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Another good knife deal from Victoria's Basement, I have had my set for 20 years and still going strong, good Christmas gift. Cheapest set that I can see above this price is $199.
Mundial - Bonza Knife Block 9 Piece Set $139.30 + $12 delivery @ Victoria's Basement eBay
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Very good knives the Wusthofs'. Not typically priced so ridiculously high as many others and easier for domestic users to sharpen than harder steel knives.
Having said this Mundials are perhaps not quite so good, but still only by a couple of degrees. In my experience Mundials are very good value for the price.
This deal IMO is one of the best I've seen so far. You'll only need to get a couple of cleavers aside from what is in this set for when you need feel the need to chop or 'bash' through things.
(knives are for slicing not for chopping!) Cleavers IMO are somewhat 'sacrificial'… (sharp) edges on knives are sacred!
Purchased, thanks OP
Thanks OP - good deal
Good deal, this set continues to serve our family well.
Were a wedding present over 26 years ago - used daily. Still going strong (the knives too).
sorry but Mundial aren't that great, threw them out and got wusthofs. crap imho
Not sure if they are any good anymore.
They used to be made in Brazil but I have noticed at the shops that the scissors are now made in China and quality has dropped heaps.If this set is made in China now then I would rather buy the Pyrolux set which is a clone of this, both made in China haha.
My base set of knives are mundial bonza (made in brazil) and still quite good. I've replaced my most commonly used knives with HQ japanese knives though.
The used to be solid knives 20+ years back, not so much since then.
I agree with @mudguppy1. I bought this 10 years ago. They were my first set of serious knives and I thought they were great…until I tried a friend's set of Global knives and realised how far off the Mundial's were. I've been with Global since. I would highly recommend spending the same amount on the Global 3 knife set unless you desperately need the scissors, steel and carving fork.
It’s like I’ve written this comment. Agree entirely
OMG NOOOOOOO! Wish you would have let me have a look at them :O(
And I agree, Wusthofs' are very good knives.
Amazing deal! Worth way more than them Gl0bal knives. This set is all you need for life. Thank you OP.
Interesting that you think that. What's your reasoning?
These were my 1st set of knives. I think I paid $110 but this was over 10 yrs ago so this is a pretty good deal. We haven’t touched them since we got the globals. The globals stay sharper much longer. But the globals were over double the price.
This is my exact experience too!
With knives this cheap, can all AirB&B and rental places not have shitty knives now?
… unless this is a shitty set.
Would have been made with the cheapest of Chinese metal.
(upvoted your comment).@[Deactivated]: Plot twist, the Iron Ore that was made to use this steel came from Western Australia :o
Another knife set deal!!
Cut it out.
Are knife sets the new toilet paper?
Can you try wiping your arse with a knife set, and report back (when you are able).
Whoosh
Probably a good idea when you start the trial.
I've got a set of Mundial that has barely been used. I'm hardly a chef, so open to fact it's probably "user error", but found the main knife dulled faster than my joe blow Wiltshire, and most annoyingly the handle for whatever reason I just find bad to use. Prefer the more squared handle of the Wiltshire.
Got a blister struggling cutting up pumpkins and haven't bothered since that.This user's experience tells me these knives are blunt as f or the edges arent well rounded.
I guess Brazil is no Japan when it comes to QCMight not even be Brazil anymore. I noticed that their Scissors have been made in China for the past few years. They used to be made in Brazil and they were a lot better then.
Wonder if there is any stores which stock it, curious to know if they are still made in brazil
Given this, would you say Ikea 365 knives a better?
@KnifeEnthusiastBoi: I believe in youknifehobbybro.. it's fairly apt discussion to take your word for it given the username
If you've got the mid range Wiltshires' you'll be ok. I'm a bit surprised that you don't like the Mundials. I've found them to be acceptable in my experience. In fact I've always been pleasantly surprised with the quality of Brazilian knives overall. But one thing for sure… never, never, never by the super cheap Wiltshires or Scanpans… they are particularly bad.
And on another matter… Globals… I 'like' them but find they don't hold the edge very long, and I've spoken to many people who have owned them for years. Most tend to agree.
Some hear on OB really like them, and that's ok!
Still, I do have one of them. They make a 'thinner' Chefs' knife… I think it is 'rated' as something like CM or CV18? THESE are the ones to get. They have that 'zing' sound when sharpening.They also make an amazing (but wildly aggressive bread knife - great for sourdough/though crusts but will rip sandwich bread to pieces) and excellent cleavers. But the standard Globals… I can't say I'm overly impressed, but again for the fact that they do sharpen up extremely well. Oh and just 'for fun' try using your bread knife to cut tomatoes, excellent as the 'teeth' bite into that incredible skin mother nature gave this 'fruit'. AND this is why those little tomato knives have teeth on them… great little additional knife to have in the kitchen IMO. Keeps the acid away from your super sharp (better knife) edges as well! Amazes me that some think one or two knives is all you need. I completely and utterly disagree.
57-58 HRC what would you expect?
