Starter Knife Set [Cooking]

2010 Dec 8
Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice. I wanted to order a good quality chefs knife and parring knife for my sister as a Christmas gift from William Sonoma (www.williams-sonoma.com ), but seems they don't ship to Canada.

Either way looking for some advice of some equal quality and price kinfes, that are available in store in Ottawa.

Thanks

NC

2010 Dec 8
NoCheese Well that's interesting. Even though Williams Sonoma has stores in Canada it's odd they don't ship within Canada. You could always try contacting one of their Canadian locations to see if they might be able to help you out: www.williams-sonoma.ca I have been to their Bloor Street location and it is HUGE.

Having said that I am quite happy with my Henckels knives. (I have a chefs knife, a santoku knife, a bread knife, a carving knife, and a paring knife all Henckels and they have all held up well over time.)

The subject of knives has come up a couple of times in the forums:

Forum - What are you cutting things with?

Forum - Knives

I can recommend C.A. Paradis and Domus because they have a large selection of knives although they might be pricey. I would be interested in hearing what others have to say.

2010 Dec 8
Hendrix & Chef's Paradise (formerly CA Paradis) both sell great quality knives (Mac, Global, Sanelli, Wusthof, etc). Check the prices though - you might be better off ordering some online, I've noticed some online retailers have great deals from time to time.

2010 Dec 8
Williams Sonoma in Toronto will deliver, if you call them, but the shipping charges are outrageous. I'd definitely go with a local store, or one where you can see the shipping charges in advance.

2010 Dec 8
PC Knives are really good - and you often find them on sale like right now at the Westboro location there are several of them on a rack with a bunch of other sale items.

2010 Dec 8
I just noticed that Costco has the 9pc Sanelli set which comes with a wood block, sharpening tool & peeler for $200. Excellent deal: www.costco.ca

I love these knives for the $

I also agree with Zym re: the PC knives, surprisingly well made for the $

2010 Dec 8
Anyone try the something-or-other Forge knife set from Costco? They look really good, and are down in price again to about 50 bucks (IIRC) for the set. Pretty outrageously cheap price if they are even as good as the PC knives (which they appear to be)

2010 Dec 8
Thanks for all the tips.

The costco one's look like a wicked buy, you think those are an online only ? I haven't been to costco in a couple weeks so haven't seen if they're available in store as well, but def thinking about picking those up.

2010 Dec 9
Have you considered Victorinox? Nothing fancy but great performance for an unbelievable price:

lifehacker.com

2010 Dec 10
I've seen great sets and individual knives at Home Sense and Winners recently.

The Costco sets are nice looking and good starter quality but i'm sceptical about how well they will hold an edge.

For the price PC knives are fantastic.

Just my $0.02 but a sharpener is a waste for most people, who do not know how to use it properly or never use it at all.

2010 Dec 10
OSoloMeal - The Sanelli starter set from Costco will definitely hold an edge, I own 2 of the Sanelli blades from that set and they are wonderful. I'd say I put them through fairly heavy home use.

2010 Dec 12
Ashton Green has some good knives and free shipping when you spend $75-they just sent me another catalog.
-but hopefully their shipping has improved.
last year was given a certificate from there and ordered 2 candles and a few random things and it took over 3 months to ship, no "sorry" or anything.
Finally when I did call and reach someone, after being told 3 times already "your order is shipping soon, next week" I got my items.
They have good products,but service has gone down a lot since they moved from Ottawa to Toronto.

Lee Valley tools has pretty good knife sets and a nice knife block I want-it fits any size knives w some special material.

My best knife right now is an Anolon santoku, has a nice rubber grip and cuts very well.
No idea of price as it was from Linen Chest when they were around.

2010 Dec 12
Victorinox knives, at least some of them, are reaaaaally nice and very affordable.

Also, many PC knives are made by IVO, a Portuguese company. (see ivocutleryus.com) they also make some excellent knives but prefer to OEM their product in North America.

Speaking of knives, do any of you have any experience with Grohmann Knives out of Nova Scotia I believe?

2010 Dec 12
Most of my family have Grohmann's because they're close and I believe they can get factory seconds.

I've sharpened more than a few of them while visiting and they seem to be nice knives. Good balance. I can't really give a report on using them for any amount of time.

Yes, I'm that guy who takes his sharpening set on vacation because nobody in my family knows how to keep an edge on anything and it makes me mad. MAD, I tell you!

2011 Mar 24
Groupon - The Daily Deal for Ottawa
Thursday, March 24, 2011

$20 for $40 Worth of Cookware and More or $169 for a J.A. Henckels Six-Piece Knife-Block Set ($399 Value) at The Cookware Centre (220 Bank St.)

Choose between two options:
- For $20, you get $40 worth of cookware and more in-store.
- For $169, you get a J.A. Henckels six-piece knife block set with an 8" carving knife (a $399 value).

See the link for more details: www.groupon.com/r/uu23663786

2011 Mar 25
The Cookware Centre is a ok store, but they do not seem to have tons of stock of everything.

I bought a $20 for $40 of kitchen items on another site in Dec and they only had 2..of the ice cube trays I wanted- these OXO good grips ice cube trays.
Really needed 4 of them (they were not all for me, 2 for me and 2 for my mother).

Ended up buying 2 and some small kitchen items I needed.

I also do not like how they have had some kind of sign saying "closing sale"- that was back in Dec....and then I was told it was just "closing for the holidays",lol.

Then I have also seen a sign saying "going for business sale" almost making it seem as if they are closing??
but as far as I know they really aren't.

Prices are ok there,Quality is decent depending what you buy.
I bought a nice non-stick knife for around $17-just went to check it is a Kuhn Rikon knife, 2 oxo ice cube trays - those were $9 ea I think,mini spatula $2,mini food scaper $2

so depending what you get might be a good deal or not!

2011 Mar 25
Ah, the Cookware Centre's Going Out For Business Sale. Yeah, they like to trick people with that one. They've been running it for at least 15 years. It's a sale, sure. You aren't going to get the deep discount you were hoping for, though.

2011 Mar 25
Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that sign,lol!

The deal can be ok if you need some small gadgets, they have a lot of name brand small items.
But I did find it hard to try and get $40 worth of stuff that is useful to me in that store.

2011 Mar 25
I'd say to pick up something like the half price sale at CT on the Henckels set, then add a mac Chef knife for $100...

2011 Mar 26
I really like the Lee Valley knives. They are made by Sabatier in France. Well balanced and keep an edge very well

www.leevalley.com,104,53214&ap=7

2011 Mar 26
if you really want to treat her check out Seth Burton's knives in Bc the company is called Cosmo (cosmo is his dog) knives