# pampered chef's knives



## brennaak

I was wondering if anyone here has tried their knives. I was thinking of investing in one or 2 of them and then keeping them in  a special bag for wrapping up knives.

any personal experiences?


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## brennaak

bump


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## brennaak

anybody please


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## phatch

They're overpriced for what you get.

Generally, the bang for the buck winner is considered the Forschner Fibrox line. If you want to spend more money for an incrementally better knife, you should look into the Japanese brands. Many threads on that topic on Cheftalk.


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## petemccracken

phatch said:


> They're overpriced for what you get.
> 
> Generally, the bang for the buck winner is considered the Forschner Fibrox line. If you want to spend more money for an incrementally better knife, you should look into the Japanese brands. Many threads on that topic on Cheftalk.


Ditto. Price wise, for me, MAC knives are a far better choice, but knife brands are a very personal choice, just like autos and many other items.

With few exceptions, and right now I cannot think of any, anything that is multi-level marketed raises questions in my mind.


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## brennaak

okay, thanx bunches. I appreciate it.


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## ladytuna

I have one Pampered Chef knife and it's one of our favorites.  I believe they have a few series of knife collections, but we have the one with a heavier handle - which is why I like it so much.  It seems to fit me ergonomically as the handle helps with the kinetics of cutting.  I have some knives made for restaurant use with a lighter handle that just seem uncomfortable to cut with.  My wrist and arm end up hurting more.

I also know that with the heftier price of Pampered Chef comes a warranty and customer satisfaction- something I would look for from a company when paying big bucks for a good knife.


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## boar_d_laze

Hello ladies,

The heavy knife cuts more easily, partly because it's heavier but mostly because Lady Tuna's knives are dull.

There's no law saying you must prefer a lighter to a heavier knife, that's a matter of taste. But light or heavy, ordinary cutting should not require more than the slightest physical effort, beyond lifting the edge to whatever it is you want to cut. The sensation of cutting with a chef's knife should be "falling through."

Most people prefer the "heft" of heavier knives when "demonstrating" them in a store; but most skilled cutters prefer a lighter knife, and the modern trend is towards very light, very thin blades.

For most cutting the cook's grip should be no stronger than necessary to keep the knife from falling out of her (or his) hand. If you need more strength, you're either cutting something difficult (a pumpkin, for instance) with a knife disposed to "wedge" (the sides of the knife split the cut apart, rather than the edge slicing through the bottom of the cut), or your knife is dull.

_A familiar example of wedging, one we've all seen and experienced, is the cut running ahead of the knife blade when splitting a watermelon_.

Before saying anything about Pampered Chef knives, let me stress that there's no arguing with taste -- and if you like yours that's a good thing. I'm not trying to tell you what to like or what to buy, just provide a little education. So, with that said...

Pampered Chefs are forged from a bottom end, German steel, called X45CrMoV15 -- the same steel Mercers are made from. The alloy has just enough carbon in it, 0.45% to be technically called "high carbon" in Germany, but the industry standard through most of the world is a minimum of 0.50% to be called "high carbon" "Forging" sounds like a good thing, but in knives made as inexpensively as the Pampered Chefs, it actually makes the knives more difficult to sharpen (and heavier), because they're so thick. The knives sharpen adequately but lose their edges quickly and need very frequent steeling -- a consequence of their soft alloy. Sharp or dull, their thickness makes them prone to wedging.

With knives sharpness is everything. Look at it this way... any dull knife is simply a dull knife. It doesn't matter how expensive or how good it was when it was sharp.

Sharpening can seem like a daunting task, but there are actually a few good methods which don't involve more than pulling the knife through a slot. Chef's Choice electric machines are very good and very convenient; and the Fiskars/MAC rollsharp isn't bad if you don't need a fine edge. Steeling is not sharpening, and indeed you want to avoid any steel aggressive enough to "sharpen." In any case it's a fact of life when maintaining most knives, and a necessary skill to learn -- unless you have a machine which will do it for you.

