Have you ever wanted to discover what it's like to use a knife used by world-renowned professional chefs? Unfortunately, those cutting-edge knives are likely beyond the amateur kitchen enthusiast's reach. Aside from being too expensive for ordinary folk like us, they also have limited production runs, making them a scarce commodity.
Don't be disheartened! The Solingen-based company, Zwilling JA Henckels, developed two brands to cater to different market segments. While Zwilling designs and manufactures premium-quality and, thus, more expensive knives, Henckels aims to cater to the amateurs and budget-conscious.
Read more and discover what the Henckels Silvercap 14-Piece Knife Block Set can offer!
What Is the Best-Looking and High-Quality Knife One Can Buy Online?
Do you want a chef knife set without the hassle of keeping it clean and sharp? The Henckels Silvercap 14-Piece Knife Block Set can save you from frustrating maintenance while performing at its absolute best every day. This Henckels 14-piece set includes essential kitchen blades: a serrated utility knife, a bread knife, a steak knife, a santoku knife, and a chef's knife.
Summary
- Can be bought online from Amazon for $119.95
- Comes with 12 kitchen knives and a pair of kitchen shears
- They come with a sleek black handle
- The knife block bears a stylish and textured dark gray color
- Each blade is stamped from stainless steel that is high quality
- The manufacturer claims that the blades will never need resharpening
- Each knife weighs little and features an easy-to-handle ergonomic design
Inclusions
- 8-inch chef knife
- 8-inch bread knife
- 5-inch utility knife
- 5-inch santoku knife
- 4.5-inch steak knives (6 pieces)
- 4-inch paring knife
- 3-inch paring knife
- A pair of kitchen shears
- 13-slot kitchen knife block
Brand Information
The Henckels 14-Piece Knife Set comes from an industry-leading brand trusted by professionals worldwide. Hailing from Solingen, Germany, the blade capital of the world, Zwilling J.A. Henckels continues the ages-old tradition of forging knives up to this day. They developed the Henckels line of kitchen knives to bring their craftsmanship closer to the entry-level market.
This line offers amateurs and enthusiasts a wide-ranging collection of kitchen knives. Their offerings include Classic, Modernist, Dynamic, Everedge Dynamic, Definition, and Graphite lines, among others. The subject of this review, the 14-piece knife block set belongs to the Henckels Silvercap lineup.
High-Quality Stainless Steel
The longer you use your knives, the more value you get from them. Durability should be one of your priorities when shopping for kitchen knife sets. The best way to determine whether the blade will remain sharp for a long time is by looking at the material it is made of. How long it lasts and remains sharp relies on how well it was made and the materials used in its creation.
This 14-piece set consists of kitchen knives constructed out of stainless steel. You can depend on them to last for years without them wearing out and going dull. Henckels assures its customers of its knives' durability despite being stamped from metal sheets rather than forged like their more expensive Zwilling counterparts.
No Sharpening Required
Any kitchen enthusiast knows that sharpening knives is crucial for maintaining a kitchen. Aside from cleaning your utensils, you also have to ensure that they remain sharp, especially when you need them the most. Cheap knives out on the market often perform well during the first few days or weeks but lose their sharpness later on.
When such a scenario happens, the SOP would be to grab a sharpener and make a few passes until the knives regain their sharpness. But, saving you the time and hassle of regularly sharpening your knives, the ones from the Henckels Silvercap 14-piece set don’t need to be resharpened. This is thanks to their micro-serrated edges and long-lasting edge retention.
Well-Balanced Ergonomics
Do you have to work for long periods in the kitchen? Hand and arm fatigue are among the most common injuries that professional chefs and kitchen enthusiasts experience. When you have to slice, dice, and chop your ingredients, your wrists do the heavy lifting. In addition to using the kitchen knife, you may stir, lift, and do all sorts of tasks involving your hands.
Henckels designed the kitchen knives in the Silvercap block set with this problem in mind. They exhibit an ergonomic design that won't be too harsh on your hands and wrists. They also bear a well-balanced design, further reducing the stress and weight that your wrists have to endure.
Modern Aesthetic Design
Aside from sharpness and durability, aesthetics should also be one of your primary considerations when looking for a kitchen knife. You wouldn't want your blades to stick out like a sore thumb. You deserve a set that feels and looks great. Fortunately, the Henckels Silvercap set can give you both.
The kitchen knives in this set have stainless steel blades accompanied by a smooth and sleek black handle. The butt of the knife features a "silver cap," hence the name, bearing the Henckels logo. The knife block exhibits a gray textured finish to complete the classy look. If your kitchen has a monochrome theme, this set would fit right in.
Shortcomings
While Henckels is known for high-quality kitchen knives and sharp blades, the brand is not exempt from the occasional quality control problems. For instance, a handful of customer reviews report having received blunt ones. The serrated knives were so dull that they had to "saw" through fruits and meat using the Henckels knives.
As a workaround, some customers resharpened the compromised blades. Fortunately, resharpening them with a third-party knife sharpener did the trick and restored their sharpness. However, this contradicts the manufacturer's claim that their knives need no sharpening.
Aftersales Support
The mother company, Zwilling JA Henckels, offers customer support through online and offline means. You can contact any of their customer service team members through their hotline. However, do note that their customer service hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, from Monday to Friday. If you prefer online correspondence, you can fill out a contact form on their site.
Today, fewer companies do this, but Zwilling J.A. Henckels lets you write to them via snail mail. You can find the address on the contact page on their website. If you wish to lodge a complaint or a warranty claim to any of these means, you can definitely do so. According to some customers, the after-sales support team is responsive as well.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying a Knife Set?
Are you still torn between buying an entire set of kitchen knives and purchasing them per piece? The decision can be difficult to make, especially if you are on the market only for one specific kitchen knife. Should you spend your hard-earned money on the Henckels knife set or another one, for that matter? This section focuses on the pros and cons of investing your hard-earned cash in a kitchen knife set.
Pro: No Brainer Decision
Don't have the patience to go over each bullet point on a kitchen knife's long specification list? Save yourself from the frustration of figuring out what kitchen knife jargons mean. Instead, you can purchase a whole set from a reputable brand and be done with it. Even if you don't need every knife with the set, it's good to have them ready when the need arises.
Pro: Cheaper Per Piece
Are you thinking of DIY-ing a knife set? Doing so may have you emptying your wallet and bank account. Individual knives, especially from premium brands, are not cheap. However, if you take a look at the knife sets offered by the same brands, you may notice that they sell them more affordable per piece. Indeed, buying knife sets is the most practical route.
Con: Too Many Knives
They say that you can't have too much of a good thing. However, this saying might be untrue when it comes to kitchen knives. You may mess up your workflow if you have too many choices on the kitchen counter. It's best to purchase sets if you know how and when to use each type. Also, you can consider buying sets with fewer knives.
Con: Too Much Maintenance
Kitchen knife maintenance is more than storing them in the block. You have to take one out, wash it with water, wipe it dry, lube it with oil, and hone it with a sharpening rod. Imagine doing this process more than ten times now that you have a knife set. Unless you have half a day to spare, knife maintenance would be difficult to squeeze into a busy or tight schedule.
Final Thoughts
The Henckels Silvercap 14-Piece Knife Block Set includes every kind of kitchen blade you would ever need. This set has stamped ones, which are affordable to entry-level enthusiasts. However, since they come from the world-renowned Henckels brand, you can expect excellent quality despite the relatively affordable price tag.
Once you have bought the best chef knife set for your kitchen needs, you will need tools to keep them in good shape for a long time. Navigate to your knife accessories section to discover relevant maintenance products.
August 18, 2022
