To ask if any knives actually last...

[ReadySteadyTwins]

Looking for some help please. With kitchen knives.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but my knives all go blunt, and get rusty coloured spots.

DM is going to get me a nice knife set for my birthday, and wanted to know what people have, and really rate, for around the £300 mark.

I keep mine in a drawer (knife blocks creep me out) and apparently this is blunting them? Does it really affect that much that they are in a drawer, or is it marginal?

I don't like the global knives, or anything with holes in/all metal. I like a classic look, or opulent look, with a proper handle.

I cook from scratch most days, and they need to be dishwasher safe. Does such a set exist?

Agreeing with the others, if you want them to last, you need to hand wash, and store them in a manner that protects the blade, and sharpen them.

What about some Joseph 85120 DrawerStore Knife Organiser, Grey, 39.5 x 14 x 7.4 cm [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0721TPPZY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_S6DR53NE7VV93J4PCMFQ?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21 drawer storage]]

I have never lived anywhere that had a dishwasher, maybe thats your problem, blasting the things with salt and washing stuff damaging the surface.

bit like how cars that are near the sea side turn into rust buckets fast from the spray.

I have a small IKEA knife, two Japanese ones and two Sheffield steel ones.

I do have a Wusthof carving set, so used much less than the daily choppers, but it's still in great nick, and almost 20yrs old. It was £200 on its own though. Maybe Wusthof is the way to go.

I love the knife drawer block! Thank you! This will stop them all clashing into each other and blunting in the drawer. Definitely getting one.

Pro cook....I'll have a look at those.

Robert Welch...I was talked into getting on of their cutlery sets on promises of how great they are, and personally I find the set style over substance, weighted completely wrong. I don't enjoy using them. Perhaps the kitchen knives are different.

Sorry, drawer storage

Never, ever put them in the dishwasher. It scratches them, water gets in and that is what is causing the rust. Sharpen them after every use and it is better to use a block, but I don’t. Wooden chopping boards are a must as well. I have a set of Henkels, about fifteen years old, and a few Robert Welsh knives.

I've had a couple of my knives over 20 years. Sabatier, bought to take to university at 19 (am 41). Always kept in a wooden knife block, except at university where I kept them in my cupboard in the plastic sleeve they'd come in. I've never owned a dishwasher. I sharpen them on an old fashioned steel whenever I feel like they need it. And use a wooden or other decent cutting board - not glass & don't cut directly on your plates.

Mine are a mixture of Wusthof and Henckels (plus the odd Global). I keep them in a wooden drawer knife block, wash by hand (and dry immediately - never leave them soaking in water) and sharpen the Wusthofs regularly (my Henckels are designed to never need sharpening). I've had them for over 20 years and they're still as good as new.

You need to look after them (so no dishwasher and use a knife block) and then they'll last.

I have a set of henckels that are 25 years old and still great. Never ever go in the dishwasher though and sharpen them regularly (the ikea sharpener is good). Keep them in a wooden block in the drawer. The dishwasher will ruin the handles.

You need to look after knives by sharpening them regularly and storing them properly.

Victorinox with rosewood handles here.
I tried Global but they were too heavy for me and didn’t “fit” in my hand properly.

Some knives are not supposed to go in the dishwasher.

Have you thought about magnetic holder for them? They shouldn’t be just chucked in the drawer and yes,should be sharpened regularly.

We have Anolon (sp?) knives. Bloody brilliant. We’ve only needed to sharpen them a few times in the last 15 years, but only the carving knife, chef knife and parer. It came with a santoku, bread, serated knife and scissors.

DH as a set of global and two prized I.O Shen Japanese knives.

I'm not allowed to use either as I don't use the properly (rock the blade o/don't put it into the magnet right/ put it on ceramic or don't wash it correctly etc etc )

I have everyday set (Joseph Joseph) but nothing beat the global veg chopper in my opinion it's just perfect.

I'm unsure why you would choose the look of a knife (opulaent or classic look) over the function, cut and hand feel of it???

What about one of those magnetic strips that the knives stick onto- rather than a wooden block?

Of this: www.gifts.co.uk/star-wars-x-wing-knifeblock.html

I have a cleaver I bought in Taiwan 15yrs ago. I use it daily for nearly all chopping and its so much quicker to scoop up the veg and put into a bowl that a narrower knife. No rust or spots and when sharpened, if like new. This is similar, but Japanese:
santokuknives.co.uk/products/aiko-damascus-steel-knife-with-coloured-blue-resin-handle?variant=31886093910052

My knife block was from IKEA, cost me £8 over £20 years ago, still going strong. I do sharpen them though.

