I was in a good mood, Damn I love watching the guy give his spiel, that sucker DOES go in the diswasher, still sharp too and it comes in handy when you absolutely gotta have some steel filings off of a hammer and then need to filet a tomato
biggrin.gif
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12thStudStan and others give good advice, get what you like, cause you are the one going to be using it, I don't particuraly like the handles on the wustof and henkels knives, too slippery but I notice that at least one of them have come out with a set that has handles like the Mercer ones. The handles and the price led me to the Mercer ones.

Forged is best but stamped knives (like the Ginsu) have a place too, I have a stamped roast slicer that I got at the resturant supply for like $10 that I use for slicing my brisket, it's got that sanitary NSF stamp of approval and it goes in the dishwasher too, if I was going camping I would get some of the same kind of stamped stainless knives at Sams or the resturant supply to take and leave my Mercers at home, same thing if I was outfitting a beach house and didn't want to take my knife roll with me and chance forgetting it.
 
S197HQQKEM is spot on about the handles. The santoprene grips that Mercer and Anolon use provide a safe non-slip grip. The oversized poly handles you see on commercial knives like Forschner Mundial and Dexter work great too. If you have ever performed some high volume cutting like processing your own fish & game or have worked in a commercial kitchen you know how important handles can be.

I use some stamped commercial knives for my road kit and for butchering, so I agree about stamped knives having their place. They don't hold an edge as long as my forged knives, but they sharpen very easily and get the job done.

Those Shun knives are awesome looking.
 
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