Customer Reviews

Ginsu 7112 Chikara 12-Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Good:
Excellent knives for $119. Good weight and balance of handle and blade. It feels great in your hand. Razor sharp but sharpening is a must before each use (or at least every other use). It may not have the prestige presence of a Wusthof or Henckels set on the kitchen counter, but it DOES NOT look cheap. Its Japanese design and bamboo block make it more of a resemblance of a Shun knives set. And Shun is actually more expensive than the two more popular brands.

The Bad:
Handle's finish becomes very flat and dull after wash. Dab a little oil on a paper towel and rub it on the handle and it will look fantastic without being slippery.

The Ugly:
The Ginsu name seems to make it sounds like a cheap TV offer knives set. But believe me it looks and performs like a $500 set.

***Best knives set for your money. You will not find a better knives set for $120 unless you find a set of high end Shun, Wusthof or Henckels for 85% off at a closeout sale somewhere.

Don't let the name Ginsu fool you: This is a beautiful, professional-level knife set that screams quality--at an exceptionally low price (list price = $169.95). Ginsu has really upped its game (note that there are a lot of cheap knock-off knives out there that call themselves Ginsu, especially Ginsu 2000 and 3000, which are total junk). Several other points: 1. This set recently won a best in category Housewares Design Award; 2. The knives and block are made in China (just an fyi); 3. The company is actually owned by Berkshire Hathaway, i.e., Warren Buffet; 4. You should not run these through the dishwasher; 5. You will need to think about a sharpening system in addition to usual honing steel that comes with the set (I suggest the Edgemaker Pro system, which, if you search hard enough on the 'net, can be had for as little as $22.95 with free shipping). Shipping was very fast from this merchant.

I have been a professional chef for over twenty years and have always reserved my good quality knives for use at work. I have had a few budget sets for home use over the years (since I worked a lot I didn't do enough cooking at home to justify spending $200-$300 for a high quality block set for the house). When I saw this set on Amazon, I was very skeptical; and as a chef, I really didn't want a set of "Ginsu" knives sitting on my counter. So I researched these knives on several different sites and decided to give them a try.
I am extremely satisfied with the performance of these knives and I am recommending them to all of my aquaitances. I was truly shocked to get such a high quality set of knives with great such great weight, strength, and balance for under $120.
Buy these knives.

I first bought just the santoku knive and absolutely fell in love with it, so I decided to buy the full set, figuring an extra santoku knife certainly couldn't hurt considering how useful it is.

First, if you are a fan of Japanese knives like Shun, these give you an equally handsome and *far, far less* expensive option. I am not saying the blades have the same beauty and quality of Shun Damascus steel, but they are sharp, keep their edges well, and are easily sharpened. More importantly, they work very well, so well that I have stopped using my other knives.

This set would also make an excellent graduation or wedding present. And the Ginsu name also gives a fun, kitsch quality.

Excellent product at a very good price. Have previously owned knives costing much, much more, and these are just as good--if not better. Definitely worth considering. Check out Consumer Reports--that's what gave me the idea. They compared very favorably with knives costing $100's more.

These Ginsu Chikara knives are very sharp and stay sharp with proper care (briefly, hand wash only, store in block not drawer). I love these knives and they are worth extra care. Try them, I think you will agree.

I have owned Henckels, Wusthof and Cutco knives for 40 years of amateur cooking, so I can tell you those other "high end" knives are more expensive, but no better than the Ginsu Chikara knives. (I don't know about the much cheaper serrated Ginsu knives. They might be fine, but I hate sharpening serrated blades and you will eventually have to, or consider them throwaway because they are so cheap). These are very well made, with hard steel blades that keep an edge longer than those more expensive knives. Harder steel is good for sharpness but it makes them easier to spot and chip, so do take special care of them (see below). I love the feel of the handle and the look of the knives and bamboo block, so classic. The santoku blade is my favorite, perfect for all vegetable chopping. Honestly, I mainly use the santoku and the paring knives. The rest are hardly used, but I could do without them! The block is vertical so hard to store under cabinets - you have to pull it out. If you want, you can buy a tilted block, but I like the clean bamboo look myself, and I have a clear area so that's no issue for me, but it's an annoyance if you have to store under cabinet.

Cleaning: If you love these knives for their sharp edges and good looks, they are worth special care. As I said, the steel is a little harder, thus easier to rust and chip than softer steel. Do clean and dry right after use. They WILL rust if not cleaned and dried immediately after use (vinegar removes). My cheaper Wusthofs spotted too when I got lazy and did not clean them right away or washed in the dishwasher. Do not wash them in the dishwasher, because they will rust and spot and whatever time you thought you saved will be wasted in cleaning the spots. There is more danger of chipping the blades in the dishwasher rack with other things. It makes the handles look dull too (oil restores). All the fine knives I own recommended hand washing and drying immediately after use. They will survive the dishwasher, but you won't like the side effects.