Same hardness as the Wusthof's that Gordon Ramsay famously "kaching kaching"s with on the start of every Kitchen Nightmares episode.
There is a very good reason why he puts it to a honing rod every time he cooks…
To be honest, this is a bloody quality set of knives. Don't be misled by the cheaper price, and the fact it's not Global/Wusthof. Not knocking these brands, just saying the Mundial's are excellent. The feel is that they're weighted just right. Nice and traditional. Have a chef mate who swore by the chef's knife when he was coming up through the ranks.
We got the set in 2006 and still in use to this day, every day. We cook everything. Sharpened every use, however could use a professional sharpen now they're coming up to 15 years old. Summing up, they are the bomb.
Sharpened every use
Straightened on a steel more likely…
Honing or sharpening…whatever tickles your fancy man. I understand the technicalities, and the difference. Most home cooks wouldn't care, imo. In the end, the point is that the knives have held up very well over 14 years of daily use, are comfortable to use by myself and my wife and are a bargain at this price point.
Global/Wusthof
*
I understand the technicalities, and the difference.
Obviously not..
@randomusername2017: Haha. Yeah righto Rambo. Never said I was an expert on knives, but thanks for pointing out that I mistakenly wrote sharpening instead of honing, and due to mentioning a couple of other branded knives, i somehow appear to not understand the difference between the 2. We'll defer to you for all future knife advice.
Thanks for the review. At this price it’s totally worth it. We have no steak knifes and been meaning yo buy a set forever so this is perfect.
I agree Scotty. Definitely worthy of having professionally sharpened once or twice a year.
I feel that this is a very good deal on very good knives. No they are not the 'best' but pretty damn good IME.I've tried a few of my mates chef's knives they keep at home over the years and these are excellent, but could never justify the expense. I just like the feel of the Mundial's, and they've performed excellently over the time we've had them. And the usual caveat stands, it's not guaranteed to be the same quality as back in the day either.
Yes, the Mundials really do have a good 'feel/grip'. No two ways about that.
Regards.
I’m a Career chef 25 years, these were my first ever set of knives at the start of my apprenticeship.
The scissors, steel and bread knife are long gone.
The chefs knife is a shadow of its former self due to being mistreated, used for practice sharpening on dodgy stones and flung around with little care. It’s still a knife I enjoy using at home on occasion. The paring knife is still trusty. I snapped the filleting knife.
I’ve had knives from all over the world, and used them in even more countries : - these mundials were decent entry level “pro” knives years ago, these days I’m not so sure, but if they are the same knives this is a tremendous bargain. 100 times better than any of the Baccarat junk getting posted here.
These knives do require maintenance, and more knowledge to maintain than a global. They are not as forgiving as a global or Victorinox knife, or a Wusthof for that matter.
For the money this is an amazing quality set that will truly last a lifetime.
Thanks for your honest opinion.
If said mundial knives are now made in China, what are your thoughts on them? Have you used one made recently?No I haven’t. I currently use a combination of Victorinox 30 cm, Kasumi 24cm and Zwilling 20cm. Then theres an assortment of Shun, F Dick and Wusthofs for different tasks.
I have a friend with a recent Mundial as his first knife, he’s happy with it, although finds it hard to sharpen which is in line with my original opinion that they require practice to maintain.
My recommendation for entry level pro knives is Victorinox every time. The recent Global deals are very attractive too, especially for home use. I just find globals too light for all day use.
I've used them and have to say that indeed there are exceptions to the rule. I feel they are quite good if especially because of the price.
It's a bit like Kiwi knives (made in Thailand). Very cheap (price) but they sharpen up like hell. Edge retention is a bit average admittedly but wow…
they sharpen up like very good knives do.Oh the Kiwis! Razor sharp from the factory, simple to sharpen and easily bent. When they do eventually go wrong you just bin and replace them for under a fiver. They have become a bit of a kitchen classic like the Victorinox paring and serrated tomato knives.
Just a note on the kiwi knives, I have heard of kitchens banning them due to their propensity to chip with misuse.
@Tightmike: They can and will bend at the edges, no two ways about that. Well worth pointing out now you mention as there really is a 'onus' on users to use 'gently'.
However… they also make LARGE cleavers… you'd have to go into nails or large/thick bones to bend those. Can't say I've ever seen a chipped one myself though. But again yes, the more common/thin ones are definitely to be used gently.@Tightmike: I know Kiwi's are good for that purpose…
Something feels very wrong to me about knives that will snap/bend/dispose quickly and easily…
I think its safe to say that many might end up in landfill and who knows whether it may harm humans somewhere down it's lifecycle.
I'm not really a big eco person but I think it appeals to my sense of social responsibility…
Mum has a Kiwi that she tends to favor using over all the Global knives she has, and I have heard her say that "If it just breaks or gets blunt ill just bin it and get a new one for $4"….please no
Has anyone received the item.. is it Brazil or China
Thank youBrazil mate. I ordered the cooks knife from VB to replace a snapped blade and both sheath and stamp read Brazil.
It's a shame they don't have more wusthof on their eBay store