Knife Sets for Home Cooks: Block Sets vs Three Good Knives

Victorinox's Fibrox knives are the plain workhorses of restaurant kitchens and cooking schools: stamped, not forged, so the blades are thin and light, with textured handles that stay put in a wet hand. The 8 inch chef's knife is the one most often recommended to new cooks at any price.

This set is well chosen. A 4 inch paring knife, 6 inch boning knife, 8 inch chef's knife, 8 inch bread knife and 10 inch slicing knife, plus a 10 inch sharpening steel, kitchen shears and a slanted hardwood block. The boning and slicing knives are the only pieces a weeknight cook might not reach for, and a slicer earns its place at Thanksgiving.

The listing calls the knives dishwasher safe; they will last longer washed by hand. Skip the set if you want the heft and bolster of a forged German knife, or if you would rather put the money into one exceptional chef's knife.

The catch. Plastic handles and stamped blades look utilitarian on a counter.

Mercer supplies knives to culinary schools and professional kitchens, and its Genesis line is forged from German stainless steel with thick bolsters, full tangs and soft Santoprene handles. It gives you the weight and balance of a forged German knife for a good deal less than the Solingen names.

The set holds five knives: a paring knife, utility knife, boning knife, bread knife and chef's knife, in a block of beech and tempered glass that lets you see which blade you are reaching for. Only the boning knife is likely to sit unused.

Skip it if you want wood handles or a knife that will impress anyone. The rubbery handles are comfortable and practical, and look it. The glass panel also needs wiping to stay clear.

The catch. The handles look institutional, and the glass-sided block shows fingerprints.

Wusthof's seven piece set is the rare block set without filler. It is the three knives above, 3.5 inch paring, 6 inch utility and 8 inch chef's, plus an 8 inch bread knife, a 9 inch honing steel, come-apart kitchen shears and a 15 slot wooden block. Every piece is one a regular cook uses weekly.

The block has more slots than knives, which is deliberate. It leaves room to add a slicer, a santoku or steak knives later from the same line, so the counter stays matched. The knives are the forged Classic, tempered to 58 HRC, and Wusthof says to wash them by hand.

Skip it if you have no counter space to give up, or already own a good bread knife. Then the three piece set and a magnetic strip is the better buy.

The catch. Eight empty slots on day one, and a large block for a small kitchen.

Shun describes its Classic as the original authentic Japanese cutlery line introduced to the United States, and it is still the benchmark for the style. The blades are VG-MAX steel clad in 68 layers of Damascus, sharpened to a 16 degree edge, which is noticeably more acute than a German knife. The handles are D-shaped Pakkawood.

The set is the same sensible three knives as the Wusthof, 8 inch chef's, 6 inch utility and 3.5 inch paring, plus a honing steel and a slim bamboo block that takes up little counter. Shun handcrafts the knives in Japan and supports them with free sharpening.

Hard, thin steel is sharper and holds its edge longer, and it is also more brittle. It does not like bones, frozen food, twisting or the dishwasher. Skip it if you cook roughly or share the kitchen with people who do. There is no bread knife here either.

The catch. Harder steel chips if misused, and there is no bread knife.