Storage: Don't leave them lying on the counter or in a drawer. Keep them safe in the block or a magnetic rack when not in use. This really helps keep the blades from damage and saves a lot of sharpening time. I once broke a Henckels long meat carver at the handle due to careless handling. They are welded right at the handle, and that's where it broke. My fault, too lazy to put it back in the block, but I learned my lesson. I suspect these will snap too, so I am obsessive about storing them in the block.

Sharpening: Before each use, I check for sharpness on my fingernail and hone the blade if necessary. I'm speaking from a lot of years of using fine knives, and I really believe keeping them sharp is the key to enjoying them and using them safely. A dull knife is dangerous. I've sharpened knives with everything from Japanese waterstones to several top line electric sharpeners. They all work, but the electric saves so much time that I just won't bother with using the hand stones any more. But be careful, because some electric sharpeners will rapidly remove too much metal and use up your wonderful knife. Just hone or steel the edge most of the time, and reserve the coarse grinding only for repairing a chipped or hopelessly dulled edge (mainly used knives I buy that are trashed). With this set, I use a Western 20 degree edge on every knife for longer edge life - less chipping. Personally, I'm not much good keeping the angle exact with a steel so I rely on this electric sharpener:
Edgeware 50141 Ceramic Edge Electric Knife Sharpener
I like this because the ceramic removes the absolute minimum of metal and it works very well on the santoku.
For a good manual sharpener I use:
Chef's Choice M4623 Diamond Hone 3-Stage Manual Sharpener for Euro-American/Santoku/Serrated Knives
This is less expensive and more compact, so I leave it out and use it constantly for honing. I like this because the diamond slot will restore really worn out or chipped blades and it has the ceramic for honing.
Here's another good simple manual sharpener which also does scissors:
Wusthof 2-Stage Knife Sharpener

Whew, I got carried away. Since I spend a lot of time using knives, I find my knives are so much easier and safer to use with proper care. Shortcuts waste time in the end.

Bottom line, the Ginsu Chikara line is a best buy. Care for these knives well and you will enjoy using them for many years and many meals.

I'm an extremely obsessive buyer; I research all my purchases to make sure I get the best product possible that fits in my price range. When I was shopping for knives I had a few qualities in mind that I wanted the set to have. I wanted forged (these are); I wanted a chef's knife, paring, utility, and honing steel (this set has it); I wanted them to be very sharp (this set is!); I wanted them to look stylish (this set looks great); I wanted a block (this set has a decent block); and I wanted to spend less than 250 (this set was only 90 bucks!).

When shopping for knives I discovered that I really like the Japanese style. I was going to either buy shun or global and piece my set together. Shun is a higher quality knife than these, but for every day use in the kitchen, there is really no difference in functionality between the shun and ginsu chikara (some elitist chefs are going to kill me for saying that). The main difference is that one knife from shun will cost more than this entire set. The Ginsu chikara knives also look very similar to the shun (they probably copied the design) and are much sharper than the wusthof knife my roommate has.

I really like the santuku knife and the steak knives. I find myself cutting my food more because they are so much fun to use. I picture myself as a samurai and try to cut my meat with one stroke (cheesy I know) Anyway, I recommend these if you are looking for an awesome quality knife for a low price. Yes, you could spend 5 times as much and get a slightly better set but the knives will only be one notch better.

Take care of the knives. I read some reviews about rust yet mine haven't rusted at all. I wash them by hand and dry them off after. Also the top loading block could have been improved. I need to put the set at the end of my counter so I have enough room to pull the knives up. At least the thing looks good, especially with my bamboo floor.
I recommend this set.

The pro:
1) They are really sharp. I have a 8" Wusthof classic chef knife which is a great knife. But in terms of sharpness, the chef knife from this set exceeds my Wusthof.
2) The balance of the knives are also excellent.
3) The whole set looks beautiful on the countertop.

The con:
1) the material and detail finish of the handle is not top quality and the color is dull
2) the vertical opening of the knife block is not convenient in the limited space between kitchen cabinet and countertop.


Overall, it is a great buy in its price range especially for those who focus on the knife functionalities.

These were least expensive of the highly rated knives in Consumer Reports. So far they've been great: very sharp and easy to handle. These forged knives just have a different, more substantial feel than the more common stamped ones. The only complaint is that the large knives in the set are a bit shorter that the ones I'm used to, and perhaps require a bit more work to complete the heavier tasks. Nonetheless, I'd buy them again!

(An aside: they may be of "Japanese steel", but they're made in China. What isn't?)

All i have to say is WOW! These knifes really cut professionally and they look like they cost about $500 sitting in my kitchen. I think thses Knifes are the second best Ginsu has to offer and they are amazing. I used the biggest knife to cut up a watermelon seamlessly, and the smallest paring knife to make and orange "fall" apart. To get them for a lil over [...] is a steal. Well worth it and its actually fun to wash and take care of them!