Wüsthof Classic Cutlery Review

My mom always had knives in her kitchen that were rather dull. Using dull knives when cooking is actually more dangerous than using sharp knives. A few years ago she purchased a big knife block of Cutco knives, and seems to be enjoying them quite a bit. When she got that set, she gave me her old one, but they did not cut very well. Last year I decided to invest in some new knives and start my own knife block. After lots of research (including Cutco), I chose Wüsthof Classic as the knives I would purchase.

I decided to put my own knife block together for a few reasons. It would allow me to slowly build a collection of the knives I would use most instead of paying a few hundred dollars upfront for a set. None of the knife block sets I saw had all the knives I wanted, and some had ones I knew I would never use. While this may not have been the most cost-effective approach, it was the best option for me. Unfortunately, Wüsthof  is one of those brands that never goes on sale and that you cannot use coupons on. I get $50 Williams-Sonoma gift cards every few months with my Discover Card rewards points, and used those towards several of my purchases that were made at different times. I even found some of the knives at the Williams-Sonoma Outlet, and combined with my husband's 10% military discount, it was a huge savings! I never paid anywhere near full price for any of these knives, so this worked out very well for me. However, all of these knives are excellent and if buying or registering for one of the knife block sets works fine for you, I highly recommend Wüsthof Classic.

The first item I purchased was the Wüsthof 17-Slot Knife Block with Shears and Sharpening Steel to hold all the knives I knew I wanted. The 17-slot knife block alone is priced at $40, so $50 for the block, shears and sharpening steel set was a great price.

Next I bought the Wüsthof Classic 2-Piece Chef & Paring Knife Set, which has an 8" chef's knife and a 3.5" paring knife. From the first time I used these knives, I loved them. They have a great feel to them, and they cut so well. I later added the Wüsthof Classic 6" Utility Knife and the Wüsthof Classic 4.5" Utility Knife to my collection. It would have been cheaper to start off with the Wüsthof Classic 3-Piece Knife Starter Set, which is the first three of the above mentioned knives. For a while I thought about returning the 6" utility knife, but I have since found it useful for a few things, although it is my least used knife overall. I mostly use it to cut brownies and other baked goods while they are in glass baking dishes. If you are just starting out, I would recommend purchasing the 3-piece starter set. It's a great value and you can really use these three knives for most things.

Since I am Italian and eat a lot of bread, the next knife was pretty important to me, the Wüsthof Classic Double-Serrated Bread Knife. I like this knife more than the bread knife that comes in the block sets because it is longer (it's 9" and the regular bread knife is 8"), and that extra length can be helpful when cutting large loaves of bread!

Those four knives could have held me over for quite some time, but I added a few more to my collection that I would consider specialty knives. They are not necessities, but they are useful for specific things.

The Wüsthof Classic 5" Serrated Utility Knife cost me less than $4. This one is useful when I want to cut rolls and don't need the big bread knife. It also neatly cuts through peels, rinds and foods with resistant or tough skins, such as tomatoes and citrus. I use this knife often (mostly for tomatoes and bread) and highly recommend it.

These next two knives are awesome for cutting vegetables. Yes, you could just use the chef's knife for that, but I prefer these knives because they cut very thin slices much easier. I use the chef's knife for meat and other larger foods. I bought the Wüsthof Classic 7" Hollow-Edge Santoku Knife at the outlet for a good price. This knife combines the duties of both a chef's knife and a cleaver. A few months later, I bought the Wüsthof Classic 7" Nakiri Knife. For anyone who watches Food Network's The Pioneer Woman, this knife is commonly referred to as the Pioneer Woman knife. She uses it all the time on her show, which is how I found out about it. This knife is designed like a slender cleaver. The main difference between the two is the shape, as you can see below. The Santoku can rock back and forth, while the Nakiri is more flat. Both of these knives are hollow-edge, meaning they have shallow oval-shaped depressions along the cutting edge that keep foods from sticking to it. While I use and love them both, if I had to choose one, I prefer the Nakiri. I use this knife so often and absolutely love it!

