Gary Portman 
Yes. Wüsthof knives are good, and the reason isn’t the famous name: it’s that they’re very hard to ruin. The main lines are forged in Solingen, Germany, from stainless steel hardened to 58 HRC, softer than Japanese steel on purpose. … Read more
No. Wüsthof recommends washing its knives by hand, and that includes the popular Classic line. A dishwasher won’t ruin a Wüsthof in one cycle, but the knocks, the harsh detergent and the long wet cycle dull the edge, age the … Read more
Yes, Kai knives are good, as long as you want practical knives rather than fancy ones. Kai has been making blades in Seki, Japan, since 1908 and owns Shun, but its own lines use softer, cheaper steels. That means thin, … Read more
Knowing how to sharpen a Kai knife will amp up your overall kitchen experience. A Kai knife is just your regular ol’ knife to the average Joe. However, to the experienced, Kai knives are not your everyday run-of-the-mill kitchen knives. … Read more
Short answer: current Wüsthof knives are sharpened to about 14° per side, so use a sharpener or stone angle close to that (older Wüsthofs were closer to 20°). A Wüsthof handheld sharpener is the quick way, a whetstone gives the … Read more
Most of the confusion about ZWILLING comes from the name on the box. ZWILLING J.A. Henckels is a Solingen company founded in 1731, and it sells two brands: ZWILLING, its premium line with the twin-figure logo, and HENCKELS, the single-figure … Read more
Short answer: knives sold under the ZWILLING name are mostly made in Solingen, Germany; ZWILLING’s Japanese knives (Miyabi) are made in Seki, Japan; and the cheaper HENCKELS knives (once called J.A. Henckels International) are made in Spain and in Asia. … Read more
How to choose a knife set in one line: check for a good chef’s knife plus a paring and a bread knife, then judge the set by those three and ignore the piece count. Most cooks use three or four … Read more
As a new chef, your first question might be which knives to buy for your set. Similarly, if you’re looking to add a knife set to your culinary collection, you might have the same question. No matter your case, we’re … Read more
For most home cooks, yes. A self-sharpening knife block is worth it if your knives would otherwise never see a sharpener, which is true in most kitchens I hear from. It is not worth it if you already sharpen your … Read more