Henckels Five Star 18-Piece High Carbon Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block

by Five Star

Product Features

• 8-inch chef's, 6-inch wide-blade chef's, and 8-inch bread knife
• 3-inch paring, 8-inch carving, 5-inch serrated utility, and 6-inch utility knife
• Eight steak knives, kitchen shears, and a sharpening steel
• Heavy wood block with two extra slots
• Ergonomic, wave-shaped handles

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 15 x 14 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00004WYJ5
• Item model number: 30111-000
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,330 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This collection of knives and tools will please any cook. The set consists of seven kitchen knives (8-inch chef's, 6-inch wide-blade chef's, 8-inch bread, 3-inch paring, 8-inch carving, 5-inch serrated utility, and 6-inch utility), eight steak knives, kitchen shears, a sharpening steel, and a heavy wood block with slots for everything, plus two extra slots. Henckels Five Star knives feature distinctive handles shaped like gentle waves that fit the hand snugly, though small-handed cooks might find them too thick and long. Like other top-grade Henckels knives (except for the fully forged paring knife), Five Star blades are formed by a high-tech welding process that combines three steel types into what appears to be a single piece, so a knife's parts have distinct characteristics. Traditionalists might insist on single-piece forging for strength, but Henckels says the invisible welds are stronger than the steel. --Fred Brack

What's in the Box
8-inch chef's, 6-inch wide-blade chef's, and 8-inch bread knife, 3-inch paring, 8-inch carving, 5-inch serrated utility, and 6-inch utility knife, kitchen shears, sharpening steel, wood block with two extra slots.

From the Manufacturer

The TWIN® Five Star range is a masterful blend of sharpness and ergonomic design. This series combines the world’s most famous Henckels' blade (Four Star®) with an ergonomic molded handle. This perfectly proportioned handle has been created with a new open flow to accommodate each individual hand while improving convenience and safety for the user. The TWIN® Five Star line contains knives for all tasks, including the following open stock knife types: parer, bread, sandwich, carving, chef’s, santoku, and others. TWIN® Five Star knives are also available in a range of block sets and gift sets, to be sure that your cutlery needs are covered.

A Higher Standard in Knife Construction

TWIN® Five Star knives are precision forged from a single piece of exclusive-formula, high-carbon, no-stain steel under the all-new Sigmaforge standard. As a result, TWIN® Five Star knives have improved quality consistency, lasting sharpness, and perfect geometry. Sigmaforge one-piece construction also provides high precision and improved stability of the blade and steel structure, thus improving cutting-edge retention for lasting sharpness. In addition, TWIN® Five Star knives use J.A. Henckels’ Friodur ice hardening for corrosion resistance, a process that also contributes to cutting-edge retention.

It's All in The Grip:

The Five Star® series features high impact polypropylene handles that are permanently bonded to the knife blades without any gaps. These ergonomic handles are break-proof, sanitary, and colorfast. In addition, the super bolster provides weight, insures safety, and adds balance.

Features:

• SIGMAFORGE 1-piece, precision forged construction: Provides perfect geometry, high precision, and improved stability of the blade and steel structure, thus improving cutting edge retention for lasting sharpness.
• Laser controlled edge: Is sharper and stays sharper longer. Has a more consistent blade angle.
• Friodur ice hardening: Maximum no-stain properties and more blade strength. Improved resistance to corrosion and pitting.
• Super bolster: Provides weight, insures safety, and adds balance.
• Full rat-tail tang: Provides a proper balance and greater strength.
• High-carbon no-stain steel, an exclusive J.A. Henckels formula: Non-staining, non-rusting.
• Hand, precision honed blade: Is sharper and stays sharper longer.
• Ergonomic designed handle: Safer and much more convenient in use.
• Polypropylene handles: Comfortable molded handles and food safe
• Dishwasher safe: Easy care (Although hand-washing is recommended by J.A. Henckels).
• Full warranty: J.A. Henckels stands behind all its knives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steak Knives Are Not Five-Star, January 29, 2002

By 

Dacota - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henckels Five Star 18-Piece High Carbon Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

To clarify a seemingly ongoing debate, the 8 steak knives in this set are in fact Henckels "Gourmet" steak knives. Not Five Star, not Pro S. The "Gourmet" brand is on the low end of Henckels product line, though they are still of high-quality.

