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A great meal is always prepared with wonderful ingredients, a bit of skill, a lot of love, and typically an assist from a trusty knife. In this post, I will be diving into my personal experience with kitchen knives and sharing some fun facts and stories about all of the blades in my life. Enjoy!
A SLICE OF CHILDHOOD
As a child my parents had a Heartland Knife Set with a cute farm scene on the front of the block. It is still in our family home, and my father continues to use these knives on a daily basis. I asked my dad where he and my mom bought the block from, but he sadly could not remember. My mother purchased a lot of homewares from Macy’s back in the day so that would be my best guess as to where they found these knives some 20+ years ago. I did an online search and quickly discovered that these knives are no longer being manufactured but are regularly sold on eBay as vintage cutlery. And just in case you were wondering, I have no idea where the other four steak knives from this classic block have gone – broken? borrowed? lost? in a culinary time capsule? Your guess is as good as mine 😉
- Blade Metal: Japanese Stainless Steel
- Tang: Semi Full
- Weight: Not heavy, but definitely not too light
Funny story: Like I mentioned above, I recently asked my dad where he and my mom got these Heartland knives from. What I failed to mention is that we were standing in the kitchen at the time, and instead of immediately responding to me, my dad reached over & pulled his favorite blade out from the back of the block – the chef’s knife. I leaned in and said, “See the Heartland logo?” To my surprise and then to my dad’s, the primary knife from the block was NOT a Heartland knife. It was a Barclay Forge knife??!!?? Neither of us had ever noticed this, but I’m sure my mom who passed away 13 years ago was well aware of this not-so-tiny detail 😉 After another quick search – I discovered that Barclay Forge cutlery is ALSO no longer being made yet is ALSO being resold online as durable, vintage knives. The physical features of the Barclay Forge knife are pretty much identical to the Heartland knives other than the bottom tip of the handle. Scroll back up to the Heartland wood block, and look at the Barclay Forge knife in the top left corner to see the difference. It still blows my mind that my dad and I never noticed this until a few days ago. Any insight regarding these two vintage cutlery companies would be fantastic! So if you happen to be a kitchen knife aficionado, please share your thoughts in the comments below. The knives are so similar that I’m thinking maybe Heartland & Barclay Forge were owned by the same parent company OR my mom just bought a different chef’s knife that looked awfully similar to her larger set 🙂
- Blade Metal: Japanese Stainless Steel
- Tang: Semi Full
- Weight: Not heavy, but definitely not too light
THOSE DICEY COLLEGE DAYS
I moved off campus my junior year of college which meant that my roomie and I now needed actual kitchen tools instead of just a few dishes. While shopping with my mom for bedroom furniture at Ikea a few weeks prior to moving into my very first apartment, I found this dirt cheap knife set and threw it into the cart. The serrated knives were nothing to write home about but did help feed us during those last two years off campus. I ended up bringing the knife set home after I graduated & actively used it for the next four to five years. This humble Ikea knife block is the furthest thing from fancy but still holds a very special place in my heart.
- Blade Metal: Stainless Steel (From what country? Who knows.)
- Tang: Partial
- Weight: Incredibly Light
THE SHARPER MIND OF AN ADULT
My boyfriend purchased this Henckels knife block sometime in 2013 or 2014 a few years after we started dating. He was on the hunt for a good set of kitchen knives for quite some time and eventually snagged this 14-Piece beauty when it finally went on sale. It’s now 2021, and these Forged Premio knives are still going strong. I am in love with how they perform and how they feel in my hand. The forged bolster personally enhances my grip and truly makes the art of dicing, slicing, and chopping a thing of ease. To top it off, the blades themselves have a gorgeous satin finish that allow for more precise cuts. The hollow edge santoku, serrated utility, and chef’s knife are my favorite pieces from the set.
- Blade Metal: German Stainless Steel
- Tang: Full
- Weight: Solid & Sturdy
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Schmidt Bros. – This is a German stainless steel utility knife that was gifted to my boyfriend some years ago. I personally don’t use it that often, but when I do – it does cut nicely.
Chefmate – This older stainless steel knife has a nice weight and cuts well. I used it to prepare many a meal last summer when visiting my boyfriend’s parents in Montana.
Victorinox – This is a stamped, stainless steel knife made in Switzerland by the same company known for Swiss army knives and watches. Like most stamped knives, this knife is very lightweight. Although I prefer a heavier forged knife, this blade performs nicely whenever I use it to make meals at my boyfriend’s childhood home.
MY DREAM KNIFE BLOCK
This has yet to be determined, but I will definitely write about it whenever I decide to move on from our Henckels Forged Premio set. When that day does eventually come, I wouldn’t mind just upgrading from within the Zwilling J. A. Henckels family to something along the lines of this Zwilling Self-Sharpening Knife Set OR this ultra fancy Miyabi Evolution Knife Set.
I hope you enjoyed this fun nod to all the kitchen knives in my life from past to present. Remember to always keep your personal knife collection clean, honed, and sharpened. And if you happen to need a new knife set or just a single blade – Zwilling J.A. Henckels is an excellent option for both the occasional and avid home cooks out there.
Cheers!
HOMEMADE IN LA 