Benchmade Three-Piece Chef’s Knife Set Review: Light and Sharp

An excellent knife is greater than a device; it’s an extension of your hand. When the Benchmade set arrived, I instantly grabbed the utility knife (which is what I might name a petty knife), and about 10 minutes later I forgot I used to be holding it (in a great way). The blade was skinny and slid below the flashing on a skirt steak I used to be cleansing with out my having to plan it. My fingers moved and the knife obeyed. An excellent device permits you to function on intuition and expertise that method.

The handles are snug and well-balanced in opposition to the blade, though I query the knowledge of getting pivot ring holes in a chef’s knife, as they’re extra more likely to accumulate meals and grime than they’d in a folding knife. Otherwise, these are handsome, mild, extremely responsive knives. After a number of months of utilizing them, I discover that about 80 p.c of the time, I nonetheless attain for the 6-inch utility knife.

They maintain an edge remarkably nicely, which suggests much less time spent sharpening. I’ve solely sharpened them twice since I bought them, which is way lower than I sharpened my very own knives in the identical time interval. These appear to carry an edge higher than my Benchmade folding knife. That could also be attributable to Benchmade’s proprietary SelectEdge expertise, which makes use of a 14-degree angle. That may be difficult to take care of, however I used a Work Sharp subject sharpener ($30 at Amazon, $34 at Work Sharp), which has 20-degree guides, and then simply introduced it all the way down to 14 from there.

Beginner’s Luck

It’s value noting that, greater than a knife for the fanatic, these are nice knives for the newcomer. They are someway extra approachable and simpler to work with than lots of the knives in our knife information. I can’t pin down precisely why that’s, however I’ve noticed it in the remainder of my household.

Thanks to that knife information, I take a look at dozens of knives yearly. All of them stay within the kitchen drawer (I do know, the horror, nevertheless it’s an excellent stress take a look at). The Benchmade knives are the primary take a look at knives my spouse has ever used recurrently. My children additionally use these knives with out hesitation. 

I don’t have a logical clarification for my household’s willingness to seize these knives. Some of it could be that they’re much less exotic-looking than many knives I take a look at. They appear to be most individuals’s concept of chef’s knives. They don’t have a loopy swirling sample within the metal, and they don’t appear to be they want hours of care once you’re achieved with them (as a result of they don’t). But greater than that, there’s simply one thing intangible about them that makes you need to decide them up and use them. Good instruments are likely to name out to you.

Knife fanatics would possibly roll their eyes at this form of factor, however these knives gained’t make them comfortable anyway. They will rightly level out that there are more durable steels on the market. That’s true, although there are two choices for the Benchmade set, both CPM-154 or 440c, the previous being what I examined. 

The different massive query is whether or not they’re an excellent worth for the cash.  An excellent knife doesn’t need to be costly; my favourite knife has no markings on it, and I can’t recall the place it got here from or how a lot it price. For this worth, you can order customized knives, like my fellow cooks did years in the past. 

If you understand sufficient about your private style in knives and have the cash to order a customized knife, then that’s what it’s best to do. But for everybody else, these Benchmade knives are an incredible alternative. They’re approachable, they’re skinny and mild, they maintain an edge remarkably nicely, they sharpen simply, and they arrive with a lifetime guarantee.