Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star 8-Piece Knife Set with Block

by Henckels

Product Features

• Easy Care- Four Star knives feature handles made of high impact polypropylene. They are dishwasher safe, sanitary, break-proof and colorfast.
• Perfect Balance - Balance is crucial in using a knife. Sigamforge 1 pc forged construction knives are manufactured by an improved process that achieves a perfect level of balance, thus improving cutting performance.
• Sturdy- Four Star knives are FRIODUR ice hardened , featuring high carbon, no-stain steel blades for a sharp long-lasting cutting edge. The full rat tail tang, which extends into the handle, provide proper balance.
• Dishwasher safe but hand washing recommended for all fine cutlery

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 9.8 x 5.5 inches ; 9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0026POPW6
• Item model number: 33423-008
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,124 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #78 in Kitchen & Dining > Kitchen Knives & Cutlery Accessories > Cutlery Sets > Knife Block Sets

Product Description

J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star knives were designed and developed in close cooperation with renowned professional chefs. Introduced in 1976, today Four Star is the world's most sought after up-scale knife series. This 8 piece block set includes the following: The Twin Four Star 8pc Block set contains a 2 ¾” peeling knife, 3” parer, 5” utility knife, 8” chef’s knife, 7” granton Santoku, 9” sharpening steel, kitchen shears and a hardwood storage block.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome set, cuts like butter!, June 23, 2009

By 

Jackson Hsu (Rowland Heights, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star 8-Piece Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

This is the 3rd set of Henckels I've owned. I sent the first set to the local cutlery store for sharpening and they came back with a different personality. Didn't cut like Henckels anymore. Really disappointed. In search of a replacement set, I got the lower end Twin Signature 11pcs set. It was stamped, not forged. They cut well, but the knife felt cheap compared with the real forged Henckels.

I am really satisfied with this Four Star set. Feels solid, even weight distribution from front to back, and cuts like butter. My friend has a set of Twin Crusine which is so well built that ended up being too heavy in the back. Feels like I am just about to lose control and dropped the knife. Gives me the insecure feeling that I might cut myself trying to overcome the Twin Crusine under control.

One thing I learn this time.... make good use of the sharpening steel. I finally got the courage to learn how to use the sharpening steel with the correct angle and position, it worked so well. Sharpen my other Henckles knife back to nearly new condition.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Needs a regular utility knife, September 12, 2009

By 

Lifelong Sponge - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star 8-Piece Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

The knives themselves are fantastic, but the set really needs a regular unserrated 6-inch utility knife. Since buying it separately is outrageously expensive, I've had to pull a poorer-quality knife back out for now since this is a knife I used frequently. I love the santoku, had never used one before, but it's amazing for chopping. The handles are a perfect size for me, a woman with larger hands, and a man would probably appreciate them as well (although the five-star series knives have even more substantial handles). I see other reviews saying they prefer the Twin series, but these are the higher-end knives, forged instead of stamped like the Twin knives. Overall I would recommend this set as a good starter, and suggest you buy other pieces like the utility knife, bread knife, and steak knives as you come into inheritances....

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great knives... could be better, though., November 3, 2009

By 

H. Kim "newspro" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star 8-Piece Knife Set with Block (Kitchen)

I bought this knife set after reading many positive reviews. It has been two months since I received the set from Amazon and I'm impressed with its overall quality. Each knife is still sharp and beautiful. Seven-inch Santoku and 8-inch Chef's knives are my favorites.

My complaints:

1. Blades for two peeling and paring knives are too short to handle a variety of small cutting tasks. For example, I tried to cut apples but the knives are too short to cut the fruits in one stroke. I had to use a bigger utility knife from my old Chicago Cutlery knife set.

2. Five-inch utility knife has a serrated edge, which I believe is useful in certain tasks, like slicing tomatos, but it is not really versatile. As one of the previous reviewers pointed out, you will need a regular utility knife. Six-inch utility knife would be great although it costs $65 if you buy it from an open stock. Update on 12/1/09: Cutleryandmore.com started its holiday sale... Henckels 6-inch sandwich/utility knife is now $49.95 w/ free shipping. I ordered one to make this set more complete.

3. Each knife comes with an ergonomic handle but it is a little too small for my hand. I wish Henckels knives had slightly bigger handles.

Overall, I'm impressed with the quality and the affordability of this knife set. However, I have a 20-year-old Gerber stamped knife set (12 piece block set) that is as sharp as this Henckels set, but costing merely 1/3 of the price. As such, look elsewhere if you're a budget-conscious chef. Perhaps, Victorinox three-piece stamped knife set that sells for $61 would be an ideal alternative.

I'd recommend this knife set to anyone who is looking for excellent and relatively affordable forged knives from Germany.