Santoku

Nakiri

The last knife that I bought was mostly a purchase for my husband. It is the Wüsthof Classic Fish Fillet Knife. I will use this knife to fillet chicken breasts, but I know my husband will enjoy using it for fish. He hasn't even seen this knife yet, but I'm sure he will want to use it soon after returning home from deployment. I never ate fish before I met him, but when he cooks it, it always tastes good.
 

There are a few knives that we still want to add to our collection. My husband would also love the Wüsthof Classic Carving Set. There are two different carving sets for the Classic knives, one with a straight fork and one with a curved fork. This is the one with the curved fork, which I think will be more comfortable to hold. The only problem with this set is that the fork will not fit in the knife block.

We would also eventually like the Wüsthof Classic 4-Piece Steak Knife Set. I have seen this set at the Williams-Sonoma outlet before, and the knives are usually 30% or 40% off there. Our knife block has six slots for steak knives, and some websites sell these in a 6-piece set. These knives are also sold individually, but it is more cost-effective to purchase a set. (Update January 2024: We purchased the 4-Piece Set a few years ago and we now have a family of 4, so it's perfect for us, although I do wish we had 6 just to fill up all the spaces in our knife block.)

I also found a knife sharpener at Costco that works very well. This one can be switched between standard and Asian blades which is great since I have both. I've only used this sharpener once but ideally should use it once a year. I can't remember what I paid for it but it was much less than what it sells for online, so if you ever see this at Costco in the future, grab one!

Here are a few tips when using these knives to keep them in good condition:

• Hone your knives at least once a week on a sharpening steel.
• Sharpen knives every 6-12 months. Williams-Sonoma offers knife sharpening for $1 per blade inch. http://www.sharpen-this.com/events/events.htm
• Use plastic cutting boards for raw meat and wash in the dishwasher after each use.
• Use wood cutting board for vegetables and bread. Wash wood cutting board and use mineral oil or board cream on it every now and then. Never submerge a wood cutting board in water or put it in the dishwasher!

Update 2025: After using these knives for about 10 years, I purchased a larger 25-slot knife block and a few new knives. I switched the shears, sharpening steel and all of the knives from my old beechwood 17-slot knife block to this acacia one, which looks much nicer on my countertop than my old one.

With some open spaces to add more knives, the first one I purchased was the sandwich knife, which is obviously great for sandwiches, but also for bagels. You can cut tomatoes and other foods with it, spread condiments and cream cheese, etc., and then cut your sandwich. It seems silly but I bought it on a great sale and really like using it. Just be careful - it is extremely sharp!

The 6" Chef's Knife with Demi Bolster became a quick favorite as soon as I received it. Because of the demi bolster, it is lighter in weight than the regular chef's knife. The 6" size is perfect for my smaller hands and this has become the knife I always reach for when cooking. I also purchased this one on sale and with an additional 15% coupon. It seems to go on sale often so if you're interested in buying it, wait for a sale.

A while after I purchased those two knives, I decided to get a few more. I bought a set that includes an 8" Chef's Knife with Demi Bolster and a 3.5" Paring Knife with Demi Bolster. While you can buy these separate, it costs a lot less to buy the set. I use my regular 3.5" paring knife all the time, and wanted the 8" chef's knife for larger food. This set is great and I highly recommend it over the ones I originally bought that have a full bolster. The demi bolster gives you a continuous cutting edge along the entire blade, which also makes it easier to sharpen.

Lastly, I bought a 4" Wide Paring Knife. This one also has a demi bolster. I use paring knifes so often I thought it would help to have another, and the wider version is great to use.

I hope my review has been helpful to anyone who is looking for a good set of knives, or wishes to start their own set. There are several other Classic knives, but these are the ones that are in our knife block. Also, do not confuse the less expensive Wüsthof Gourmet knives with the Wüsthof Classic. I love using these Classic knives, and with proper care, they should last us a lifetime!