I think the International Henkle knives are stamped knives not forged. There really is a difference. Do you have a shop that would carry quality knives near you. It would defiantely be worth going and trying different makes of a few freq. used knives (chef/paring) in your hand. Honestly I would rather have just these two knives and a decent quality bread knife/stamped than a set of lesser quality.

MimiDi,

The International Henckels are forged, I've seen them at Costco, and the fit and finish is not quite what the German Henkels have. I don't know about the steel. One problem with Henkels is that they have a full bolster that extends all the way down to the edge which makes it difficult to sharpen the entire length of the edge. One German alternative with a half bolster is Messermeister.

Thanks for the input. I am working on getting a set of these knives. Have found some good buys on e-bay.

suse17: I would appreciate any tips you've learned on sharpening them. This is the first set of good knies I've had and I would like to treat them right, from the start. TIA.

PhatCat -

Sorry for the delay - didn't see your message till tonight. We discovered that we were using the steel and sharpener at the wrong angle - should be, on average, around 20 degrees. DH was using a much wider angle, and essentially, flattening the cutting edge. (Much better when you follow directions!) We use the steel every time we use the knife, and it makes a big difference maintaining the edge. We sharpen using a Zip-Zap ceramic sharpener when the steel doesn't do the trick any more. Add, for around $20 (or was it $30?), we bought the Henckles sharpener which you set on the counter and draw the knife through 4 or 5 times. Yu can actually feel the difference after the second or third pass as it sharpens. We never put them in the DW, and we keep them in blocks, except for some extra serated ones we bought that don't fit in the block.

We found sharpening instructions on the web, and even a video, but it was a few years ago, so I don't recall the site. Maybe try a search/ Good luck!

I just bought the Henckles sharpner you are talking about.

Mimidi -

How do you like the sharpener?

I love it. I didn't realize that I had so many good knives in my kitchen. They only needed sharpening. I had knives from my grandmother and monther in law that were old. Never used them because they were dull. I have sharpened them and wow. I can cut and slice anything.

I have bought three Henckels for myself and my daughter in laws. (I thought they needed to know what a good knife was.)With what I already have I only need a chefs knife now. I am glad I didn't just buy the whole set of Henckels. I never would have used all of them. I took the advise of others and bought ones I thought I would use.

Glad the sharpener worked out so well! We "discovered" some good old knives in our kitchen, too, after we bought the sharpener. Well worth the price.

I'm comin' in YEARS after the original post, but for those in the future...I've cooked for a living before and used the Henckels that were made in Germany and got used to the balance and everything that makes a Henckel, well...a Henckel. I've been disabled for a few years now, but I still LOVE to cook for friends and neighbors. After hitting a low spot in my life and lost everything, that included my knives except for a lone meat cleaver. I'd buy other knives at flea markets and so on, but I got so used to the cleaver that I could do even the most intricate of things with it, but it started becoming a bit dangerous so I decided to get another Henckels chef knife. I found one at an online auction I won't mention, but....it was made in Spain, not Germany. The price was right, so I took a chance on it anyway, and so far, if I didn't know it was made in Spain, I couldn't tell a difference at all...NONE! Now, about sharpening knives. If you're in a busy restaurant kitchen, it's fast and easy to throw a "good enough" edge on with a rod and get you through the shift, but whatever your most used knives are, do yourself AND the knife a favor and use a stone like a butcher would use. In fact if you get a chance to make friends with the butcher where you shop, they'd probably be happy to show you how, and there's a good, but boring, video on YouTube that's done by a butcher. "I'm not a butcher" you say. I'm not either, but most of the same principals apply except for the angles on some, and the YouTube video will even explain all that, but once you get it down pat, you'll have the perfect edge, and when you need to do it again, you'll know exactly how to do it the right way, not in a way that's gonna ruin a beautiful blade, plus you're more likely to hurt yourself with a dull knife than you are a sharp one, believe me! Good luck, and cook well, eat well!

We have a professional knife sharpener who works in front of our local Ace store every Sat. I asked what the best knife was out there and he said get a Hinckel made in Spain. He said its some of the hardest steel in the world and less expensive than the German counterparts.

