Chicago Cutlery 15-Piece or 19-Piece Set

[jtcnh]

I’m really torn about this. I have a set of Chicago Cutlery that I’ve had for 30 years. They still work great, but they’re old and have wooden handles, which I’d kind of like to get rid of, plus a couple of the knives have ‘gone missing’ over the years. At the time, they were rated a ‘best buy’ by Consumer Reports. I have no idea about the quality of the newer knives. Looking at the Chicago Cutlery website, it doesn’t look like they make the Centurion collection anymore (search for Centurion, and the only thing that comes up is kitchen shears). I don’t need the steak knives… Oh, so conflicted.

[SteveFranz]

@corvettejoe

Awww, I had a nice long review I wrote out on how high quality these knives are,Then I realized this had the crappy santoku style knife for a the main knife, which I can’t stand.

BUT… instead of erasing the whole thought out review, I know a LOT of people like santoku knives, so I will leave my review up… just realize I am praising their REGULAR chef knife and NOT the santoku… but the rest of the knives are all built the same way, VERY VERY sturdy, heavy and a joy to use.

They are near identical in build, feel and balance to the Henckel Classic series, but for a fraction of the price. I know the Henckel owners will cry blaspheme, but I have been trying to replace my Chicago Cutlery knives MANY times over the years with a set of the Henckel classic knives (I like their feel, build and balance)…and I keep coming back to the realization that these Chicago Cutlery knives are really the “same” knife…so why bother? I’ll just keep them!

Anyway, here is the review I had written before I realized there wasn’t a chef knife in the big set Take it as you will for it’s quality and not the one knife that’s not in this set

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I have an 11+ year old set of these knives my father in law got for us for a wedding gift. Mine most closely resembles the Metropolitan set, minus the crappy santoku knife, and my paring knife is a different design from this one. The rest is identical.

I have looked into replacing them with “better” knives over the years, but every time I go to look at, handle, price out, compare, etc other knives… I can find absolutely no reason at all to replace them.

I absolutely love the chef knife, its about the only knife I use in the whole set, with occasional use of the other knives. It’s very well made, with a good heavy perfectly balanced feel. I like that it’s a thick blade, with a wide spine and bolster. It’s heel is sturdy enough for light cleaving if ever needed (I would recommend buying a cleaver for that though).

It’s blade height is just the right size for scooping up items, or even cutting a pizza and using it as a serving utensil when done.

It’s just a great knife!

I use the other knives in the set sparingly, there isn’t much a near-perfect chef knife can’t do for you. I also use the scissors constantly as well, reaching for them more often then the regular pairs around the house.

I’ve had my set sharpened by my electric sharpener over the years, and then finally a friend of mine, who spends hours manually sharpening knives to their best, got a hold of them and put an even better edge on them. They are still doing very well after all the years of abuse and sharpening.

I do a LOT of cooking and own several chef knives, yet the Chicago Cutlery one is my favorite of them all, and I will re-wash this one more often than the rest when I have a full evening of cooking going on vs grabbing another already-clean knife.

I would highly recommend the metropolitan series. For the price you can’t beat the quality, balance and toughness of these knives.

Big difference - the 11 year old set was not made in China.

[amarabro]

are these authentic Chicago Cutlery or was the name really bought by a chinese company ?

[salesspecialist]

I was going to buy three sets of the Mets (for Christmas gifts) but changed my mind based on these comments. They get vodka.

[manhandsha]

Hey guys- Here’s what we heard from the vendor:

"Yes the Metropolitan has a sharpening steel. The contents are below:

Chicago Cutlery Metropolitan 15-Piece Block Set includes 1 each: 3" Parer, 3-1/2" Parer; 6 each: 4-1/2" Steak Knives, 5" Partoku, 5-1/2" Utility, 7" Santoku; 8" Sharpening Steel, 9" Scalloped Bread Knife; Kitchen Shears, Wood Block."

We’ve also requested the correct photo. Sorry for the confusion.

[lboban]

@salesspecialist

I was going to buy three sets of the Mets (for Christmas gifts) but changed my mind based on these comments. They get vodka.

Give them knives, or vodka, but don’t give them both.

[Ezzzzy1]

Consumer Reports for the Metro

Chicago Cutlery Metropolitan Kitchen Knife Review - Consumer Reports

[stoneybroke]

@Ezzzzy1

Consumer Reports for the Metro

Chicago Cutlery Metropolitan Kitchen Knife Review - Consumer Reports

These knives are Chinese junk. I bought my American made set on an auction site about 3 years ago.

[manhandsha]

@catsosassy

Centurion’s picture has one too many steak knives. Does that mean centurions can’t count?

The missing sharpening steel showed up in the form of an extra steak knife in the 19pc set photos, and an extra 5.5" utility knife in the 15pc set.

[Ezzzzy1]

@stoneybroke

These knives are Chinese junk. I bought my American made set on an auction site about 3 years ago.

Yeah, I was going to pick up a few sets (one for me, on for a gift) and decided against it.

Bummer… My parents are still rocking their set from the 80s

[moserk]

@rlangston09

While i’m making the assumption this is the exact same set. it clearly says in the description here that the knives are forged.

http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Cutlery-Centurion-Poylmer-1101558/dp/B005HJ289U/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_6

Quote postid=“5611393” user=“scotchnsodie”]Where does it say that any of the knives are forged? Forty bucks for a set of forged knives is a tremendous deal. Even some of my Wüsthof knives aren’t forged, and they’re far better knives than anything I’ve seen from Chicago Cutlery. Though, Chicago Cutlery knives are excellent for the money in my experience…

[/quote]

THANK YOU for exposing this. I was about to order them and just happened to read your post. I thought it was illegal for a company to forge knockoff products and sell them under the forged brand name. I’ve already trusted woot before, but if they are selling a forged version of Chicago Cutlery and advertising them as Chicago Cutlery - I don’t know who to trust.

[kapone13]

@moserk

THANK YOU for exposing this. I was about to order them and just happened to read your post. I thought it was illegal for a company to forge knockoff products and sell them under the forged brand name. I’ve already trusted woot before, but if they are selling a forged version of Chicago Cutlery and advertising them as Chicago Cutlery - I don’t know who to trust.

A forged knife does not mean fake brand name.

Read…

What Are the Differences Between a Forged and Stamped Knife?