A set of knives can be one of the best investments you can make for your kitchen-

I can’t remember when I last bought knives. I know that I received a large Henckels carving knife as a wedding gift, but that was many moons ago. I do have a ceramic knife that I like, but it needs to be sharpened by a professional which can be time consuming when you want your knives sharpened quickly. The rest of my knives in my kitchen drawer are a real mish mash and not very good.

I am not a chef, but as a cookbook author and someone who is always in the kitchen making homemade meals, mostly due to my food allergies, but also because I find my meals are tastier than most restaurant food, I thought it was high time that I get knew knives.

I have been looking for knives for awhile and I know that most consumer reports say it is better to buy individual knives and not a set, but when I saw that my local Home Hardware had Kuraidori knives on sale I thought I would check it out.

I knew that I wanted a paring knife, a good chopping knife and a carving knife. I know I should of been asking myself, does it have a full or partial tang? Is it made of steel or titanium and how is its balance? Really all I wanted was the knife to feel right in my hand. I really do think its a personal thing as to what knives you like best.

I was serviced by a helpful young man who had purchased Kuraidori knives for his Mother. She used to have a set of Henckels he said and then a set of Paderno knives. This lady must either go through knives or be an expert in the knife department. She told her son that the Kuraidori knives were the best she had ever used.

Since I had a 30 day guarantee on the knives, I decided to buy the 7 piece set with bamboo block. It included a 3.5” paring knife, 6” utility knife, 7” Santoku knife, 8” carving knife and an 8” chef’s knife, along with the honing steel and bamboo knife block.

The knives are made of high carbon 10mm diameter steel with dimpled blades. I find they are a nice weight in my hand, not to heavy like my Henckels. They have a polypropylene handle which doesn’t slide so it makes for a solid grip. They are sharp, but not overly so. My cousin recently bought a set of knives and both she and her husband took pieces of their fingers off the first time they used them. Needless to say they returned their knife set.

I guess my issue was that I really didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a knife set if I didn’t have to. Looks like I didn’t have to.

If you are in the market for a new set of kitchen knives, be sure to check out the Kuraidori knives at Home Hardware, I’m glad I did.What brand of knives do you use in your kitchen? If you would like more info or check out many of the allergy-free recipes I create with my Kuraidori knives visit my website