Customer Reviews

Wusthof Grand Prix 7-Piece Block Set

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have had this set of knives for 5 years. I love all the Wusthof knives, especially the comfort of the Grand Prix series. I used to have a 10" chefs knife, 12" steel, 8" utility knife and a pairing knife that I used professionally in a previous career-life as a cook. Unfortunately someone else loved these knives too and broke into my car and stole them, leaving some cash, my CD player and hundreds of CDs. They obviously recognized their value.

I purchased this knife block set after I 'retired' from professional cooking to use in my home kitchen. They have worn extremely well. Like any good knife they do need to be taken care of. I recommend getting a good sharpening stone and learning how to use it so you can keep the knives in tip-top shape. Depending on how often you use them you'll need to run them accross the stone. I use mine daily and sharpen them on the stone about once a month. Before I use them, and after I clean them when I am finished, I generally run them over the steel about 5 or 10 times. Lastly, I never, ever, put them in the dishwasher, I only hand-wash them.

If you buy these knives and follow these tips this set is the only cutting instruments you'll ever need in your kitchen.

I'm by no means a professional at cooking. In the past year, I've been wanting to teach myself better culinary skills, and the old set of knives I was given was a total of $20. They were generic cutlery, and after having done my research, I've discovered what I needed and should look for. When I saw this deal for these set of knives, I jumped on it immediately, knowing what I know now.

With the old set of knives, I literally had to hack through vegetables and meats. I exerted so much force, that my cutting board would get deep welts into them, and when I was cutting anything tough like carrots, you'd hear loud chopping sounds from the other side of the house as I had to brute-force my way through the carrot.

So when I got these knives, I compared the two cutting onions, carrots, and a whole chicken. The difference between my old set and the Wusthof was clearly night and day. No longer do you hear loud chops from across the house, as these knives oozes through most food like warm butter. No more deep welts in the cutting board. Even the toughest acorn squash gave way easily to the Wusthof.

Not to mention I've gained a great amount of confidence using these knives. Nothing is worse than an unsure blade in your hands as you're cutting up vegetables and meats. I was also able to cut with more precise movements and get the exact cuts and shapes I want, due to the superb sharpness and balance of these knives. This means thinly sliced food, better presentation, and easier dicing.

The weight of the knives, to me, are absolutely perfect. Not too heavy, not too light, just balanced. I've heard some prefer the Grand Prix handle design over the Classic series, as it has a more textured grip, which should come in handy if your hands get moist/wet. My old knife had a shiny wooden handle, and slip it did when my hand got wet, usually when cutting a tomato.

I cannot express the amount of joy these knives give me, and the satisfaction that I'll have them for a long time, given the proper care. I'll cherish them, and I'm sure anyone that enjoys my cooking, will in due course, appreciate them too. Especially now that I want to cook more often thanks to these knives making my job a lot easier and fun.

Although I don't have this specific set, I do have the 8" Chef's knife and the shears.

The Chef's is a fantastic knife. It got even better when I had it professionally sharpened at my local cutlery specialty store. I last had it sharpened at least 6 months ago, and have done nothing since then except occasionalliy hone it with a Fiskars ceramic honing tool. It is still sharp as a razor and will slice a ripe tomato into tiny little pieces with little hassle.

I previously had a Henckels 8" Chef's, which is a fine knife as well. But, this Wusthof knife has more of a curved edge (where the Henckels was fairly straight). The curved edge makes for smoother and easier chopping and dicing. I also have a Kyocera ceramic knife which was more expensive than this ENTIRE set, but the Wusthof is sharper and the Kyocera sits in a box.

I find the handle of this particular "Grand Prix" series very comfortable for my largeish hands. The review here mentions that the knife isn't full-tang, and is therefore lighter than one of the others. That may be, but I find the heft to be just right -- heavy enough to let the knife do some of the work, but not so heavy as to be clumsy.

Do yourself a favor. Buy these knives, and then DON'T sharpen them yourself. Find a professional knife sharpener to service the blades, and have them teach you to hone then properly. If you do, you'll be really pleased with the results. You can have your knives sharpened professionally for years for the price of an electric sharpener that will just ruin the blades (trust me: I ruined a perfectly fine set of knives before learning this!).

I just received this knife set and although I've not yet used the knives, the product description stated that it would include a bonus 3-inch Silverpoint paring knife that was NOT included in the box. I have just notified Customer Service and sincerely hope that Amazon will make good on this item.

I received my set which also did not contain the silverpoint bonus knife. I e-mailed customer service and got a reply in a couple of hours that they would rectify the problem. Practically the next day I received a new set which, to my disappointment, also did not contain the touted silverpoint knife. However, now I had to go to the post office and return one of the sets.At this point I beleive that none of the sets contain the knife.
This problem aside, the knives are awsome. They were sharp right out of the box and I was able to slice grapes with just one stroke while holding them over my cup of cereal.

The set I recieved is missing either a trimming knife or a 2-3/4-inch paring knife:
According to the label on the box, the set should include a trimming knife, cook's knife, tomato knife, sandwich knife, sheers, sharpening steel, block set.
According to the item description on Amazon site, the set should include: 8-inch chef's knife, 6-inch sandwich knife, 5-inch tomato knife, 2-3/4-inch paring knife, 7-inch sharpening steel, kitchen shears, 9-slot storage block, and bonus 3-inch Silverpoint paring knife.
Neither trimming knife nor 2-3/4-inch paring knife came with the set.

I received the set today and I, too, am missing an item. I am missing the bonus Silverpoint knife. I have written to Amazon and hope they do make good on it.

The knives were sent in a cardboard box, stuffed with rolled up packing paper. Each knife had a cardboard sleeve. But an extra sleeve with no knive in it. I assume this sleeve was for the missing silverpoint knife.

The knives had little white dots on the handle but removable with a little water and wipe. The steel had streaks but also easily cleanable.

But for $154.99, I really expected to get the whole set as shown and written above. Be sure to check yours, it's easy to pass over it. Just waiting for my reply....

The only knife that fit the label was the cook's knife. I got that, a carving knife and a little 8cm knife. THAT's IT!!! The empty space in the box was stuffed with tissue papers.
Totally unacceptable. I am returning this.

The only knife that fit the label was the cook's knife. I got that, a carving knife and a little 8cm knife. THAT's IT!!! The empty space in the box was stuffed with tissue papers.
Totally unacceptable. I am returning this.