So....what do you think of Ronco stuff?

[whammoed]

My wife would like a new set of knives for her birthday.  What we have now is a mismatch of crap basically.  We saw the Ronco knives on tv and thought they looked nice enough anyway.
http://www.ronco.com/products/knives.di4/16
She also wants the wooden knife block so the cheapest I found it was here:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/dynadirect/ha-kwb2301.html
Anyone have any experience with these or perhaps can suggest a better alternative?
Its not that this is such a major purchase, just don't want to buy crap even if it is priced low.

[Zakk]

Get them to throw in some 'spray-on-hair' with the order.  Great fun at parties. 

[Stingray]

My wife bought some kind of Ronco food dehydrator several years ago.

Junk.

-S

[JackTucky]

Simple Rule, If it's only available on TV, it's crap.  That's it. 

Get Henckels knives.  They are $50-$250 each, but they will last you a lifetime.  Whenever I'm in a store and I see a good price on one, I pick it up.    I'll have a set in a couple of years.  My old set is Chicago Cutlery, they don't last forever in my opinion.

Get an 8" chef's knife.  It can handle most duties.  Then look at bread knives, paring knives, etc.

Oh, you can get any wood block you want.  It's just wood.   

Art

[Stingray]

My old set is Chicago Cutlery, they don't last forever in my opinion.

Interesting that you should say that. One of the few surving relics from the days before we knew each other is a Chicago Cutlery chef knife that my wife has had for ages. I'm thinking it must be in excess of 15 years old. I still use it almost daily. Best knife I've ever owned.

-S

[missioncontrol]

just get one from a steakhouse everytime you go........... 

no, not really......... 

kitchen knives belong in the kitchen, I only go in there to get a beer, I have no idea what's a good brand.

[JackTucky]

Interesting that you should say that. One of the few surving relics from the days before we knew each other is a Chicago Cutlery chef knife that my wife has had for ages.
-S

Yeah, that's why I added IMO.  I've seen other peoples last long, just not mine.

Art

[whammoed]

Simple Rule, If it's only available on TV, it's crap.

[JackTucky]

She does the cooking and I doubt she would appreciate an expensive knife.

Best way to never cut yourself?  Use sharp knives.   

Art

[AceTKK]

If you want cheap, made-in-China junk knives don't buy them from an info-mercial.  Just go down to Wal-Mart and take your pick.  If you want something better take a look on Amazon and read the reviews.

[whammoed]

If you want cheap, made-in-China junk knives don't buy them from an info-mercial.

[Clonedsheep]

You really need to try and buy some serious knives. I wasted my time with the Ginsu knives and cheap knives. You want Balance, weight and an ability to hone the blade. Go for a full tang knife. A good set is not cheap. Check out knife magizines they usually have a nice sets. The hobbyist can tell crap for cutlery.

[Stingray]

I am just wanting a set of knives that will make the wife happy on her birthday.

If your wife is anything like mine, buy the knives that you like. Any time anything gets cut up in my kitchen, I'm almost always the one who does it.

"Honey will you cut this up for me?"

-S

[Clonedsheep]

Yeah knives, vacuum and some dishrags. How romantic we men are. j/k

[whammoed]

Yeah knives, vacuum and some dishrags. How romantic we men are. j/k

Ha! yeah really    I guess I'm lucky, the wife usually wants useful things for presents, and I'm the same way.

[whammoed]

I am just wanting a set of knives that will make the wife happy on her birthday.

If your wife is anything like mine, buy the knives that you like. Any time anything gets cut up in my kitchen, I'm almost always the one who does it.

"Honey will you cut this up for me?"

-S

good point

[shmokes]

Costco has a great deal on a full set of Henckels.  It's still like $160 for the set of knives, though, which may be more than you're planning to spend on your wife.  In that case, though, just get her a basic set of three knives.  My wife gave me a set of three Henckels as a stocking stuffer that included a paring knife, a utility knife and a butcher knife (and I went and bought a sharpener the next day).  They are fantastic and work fine for 90% of cutting duties.  There's no use in getting your wife an enormous block filled with 10 crappy knives when there are only a few she will use on a regular basis anyway.  Spend the same amount for two or three high-quality knives and a sharpening wand thingy.  They make a world of difference.

The only reason you don't think your wife will appreciate them is that you are either insensitive or have never used good knives (I suspect the latter).  The difference isn't subtle.

By the way, Wusthof is another excellent brand from what I've read.  Never used one myself.

edit: Here, $24.  They don't have the full bolster so aren't as hefty and are probably not as durable, balanced and won't stay quite as sharp as their ultra expensive knives, but these are still going to be an order of magnitude better than what you can get at Walmart.  In fact, I can't be sure of it, but I think these may be the knives my wife gave me.