I bought a set of the Robert Welch ones in a knife block a few years ago. I banned DH & DS from ever putting them in the dishwasher - they are always washed by hand. The knife blocks have magnets in so they are never resting on the blades. It also incorporates a knife sharpener on the outside of the block so it's easy to give them a quick sharpen just before you use them - little and often were the instructions. They are still in perfect condition - in fact yesterday I heard DH say "those knives are sharp" as he disappeared to the bathroom to get a plaster 😃

I also have Robert Welch knives and his drawer storage which I love as I also dislike counter knife blocks.

Robert Welch Signature Bamboo Knife Drawer Unit. Made from durable bamboo with capacity to store 13 knives. 25 YEAR GUARANTEE https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003IO5690/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttiP7C34AWF1PX9SRVMP68H

@HundredMilesAnHour

Mine are a mixture of Wusthof and Henckels (plus the odd Global). I keep them in a wooden drawer knife block, wash by hand (and dry immediately - never leave them soaking in water) and sharpen the Wusthofs regularly (my Henckels are designed to never need sharpening). I've had them for over 20 years and they're still as good as new.

You need to look after them (so no dishwasher and use a knife block) and then they'll last.

@HundredMilesAnHour

What are these Henckels that don't need sharpening? My ears have pricked at this!

Do go and buy them with him, because a knife needs to fit your hand or you will never love it.

Last time I bought an officially kitchen knife, it was a John Lewis own brand one, and it's been going strong for about fifteen years. t might be worth having a look to see whether those are still any good. You can choose which ones out of their range you actually want; my trouble with sets of knives is that there are always going to be one or two that I never use.

The best knife I ever had for chopping up veg was an old table-knife with a fake-bone handle which my grandmother had sharpened against a stone doorstep; a thin, sharp blade, stainless, and it kept an edge really remarkably. It had been in use since about 1910 pretty-much every day until I dropped it on a tiled floor last year and the blade broke in two.

So once they were open again I went round the charity shops until I found a large old table-knife, bought it, sharpened it using the sharpener fixed to the kitchen wall, and I hope this one will last a century too. But it would not be dishwasher-safe: the handle would probably warp.

Like these, more or less, only cheaper: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334327439536?hash=item4dd777e0b0:g:drsAAOSwSxJiB~Ay

Magnetic knife-racks are safer than a drawer, you don't cut your finger while you are getting one of the sharp knives out. And unlike the inside of a knife-block they can be cleaned easily.

I have cheap knives from ikea and sharpen them regularly.

I have some Victorinox knives which are approx 16 years old and still great. I sharpen them regularly. I used to put them in the dishwasher for about the first 8 or 9 years until I moved somewhere without a dishwasher, so now hand wash them. They are plastic handled rather than wood, otherwise I wouldn't have put them in the dishwasher!

I store them in a drawer, but in their original packets so they don't get damaged by other stuff in the drawer.

My ds who is at uni recently needed to replace a (cheap) kitchen knife and decided to buy some the same as I have, and loves them.

I have a Wusthof which I don't sharpen as much as I should (it gives me that nails down blackboards ick) but it's still great

My knife was £7 from Waitrose, I just sharpen it. It's kept in the cutlery drawer and used everyday for everything except bread. Had it almost 5 years.

@ReadySteadyTwins unfortunately they don't make my model of Henckels knives anymore but you can buy self-sharpening knife blocks:

www.zwilling.com/uk/kitchen-knives/self-sharpening-knife-blocks/

Or get a simple ceramic sharpener as they're easy to use. I have an old one from Wustof (I much prefer it to a steel or whetstone) - this is a more modern version:

www.kitchenknives.co.uk/wusthof-2-stage-pull-through-knife-sharpener-wt4347/?gclid=CjwKCAiA9aKQBhBREiwAyGP5lX4mKoj2ASfnP_lyah2dXenKYvWADqwPPoX9Bk21G_Mrrsdt9G_lmhoCiMsQAvD_BwE

Wusthof Classic here, love them, I keep buying more.

I keep them in a wooden knife drawer insert and wash them in the dishwasher (but in a cutlery tray not a basket, so no clashing against other metal). Have never sharpened them and they are still very sharp (perhaps not quite as sharp as when first bought but I’m sure a sharpening would bring that back). Never had any rust spots.

I have a Henckels breadknife that has been used for 20+ years, never been sharpened and is still sharp.

I do think the exact range matters. I have had Henckels knives from one of their cheaper ranges and they didn’t last well at all.

I took the recommendation of my Chef brother - we have a mix of global and wusthof knives. He suggested the mix due to the massively differing hand sizes of DH & I.
We sharpen them regularly but not every use. Ours are now about 15years old now.
Ours are kept in a knife block I'm afraid.
They are in perfect nick. They don't get special treatment apart from they don't go in the dishwasher.