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Baccarat Damashiro Bodo 10 Piece Japanese Steel Knife Block with Chopping Board $239.99 Shipped via Code
https://www.house.com.au/product/baccarat-damashiro-bodo-10-…
At a rockwell HRC of 53. Just save your money, buy Furi, Global, Shun or Wusthoff. You may get fewer knives, but you don't need that many anyway. And they'll be better quality.
Thinking about the 10 pc. Is it trash?
Yes. These knives are from a "fashion knife" brand with soft steel, many knives that you won't use and with massively inflated RRP. They're primarily designed to look nice in a kitchen and will under-perform as cutting instruments. Low hardness (HRC 53) means that they won't take very keen an edge, and will not maintain sharpness for very long as the soft edge will roll over easily. That said, if someone has only used supermarket knifes the Baccarats will be a fairly large improvement.
Conventional wisdom among knife nerds is that you only really need 3 knives, in order of importance: a chef's knife for 80% of kitchen duties, a paring knife for finer work like with garlic and a bread knife (also great for tomatoes).
For a great value entry level chefs knife I would recommend this: https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/fujiwara-kanefusa… in 180/210 mm. I bought one for my dad and it's excellent for the price. Nice grind, good steel and sharpens well, and will far outperform the Baccarats in this deal.
What do you recommend 1 level up from the link you put?
Knives are a very personal thing, so the first step is figuring out what you like. The only real way to do this is to try different types of knives.
Since we're talking about the knife I recommended, we'll stick to chef's knives (or when talking about Japanese knifes, they're called gyuto or beef knives) so the major characteristics you need to figure out your preferences are size (180/210/240 mm), handle (western or Japanese style) and steel (stainless or carbon).
The Fujiwara I mentioned is kind of the lowest common denominator that I think most people will find agreeable: 180 mm, Western style handle and stainless.
If we talk about going up a level from the Fujiwara the thing most people would be looking to improve is the steel. Steels can be divided into two categories: stainless and carbon steels. Stainless blades are much more user friendly, but carbon steel knives can be more rewarding if you're willing to put up with a higher level of maintenance. Basically, without getting too technical, good carbon steels allow you to get a sharper edge that will stay sharp for longer at the cost of needing to clean/wipe down and dry a blade immediately after use to prevent it from oxidising.
I think that the Fujiwara is really at the value sweet spot, past which lies diminishing returns and nothing really comes to mind that's going to really be materially better until you go up to something like the Misono UX10 that has nicer fit and finish (things like the top and heel of the blade will be rounded so that they're more comfortable in a pinch grip, nicer handle etc.), steel is somewhat better and so is the grind, but in my opinion the majority of the price difference is going to fit and finish.
Now, if you're willing to try carbon steel then things get interesting. What I'd recommend is this JCK Kagayaki Blue Steel Gyuto. It's got a really nice carbon steel core that's clad in stainless, so you get the benefit of sides that won't rust with a high-performing core for not too much more money than the Fujiwara. This would be the knife that I'd personally choose if going up from the Fujiwara.
Once you get a nice knife it's a good idea to do everything to maintain that sharpness, which means trying not to let the edge touch anything apart from what you're cutting and the cutting board. Never put nice knives in the dishwasher as the harsh conditions will ruin the handle over time. Putting knives in the sink will quickly dull the blade (and if it's carbon steel, will quickly result in rust).
The other thing is sharpening, which to many people is a little daunting but can be really rewarding. The King 1000/6000 $64 shipped on ebay is really all you need, and with some practice you can get a knife sharper than they come out of the box.
JCK isn't the only retailer worth looking at, there's also http://chefknivestogo.com/ (though they don't have the best reputation on the knife forums I frequent), https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/ (great knives, fantastic youtube channel but expensive shipping) and our own https://www.knivesandstones.com.au/ (generally starting at a higher level than the others).
.. apologies for the length of this post, I got a little carried away there.
Unfortunately House doesn't have Wusthof sets so bought a Classic 6 piece from Teddington for $439 this morning! Kicking myself for missing the 8 piece deal from Costco for $369 :(
Don't waste your time, soft steel and made in China.
Inflated price.
RRP - rhetorical ripoff price
They should make it more dramatic with $10 099 RRP reduced to $200
$1200 RRP??? You've got to be joking.
No way on Earth this is same quality as a Global knife block set (that this is obviously trying to imitate).
There are people in other threads saying that Global is rubbish compared to Wusthoff?
God luck to them- most people disagree with that view. I own Global knives and like many others appreciate their quality.
An artless global copy. Oof.
Please take imaginary RRPs out of the title or consider handing in your OzBargain card. No way anyone in their right mind would be paying $1200 for these.
Check in store, but I’m quite sure the Damascus steel pattern is screen printed on these, ie they are not real steel folds..
No, no, no, no, no…
Metal this dull and soft should be reserved for the caps of miniature shampoo bottles given away for free in hotels.
Got these for $150 3yrs ago
I had this and they are trash. Don't buy them
I do wonder if house will be pulled up for false RRP's given that no one one earth will be paying that much. Surely they actually have to sell them at the full RRP to advertise it.
Almost bought the damishiro set because it looked pretty good. Turns out its cheap steel with patterning in grained. Paid more for a set of Furi's, although did eye off the globals. Given I'll have them for 15+ years the investment is well worth it
These are terrible knives. Just don't.
No global no deal