The R.H. Forschner Fibrox and Rosewood lines probably represent the least amount you can spend and still get a decent quality knife. They are much better than Pampered Chef -- as long as you keep them sharp.

BDL


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## fishmaster

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Pampered Chef Knifes are all complete garbage. We purchase the whole set which costs a lot. The smaller knifes we use most all have pits in the blade and the tips broke off for whatever reason (and no we did not stick them into the cutting board or any other object and we don't go cutting through chain-link fences). We tried returning them to our Pampered Chef dealer. They said per Pampered Chef, the warranty was void because they accused us of running the knifes through the dish washer. What a crock of you know what. So I went ahead and spent several hours re-sharpening the blades with my professional sharpening kit. I had them all nice and sharp to the point you could shave with them. Not too long into the game and they were dull and the blades pitted again. I made sure the wife and I took really good care of them. What cheap steel they're made of. I have other knifes that were cheaper that hold up better from Wally World. I think I am going to switch to wusthof. All my hunting and fishing knifes from wusthof don't even come close to having these problems and they get much more real abuse. To all, avoid if possible. If you're curious, just stick to buying one and see how it goes. Maybe we just got the really bad batch.

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## rick alan

Old post but new subject matter.  The Wusthof Ikons aren't bad as German stainless goes, but nothing great either and a bit overpriced performance wise.  They are thin, don't have the annoying full bolster, F+F is very good, but their chefs has a lot of belly and you still get the low-grade German stainless, albeit the heat treat is a little better than others.  If you look at recent posts in the knife section you will find lots of suggestions for something better in the price range.  Their Pro line though is competition for the Forcsheners.  The Chefs still has a lot more belly, but like the Ikon the HT is a little harder.

Rick


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## flamingo1957

Had mine for approximately 5 years, hold the edge okay but not great, one blade broke today!


I plan on replacing them with the Henkles (5 man symbol). These knives held their edge for much longer, and were well worth the money.


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## rick alan

Flamingo1957 said:


> Had mine for approximately 5 years, hold the edge okay but not great, one blade broke today!
> 
> I plan on replacing them with the Henkles (5 man symbol). These knives held their edge for much longer, and were well worth the money.


Henkles is still very low-end stainless (5 man symbol?), and not even as good as the same low-end stainless from Wusthof. Again, there are far better alternatives if you look in the Cooking Knives forum.

Rick


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## flamingo1957

I have been cooking since I was 8. They are of equal quality. Henkles 5man fits my hands best.


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## rick alan

Hmmm, aside from not being able to find any reference to a Henkles 5 man, I have to wonder what someone such as you show yourself would say after trying a Konosuki HD, or even a Carbonext.

Rick


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## navylady57

I have the pampered chef bread knife, tomato knife, paring knife, santoku and utility knife. LOVE them. Wanting the steak knives.  Definitely recommend.


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## bob13bob

Vast majority of knife enthusiasts only will consider Japanese knives.  A very few, do prefer the softer steel of German knives.  Knives are personal preference, but check out dediated kitche knife forums for more info.  Carbonext, is one of hte popular recomendations.


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## flipflopgirl

navylady57 said:


> I have the pampered chef bread knife, tomato knife, paring knife, santoku and utility knife. LOVE them. Wanting the steak knives. Definitely recommend.


I remember having a utility knife that came in a sharpener storage sleeve.

It was a good little tool to have around when everything else was dull.

Think someone stole it for their tackle box lol.

mimi

OT I bought my pizza stone from a PC party.

It has lived on my oven deck since (30 years ago) and has developed a gorgeous patina.

Can make garlic bread then wipe it off while still hot (paper towels) and bake cookies.

Not even a hint of garlic.

m.


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## leslie rogakis

HI There, I was just going through some posts about the Pampered Chef knives. I am very sorry that you had such a bad experience with an attempt to return your knives. Your consultant was wrong. You have a lifetime warranty on the knives and can get them replaced. Please call Home Office. 888-our-chef. You do not need a receipt as they will be able to look up your purchase for you! 

Have a great day. I love my Pampered Chef knives!


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