Not so long go, I was in the unenviable position of having to start over in my kitchen. No dishes, pots, pans, silverware, cookbooks – you name it, I didn’t have it. I suppose, if I had tons of cash with which to start over, the process would be more fun. ;) As it was, the budget was very limited, and one thing I for sure needed, was a knife.
Have I mentioned I’m an infomercial junkie? Or, was anyway, when I had TV. I love me some infomercials, especially the ones with kitchen gadgets. I saw Ron Popeil hawking his knife set for an unbelievably low price, and there I sat with a knife-less kitchen. A match made in heaven. :D The way I saw it, being the penny-pincher that I am, I could either get a whole set of knives for his price, or I could get about half a knife at a knife place for the same money. Needless to say, Ron won.
And you know what? While professionals may turn their noses up at Ronco knives, I have been really pleased with them. I have a knife for everything. The #1 knife in the set still cuts tomato slices I can see through and has never had to be sharpened. The straight blades, yes, they do need to be sharpened on occasion, but Ron was kind enough to include a knife sharpener for my convenience.
If I owned a restaurant or was a professional chef, I might be willing to invest hundreds of dollars in knives like Henckels or something. As a regular, ordinary wife and mother putzing around in my own kitchen, Ronco knives worked out perfectly for me. And every time I reach for one, I’m thankful I had the chance to grab a set. :) Especially that cheese knife! I use that one for almost everything. 😀
The "Ness" in DarcNess ;) 
Too many bloggers are ready to sharpen their knives LOL. I had a friend who bought the Ginsung knives (name?) and she raved about them. Trouble with the expensive German paring knives I forget and throw them away with the scraps as easily as the cheap ones. I have a “melange” of knives.
I remember Ginsu! Used to love their commercials with the guy cutting the pop can in half. 🙂
Got to be careful throwing those knives away! I lost my favorite peeler once, when my former step-mother tossed it with the scrap peels. Those little things are too small to stand out.
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Now that’s a set of knives!
I have a collection of knives as well. They’re known as “auto-knives”. In other words they are switch blades. Some from Germany, U.S.A., etc. Benchmade, Microtech, Protech, Hubertus. But they can get to be relatively expensive. One “out the front” (Microtech) can easily be in excess of $400.00.
Wow! $400 for a switchblade?! I had no idea they could get that high! Some day you’ll have to show me your collection. 🙂
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My husband is in the wine business, and I’ve learned that the $50 bottle of wine can taste terrible (to me anyway) and the $7. bottle can be great. I’ve even had good boxed wine (and bad boxed wine). You could spend a fortune on knives, but all you need is something that cuts and you like. People get way too captivated by brand names. If you’re happy with your Ronco knives, why should anyone turn their noses up at that? Silly people!
LOL My sentiments exactly!! Really, it all boils down to whether or not it (whatever it may be) suits your needs and tastes. People do get way too hung up on brands.
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My husband used to work in the kitchen-ware and restaurant supply business, so he’s a bit of a snob when it comes to brand names. On the other hand, we have a couple of very sharp, useful cleavers that he picked up for a song in Chinatown. Myself, I don’t know from brand names. I’m happy to use anything sharp.
I used to watch Master Chen use that cleaver on Iron Chef and it was like watching an artist. He could wield that thing like it was the most delicate knife in the world, and he’d get little tiny garnish-type cuts out of it. Then he’d used 2 to mince stuff on his chopping block. I learned to appreciate the cleaver thanks to Chen. 🙂
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I got a set of Armstrong Forge knives for a wedding gift and I love them. I’ve had these knives for 24 years and I admit I haven’t always treated them with care, but they are still beautiful knives. I’ve looked online to buy another set since I lost the paring knife, but it seems they either went out of business or merged with another knife maker.
I hate it when good products go by the wayside. I always wonder why more people didn’t buy them, you know? If I could see its beauty/usefulness/value, why didn’t anyone else?
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