Customer Reviews

Calphalon Contemporary 4-Piece Stamped Steak Knife Set

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3 star:		(4)
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First, I will admit to being a Calphalon snob - I have over 20 pieces of their cookware, both from Toledo (Go Mudhens!)and from China, and am aware of their value and quality.
So, with that knowledge, I must write my first dissapointing review for a Calphalon item.
These knives are not worth carrying the Calphalon name, or are worth the high price charged. They are poorly balanced, the balance point is approx 1" behind thew bolster, making the knife "handle heavy", so you must keep a good grip on the knife to keep it in your hand. The blade, though forged, will be impossible to sharpen, as the tip is serrated, and is hollow ground on only one side, producing a "chisel" sharpened blade = great for scraping a surface, as with a chisel, but not the best cutting edge - and nearly impossible to sharpen. The knife holder, though nicely machined, is made out of soft pine, rather than a hard wood that will stand up to normal wear and tear - and it has a decidedly sour, sappy smell which permiates the knives, making you wash them before each use. The best feature, in my estmation, is the handle, which is comforable in larger hands vs the skinny handles on many steak knives.
At approx fifty dollars for a set of four knives, I cannot recommend this set - it is worth about half that more suitable for sale at a discount or closeout.

Unlike all the other Chinese produced Calphalon products which carry very attractive prices, this is not the case with these knives, and do not compare favorably to Calpholon's other knives. Though forged, the knife blanks are considerably thinner in thickness, producing a very flexable blade more akin to a fillet knife than a meat cutter / slicer and are hollow ground on only one side of the cutting surface due to a serrated tip, making the blade impossible to sharpen. The balance point for the knives is approx an inch behind the bolster, making the knife a bit handle heavy, rather than balanced. The wood knife tray, though nicely machined, is made out of soft pine or aspen with no finish - it has a distinct pitch odor and is already serverely dinged and gouged from having to remove four rather large pieces of tape which afixed the plastic cover to the tray. Not very attractive - I suspect a short life for the tray. Had it not been for the fact that these knives were purchased as a package with a bunch more Calphalon, and received a fifty dollar off a future purchase certificate, thereby, in effect rendering these knives as "free", I would return these sub par Calpalon offerings. The form of the knives is good in concept, but the function / execution of the form leaves alot to be desired. If I had seen these during a late nite infomercial, I would understand, but these are supposed to be top shelf items. My first dissapointment from Calphalon.

I've noticed in the reviews on this they they mention that these are forged knives. All of the Calphalon Contemporary knife set are forged EXCEPT for the steak knives. They are stamped. I don't quite understand why they staped them, especially for the price. Unlike the rest of the calphalon line, pots and pans included, this product is being sold for it's name, not it's quality. I gave it three stars because they do cut, but so will ones 1/4 the price. If you are looking for amazing, FORGED steak knives, henckels 4 star (99.95 set of 4), 5 star (159.95 set of 4), Pro S (same as 5 star), Twinstar Plus (?), or if you have the money, Kyocera Ceramic knife's (159.95 for one)are your best bet for super sharp knifes that will stay that way. Wusthof is terrific, but they don't have the hardening process that Henckels uses, so they need to be sharpened more frequently. I don't think these are worth the money by themselves, but when included in the 15 piece block set, they're not as much of a dissapointment.

Calphalon does make a forged steak knife set. That is the set that appears in the photo. These are available at the listed price for a set of four, or as a set of 8 with the 20-piece block set. The set of four stamped steak knives, as listed in the title, lists for $19.99 (a set of eight stamped knives comes with the 15-piece block set). One can tell the difference at a glance because the forged set has a full metal bolster. The stamped set just has an extension of the plastic handle. You can see the stamped set on Calphalon's site.

As for the knives themselves (and I'm talking about the stamped knives, as that's what the title says), they cut the tender, well-marinated meat that I usually serve. They are not top-of-the-line knives by any stretch, and I'm not anxious to use them on a tougher cut. The edge doesn't even sport a full serration. If I dropped one, I think it'd chip. Frankly, I wonder why Calphalon even bothered putting these in their high-end line. The "Simply Calphalon" line, perhaps, but not the highly-acclaimed Contemporary line.