[skippy]

Wusthof is good stuff.  The sell a 8 inch wusthof santoku at bed bath and beyond for like $42.00.  A santoku is a chef knife with indents in the blade to reduce friction while cutting.  Add a decent pairing knife for a few bucks and your set.  Keep them good and sharp and they should last forever.  Never cheap out on cultery,  Like anything else even cooking is fun when you have the right tools.

[whammoed]

There are some passionate people about cutlery here.  So if I went with a Henckels set, which of these moderately priced ones would be better for the non chef type:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=11996060&RN=395
or
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=11272711&RN=395

Also, although more than I wanted to spend, what about this chicago cutlery set:  (wife would like it because it has the eight steak knives instead of six)
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13703590&RN=395

[shmokes]

I have never been very impressed with Chicago Cutlery, but I've never used Chicago Cutlery that expensive, so YMMV.  As far as the Henckels go, don't get the set with the micro-serrated edges (aka Ginsu).  Those things suck.  I'll take the pepsi challenge on slicing thin tomatos with a sharp razor edge compared with one of those micro-serated edges any day of the week. 

Of those I'd go with the Henckels just because I have used both Henckels knives and Chicago Cutlery knives and the Henckels have always been far better.  So basically on gut instinct in other words.

Don't hesitate to check out Wusthof, too, though.  A lot of professional chefs prefer them over Henckels (of course they are using the absolute top of the line stuff).

[DrewKaree]

http://www.miracleblade.com

I've had some really nice knife sets.  Without fail, the wife or kids lost, bent, or melted the handles or blades, and on some of the knives, I wondered how the hell they bent 'em.

I'd never have purchased these knives myself, but I'll tell ya, it's a damn fine infomercial.  We've got an expo center (basically a "junk you see on TV and all other assortment of crap you never knew existed but now simply have to possess" place) at our State Fair and my wife told my mom about the infomercial and some of the knives the guy was gonna be showing.  She bought 'em for us as a Christmas gift, and if I were to require another set for some reason, I wouldn't hesitate one second to purchase another set of these. 

We've had them for a year and a half, and I've got absolutely no problems or complaints with them whatsoever.  I've also had no problems with returning the 3 (yes, THREE ) knives that for some reason, my kids had in the stove and didn't remove them before my wife started the oven. 

I almost always hate buying ANYTHING that has an "as seen on TV" sticker (they make cheaper versions fairly quickly that work just as well if you simply HAVE to try it someday), but honestly, those in the link are what I currently own, and they are sweet.  Dunno about the Ronco version, but they look almost identical. 

It's cheap enough that you won't be pissing away a mint on something she may not find a use for, and I promise you'll be using all those different knives - you'll give some of 'em a shot just because....and find out that it works better than the way you used to do it.  On the plus side, since you'll dig 'em, the wife will think "ain't that sweet, he's helping me out....I'm so lucky!"

Mebbe you could stick a cab in the bedroom if you play your cards right

[shmokes]

Heh...whether or not you immediately run away from a product with "miracle" in the name (you should, as a general rule), definitely click Drew's link.  It's comedy gold.

I haven't used the knives, but I doubt a $40 set of knives can keep an edge.  It's clearly not possible that they are being made with more than $40 worth of steel.  Drew's used 'em, though.  If it's a birthday present, see if you can put them in a box that doesn't scream, "I bought this off of late-night television for 5 easy payments of $69.95!"  Read: Hope that the knives don't actually say "Miracle Blade" on them.

[DrewKaree]

Heh...whether or not you immediately run away from a product with "miracle" in the name (you should, as a general rule), definitely click Drew's link.  It's comedy gold.

I haven't used the knives, but I doubt a $40 set of knives can keep an edge.  It's clearly not possible that they are being made with more than $40 worth of steel.  Drew's used 'em, though.  If it's a birthday present, see if you can put them in a box that doesn't scream, "I bought this off of late-night television for 5 easy payments of $69.95!"  Read: Hope that the knives don't actually say "Miracle Blade" on them.

If they do say that, I've found an easy way to get rid of them.  Simply follow the ONLY warning they give.  Put them in the dishwasher.  The labels fall off quite easily, but I figured if I can't throw them in the dishwasher, they were going to be re-gifted.  The packaging doesn't scream "as seen on tv", unless a plain unmarked white box is a tip-off for you

I dunno how long they'll stay sharp, and they cannot be sharpened, but I haven't had a problem with 'em.

[JoyMonkey]

We've been collecting Wusthof Culinars; my wife tells me she'll never use another knife brand again. They're pretty pricey and a lot of stores seem to be ditching the Culinar line, but they're a damn fine looking (and feeling) knife.
Here's a Wusthof Culinar santoku knife , we have an 8" and a 6" cooks knife, but the santoku just feels too cool.

[whammoed]

The only reason you don't think your wife will appreciate them is that you are either insensitive or have never used good knives (I suspect the latter).