Since there is only one review on Amazon, you can have it directly:
'Perfection knives are made of corrosion-resistant chromium molybdenum vanadium steel, hardened to an excellent degree and expertly ground"
suitably vague. What steel, what rockwell hardness?
Fissler makes 3 lines: perfection, passion and persimmon. Ok, I made-up that last one. Woot- you looking for writers?
X50CrMoV15 is a German steel, and the very same found in the Wusthof and Henckels lines; I quite imagine you can expect similar performance with these as the forged models from the aforementioned brands. It is a good steel; tough and corrosion resistant. This durability comes at a cost, and you won’t see the same edge-retention as in the higher-end Japanese blades using VG-10 and SG2 steel. However, you also won’t experience the ease of chipping and staining. For most home-chefs, this is a very adequate and desirable blade material. As for the contemporary geometry: while I cannot speak for these, they do remind me of the Wusthof Culinar, which if they’re anything like, should be comfortable to use.
X50CrMoV15, it says so on the blade in one of the pictures.
In their other knife series with the same steel they claim Rockwell hardness of 58. Typically X50CrMoV15 is 54-56.
The other knife line is “perfection”.
The price is a bit higher than the going price as it would be sold in Germany at Amazon.de, currently EUR 243,95 http://www.amazon.de/Fissler-8803606001-Messerblock-7-teilig-Bestehend/dp/B0026P383S
The math - Euro 243,95 includes 19% VAT (a bit different tax type, think of it as the European sales tax on steroids), so before VAT it is exactly Euro 205. Now use the dollar conversion rate of your choosing and compare.
Or in short - not the greatest deal in the world, but definitely a decent knife set depending on your needs.
Main differences: Does not need to be pampered as much as an Asian style knife set, but does not retain the edge as well either, so will need resharpening more often.
I have a bunch of nice knifes, but often I am too lazy to use them since I know I would not have the patience cleaning them properly, so sometimes it is a cheap ceramic knife or a for simple jobs and done with it for me.
Really, it depends on what you want. Not everybody needs a Shun or better knife set.
You only need one good knife. I just can’t bring myself to pay for the ones that will never come out of the block.
Don’t use the honing steel!
unless you’ve been trained to use one, you will ruin your knife.
if you want a sharp knife, pay a professional. Its not that expensive.
Its not that expensive if you happen to live in an area with a competent knife sharpening professional. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find these folks?
Get a good steel. Go on You Tube and find a video on how to use it. Practice on a knife you can afford to ruin. Keep practicing until you figure out how to maintain a edge you can live with.
The honing steel should actually be used at least every week or two as part of your regular knife mantanence. It keeps your knife edge aligned between sharpening. (There are some good YouTube videos on how to do so correctly.) Sharpening should be done at least once a year, and that I would personally turn to a professional for, though that too is a skill that can be learned.
That said, not all honing steels are created equal. You should use a honing steel that is appropriate for your knife. I recently watched a good educational video on YouTube about how to select the right honing steel for your knife; it’s by chefknivestogo called “Sharpening for N.oo.bies #11: Sharpening Steels.” (Sorry for no link. I’m not able to access YouTube on my work computer.)
I wouldn’t buy a set but it’s nice to have more than 1 knife. I have 3 chef’s knives and a paring knife that all receive regular use. I have 5 other knives that don’t get regular use…though I will let other people use them instead of the ones I like.
Having 1 nice blade is probably better than having a table full of miracle blades but I think it’s a little silly to say you only ‘need’ one. I don’t need a lot of things that make my life incrementally happier.
It’s both very easy to learn and difficult to ‘ruin’ a knife. Maybe trying to saw the steel in half might do that.
I use my chef’s knife the most, but I also use a paring knife and a serrated knife often.
I use a boning knife less often, but I’m glad I have it when I need it. A chef’s knife is not a good substitute.
“Warranty: 90 Day Woot Limited Warranty”
Hmm. Why isn’t Fissler handling the warranty and why isn’t it longer?
"Perfection Knife Block is made from stunning beechwood […]
Perfection knives are made of […]"
Except these are the passion line per the product title, specifications, and one of the pictures where the knife is labeled. Handles also seem to match the passion line. Fissler appears to have 3 lines–passion, perfection, professional.
Also, possibly related to my warranty question, I can only find the last 2 lines, not passion, available in the US.
I have never owned these, but I agree with previous commenters that a mix of knives is the way to go.
I have dishwasher safe el-cheapos for cutting hot dogs for mac and cheese.
I have wedding present walnut Chicago cutlery that have seen better days and have been overtaken by technology, but they have a comfortable heft and feel perfect for favorite recipes with favorite friends.
And I have a few high end Shuns for those rare gourmet days when I’m trying new recipes, new ingredients, and really want to wear out the cutting boards.
Within reason and if the budget allows, add a good knife or two to your tool kit.
Having a mix allows me to be generous and tolerant of guests who want to join in with the knife work. (Nobody likes the host who admonishes or scolds poor knife etiquette.)
But no matter how often you use one over another, reach for a knife that makes you smile.
most simply
Woot:
Is this the Perfection or the Persuasion Series? Title is one, description is the other.
Will buy if one, won’t if the other.
thanks,
ego