How about that, janettemathess. I have been considering the spanish Henkels, because I simply cannot afford the German Henkels. Good to know. Next time I see a deal, I will pull the trigger. The only reason I have not purchased them so far is, that they have plastic handles and I thought that maybe this was a sign of cheapness.

Donna Roesink Zone 6a Ohio I own both the Spanish and German Henckels, and you will not be disappointed with the Spanish International, but I feel the German steel holds and edge a bit better. My suggestion is no matter what knife you decide to get, you'll want to invest in a good sharpening system, practice with it to get really good at using it properly; which will make a tremendous difference in the sharpness of any knife. If you want a relatively easy and fast electric sharpener, get the Chef's Choice EdgeSelect XV. Its diamond coated wheels will truly put a 15 degree (per side) razor edge on any knife, but it will set you back $140 or so; even after applying your typical coupons.

1. The Chef's Choice is good if you have to do major reedging. But those powered wheels take off steel very fast. I have had good luck with the inexpensive Wusthof hand held sharpeners. For best results hold the blade exactly vertical with the sharpener on a level object and move smoothly and gently through the sharpener. If the blade is in good shape, it may only take a single pass on the ceramic to reach maximum sharpness. I do have a Forschner 10 inch (Victorinox) that didn't really get a great edge til I ran it accross the diamonds on the Chef's Choice -- Since the Test Kitchen affiliate promotes the Victorinox, this may explain why they extoll the Chef's Choice to a level that puzzles me. The Chef's Choice does make it easy to generate a multi angle edge and/or an edge with bite (vertical grooving) although I don't take advantage of these.

I haven't used the Spanish Henkels, but believe the good reviews in general. I doubt if they are the hardest steel around. The Japanese generate some really hard stuff.

I also like the three-stage Chefs Choice knife sharpener as I've never been able to master sharpening by hand.

i recently purchased a set of Henckels steak knives but was very disappointed in the quality.

My old standbys and my most heavily used knives are a 6-inch Wusthof chefs knife, two 4 1/2 inch Wusthof utility knives and 3 3/4 inch Dexter Russell paring knives.

The chefs knife is a handy size, the utility knives have a slim point (I call them my shrimp knives as I can easily slide the point into the tail portion to remove the shell) and the paring knives come from my local restaurant supply store and are heavily used in commercial kitchens.

I have others I've acquired through the years, but this small group sits on a wall-mounted magnetic knife holder right in front of me and are used constantly.

I have a set of nicely priced Spanish Henckels from Costco thinking that they would be the creme de la creme of kitchen knives. Not so. These Henckel knives are a lot thinner than the ones that I dreamed about years ago, obviously the German originals. After less than a year small rust spots started to appear on the 'stainless' steel . . . not so stainless. Lately, I cannot get a good edge when sharpening. My dad was a butcher and he taught me how to use a steel and even a
whetstone for sharpening, so sharpening a knife for me was never a
problem. Upon careful examination of the blade edge, I'm seeing tiny nicks in the blade edge (nobody else touches my knives). My conclusion is that the blade is too thin and the steel is of poor quality. I have an old pair of very cheap chef and butcher knives; thicker blades and they sharpen beautifully. These Henckels look nice, but don't live up to their name. I guess you get what you pay for

I've been disappointed in the quality of Henckels. My older Wusthof knives are much better. In fact, the cheapo steak knives from our local restaurant supply warehouse are even sharper.

I just bought some Henckles knives I have my own sharpening stone I sharpen probably every month it stays sharp at work I can’t see how the other cooks can use the house knives they are so dull I’m happy with my henckles

Let the buyer beware! All Henckels Internations Classic Knife sets are not created equal. Some but not all sets have the knives all forged. Although the box in which some sets come in says in LARGE LETTERING "CLASSIC FORGED" and "MADE IN SPAIN" only the main knives are forged or even made in Spain. The steak knives are stamped and made in Thailand. The scissors are made in China. But surprise....you can only find this out if you read the "small print" on the side of the box. There is no asterisk on the main part of the box directing you to read the small print.

Unfortunately Henckels sold in the US is mostly made in China and therefore crap. Another company that had a very good name but cut corners .

I agree. Their quality has slipped.

My favorite brand is still Wusthof and they're still made in Germany.

I recommend them highly. I've had mine for years.