This also applies to the other Henckels knife sets, including the top-of-the-line 18-piece Pro S set, it to contains the "Gourmet" steak knives.

If you need further proof, you can enlarge the product photo then compare the steak knives shown here to the Henckels steak knife sets shown elsewhere.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The only reviewer you ever have to read, October 30, 2003

By 

ArcticBonfire (N. Miami Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henckels Five Star 18-Piece High Carbon Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

The short story:
Pay a little more money and buy Wusthof cutlery,
and get a lot more bang for the buck.

The long story:
J. A. Henckles make different lines of cutlery. Their
"International" line is lower quality and less expensive
than their top lines "Pro S" and "Five Star."

(The only difference between the "Pro S" and "Five Star"
is the handle. The "Pro S" has a full-tang riveted handle,
and the "Five Star" has a bigger, synthetic handle. Some
people claim the full-tang riveted handles have better
balance.)

Though, Henckels name is more well known than Wusthof
and they sell more knives to the general public, people
who have used the two brands, for the most part, agree
that Wusthof is the better knife. Also, Wusthof seems
to employ much better quality control than Henckels.

Henckels cuts corners when it comes to their sets.

Henckels supplies a relatively small, low grade
sharpening steel with their top line "Pro S" and
"Five Star" sets.

In their top line 18 piece sets, their steak
knives come from a lower line.

Henckels has a recommended retail price and a sale
price on their cutlery. Just about all vendors,
sell Henckels knives at the "sale" price. Henckels'
warranty department will only give you credit for
the sale price of their product, even if you pay
more, and have a receipt to prove it.

On the other, hand, Henckels warranty department is

generous when it comes to replacing old Henckels knives
damaged due to consumer misuse. I thought knives
completely submerged in salt-free water would
not corrode. I thought corrosion needed salt or
air. Wrong. My Henckels knives corroded even
though I just left them submerged in soapy water.

The most popular knife today is the Wusthof
Grand Prix, Santaku knife with a granton
edge. This is the knife used by Rachel Ray
and other chefs on the Food Network. "Granton"

means the knife has semi hollowed-out ovals on
its sides. Granton edges may provide a smoother
cut, with less drag. Vegetables may stick to
their sides less. But knives with granton
edges are not supposed to be sharpened at home.
Moreover, they have very little edge to sharpen
and so have much less life expectancy than an
Identical knife without a granton edge.

If you buy expensive knives with a fine edge,
I recommend buying a RA-03, John Boos,
24" x 18" x 2" cutting board, and a bottle
of John Boos mystery oil for reconditioning
the board every month.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do I really need this many knives?, February 12, 2003

By 

Z. Cochran "xystus3" (Auburn, wa United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Henckels Five Star 18-Piece High Carbon Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

You can NOT beat the quality of these knives. They are more expensive, but the quality is tops. I like the unique shape of the 5* grips. My wrist doesn't rotate as far forward as with more traditional shapes and is less fatiguing when doing a lot of chopping.

To reinforce an oft made point, the steak knives are NOT 5*. They are from the "gourmet" line, which are stamped instead of forged, and have exposed rivets instead of the curvy 5* handles. They are also serrated on the end. I personally find the serrations a little annoying. I don't want to saw through my steak. If you want the better 5* steak knives, buy a smaller set of 5*s without these, and seperately purchase the 5* steak knives and a block (or box) for those. But be ready to pay big bucks. In the end, is it really worth all that money for fancy steak knives? If not, then go ahead and get this 18pc set. The price difference seems to favor the larger set rather than seperate purchases.

Final analysis: Knife quality, as good as it gets. As far as this particular set, consider the steak knife question, and also realistically evaluate your cutlery needs. After a few months, there are several knives that I have yet to use! I could have saved some bucks and got a smaller set.

A last word: Don't put these in the dishwasher. The hot water and detergent will bleach the handles. You should always wash fine knives right away anyway, and not let them sit dirty until next time you do dishes.