Henckels Five Star

Not a bad product -- having given one a whirl, I can say that it's nicely sharp when new and that the fit and finish are excellent -- the knife looks and feels good. Huge BUT though -- I don't know why… you'd drop three figures of $ on a knife with a full-length bolster. That's a terrible design and it's near-shameful that a company like henckels is still using it years after the japanese showed how unnecessary it was, serving only to get in the way of sharpening and cut down the blade's useful lifespan. And having done a little bit of research, I cannot find information about the steel used for this blade anywhere. It's obviously high-carbon stainless, but I can't find a single detail about composition or rockwell hardness. That's pretty shady. And probably because much cheaper knives are being made of steel of the same quality. The bottom line is that though this is not a bad knife -- a heck of a lot better than what most people have in their kitchens -- there are comparable knives selling for much less and much better knives selling for the same price (or even less - MACs and Tojiros come to mind).

expand

collapse

I've owned this knife for about 6 years and it's my favorite. It's well balanced, holds an edge nicely, easy to sharpen, and stays securely in my hand during slippery tasks. I use this knife 3-4 times a… week in my home kitchen and the steel has no stains. The handle has retained the original color and has resisted fading. I sharpen all my straight edged knives with a Chef's Choice 110 Professional Diamond Hone Sharpener and had great success. After 6 years of sharpening this Henckels Five Star it looks identical to the day I bought it. On a personal note, in the six years I've owned and used this knife, I've only cut myself once. My knife skills are only so-so, so I give the credit to this well-balanced, quality knife.

expand

collapse

When I split with my ex she took my beloved set of sabatier knives, so it was time to shop for new knives. I decided to give the Henckels 5 star a try, though I was skeptical about the funky handle. Well… it took a little (not much) getting used to, but I would now not trade my henckels 5 star for anything. Some points though... Personally I am not one to advocate spending insane amounts on every knife in your house. For instance, I do not think $100 is reasonable for the 5-star bread knife, or any serated knife for that matter. Or some of those random knives you may use only a couple times per year. Unless you have money to blow, buy 5-star for your most used tasks, and go a bit cheaper for knives you rarely use. If you do not hold your chefs knife "properly", as most people I know do not (many simply grip it in a fist), the handles on 5 star you may find especially awkward. I highly suggest anyone considering 5-star to go into a store where you can hold them in your own hands to see if you like or dislike their feel, they are considerably different from traditional knives.

expand

collapse

Just to let you guys know, Cutco hires what they call "web solicitors" to hype up their products on sites like this. Also, Cutco is sold by Cutco salespeople only and these salespeople have an interest in… bashing other knives on the net. Truth is Cutco can't really compare to Henckels in anything but a guarantee, and how often have you known a Henckels knife to fall apart on you (and besides Henckels carrys a lifetime warranty too). A good article on kitchen knives and reviews can be found here[website][website]

expand

collapse